TY - JOUR
T1 - A short version of odor awareness scale (OAS-6)
AU - Rokosz, M.
AU - Pieniak, M.
AU - Marek, D.
AU - Żyżelewicz, B.
AU - Croijmans, I.
AU - Smeets, M.
AU - Oleszkiewicz, A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors
PY - 2024/9
Y1 - 2024/9
N2 - People differ in their awareness of odors in the environment. This metacognitive ability can be measured with The Odor Awareness Scale (OAS). However, the OAS consists of 32 items what makes it difficult to use in research where awareness of odors is not the main variable of interest. This study introduces a shortened version of the OAS. Participants completed either the original OAS (n = 268, 72% women) or the shortened OAS-7 version comprising 7 items selected from the original scale (n = 220, 61% women). Based on the validation analyses, one item has been further deleted due to low factor loading. The obtained OAS-6 showed good psychometric properties as established with: confirmatory factor analysis fit indices (χ2 = 17.30, p = 0.044, CFI = 0.977, TLI = 0.962, RMSEA = 0.065, SRMR = 0.039), high reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.80, McDonald's ω = 0.81), and temporal stability (test–retest correlation after 6 weeks: r = 0.91). The OAS and OAS-6 showed similar correlations with Individual Significance of Olfaction Questionnaire total score and subscales. On average, women scored higher on OAS-6 than men, mirroring the pattern observed in the OAS. In summary, OAS-6 proves to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing odor awareness. Its quick completion time (within 2 min) opens venues for its application in diverse studies exploring metacognitive aspects of olfactory perception, including investigations into the interplay between odorous environments and human health or in clinical research.
AB - People differ in their awareness of odors in the environment. This metacognitive ability can be measured with The Odor Awareness Scale (OAS). However, the OAS consists of 32 items what makes it difficult to use in research where awareness of odors is not the main variable of interest. This study introduces a shortened version of the OAS. Participants completed either the original OAS (n = 268, 72% women) or the shortened OAS-7 version comprising 7 items selected from the original scale (n = 220, 61% women). Based on the validation analyses, one item has been further deleted due to low factor loading. The obtained OAS-6 showed good psychometric properties as established with: confirmatory factor analysis fit indices (χ2 = 17.30, p = 0.044, CFI = 0.977, TLI = 0.962, RMSEA = 0.065, SRMR = 0.039), high reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.80, McDonald's ω = 0.81), and temporal stability (test–retest correlation after 6 weeks: r = 0.91). The OAS and OAS-6 showed similar correlations with Individual Significance of Olfaction Questionnaire total score and subscales. On average, women scored higher on OAS-6 than men, mirroring the pattern observed in the OAS. In summary, OAS-6 proves to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing odor awareness. Its quick completion time (within 2 min) opens venues for its application in diverse studies exploring metacognitive aspects of olfactory perception, including investigations into the interplay between odorous environments and human health or in clinical research.
KW - Assessment
KW - Metacognition
KW - Odor awareness
KW - Odor perception
KW - Psychometric properties
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85190293982&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2024.105192
DO - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2024.105192
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85190293982
SN - 0950-3293
VL - 118
JO - Food Quality and Preference
JF - Food Quality and Preference
M1 - 105192
ER -