I knew that the scent of somebody played a role in the laws of attraction. But I would have never guessed that it was this extreme. We cut people off in a second, and we do that in large part because of the way they smell. And it is not the smell of their perfume or cologne or deodorant. It is that underlying natural smell that you only pick up when you enter someone’s house or they lend you their clothes.

Causation: Smells cause attraction

Reverse Causation: Attraction causes smells

Third Variable: Brain perception of the smells, attractiveness ect.

The article I read at first stated that “These are micro-smells called pheromones. They’re so subtle you can’t detect them consciously, and at the same time, powerful enough to influence your decisions about attraction” (Oz). I’m pretty sure it is a subconscious thing that I, myself have never took notice to until today. For example when you walk into a new house, you always make decisions on it; in large part somewhat consciously on the smell. It continued on to say that “These chemicals are also important because they help animals distinguish each other” (Oz). Science says that we are animals, so this would mean that we also may be using a scent of smell to distinguish each other. The animals do so to prevent mating with family. We could be doing that in the same way.

Here’s how it happens: “These odorless steroids float through the air, stimulating the nerves in your nose. The nerve signals travel to your brain, triggering complicated chemical reactions” (Oz).

Then I did some more research and came across an article in Psychology Today that said, “Some researchers think scent could be the hidden cosmological constant in the sexual universe, the missing factor that explains who we end up with” (Svoboda). This is because we subconsciously will be immensely un-attracted to someone, and we can not figure out why. But this is why we could be entirely repulsed by someone who is completely perfect on Instagram or Facebook.

“It may even explain why we feel “chemistry”—or “sparks” or “electricity”—with one person and not with another” (Svoboda). IS THIS WHERE “THE SPARK” COMES FROM? Could it be that the spark is actually real, but it underlies subconsciously in our smell? It is considered the greatest lie of all time, to not meet up with someone again. You tell yourself “there was no spark” and excuse yourself from ever seeing the other person again. But maybe there literally was no spark because they did not smell good enough for your brain to make a positive chemical reaction to.

“One of the most common things women tell marriage counselors is, ‘I can’t stand his smell,'” says Herz, the author of The Scent of Desire (Svoboda). It is funny how this also  plays a part in divorce as well as initial attraction. People grow to make good connotations with each smell. The more you grow to dislike your husband, the more repulsive his smell becomes to you. I guess this goes for everyone. If the guy a girl is on a date with subconsciously smells like her repulsive ex boyfriend to her, the girl will become immediately un-attracted.

So what would be a good experiment here? How would someone test this out? I suppose men could be given randomized clothing worn by women. They can be told to tell which ones are the better smells, and then they could be set up on dates with the women whose smells they found enticing. It would actually probably a really good gameshow. If they found the girl attractive in person, the smell test would show to play a very prominent part in the laws of attraction.

Works Cited

Oz, Dr, and Roizen, Dr. “The Scent of Attraction – Youbeauty.com.” YouBeauty. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Svoboda, Elizabeth. “Scents and Sensibility.” Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.