A study just published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology consisted of 96 women sniffing the clothes worn by their partner, a stranger, and duds not yet worn by anyone.
“Our findings suggest that a partner’s scent alone, even without their physical presence, can be a powerful tool to help reduce stress,” Marlise Hoffer of Florida State University says.
“From a young age, humans fear strangers, especially strange males, so it is possible that a strange male scent triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response that leads to elevated cortisol,” Hofer adds.
So now we know why women like doing laundry.
