Abstract
Two psychophysical experiments were made to explore the attribute of “odor” and “pungency” in respect of inhalation time and continuous exposure. Four or three subjects judged perceived intensity of odor and pungency in them. In the first experiment perceived odor intensity increased gradually according as the inhalation time became longer at lower concentration level, but decreased at higher. On the other hand perceived pungency increased extremely at any condition, and the importance of the whole quantity of substances represented as the product of inhalation time and concentration was revealed. These findings suggest the necessity to keep inhalation time of each subject constant on odor bag test. In the second, continuous exposure of odorants caused perceived odor intensity to decrease exponentially, but caused perceived pungency to increase and fluctuate. These results represent that much attention must be paid to the attribute of pungency on estimating continuous exposure of odorants.
