This brief article caught my eye/nose: Perceptions: Another Name Smells Sweeter It seems we not only rate smells with nice names as more pleasant (than the same smell with an unpleasant name) but our brains actually process the experience of those smells differently.
So language which molds association and expectation can actually determine how we process experience biologically as well as psychologically. But of course we know this because this is precisely what placebos do and priming with language or experience is massively powerfully, see: Suggestibility: How to be an Einstein
We teach the vital importance of using language to shape experience on the Uncommon Knowledge hypnotherapy diploma course but the smell study cited above is a great and startling reminder of the power of language.
