Associative conceptualization is crucial to our understanding of and interactions with our surroundings. Because odors have a strong emotional and episodic memory link, they can form particularly vivid and persistent associations. Wendelin et al. (2023) conducted their study to analyze odor-elicited life stage-associations (OELSA) in seven countries and to determine probable parallels and variations in how different countries conceptualize olfactory perceptions. The authors’ research was based on a 2017 study conducted in Austria. Participants in this study were 1144 people (aged 21–60) from Australia, Austria, Germany, Thailand, Switzerland, the United States, and Vietnam. Participants were given nine different scents (vanilla, lemon, orange, mint, coconut, rose, basil, anise, and hay) and asked to respond with questions on their impromptu associations with life stages. The findings show that OELSA is present in every country under investigation. For instance, youngsters were generally allocated to vanilla across all countries, whereas senior individuals were typically assigned to hay. Even though adults were often linked with the majority of the smells under investigation, notable variations in OELSA were noted among the various ethnic groups. For example, individuals from Vietnam were more likely than participants from any other country to associate coconut with children. In contrast, participants from Australia were more likely than participants from any other country to identify mint with children. The authors conclude that their study shows that there are consistent life stage-related connections induced by particular scents across many cultures and nations. However, the authors also indicate to variations in these correlations throughout the nations. Presently, only speculations can be made as to the possible underlying causes of these behaviors, as the purpose of this experiment was not to determine the reasons for these disparities.
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