How do you react to someone who smells in social situations?
Posted , 3 users are following.
Afternoon, doing a bit of research in relation to smell and how we react to it and would appreciate your thoughts.
If you notice someone smelly in a work/social situation (ie. In a meeting, at a restaurant, at the movies), do you want to avoid them and/or move away from them?
What would your initial reaction be?
What judgements if any would have of that person?
What would you think of that person?
Thanks
0 likes, 2 replies
sasical72 jamie79699
Posted
Hi there,
I think it depends on the kind of smell you are referring to.
I think we unfortunately do tend to move away from people who don't smell well.
Depending on the smell I think you judge one way or another. Here is an example, if someone arrives at work and has come cycling and they smell a bit sweaty you might think it's normal given the situation, but if someone at work smells of stale sweat then you might think they are not clean.
That's why I say that I think it depends.
I'm sorry if that wasn't all that helpful, maybe if you ask a more specific example I could give my opinion and it might be helpful and sorry, English is not my first language.
Marina_Dee jamie79699
Posted
Depends on what you mean by smell. We instinctively move away from bad smells as they are often associated in our subconscious mind with decay, dirt, illness or even death. Our instincts have been honed over millions of years and we know that to have contact with the source of the smell is not good for us. It could lead to us being ill or dying. So yes, we move away. And yes, we judge.
Being human we often judge the people who are smelly as either dirty, or unwashed. Maybe even seeing them as not intelligent enough to realise they are needing to wash, change their clothes, see a doctor etc.
There are those who will not look any further and this will remain their attitude all their life. Others will realise this person needs help...maybe with gentle advice or encouragement. This however is not so easy to do...especially if the person is a stranger to you.
This is indeed a subject for discussion. There is a huge industry dedicated to us washing, putting on perfumed preparations etc. All based on the premise that we dont like a bad odour.
The most subtle odours are those that are appealing, especially when attracted to another person. Think of pheromones and the perfumery industry 100% dedicated to find the ultimate good smell..
Its interesting to note that even children will screw up their noses at a bad smell and make derogatory noises. Its instinctive, and self preservation.