Couples Can Sniff Out Each Other's Emotional States | Gimundo

Couples Can Sniff Out Each Other’s Emotional States

In a study from Rice University, researchers found that participants could identify the smell of specific emotions in their partners' sweat.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on June 02 2010

According to the movie Love Story, love means never having to say you’re sorry. Perhaps that’s because your partner can smell your apology.

A new study from Rice University in Houston, Texas discovered that many couples are able to tell their partners’ emotions based solely on the smell of their sweat. In the study, pads worn under each participant’s arm collected sweat as they watched a series of videos. Some of the videos made them happy, while others were scary or arousing.

The participants’ partners were then provided with the sweat-filled pads, and asked to identify the emotions they coincided with. Nearly two-thirds of the time, the participants were able to identify the specific emotion from their partners’ sweat. The most correct answers came from the participants who had been with their partners for the longest time.

So, if you feel like your partner isn’t intuitive enough, there could be a simple solution: ditch your deodorant.

(Or on second thought, maybe just use your words instead.)

Filed under: Science, Weird,

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