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What does weight stigma smell like? Cross-modal influence of visual weight cues on olfaction

International Journal of Obesity volume 39, pages 1030–1032 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

In a variety of personal and professional domains, heavy individuals face stigma associated with their body size. Here we investigate a new method for subtle detection of the negative perceptions consistent with that stigma. In two studies, participants were asked to view images of heavy and thin individuals while smelling substances that, unbeknownst to them, were odorless. Across both studies, the results showed that the substances were perceived to smell worse when they were paired with images of heavy individuals than when they were paired with images of thin individuals. These findings suggest that perceptions of stigmatized individuals can be assessed indirectly through olfactory responses. More generally, they suggest that the effects of weight stigma are broader than previously recognized.

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted in compliance with American Psychological Association ethical standards for the treatment of human subjects, and the UCLA Institutional Review Board approved all procedures. We wish to thank Barry Schwartz and Laurie Rudman for helpful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript and UCLA’s DiSH Lab undergraduates for assistance in data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    A C Incollingo Rodriguez & A J Tomiyama

  2. Department of Psychology, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA

    A Ward

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  1. A C Incollingo Rodriguez
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  2. A J Tomiyama
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  3. A Ward
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Correspondence to A Ward.

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Incollingo Rodriguez, A., Tomiyama, A. & Ward, A. What does weight stigma smell like? Cross-modal influence of visual weight cues on olfaction. Int J Obes 39, 1030–1032 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2015.14

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