• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.11-24
• /
• 2018

This study was based on previous ones that demonstrate how social exclusion leads to a desire for physical warmth. Research was conducted using odor-induced emotions to predict social exclusion, leading to a pursuit of emotional warmth and avoidance of emotional distance. For this purpose, a preliminary study sought to select odors perceived to be emotionally warm and emotionally distant, after which two experiments verified differences in odor preference between the social exclusion group and the control group. Results indicated that individuals who have experienced social exclusion had a stronger preference for warm odors and a weaker preference for cold odors compared to those who have not been socially ostracized. This study has theoretical value in terms of expanding the social exclusion-induced desire for physical warmth into the emotional dimension as well as examining the avoidance of emotional coldness, which had been overlooked in previous research studies. This also leads to practical implications for comfort foods, character emotions, emotional-space design, and emotions for artificial-intelligence chatbots.