The human capacity to transmit olfactory information

Abstract

Monell Chemical Senses Center and Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Human Communication University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 Previous estimates of the capacity of the olfactory channel are uniformly low. Either olfaction is considerably more limited than vision and audition or its capacity has been underestimated. It was suggested that underestimation may be due to use of stimuli having low levels of information or lack of laboratory training. Here, whole odors from objects were used. Naive Ss performed at levels consistent with earlier reports, and evidenced effects of prior experience in identifying the odors. With training, a much greater capacity than found previously was observed. It appears that the odors of single compounds and objects differ in information, dimensionality, or patterning, much like color patches and pictures or tones and words differ. © 1974 Psychonomic Society, Inc.