The diatonic sound of scent imagery

Abstract

This research investigates crossmodal correspondences between auditory stimuli, specifically musical modes, and olfactory mental imagery, represented by fragrance families. Building on the emerging literature on crossmodal correspondences, it explores different mechanisms that might help to explain these crossmodal correspondences such as their shared connotative meaning and identity-based meaning. The first study evaluated the fragrance families and subfamilies and musical modes and assessed potential mechanisms behind these associations. The second study examined the associations between the musical modes and fragrance families and subfamilies through a matching task. The results reveal consistent matches between different musical modes and corresponding fragrance families and subfamilies, indicating a crossmodal association between auditory and olfactory mental imagery. What is more, major modes were perceived as brighter and less intense, and were more liked than minor modes, with floral and fresh fragrances similarly rated as brighter and more liked than oriental and woody fragrances. These results suggest that crossmodal correspondences between auditory and olfactory stimuli are influenced by brightness, intensity, and hedonic factors. Understanding such crossmodal associations can potentially benefit various fields, including marketing, product design, and those interested in creating multisensory experiences.