Gender Differences in Time Perception During Olfactory Stimulation

Abstract

In this study, we conducted two experiments to evaluate the effect of different types of odors on a time reproduction task, comparing performances of males to those of females. In the first experiment, subjects had to estimate short (510, 600, 690 ms) and long (1700, 2000, 2300 ms) interval durations under three odor conditions: positive, negative and neutral. A gender specific effect of olfactory stimulation on time estimation was found only for short durations. Namely, females were less accurate (overestimated) in reproducing short time intervals during the unpleasant odor presentation. This effect was confirmed and strengthened in the second experiment in which the intensity of the negative odor was enhanced. The present findings suggest that the neural network underlying time estimation is more “sensitive” to context manipulations in females than in men. Practical Applications The first important point is that there might be relevant gender differences in the processing of time (time estimation) that are mediated by olfactory stimulation. This new evidence might have important implications and applications in health issues and especially in workplace safety, for example in jobs or contexts in which fast processing and rapid decisions or choices are required. Therefore, the knowledge that females are more influenced by unpleasant odors than males during time estimation should be seriously considered in situations in which time plays a crucial role such as during rapid decision-making, where automatic processes should be efficiently activated. Overall, the higher sensitivity to specific olfactory stimulation observed in women probably reflects individual differences in a complex process such as time processing.