"Perfect Chemistry from the First Meeting"... A Close Friendship Formed by Similar Scents?

Experiment with 20 pairs of men and women aged 22-39 who met for the first time, liked each other, and immediately became same-sex friends

A study has found that people with similar body odors are more likely to become friends.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] A study has found that people with similar body odors are more likely to have a higher level of affection for each other and become friends.

According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a research team led by Dr. Noam Sobel, a neurobiology professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, recently published these findings in the scientific journal Science Advances.

The research team selected 20 pairs of men and women aged 22 to 39 who met for the first time, felt mutual affection, and immediately became same-sex friends as their experimental subjects.

The team took measures to prevent contamination of their body odors, then collected different T-shirts sufficiently imbued with their scents in zipper bags. They then analyzed the chemical components contained in the body odors using an electronic nose equipped with 10 metal oxide sensors.

The results showed that the chemical composition distance between friends’ body odors was closer than that between strangers. Additionally, the more similar the body odors, the higher the mutual affection and the deeper the understanding reported by the participants.

The electronic nose also confirmed that it could predict whether two people meeting for the first time would feel early mutual affection based on their body odors.

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In an experiment where 24 people directly smelled the odors instead of using the electronic nose, the results also showed that friends’ body odors felt more similar than those of randomly paired individuals.

Moreover, the study confirmed that the similarity of body odors could predict in advance whether strangers could become friends. The research team reported that analyzing body odors with the electronic nose predicted “mutual affection” with a 77% success rate, and even in cases where “no affection” was felt, the prediction success rate was 68%.

The research team concluded that there is chemistry in “social chemistry.” They also suggested that humans actively use their sense of smell, similar to other mammals that distinguish friends from foes through scent.

However, the team added that since humans interact using complex language, the effect of body odor in the experiment might have been exaggerated compared to real life.

The team stated, “There really is chemistry in social chemistry,” and “This result suggests that humans, like other terrestrial mammals, use their sense of smell to distinguish friends from foes.”