Abstract
Relationships between physical concentration, perceived pleasantness, and perceived intensity were established by the method of magnitude estimation for 10 diverse chemical stimuli. Estimates of pleasantness significantly correlated with those of intensity for seven of the compounds examined. In all cases, the relationships between perceived intensity and physical concentration were described relatively well by power functions. However, this was not true for the pleasantness/concentration relationships. Intensity exponents correlated moderately with a number of common physicochemical parameters. Large differences were present between individual observer’s ratings of the perceived pleasantness of the odorants. These data indicate that the perceived pleasantness of some odorants may be systematically related to their perceived intensity, but do not support the notion that these dimensions are equivalent.
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This study was supported, in part, by Grant RF 72018 from the Rockefeller Foundation.
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Doty, R.L. An examination of relationships between the pleasantness, intensity, and concentration of 10 odorous stimuli. Perception & Psychophysics 17, 492–496 (1975). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203300
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203300