Self-monitoring and identification of olfactory dimensions

The basic categories of odors are not agreed on. Many classifications of odors have been proposed, but none has met widespread acceptance. The variability among qualitative judgments of odors which makes it difficult to construct reliable classifications may depend on cultural or personal idiosyncrasies. To check personality factors in odor evaluation, we asked 40 subjects, who had previously completed a personality questionnaire, to make qualitative judgments about 10 odors on 10 semantic differential scales. From comparison of two different self-monitoring groups, on the semantic differential, reliable differences did not emerge. While high self-monitoring subjects tended to maintain intermediate positions, for some odors, low self-monitors hazarded more polarized evaluations.