Can sweat smell sweet? A new study suggests that the smell of sweat can actually aid in spreading contagious happiness among people. This is through "chemosignals."
The study was published in the journal Psychological Science. Gün Semin, of the Netherlands' Utrecht University, says that these chemosignals activate a "contagion" of the emotion.
So if someone is happy, their perspiration will infect others around them with happiness. Like smiling, the happiness is "infectious."
In fact, previous studies have proved that sweat can spread negative emotions, due to the chemical compounds contained in them. However, studies like this one are focusing on positive emotions instead.
The Netherlands study included 12 men. All of the subjects were on no medications, non-smokers, and had no psychological disorders.
The researchers asked the study's participants to watch a video clip that created one of three types of emotions: happy, neutral, or fear.
Several Chinese symbols were also shown to the subjects. They were required to rate them based on how pleasant or unpleasant each symbol was.
This process tested "implicit emotion," according to Voice Chronicle. The researchers verified that the video clips indeed triggered certain emotions in the men.
In the study's next stage, 36 women who were non-smokers and lacked psychological disorders were added. They were required to smell sweat samples from each of the three types of emotions experienced by the men.
The researchers recorded the facial expressions of the women to determine how they felt after smelling each sample. When women sniffed the "happy sweat," their facial muscle activity revealed a genuine "Duchenne" smile.
Semin explains that the study's results have wide applications, and particularly in the "odor industry," according to EurekAlert. It is "another step" in understanding how emotions are shared through human sweat.