A Psychological Study on Classification of Fragrances

- Classification of Fragrances by SD Method -

Abstract

Classification of fragrances has not accepted widely, because the range of stimuli was very wide and words of evaluation were a little. This study picked up essential oils, and selected words from prior questionnaire. Purpose of this study was to classify fragrances by psychological method. This study consisted of 2 experiments, A and B. The same materials and procedures were used in both experiments. Subjects were asked to evaluate fragrances by SD(semantic differential) method. In experiment A, a total of 220 subjects were joined and 15 pair words were used. In experiment B, 75 subjects were joined and 18 pair words were used. Cluster analysis and Factor analysis were used for analyzing the data. As a result, in both experiments, 11 clusters and 3 factors were observed, and clusters of citrus fragrances were showed. The factor of “Pleasantness” was showed in the first factor. This factor was common both experiments.