Rachel Sarah Herz
Encyclopedia
Rachel Sarah Herz is both a psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, and recognized expert on the psychology of smell.
and a MA and Ph.D in the Psychology Department at the University of Toronto
. After completing her PhD in 1992, she won a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC) Post-Doctoral Award and took her research to the University of British Columbia. In 1994, she received the Ajinomoto USA Inaugural Award for Promising Young Scientists and joined the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia as an Assistant Member. In 2000, Rachel Herz joined the faculty at Brown University
, where she first was a member of the Psychology Department and is now a visiting professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, of Brown University Medical School. Since the mid-1990s Rachel has been consulting for many of the world’s leading multinational fragrance and flavor companies and regularly lectures to national and international audiences.
In 2004 Rachel had to change her relationship with Brown University to more limited involvement so that she could pursue other creative enterprises. It was at this time that she began writing The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell. (William Morrow
/Harper Collins Publishers) as well as working on other means to educate and stimulate the general public about the chemical senses. Her commercial ventures include The Educated Palate.
, emotion
and cognition
since 1990. Her research has shown how odor-evoked memory is emotionally unique compared to other kinds of memory experiences, how emotional associations can change odor perception, and how odors can be conditioned to emotions and subsequently influence motivated behavior. Her work also deals with how language can affect odor perception and her laboratory has empirically demonstrated the first instance of olfactory illusions created by words alone. A third area of her research concerns the role of body-odor and fragrance in heterosexual attraction. Theoretically guided by perspectives from cognitive psychology
and evolutionary biology, Rachel uses psychophysical
, self-report, cognitive-behavioral and neurological techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI), to investigate these topics.
exhibit called “Brain: The world inside your head.” She has given numerous interviews, including for: CBC
, “The Science of the Senses”, @Discovery.ca (The Discovery Channel, Canada), The Discovery Channel
USA, ABC Discovery News, ABC News, The BBC, National Geographic, NBC Nightly news, Korean Public Broadcasting, ABC “The Chronicle”, FOX News, National Public Radio, CBS “The Early Show”.
Background
Rachel Herz did an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Biology at Queen’s University in Kingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
and a MA and Ph.D in the Psychology Department at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. After completing her PhD in 1992, she won a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is a Canadian government agency that provides grants for research in the natural sciences and in engineering. Its mandate is to promote and assist research....
(NSERC) Post-Doctoral Award and took her research to the University of British Columbia. In 1994, she received the Ajinomoto USA Inaugural Award for Promising Young Scientists and joined the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia as an Assistant Member. In 2000, Rachel Herz joined the faculty at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, where she first was a member of the Psychology Department and is now a visiting professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, of Brown University Medical School. Since the mid-1990s Rachel has been consulting for many of the world’s leading multinational fragrance and flavor companies and regularly lectures to national and international audiences.
In 2004 Rachel had to change her relationship with Brown University to more limited involvement so that she could pursue other creative enterprises. It was at this time that she began writing The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell. (William Morrow
William Morrow and Company
William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, and sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981. It was sold along to the News Corporation in 1999...
/Harper Collins Publishers) as well as working on other means to educate and stimulate the general public about the chemical senses. Her commercial ventures include The Educated Palate.
Psychology of smell
Rachel Herz has been conducting research on smellSmell
Smell may refer to:* Olfaction, sense of smell, the ability of humans and other animals to perceive odors* Odor, the percept resultant from the sense of smell...
, emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
and cognition
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
since 1990. Her research has shown how odor-evoked memory is emotionally unique compared to other kinds of memory experiences, how emotional associations can change odor perception, and how odors can be conditioned to emotions and subsequently influence motivated behavior. Her work also deals with how language can affect odor perception and her laboratory has empirically demonstrated the first instance of olfactory illusions created by words alone. A third area of her research concerns the role of body-odor and fragrance in heterosexual attraction. Theoretically guided by perspectives from cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
and evolutionary biology, Rachel uses psychophysical
Psychophysical
Psychophysical may refer to:*Psychophysics, the subdiscipline of psychology dealing with the relationship between physical stimuli and their subjective correlates, or percepts...
, self-report, cognitive-behavioral and neurological techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI is a type of specialized MRI scan used to measure the hemodynamic response related to neural activity in the brain or spinal cord of humans or other animals. It is one of the most recently developed forms of neuroimaging...
(fMRI), to investigate these topics.
Selected articles
- Herz, R.S. (1998). Are odors the best cues to memory? A cross-modal comparison of associative memory stimuli. Annals of the New York Academy Sciences, 855, 670-674.
- Herz, R.S. (2000). Scents of Time. The Sciences (July/August), 34-39.
- Herz, R.S., & von Clef, J. (2001). The influence of verbal labeling on the perception of odors: Evidence for olfactory illusions? Perception, 30, 381-391.
- Herz, R.S. (2001). Ah, sweet skunk: Why we like or dislike what we smell. Cerebrum, Vol.3(4), 31-47.
- Herz, R.S., & Inzlicht, M. (2002). Gender differences in response to physical and social signals involved in human mate selection: The importance of smell for women. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 359-364.
- Herz, R.S., Eliassen, J.C., Beland, S.L., & T. Souza. (2003). Neuroimaging evidence for the emotional potency of odor-evoked memory. Neuropsychologia, 42, 371-378.
- Carskadon, M., & Herz, R.S. (2004). Minimal olfactory perception during sleep: Why odor alarms will not work for humans. Sleep, 27, 402-405.
- Herz, R.S., Beland, S.L. & Hellerstein, M. (2004). Changing odor hedonic perception through emotional associations in humans. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 17, 315-339.
- Herz, R.S., Schankler, C. & Beland, S. (2004). Olfaction, emotion and associative learning: Effects on motivated behavior. Motivation and Emotion, 28, 363-383.
- Herz, R.S. (2006). I know what I like: Understanding odor preferences. In J. Drobnick (Ed). The Smell Culture Reader. (pp. 190– 203). Oxford: Berg.
- Herz, R.S. (2009). Aromatherapy facts and fictions: A scientific analysis of olfactory effects on mood, physiology and behavior. International Journal of Neuroscience, 119, 263-290.
Books
- The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell. New York: William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-082537-9.
- That's Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-07647-9
Outreach
Herz's research on sensory memory was on display from 2001-2006 in a traveling Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
exhibit called “Brain: The world inside your head.” She has given numerous interviews, including for: CBC
CBC.ca
CBC.ca is the English-language online service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was introduced in 1996. Under its previous names, the CBC's online service first went live in 1993....
, “The Science of the Senses”, @Discovery.ca (The Discovery Channel, Canada), The Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
USA, ABC Discovery News, ABC News, The BBC, National Geographic, NBC Nightly news, Korean Public Broadcasting, ABC “The Chronicle”, FOX News, National Public Radio, CBS “The Early Show”.