RATING AND RECOGNITION OF PEERS PERSONAL ODORS BY 9-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN- AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY

Eighteen elementary school children assessed the pleasantness and perf umed aspect of familiar peers' odors, sampled through tee shirts worn without modification of hygienic habits. The participants were also re quested to categorize the odors by sex and to recognize those of sever al target classmates varying in sex and socioemotional status (the par ticipant's most preferred classmate vs, a mere acquaintance). The rati ngs of odors by familiar peers appeared consistent with those obtained from nonfamiliar peers and adults and varied according to the sex of wearer of the tee shirts. For the five categories of peers examined, a s well as for the participants themselves, olfactory recognition was b etter than chance. Moreover, it was higher for the same-sex preferred peers than for the others only for the female perceivers. The results are discussed in terms of their behavioral relevance for peer relation ships, focusing especially on Ca) the relations between sex difference s in odors and gender development and (b) the function of olfactory me mory in the emotional regulation of friendships.