Scented memories: Cultural identity and autobiographical recollection through the language of smell in Brazil

Scented memories: Cultural identity and autobiographical recollection through the language of smell in Brazil | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Scented memories: Cultural identity and autobiographical recollection through the language of smell in Brazil Patrícia Gonçalves, Jane Plailly, Carine Savalli, Mirella Gualtieri This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6874674/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Odors are potent cues of autobiographical memory, offering a critical lens into the cultural organization of human experience. We hypothesize that the semantic associations of emotions and life events with specific scents may provide clues about which odors possess the potential to trigger collective memories, thereby reflecting and reinforcing cultural and regional identities. This study investigated the relationship between olfaction, autobiographical memory, and cultural identity in Brazil, a country characterized by profound regional and historical diversity. To explore this mechanism, we developed a self-report questionnaire with thirty open-ended questions inviting participants (N = 1,144) from all five Brazilian regions to describe odors associated with life periods, emotions, and significant people. The corpus for analysis consisted of participants' responses, allowing for a semantic exploration of odor terms and ensuring proportional representation based on regional population density. Frequency analysis revealed a shared Brazilian olfactory signature, primarily marked by recurring references to perfume, coffee, flowers, sea, rain, and wet earth, indicative of a national collective memory schema. Regional differences also emerged, such as maniçoba and cupuaçu in the North, couscous and lavender in the Northeast, chimarrão and barbecue in the South, pequi and pamonha in the Midwest, and wine and night-blooming jasmine in the Southeast. Gender-based differences further reflected social practices and affective meanings (e.g., sunscreen for women, beer for men). This large-scale, interdisciplinary study demonstrates that particular odors act as powerful cultural signatures and behavior markers, essential for understanding the regional organization of memory and identity in the highly diverse Brazilian context. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Learning and memory Anthropology Cultural Studies Psychology autobiographical memories odor-evoked memories cultural heritage olfaction smell content analysis Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformations.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Brazil\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":true,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"autobiographical memories, odor-evoked memories, cultural heritage, 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We hypothesize that the semantic associations of emotions and life events with specific scents may provide clues about which odors possess the potential to trigger collective memories, thereby reflecting and reinforcing cultural and regional identities. This study investigated the relationship between olfaction, autobiographical memory, and cultural identity in Brazil, a country characterized by profound regional and historical diversity. To explore this mechanism, we developed a self-report questionnaire with thirty open-ended questions inviting participants (N = 1,144) from all five Brazilian regions to describe odors associated with life periods, emotions, and significant people. The corpus for analysis consisted of participants' responses, allowing for a semantic exploration of odor terms and ensuring proportional representation based on regional population density. 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This large-scale, interdisciplinary study demonstrates that particular odors act as powerful cultural signatures and behavior markers, essential for understanding the regional organization of memory and identity in the highly diverse Brazilian context.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Scented memories: Cultural identity and autobiographical recollection through the language of smell in Brazil","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":2,"date":"2025-10-20 21:11:21","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6874674/v2","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}},{"code":1,"date":"2025-07-28 08:49:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6874674/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ad61ce41-4f4d-4441-a59c-363213862077","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 20th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":56436828,"name":"Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience"},{"id":56436829,"name":"Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Learning and memory"},{"id":56436830,"name":"Anthropology"},{"id":56436831,"name":"Cultural Studies"},{"id":56436832,"name":"Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-09-08T12:23:22+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-20 21:11:21","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v2","identity":"rs-6874674","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6874674","identity":"rs-6874674","version":["v2"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}