Why happiness is infectious: you can actually smell joy

It is said that happiness is contagious and now scientists believe they may know why. For the first time researchers have found that humans can pick up whether a person is feeling joyful through their smell. They found that the odours produced by our bodies can communicate our happiness to others - a phenomenon known as chemosignalling. Chemosignals act as a medium through which people can become 'emotionally synchronised', outside of their conscious awareness. Although chemosignalling had previously been shown to convey fear and disgust, little was known about how it related to positive emotions, the researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands said. For their study, they collected the sweat of 'sender' participants in happy, fearful and neutral states using pads placed under their armpits while they watched different film clips.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11539665/Why-happiness-is-infectious-you-can-actually-smell-joy.html

Brasidas wrote:It is said that happiness is contagious and now scientists believe they may know why. For the first time researchers have found that humans can pick up whether a person is feeling joyful through their smell. They found that the odours produced by our bodies can communicate our happiness to others - a phenomenon known as chemosignalling. Chemosignals act as a medium through which people can become 'emotionally synchronised', outside of their conscious awareness. Although chemosignalling had previously been shown to convey fear and disgust, little was known about how it related to positive emotions, the researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands said. For their study, they collected the sweat of 'sender' participants in happy, fearful and neutral states using pads placed under their armpits while they watched different film clips.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11539665/Why-happiness-is-infectious-you-can-actually-smell-joy.html

Okay, so I have a pretty sharp sense of smell (I can find things in the grocery store by scent) and I've always felt like I can tell what mood someone's in before they even speak. This actually explains a lot.

It makes sense to me Ben.

Brasidas wrote:It makes sense to me Ben.

In fact, I think it might be the only sensical explanation. How many of us always knew when one of our parents was in a bad mood, without even actually having to see them first? You walked into the room and you got that sense.

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Brasidas wrote:It makes sense to me Ben.

In fact, I think it might be the only sensical explanation. How many of us always knew when one of our parents was in a bad mood, without even actually having to see them first? You walked into the room and you got that sense.

I think I get what you mean. My smell is pretty good, not so much today as the weather does not seem right and I have symptoms like a cold at the moment.

Dogs and cats can detect moods pretty quickly, so yes, smell has to be the answer to all these unexplainable insights and not magic or psychic awareness after all.

I'm sure ex military on here would know that when in the jungle a Soldier is told do not put on any after shave or deodorant as the enemy can smell it.That goes for soap as well.

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Brasidas wrote:It is said that happiness is contagious and now scientists believe they may know why. For the first time researchers have found that humans can pick up whether a person is feeling joyful through their smell. They found that the odours produced by our bodies can communicate our happiness to others - a phenomenon known as chemosignalling. Chemosignals act as a medium through which people can become 'emotionally synchronised', outside of their conscious awareness. Although chemosignalling had previously been shown to convey fear and disgust, little was known about how it related to positive emotions, the researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands said. For their study, they collected the sweat of 'sender' participants in happy, fearful and neutral states using pads placed under their armpits while they watched different film clips.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11539665/Why-happiness-is-infectious-you-can-actually-smell-joy.html

Okay, so I have a pretty sharp sense of smell (I can find things in the grocery store by scent) and I've always felt like I can tell what mood someone's in before they even speak. This actually explains a lot.

I can read it in a person's eyes if they're sad or hiding something
I can literally read them and their "story" like a book.

I can smell the difference in air when Autumn is coming and when Spring is coming.

As for my parents well i only have to look at their faces to know what mood they are in , and when they are in a mood it is best not to engage in too much conversation . The best to do is just listen and agree no matter what

eddie wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Okay, so I have a pretty sharp sense of smell (I can find things in the grocery store by scent) and I've always felt like I can tell what mood someone's in before they even speak. This actually explains a lot.

I can read it in a person's eyes if they're sad or hiding something
I can literally read them and their "story" like a book.

Here is a test for you Eddie and here is my score on your very point on eyes:



Your score is 31 out of 36
How did others do on this test?
The average score is 26. But we found that not everyone does the same on this test:

• Women, on average, score half a point higher than men.
  
• Young people under 18 score substantially lower than adults.
  

Test how well you can read emotions of others just by looking at their eyes.


http://socialintelligence.labinthewild.org/mite/



You know we are both good at reading people, so this should be fun.

Enjoy .x