> Not all of Dr Sobel’s observations make immediate sense. If the purpose of sniffing is to learn something about the person with whom you have just shaken hand

> Not all of Dr Sobel’s observations make immediate sense. If the purpose of sniffing is to learn something about the person with whom you have just shaken hands then it would be expected that the hand sniffed was the one which did the shaking. That, though, was true only when the shakee was of the same sex as the shaker. Those who shook hands with someone of the opposite sex more often smelled the hand that had not done the shaking. I think I have a hypothesis which fits that observation: when we shake hands with someone of the same sex, we want to evaluate that person, and so sniff his scent; when we shake hands with someone of the opposite sex, we are concerned that we're giving the best impression, and thus sniff her scent. We're subconsciously neurotic. Alternatively, we're not attuned to the pheromones of a member of the same sex, so have to sniff our shaken hand to detect them; meanwhile, we can easily smell those of a member of the opposite sex in the air, and sniff our own scent in order to compare compatibility. Other theories?