Bailee Schuster

Review of Literature Paper

SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
Throughout the semester, Ive had the opportunity to explore
and read multiple articles that relate to the field of communication.
While communication can vary greatly across different platforms, there
is one thing that is certain, different nonverbal cues, if used correctly,
can increase the effectiveness of what is being communicated. After
breaking down what exactly I wanted to research deeper in the
communication field, I came up with the following question: How does
male and females nonverbal of scent impact the effectiveness of their
communication? The following are parts of articles that help to explain
the phenomenon of odor being a powerful form of nonverbal
communication, specifically between men and women.
One of the main focuses of the first article was the ways in which
identity and cultural differences have an effect on intercultural
communication as a whole. Cultural variability theories view
communication as being reliant on the members that make up a group
and that have and therefore show cultural identities. Intercultural
communication is viewed as being a structured process. Holliday
(2013) mentions the importance of social structures, while also
recognizing how important personal trajectories and negotiations can
be. The article then goes on to focus on the theory of social systems
and the way that they can effect intercultural communication. Social

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
systems include people or groups of people who interact and mutual
influence one anothers behaviors. In social systems there is usually a
set of interrelated activities that together create a single goal.
The article then dives deeper into understanding intercultural
communication systems while focusing on individual differences and
cultural differences. This brings forth the idea of ethnocentrism, which
focuses on the two ideas of Us and Them which can then guide a
communication system. To take this idea a little farther, one might
think of us as being the good and them as being the evil. This code
of good vs. evil creates the conditions to put a person in certain
groups, which then determines the norms that are associated with that
group, especially when related to communication. While looking at
ethnocentrism it is clear to see how it works in groups of people,
especially when put into terms of us/them because it shows a sense
of belonging that comes with being a part of a group.
Throughout multiple communication classes, I have found that
nonverbal communication plays a huge role in communication as a
whole. Nonverbal communication is defined as communication without
the use of spoken language. Nonverbal communication includes
gestures, facial expressions, and body positions, known collectively as
body language, as well as unspoken understandings and
presuppositions, and cultural and environmental conditions that may

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
affect any encounter between people (The American Heritage New
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition).

There are many different components that tie into nonverbal

communication. A few different types include, touch, scent, and facial
expressions. This article relates to personal touch in the workplace and
the effects it has on employees. There is little research to go along with
touch in the workplace, because in America it is considered to be a sort
of taboo to touch or be touched at work by employers or fellow
employees. Touch that does occur in the workplace is usually done to
signal a job well done; examples of this would include, high- fives,
pats on the back, or shaking ones hand.
Throughout this article, we see different studies conducted on
touch in the workplace as well as the results of those studies. The first
study takes us through touch related to self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the
idea that a person can perform a specific task. Touch in the workplace
is influenced by self- efficacy because of the idea that a manager can
use touch as a way to encourage and motivate their workers.
Workplace tactile interaction norms are another thing that the idea of
self-efficacy will be compared too. The results of this study show that
there is a positive correlation between touch self-efficacy and the
supervisors use of touch with their employees. The overall

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
acceptability of touch in the workplace still is the ultimate deciding
factor as to whether the supervisor will use their touch self-efficacy
tactics (Simmering, et al.2013).
Though the definition of nonverbal communication doesnt
specify odor as a way to communicate nonverbally, odor would be
considered as an environmental condition that affects the way people
react to one another. This aspect of nonverbal communication has
sparked an interest with many researchers and they have found that
there are multiple gaps in the information available related to odor in
communication.
Olfactory communication is sometimes referred to as chemical
communication. Chemical signals are picked up by the olfactory
system, which is specified as cells in the nose and specific parts of the
brain that make connections to the nose cells. This channel of
communication has been studied the least of all other forms of
communication (Hkansson, G., 2013). However, this leaves gaps and
that is where more research is needed in order to fill those gaps and
answer the questions regarding why people react to one another the
way they do when certain scents are present.
Some studies have been done in regards to the way the olfactory
system picks up certain scents called pheromones, which refers to the
smells associated with sexual arousal. A Mr. McClintock conducted one

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
study in 1971 that proves that pheromones affect human behavior. In
his study he used girls living together in a dormitory and showed how
their behaviors changed due to their menstrual cycles synching up.
The synching of the girls menstrual cycles proves that there is a direct
correlation between odors, in this case pheromones, and the way in
which individuals react to one another (Hkansson, G., 2013). Though
one can see that multiple studies have been conducted, there is still
room for growth in the study of odor and communication.
Scent not only has an affect on the way we perceive people, but
it also has an impact on the way we communicate with people. Scent
has also been said to have an impact on face recognition, meaning
that in some instances face recognition can be skewed due to the
scent that is associated with that face (Sait-Bauzel & Fointiat, 2013).
There was a study conducted in 2009 in France in which there was a
central trait, either warm or cold and also an odor based information
portion that involved the smell of vanilla or no smell at all. Several
dimensions were measured such as attractiveness, familiarity, and
intensity.
This is one study that prompted researchers to look into creating
a more specific study that focuses directly on the way scent effect
perception of others in a specific age group. Essentially one research
study is built off of another, and then finding room for improvement in

