"Critically, across cultures, the perceived relative pleasantness of odorants seems to be equally robust—our effects are not driven by the peculiarities of one or two odorants or limited by the sample size of participants. This is striking and is contrary to what would have been predicted from a cultural relativity perspective,” the authors wrote.

— Researchers look at the influence of culture on odor preference. Read more in What’s Your Favorite Smell? at Psychology Today.