Reduced Discriminability following Perceptual Learning with Odours

In this experiment, the effects of prior experience on odour perception and discrimination were explored. Participants repeatedly sniffed a mixture composed of two odours, AX, as well as smelling two further odours alone, B and Y. After this training phase, participants were asked to rate the simila...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perception (London) 2004-01, Vol.33 (1), p.113-119
Main Authors: Case, Trevor I, Stevenson, Richard J, Dempsey, Rochelle A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Discrimination (Psychology) - physiology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Learning - physiology
Male
Middle Aged
Odorants
Olfaction. Taste
Perception
Psychological Tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychophysics
Smell - physiology
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Summary:In this experiment, the effects of prior experience on odour perception and discrimination were explored. Participants repeatedly sniffed a mixture composed of two odours, AX, as well as smelling two further odours alone, B and Y. After this training phase, participants were asked to rate the similarity of the odours A and X, B and Y, and a non-exposed pair C and Z. A and X were judged as significantly more alike than the other pairs. Exactly the same pattern emerged on a second test, in which participants were asked to select the odd odour out of sets of three. It was consistently harder for participants to pick the odd odour when the stimuli were drawn from the AX pair (eg A versus AX versus AX). Not only do these findings demonstrate that prior experience can affect odour perception, a finding not predicted by theories of odour perception based solely upon the physiochemical properties of odours, they also suggest that experience can act to selectively decrease discriminability.
ISSN:0301-0066
1468-4233
DOI:10.1068/p5044