At a Glance
- A study led by Vivian Zayas at Cornell University found that a person’s scent significantly influences the likelihood of forming friendships, even before meeting someone in person, as shown by “diplomatic odor.”
- The researchers conducted a speed-friending event in which participants rated their friendship potential based on scent collected from T-shirts worn for 12 hours. The results showed that scent predictions aligned with post-interaction feelings.
- This study challenges the belief that appearance or personality are the primary factors in forming social connections, revealing that scent plays a significant role in initial social judgments.
- After face-to-face interactions, participants’ perceptions of each other’s scent changed, suggesting that interactions influence our emotional responses and how we perceive someone’s scent.
- The study underscores the importance of scent in forming social bonds. It offers new insights into how sensory cues influence social judgments and the development of friendships, highlighting the role of emotional memories.
In a new study, researchers have found that a person’s scent plays a significant role in predicting how likely others are to become friends with them. The study, published in Scientific Reports, shows that the scent they give off can influence how potential friends perceive them even before meeting someone in person. The researchers, led by Vivian Zayas at Cornell University, found that “diplomatic odor,” or the unique scent a person develops from daily activities like what they eat or the laundry detergent they use, can be a significant factor in forming friendships.
The team conducted a “speed-friending” event where participants met each other in short, four-minute interactions. Before and after the event, participants were asked to rate their likelihood of becoming friends with someone based on their scent, which was collected from T-shirts the participants wore for 12 hours. Interestingly, the researchers found that judgments about friendship potential based on smell were consistent with how participants felt after interacting face-to-face. In other words, the scent alone helped predict whether the interaction would be friendly.
This study challenges the understanding that physical appearance or personality are the main factors in initial social judgments. The researchers showed that a person’s scent can significantly affect first impressions. The study also revealed that people’s perceptions of each other’s scent could change after the in-person interaction. This shift suggests that our interactions influence our feelings about the person and alter how we perceive their scent afterward.
The study also highlights how emotional memories, which are strongly linked to scent, can influence social decisions. The research suggests that how we smell can play a key role in whether or not we form strong social bonds. This discovery opens up new ways to understand how we make judgments about others, especially in the early stages of friendship. It could also offer valuable insights into how social relationships develop and how we can better connect with people based on sensory cues.
References
- Gaby, J. M., Gunaydin, G., & Zayas, V. (2025). The interactive role of odor associations in friendship preferences. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 11228. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-94350-1
- Blackwood, K. & Cornell University. (2025, April 15). Finding friendship at first whiff: How scent influences our choice of friends. Phys.Org; Cornell University. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-friendship-whiff-scent-choice-friends.html
