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Gender differences in influences of temperament on olfactory reactivity and awareness

Lenka Martinec Nováková1,2, Radka Vojtušová Mrzílková3, Anna Kernerová3,4

  • 1Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, U Kříže 8, Prague 5 - Jinonice, 15800, Czech Republic. lenka.novakova@fhs.cuni.cz.

Scientific Reports
|August 23, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Temperament influences children's sense of smell. Negative affectivity in boys correlated with higher olfactory reactivity and awareness, while girls showed the opposite trend.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Science

Background:

  • Children's olfactory performance is linked to temperament.
  • The relationship between olfactory reactivity, awareness, and temperament in children is not well understood.
  • In adults, negative affectivity is associated with reactivity to environmental odors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the influence of temperamental factors on olfactory reactivity and awareness in children.
  • To control for parenting styles and verbal fluency in the assessment of children's olfactory abilities.
  • To test the hypothesis that higher negative affectivity in children leads to greater olfactory reactivity and awareness.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Children's Olfactory Behavior in Everyday Life (COBEL) questionnaire for olfactory assessment.
  • Employed the short form of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire for parental assessment of temperament.
  • Included 129 children (mean age 6.83 years) in the study, controlling for parenting styles and verbal fluency.

Main Results:

  • The association between negative affectivity and olfactory behavior differed by gender.
  • Boys with higher negative affectivity showed medium to large positive effects on olfactory reactivity and awareness.
  • Girls exhibited a small negative effect, with higher negative affectivity linked to lower olfactory reactivity and awareness.

Conclusions:

  • Temperament, specifically negative affectivity, significantly modulates olfactory reactivity and awareness in children.
  • Gender plays a crucial role in the relationship between negative affectivity and olfactory perception.
  • Further research could incorporate behavioral observations to deepen understanding of these associations.

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