Odor Perception Is Altered When Odors Are Mislabeled, Even When Participants Are Aware of the Deception

We examined the effects of mislabeling odors on odor perception and cross-modal associations with abstract images. Labels did not affect cross-modal associations, but did influence odor pleasantness, intensity, and familiarity, even though participants were aware that odors were labeled incorrectly, and despite reporting that they were unaffected by the labels.