This article talks about sexual attraction, with some emphasis on how physical symmetry is a key factor. When it goes on to talk about how people’s smells influence attraction, it includes the results from recent research that:
They follow it up by saying “By now you might be wondering how much of this we’re consciously aware of.” But, actually, I’m more wondering: “Huh?”
Has anyone put forth any mechanism for *how * symmetry might be detectable through scents? This same basic story was referenced in many places, but in none of them did they address this seemingly obvious question.
What the article appears to say is that symmetrical people give off slightly different phermones than non-symmetrical people. This is very different from “smelling symmetry.”
Whether the claim is true and what the difference in those pheromones are I can’t say.
I just read a book that included some stuff about people and symmetry. (Sorry can’t remember the title.)
Basically, people who have all their genes firing right tend to develop symmetrically. If there’s something off somewhere, the body/face will tend to come out asymmetric.
I.e., being symmetric is an effect of good genes. Smelling nice might be an effect of good genes. Ergo, some correlation between symmetry and smell.
Actually I’ve read a different theory that the “symmetry smell” actually just happens to correlate with symmetry but it’s really a “self-confidence smell”. People are subconsciously aware of their own symmetry, and assymetric people are inherently less secure and have lower self esteem (Any psych book discussing body image will cover this).