Separate and joint scaling of perceived odor intensity of n-butanol and hydrogen sulfide.

Abstract

To determine which combination of scaling method and experimental procedure is optimal for measuring perceived odor intensity, the intensity perception of one odorous substance was scaled both separately and together with a second odorous substance in the same session. The methods used were magnitude estimation with and without a standard reference and cross-modal matching with finger span. The results show that separate and joint scalings ofn-butanol and H2S give identical scales, regardless of scaling method. Different results are obtained in magnitude estimations with a homoquality, a heteroquality, and no standard. From these results, one would not expect to find a single true power function independent of method. Cross-modal matching with finger span may be the best choice for odor intensity scaling, since it results in the widest response range, thereby giving the best resolution.