Abstract
Research into the concept of attraction has indicated the existence of olfactory influences that go beyond pheromonal level. Synthetic fragrances have been found to affect not only perception of attraction, but also attribution of beauty-unrelated intrinsic characteristics. The present study aimed to examine the impact of perfume-gender congruency on ratings of attractiveness and any perfume-generated halo effect. Male faces categorized as low, medium and high attractiveness were rated by 36 heterosexual female students across six domains: attractive, reliable, outgoing, intelligent, wealthy and socially competent. Ratings were made in the presence of a female perfume (incongruent condition), male perfume (congruent condition) or a no perfume control condition, with participants randomly allocated to produce three groups of equal size. The results indicated that 1) attractiveness generated a significant halo effect; 2) the male perfume did not significantly enhance perception of attractiveness compared to the female perfume; and 3) the gender-congruent fragrance heightened attribution of “halo” characteristics. These results indicate that gender congruent perfume can impact positively on first impressions beyond attractiveness, and are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms and implications.
Highlights
Attraction is “the feeling of being drawn to one or more other individuals... and the extent to which any one in-How to cite this paper: Marinova, R. and Moss, M. (2014) The Smell of Success?—The Impact of Perfume-Gender Congruency on Ratings of Attraction and the Halo Effect
Data were analysed using 3 × 3 mixed factorial Anovas with fragrance condition as the between groups factor with three levels and attractiveness of facial stimuli as the within groups factor with three levels
The descriptive statistics for ratings of attractiveness assigned to the images in the three stimuli categories and three perfume conditions are presented in Table 1 below
Summary
Attraction is “the feeling of being drawn to one or more other individuals... and the extent to which any one in-. (2014) The Smell of Success?—The Impact of Perfume-Gender Congruency on Ratings of Attraction and the Halo Effect. Perfume advertisements go as far as to suggest that their product enhances sexual appeal, often implying power, success and charm [23] They allege that explicitly male or female perfumes virtually guarantee the wearer the acceptance and liking of others [24]. A banana essence produced no such effect, despite being rated as pleasant in a preliminary study This reiterates the necessity for congruency between the target and the smell as an individual is much more likely to be associated with a perfume than a food-related scent. The current study will focus on the effect of the congruency between sex of target stimuli and gender-specific scent on ratings of facial attractiveness. It is proposed that perfume-congruency will enhance the halo effect for the stimuli when compared the incongruent perfume and no perfume conditions
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