Smell is one of the most desirable evolutionary senses that are essential for our social wellbeing. We often talk of the chicken aroma from the mama's kitchen, the sweet smell of vanilla, the disagreeable body odor of some acquaintances and the stuffy smell of a long-abandoned abode. How about the sharp minty odor of peppermint or the stimulating aroma of Warm black coffee? And for the bibliophiles - the crispy smell of a brand new book versus the attractive but stale smell of old library books!
Authorities in the psychology of smell noted some cultural bias to smell. Each culture gravitates to its own desirable smell based on the cultural interpretation of that smell. For example the Dassanetch of Ethiophia are known to smear cow manure on their bodies because the smell of cattle signals fertility and high status.
That smell, on one hand is capable of elevating moods and arousals, and on the other hand provoke feeling of disgust, depending on the CNS interpretation of the smell is itself interesting.
The other interesting aspect is that the olfactory system is intimately linked with centers responsible for memory. Thus we can associate a perceived smell with some historical place or event in our past through a process of conditioned learning.
Herz RS (2016) recently reported that odors that evoke positive autobiographical memories have the potential to increase positive emotions, decrease negative mood states, disrupt cravings, and reduce physiological indices of stress, including systemic markers of inflammation. And of course, early experience can, as a result of this conditioned learning, make a sweet smelling food smell bad, according to a recent animal study (Rayes & Alkema, 2016).
The implication of these are that the reverse is also true: early conditioning may cause a bad smelling food smell sweet!!!
This leads us to the most interesting aspect, the fact that our senses can be conditioned to sense object as the opposite of their nature. The underlying psychological term is gullibility.
On one hand, it could be beneficial as in tinnitus retraining therapy. On the other aspect it is a tool commonly employed by tricksters to confuse the masses towards their bidding.
According to Christina Valhouli, The human propensity to accept ideas at face value - no matter how illogical - is the fertile soil in which pseudoscience grows. And here we are talking of the pseudoscience of MMM. The believe that in the modern economic reality, people could make 29 per cent gain within 3-4 weeks on a deposit that is not tied to any business investment, simply by convincing others to do so. The speed at which enlightened press have publicized this Ponzi scheme. The widespread embrace of this fraudulent scheme that had collapsed in several countries before making it to Nigeria, and the pathetic fact that those who are supposed to KNOW in the society, doctors inclusive, were running into the scheme hysterically like other gullible populace, is sickening.
Well it is a fact that, for pseudoscience to proliferate requires 2 catalysts : (mis)information explosion and low level of scientific literacy. The press assisted the first. Lack of awareness that conditioned learning from olfactory memory (the smell of success with MMM might have resulted from early conditioning for those chaps embracing it!!) perfectly explains the latter.
So when you hear about MMM, please do reflect on conditioned learning from olfactory memory.
Further Reading
- Curr. Biol., 2016 vol. 26(9) pp. R362-4
- Brain Sci, 2016 vol. 6(3)
- http://www.columbia.edu/cu/21stC/issue-3.4/valhouli.html
