Interrelations of perceptual reports of smell,taste and irritance over the near-threshold range,for members of the N-aliphatic monohydric alcohol series

Many compounds are psychophysically complex because they stimulate all three chemical senses; smell, taste, and irritance.3 Interrelations among these three modalities are reported over the near-threshold range, and comparisons are made for three such compounds; methanol, ethanol, and propanol. Eighteen Ss were tested over 16 sessions each under a range of conditions: a combined task condition that approximated normal drinking, in which thresholds for all three modalities were determined simultaneously, and three conditions, in each of which only one threshold in one modality was determined. Pooled results over Ss gave significant shifts in olfactory thresholds between conditions, whereas changes in gustatory and irritant acuity were less marked. Individual results yielded significant correlations between psychophysical behavior and personality measures. Factor analysis of Ss indicated the existence of subgroups of Ss, each typified by different patterns of relative sensitivity over modalities and over alcohols.