Food, beverage, and fragrance professionals
Supports ideation and pre-evaluation of sensory profiles before physical testing.
Imagination Type
Olfactory Imagination
Olfactory imagination is your ability to mentally evoke smells without a physical odor present. Tools like the Vividness of Olfactory Imagery Questionnaire (VOIQ) distinguish 'good' (vivid) from 'weak' olfactory imagers using familiarity, emotional processing, and memory—with substantial individual variation even when population-level prevalence data is limited.
Smell imagery is generally weaker and more variable than visual imagery in the general population; odor imagery is often described as a challenging cognitive function. Many people underestimate this dimension because smell gets less explicit attention in school and work.
Even so, smell imagery can be powerful for memory and emotion: the olfactory system connects directly to the amygdala and hippocampus, bypassing the thalamus, so scent can trigger intense autobiographical and childhood recall—sometimes more emotionally vivid than visual recall.
Last reviewed: Feb 16, 2026
Why It Matters
- It strongly supports autobiographical memory: odor imagery retrieves pleasant childhood memories (e.g. under age 10) more effectively than visual imagery in some studies, and evokes intense emotional recall; smell-linked memories are often rated more emotional and concrete, though fewer in number.
- Food and fragrance matter: pleasant fragrances boost happy memory retrieval; food-related smells (e.g. pastries) exemplify Proustian recall of early life. In creative domains—writing, recipe development, perfume—olfactory imagery can evoke multi-sensory, emotionally rich content.
- Individual differences are real: in research, about 78% of participants retrieved autobiographical content via odor imagery; older adults often show stronger effects. Learning odor names improves imagery capacity, and daily exposure (cooking, scent-rich environments) can strengthen it.
The Spectrum: Low to High Vividness
- Lower vividness: Odor recall may feel conceptual rather than sensory.
- Moderate vividness: Familiar scents can be recalled with partial realism.
- Higher vividness: Specific notes and intensity can be mentally reproduced with strong clarity.
Common Signs
- You can quickly recall the smell of familiar places.
- Smell words trigger vivid internal scent impressions.
- You rarely experience any internal scent simulation.
Real-World Examples
- Anticipating flavor from aroma while cooking.
- Using scent cues for autobiographical memory recall.
- Creative writing that relies on sensory atmosphere.
Where This Helps in Real Life
Writers and storytellers
Creates immersive scenes by adding often-missing olfactory detail.
Everyday well-being
Can improve awareness of sensory triggers linked to mood and memory.
Related Psychometric Tools
VOIQ (Vividness of Olfactory Imagery Questionnaire)
Self-report tool that distinguishes vivid from weak olfactory imagers using familiarity, emotional processing, and long-term memory. In studies, 'good' imagers show lower anhedonia and better odor familiarity; substantial individual variation exists.
Psi-Q olfactory items
Multisensory framework for placing olfactory vividness in context with visual, auditory, and other modalities.
How This Dimension Is Measured
- Assessments like the VOIQ use familiar odor scenarios and vividness ratings; they reliably separate vivid from weak olfactory imagers. Research shows that odors difficult to name are also difficult to imagine—so learning scent names can improve how well you perform on imagery tasks.
- Guided imagery by valence and arousal (e.g. pleasant high-arousal like citrus, pleasant low like lavender, unpleasant high/low) has elicited autobiographical imagery in most participants in studies, suggesting structured self-checks work.
- Interpretation benefits from comparing olfactory imagery with other sensory dimensions and from tracking over time; improvements from training are often odorant-specific and may not transfer to all smells.
Common Misconceptions
Myth: Smell imagery is too weak to matter.
Reality: It is often less vivid than visual imagery, but odor imagery strongly supports autobiographical and emotional recall—sometimes more intensely than vision—because smell links directly to limbic areas (amygdala, hippocampus).
Myth: If it is not vivid, it is useless.
Reality: Even low-to-moderate imagery supports recognition, anticipation, and descriptive precision. Training can improve it; improvements are often odorant-specific and benefit from consistent practice (e.g. 10 min daily).
Myth: Olfactory imagery is fixed and can't improve.
Reality: Research shows it is a skill that strengthens with training. Mental imagery practice improves odor detection and identification; wine experts, older adults, and novices have all shown gains with structured protocols.
Ways to Strengthen This Dimension
- Imagine familiar scents without physical exposure: coffee brewing, rain on pavement, a hot croissant. Focus on the aroma for 5–10 minutes daily. Extend to a scenario (e.g. entering your favorite restaurant and tracing scents in the air).
- Scent recall and memory: sniff household items (vanilla, mint, coffee) with eyes closed, name them, then link each to a personal memory (e.g. grandma's kitchen). Later, try evoking the scent from memory alone. A guessing game with 2–3 strong scents (identify blindly, recall after a delay) also helps.
- Smell journaling: after smelling or imagining an odor, note what it evokes, what it's similar to, and any emotions or memories. Track strength of mental recreation over time, starting with easy scents (perfume, lemon) and moving to complex ones.
- Odor naming and imagery: research shows learning the names of common scents (rose, vanilla, coffee, pine) improves capacity to imagine them. Practice naming, then mentally recreate the sensation without smelling.
- Blind essential oils or spices: sniff rose, lemon, cloves, or eucalyptus (or coffee/vanilla) for 10–15 seconds per nostril twice daily, then imagine the scent without smelling. Consistency often shows benefits in 1–4 weeks.
How to Interpret This Carefully
- One score is a snapshot, not a permanent identity.
- Self-report can be influenced by attention, mood, fatigue, and interpretation of prompts.
- Low vividness is not a deficit by default. It often reflects a different cognitive style.
- Single-dimension interpretation is incomplete. Compare across all six sensory dimensions.
Evidence and Sources
This page is educational and grounded in psychometric and sensory imagery research. For methodological details, use the primary sources below.
Explore Related Dimensions
Most people are mixed across senses. Comparing dimensions is often more useful than interpreting one score in isolation.
Visual Imagination
How vividly you can create pictures, scenes, and visual details in your mind's eye.
Auditory Imagination
How vividly you can imagine sounds, voices, music, and acoustic scenes internally.
Gustatory Imagination
How vividly you can imagine taste qualities like sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami.
FAQ
Is olfactory imagery usually weaker than visual imagery?
Yes, in the general population smell imagery tends to be less vivid and more variable than visual; behavioral and physiological studies support that. There is still substantial individual variation—some people have strong olfactory imagery.
Can olfactory imagery be trained?
Yes. Repeatedly imagining odors improves detection and identification, with effects comparable to actual perception training. In one case, accuracy rose from 81% to 96% over 16 days with about 10 minutes daily practice. The piriform cortex (olfactory cortex) activates similarly for real and imagined smell; the skill strengthens with use. Training effects can be odorant-specific, so gains may not transfer to all scents.
How can I test or strengthen my smell imagery?
Quick self-check: learn names of common scents (rose, vanilla, coffee), then try to mentally recreate each without smelling. Or use a valence/arousal frame—imagine pleasant high-arousal (citrus), pleasant low (lavender), unpleasant high (ammonia), unpleasant low (stale)—and notice what memories or sensations arise. Pairing scents with personal memories and journaling what you notice builds capacity over time.
Related reading
Deep dives on imagination, measurement, and using your profile.
What to do next
See how others use their profile in a case study, or take the free assessment to map your full six-sense Imagery Profile.