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
that study, an idea for yet another study comes about. The study
completed in France was based off of Aschs procedures from a 1946
study, and now researchers want to take this study in another direction
yet again. The experiment completed in France at Metz University had
participants that were an average age of 19.8 years old.
Asking students to form an impression of Mr. X, and the kind of
person they perceived him to be after being read a list of
characteristics completed the experiment. In this particular experiment
researchers split the group into two sections. One section was given
warm conditions while the other section was presented with cold
conditions. For the warm conditions, Mr. X was described to the test
group as being intelligent, skillful, industrious, warm, determined,
practical, and cautious. For the cold conditions, Mr. X was described
with all of the same words, except the word warm was switched out
with the word cold. Another variable in this experiment was that in
some conditions odor was evoked and the target was described as
smelling like vanilla however, in the other conditions no smell was
evoked.
One of the most interesting findings was that participants in the
vanilla conditions rated the target, Mr. X, was rated as being more
desirable than those with no odor information. This experiment had
qualitative and quantitative aspects, which makes it similar to the new

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
experiment that researchers are proposing to do. Thanks to the work
done by Roxane Saint- Bauzel and Valrie Fointiat in France, we can
see the way that odor does impact the perceptions of others.
An experiment that shows the ways in which odor- induced
synesthesia works was completed in 2006. The experiment had the
scent of lemons being associated with a soft fabric. The other side of
the experiment had an animal type scent associated with rough fabric.
Experiments like these are similar to the first experiment discussed
that dealt with Mr.X. The idea that scent can carry haptic-based
information has been proven over and over again through different
forms of experiments (Madzharov, A.V., Block, L.G., &Morrin, M 2015).
According to the anthropologist Edward T. Hall, who coined the phrase
proxemics as referring to the space that humans use, many different
aspects affect communication. He believed that communication in a
personal, public, or social space was affected not only by kinesthetic,
auditory, thermal, postural, and tactile factors, but also by olfactory
factors (Knapp, M.L., & Hall, J.A. 2013). Hall also believed that a stare,
a movement, or even a scent determined spatial positioning between
humans.
Taking this idea a step farther researchers begin to look at the
way that men and women perceive one another and the way odor can
affect their view of attractiveness. A study conducted in which

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
participants were asked to rate the attractiveness of a person by the
smell of a t-shirt gave some interesting results. Participants smelled
two different shirts; one smelled like a similar individual while the other
smelled like a dissimilar individual. The results showed that women
preferred the smell that was dissimilar to their own smell rather than
the one that was similar (Hkansson, G., 2013). Similarly, it has been
reported that people will smell the unwashed clothing of a loved one in
order to trigger a memory, especially when the two subjects are
separated. Those surveyed reported that it made them feel happy and
more comfortable when they were able to smell the unwashed clothing
of an absent romantic partner, more proof that odor has an affect on
the way people react to situations (Schaal, B., Herz, R., & Zucco, G.
2012).
There is yet other ways in which scent is being used to
communicate and in many instances calm humans behaviors. A trend
that is becoming more popular in todays society is the use of essential
oils and aromatherapy to help calm ones senses. Though the most
common mode of administering aromatherapy may be found in a spa,
there are other ways in which to utilize the power of scent to relax,
stimulate, or control ones nerves. Dispersing aromatherapy into the
air is one way to promote the scent, as well as soaking a pillow or rag
in order to release the scent for a longer amount of time. While some

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
scents do encourage certain feelings, many are used for multiple
purposes.
For example, in dementia patients aromatherapy is used to calm
the patient down and make them more comfortable (Quynh-anh, N., &
Paton, C. 2008). It has also been known to allow for better rest,
motivate, and improve behavior among people. Researchers say that
there is a possibly a psychological link to aromatherapy treatments.
Certain odors have been said to cause a reaction that determines
whether the person perceives that odor as pleasant or unpleasant.
According to Clive Holmes and Clive Ballard in a 2004 study, people
determine whether these aromas are pleasant or unpleasant based on
where they have encountered the scents before. This idea proves that
odor does have a correlation between the way humans perceive
different situations and different people.
Early experiments that were done that studied the ways in which
odor caused different affects on people showed that different
fragrances as well as different strengths of fragrances affected people
differently. In an experiment where healthy people were put in a room
with a strong concentration of lavender, their cognitive behavior
decreased (Ludvigson & Rottman, 1989). A study that was completed
later compared the effects of lavender to jasmine on concentration
tasks and cognitive behaviors and had a different result. The results

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
showed that the lavender decreased the number of mistakes made in
mathematical problems, as opposed to the groups that were subjected
to jasmine (Degel & Koster,1999). Though these studies have given
researchers good results, there is still not enough evidence to make
the use of such practices routine in clinics. Perhaps someday there will
be a greater use of lavender and lemon balm used to help people with
dementia and other disease perceive the world around them in a
different way (Holmes & Ballard, 2004).
Each of these experiments takes an in depth look at the way
odor, communication, and perceptions of others are related. Though
each shows a different view, they all come to the same conclusion:
that odor does in fact have an affect on our communication with one
another. These studies are just the beginning, because more and more
research will need to be done in order to find out more about this topic,
and also to fill the gaps that have been left by previous researchers.
However, the work that has already been done will create great
stepping stones to conduct further research by.

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15

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Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub. Co.

Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
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Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
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Bailee Schuster
Review of Literature Paper
SPCH 202
Dr. George Lawson
December 7, 15
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