Body odor disgust scale (BODS): Its validation and association with social biases

Body odors provide important social and health-related cues in many species. While human body odor perception often triggers feelings of disgust, few studies have investigated body odor disgust in a systematic way. We have developed the body odor disgust scale (BODS), a brief 12-item scale to assess the extent to which individuals are disgusted by common body odors such as sweat and urine. The scale development included both internal and external validation tests. We used the BODS in conjunction with scales measuring social attitudes and biases, and found consistent associations between high body odor disgust and stronger authoritarian attitudes, as well as more pronounced outgroup biases. Our work is consistent with the "behavioral immune system" framework, wherein social attitudes and political ideologies are shaped by perceived pathogen risk and disease avoidance via feelings of disgust. Body odor perception may thus not only be important for personal interactions, but may also be linked to social attitudes and political ideologies.