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Pop quiz! Which of the following activities and conditions can change your body odor?
A. Smoking
B. Drinking alcohol
C. Eating spicy foods
D. Eating cruciferous vegetables (e.g., cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts)
E. Having sex
F. Menstruation
G. Pregnancy
H. Diabetes
I. Stress
The answer is all of them.
I found this out after reading a fascinating study by my esteemed political science colleagues Rose McDermott, Dustin Tingley, and Pete Hatemi. They were interested in explaining why we have a strong tendency to choose long-term mates who are similar to us politically.
In particular, they noted research that shows smell plays a role in both mate selection and political ideology. One line of research indicates a person’s body odor may communicate evolutionary information about the healthiness of her or his immune system and the compatibility of her or his reproductive system with the person sensing the odor. Put simply, attractive odor suggests attractive potential mate.
Another line of research shows smell helps people avoid disease (disgust, anyone?—see previous disgust post 1 and post 2), detect cheaters, and identify potentially dangerous competing groups, all of which are implicated in political ideology.
WOW!
With this science in mind, these scholars had more than 2,000 research subjects smell the body odor of 11 conservative and 10 liberal volunteers that was captured on gauze pads that had been taped for 24 hours under the arms of the volunteers.
The results showed that the research subjects tended to find the body odor of the volunteers who were more politically similar to them more attractive.
Yes, I know, this is a “say what” result. Who, other than these esteemed scholars, would have thought we find the body odor of people with our same political ideology more alluring? But that’s why it’s interesting, and, according to these researchers, this could be one of the multitude of factors that subconsciously nudge us toward a mate with our same political ideology.
SKEPTICAL?
The research team tells an interesting story in the article. During the study, a research subject suggested that one of the body odor samples should be replaced because it had “gone rancid,” while the research subject right after her asked to take the same sample home because she thought the odor was “the best perfume I ever smelled.” The first subject had the opposite political ideology as the volunteer from whom the sample was collected; the second subject had the same political ideology.
To be clear, the effect they found of ideological similarity on body odor attractiveness was quite small and the statistical result was weak, but the researchers are very straightforward about that.
In my mind, this is what science is all about. Smart researchers make an interesting argument and test it with good data. Skeptics then make their own arguments and conduct their own tests to confirm, refine, or reject the initial research and move us closer to true knowledge. I love the give and take of science. Even more so since it gives me yet another reason not to eat Brussels sprouts!
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For more information:
Rose McDermott, Dustin Tingley, and Peter K. Hatemi. Forthcoming. “Assortative Mating on Ideology Could Operate Through Olfactory Cues.” American Journal of Political Science.
In addition to writing the "Caveman Politics" blog for Psychology Today, Gregg is the Executive Director of the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas Tech University. You can find more information on Gregg atGreggRMurray.com.
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