Here’s how your sweat might be exposing your social status
New research has revealed that scent may be indicative of social status and that body odour may play a significant role in how men are perceived. The researchers think this may have something to do with testosterone, which is the hormone associated with muscle mass, bone density, and body hair. It’s the primary sex hormone in males, but females produce small amounts too. (Picture: Getty)
In the study, which is published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, the scientists collected sweaty T-shirts from 74 men with an average age of 22 years old. They also gave saliva samples so the researchers could have an understanding of their testosterone levels. Then their T-shirts were given to 797 people to smell – who were a mix of males and females. The researchers were asked to rate the scents for perceived dominance (linked to controlling or aggressive traits) and prestige (linked to respect and admiration). (Picture: Getty)
They found that the shirts from men with higher testosterone were consistently rated as smelling more dominant, but there was no connection between testosterone and perceived prestige. The researchers say that chemical signalling is the most widespread form of communication on Earth, and is something that many animals do to express and understand social status within their group. (Picture: Getty)
Dr Marlise Hofer, a postdoctoral researcher and co-author, said: ‘This study examines the role of body odour in people’s perceptions of others’ social status. We examined whether scent cues associated with levels of circulating testosterone impact people’s social status judgments. We found that both male and female participants in our study perceived men with higher levels of testosterone to be more dominant than men with lower testosterone levels. This relationship remained significant, after controlling for potential confounding factors. These include scent positivity, scent intensity, scent donor’s ethnicity, self-ratings of dominance, and smeller’s sex.’ (Picture: Getty)
The researchers were also asked to rank the shirts smelled in terms of intensity, pleasantness, and sexiness – which were bunched together in the results as scent positivity. However, there was no link between positivity and higher testosterone. Essentially, testosterone didn’t appear to affect whether people thought the odor was pleasant, sexy, or attractive. (Picture: Getty)
So why did the researchers look for the traits dominance and prestige? Previous research reveals that humans use two different strategies to assert and maintain social status. Dominance is coercive, using tactics to force compliance. Prestige, on the other hand, involves showing valuable skills and traits that lead others to show deference voluntarily. (Picture: Getty)
Dr Hofer said: ‘Research also reveals that scent plays an important role in human communication – of fear, sickness, safety, attraction, and personality traits such as dominance and neuroticism. We think this is the first study to directly examine whether humans use scent cues related to circulating testosterone levels in the formation of social status judgements.’ (Picture: Getty) Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
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