Cross-modal and subliminal effects of smell and color

Abstract

In the present study, we examined whether the cross-modal effect can be obtained between odors and colors, which has been confirmed under olfactory recognizable conditions and also occurs under unrecognizable conditions. We used two flavors of red fruits such as strawberries and tomatoes for this purpose. We also aimed to compare whether similar cross-modal effects could be achieved by setting the flavors at recognizable (liminal) and unrecognizable (subliminal) concentrations in the experiment. One flavor at a normal concentration (0.1%, Liminal condition) and one at a concentration below the subliminal threshold (0.015%, Subliminal condition), were presented, and the color that resembled the smell most closely from among the 10 colors, was selected by participants. Except for the subliminal tomato condition, each odor was significantly associated with at least one color (p < 0.01). Participants selected pink and red for liminal strawberry (0.1%) (p < 0.05), pink for subliminal strawberry (0.015%) (p < 0.05), and orange for liminal tomato (0.1%) (p < 0.05), but there was no color selected for subliminal tomato (0.015%) (p < 0.05). The results of this study suggest that the flavor of tomato produced a cross-modal effect in liminal conditions, but not in subliminal conditions. On the other hand, the results of the present study suggest that the flavor of strawberries produces a cross-modal effect even under subliminal conditions. This study showed that cross-modal effects might exist, even at unrecognizable levels of flavor.