Runninghead:ENVIRONMENTALSCENTS

DoesEnvironmentalScentInfluenceAttractionandMood? AlexisRose HanoverCollege

EnvironmentalScents 2 Abstract Thepurposeofthisstudywastotestwhatroleenvironmentalscentsandmoodhadon interpersonalattraction.Scenthasaneffectonpeoplebyallowingthemtoassociatescentwith emotionalaspectsoftheirlife.Lemonhasbeenfoundtohavethestrongesteffectonpositive emotionsandenergytoproduceimprovedmoods.Moodwasalsotestedbecauseresearch suggestedthatmoodaffectsattractionandscentaffectsmoodthisstudyattemptstoclarifythe relationshipbetweenscent,mood,andattraction.Halfoftheparticipantsweregivenariddle followedbypositivereinforcementtoimprovemood.Then,all participants(N=31)wereshown blackandwhitephotographsof41mundaneobjectsinterspersedwithneutralfaces:21males and21females.Therewerefourconditionstotestthetwoindependentvariables(mood improvedornot,scentpresentornot).A2x2ANOVAunexpectedlyrevealedamaineffectsuch thatparticipantsinthescentconditionratedthefemalefacesaslessattractive.Thestudys hypotheseswerenotconfirmed.Theseresultsarediscussedintermsofthecomplexityofscent, mood,andattraction.Theoreticalandproceduralchangesarerecommendedforfutureresearch.

EnvironmentalScents 3 Foryearsmanysuccessfulretailershavebeenmanipulatingthescentoftheirstoresto improvethemoodsofthecustomerswiththehopesthattheproductswillbecomemore attractivetothem(Spangenberg,Crowley,&Henderson,1996).Thisstudyshowedthatthereis apsychologicaleffectofscentonhumanswhenoneisinthepresenceofapleasantscentthe scentisabletoimprovethemood.AnotherstudybyFullbright(1998)showedthatthereare physicaleffectsofscentonhumansbyhavingthoseinfluencedbyscentundergoamagnetic resonanceimaging(MRI).AnMRIwasusedtomaptheregionsofthebrainthatwereactive.It wasfoundthattherewasactivity in thefrontalregionscausedbypositiveaswellasnegative scentswhichcan belinkedtobrainprocessesintheolfactorynetworks(Fulbright,etal.,1998). Basedonthesetwostudies,itisclearthatsomethingishappeninginthebrainsofindividuals whentheyareinthepresenceofscent.Certainareasofthebrainaretriggeredandcertain associationsaretheresult.However,itisunclearwhatinfluencetheseregionsofthebrainand associationshaveonotheraspectsofdailylife. EffectofScentonMood Howenvironmentalscentsimpactmoodandaspectsofmoodisthetopicofthepresent study.Scentseemstoaffectpeoplebyallowingthemtoassociatescentwithemotionalaspectsof theirlife.Retailstoreshavehadsuccesswiththemanipulationofenvironmentalscentwhen usingpleasantscents,especiallyambientscentsorscentsthatarenotassociatedwithaparticular object,toproduceinterestandthuschangesonesperceptionofthestoreanditsproducts (Spangenberg,Crowley,&Henderson,1996). Thekeyisthatwhenonecouldnotassociatea scentwithaproductasinambientscents,itwasassociatedwitheveryproduct.Alsothisscent beingpositiveisshowntoinfluencethemoodinapositivedirectionbytheassociationmade fromthepositivescent.Spangenbergetal.(1996)foundthatofallthescentsused,lemonhad

EnvironmentalScents 4 thestrongesteffectonpositiveemotionsandenergytoproducethebestoutcome.Whena pleasantscentintheenvironmentwaspresent,measurementsshowedthatmoodimproved.This confirmedthattherewasaneffectofscentonmood. Onestudytestedtheeffectsofscentonmoodbypresentingapleasant,unpleasant,or neutralscenttoeachparticipant.Thenamemorywasprimed.Byprimed,itismeantthata situationwasbroughtupandtheparticipantfreeassociatedoneoftheirownmemories.Itwas foundthatsubjectsinpleasantconditionsproducedasignificantlygreaterpercentageofhappy memoriesthandidsubjectsinunpleasantscentconditions(Ehrlichman&Halpern,1988).Smell inthisstudyshowedadramaticimpactononesemotionsandmemories.Itinfluencedhowthe subjectsthoughtaboutsomethingthathadalreadyoccurred.Theparticipantsopinionsoftheir memorieswereinfluencebythescent.Thereisnoknownlimitastowhateffectscentfromthe environmentcanhaveononesstate.Buttobeclear,scentcansimplyimpactthebehaviorstates becausetheyareassociatedwith,notonlypositiveemotions,butwiththreat,food,and sometimessex(Gottfried,ODoherty,&Dolan,2002). EffectsofScenton Attraction Smellisatremendoushelpforrecognitionofapotentialmate,forhumansaswellas otheranimals.Whenapersonisattractedtoanotherperson,thescentcaninfluencethedegreeof continuingattractiontothatperson.Ifapersonfindsanotherpersonattractiveinterpersonally, scenthasthepotentialtoinfluencetheinterpersonalattractionbyincreasingitwithapleasant scentordecreasingitwithanunpleasantscent.Inhumans,themorelikingofscentthatis associatedwithanotherperson,themorelikelypositiveemotionalaspectsthatareassociated withthatperson(Wrzeniewski,McCauley,&Rozin,1999).Whensomeonewasinthepresence ofapositivescent,heorshereportedthecompanyheorshewaswithasmoreattractivethan

EnvironmentalScents 5 otherswhowereinaneutralscentconditionandnegativescentcondition.Humansfinddifferent thingsattractiveandtherelittleresearchtoexplainwhyhumansfindthethingstheydo attractive,buttwofundamentalelementsofinterpersonalattractionareaveragefacialfeatures andsymmetricalfaces(Rhodes&Zebrowitz,2002).Thisisinterpretedfromevolutionary psychologyperspectiveasbasedonnaturalselection.Itassumedthatthesefeaturesarethe indicationofhealthygenessincethesefaceshaveeverythingintherightplace. Therearemanyotherfactorsthatinfluenceattractionamonghumans.Scentcanonly influencewhatevolutionhasputintoplace.Itcaninfluencehowstronglyonewouldfeel interpersonallyattractedtosomeonewiththesefacialfeatures.Forexample,onestudyfoundthat apleasantscentofapersongreatlyincreasestheirattractivenessevenwhenthepersonisdressed informally.Theappearanceofcleanlinessinfluencedonesthinkingandproducedmanypositive shiftsoftheratingsofthetargetsattitude,attire,andeducation(Baron,1981).Thisisan exampleofhowscentinfluencesappearance.Itwasshownthatforawomanastherater,the influencesareevengreatertowardsthetarget(HerzandInzlicht,2002). EffectsofScenton Behavior Theperceptionofscenthastwomainbehavioraleffects:avoidanceorapproach. Unpleasantscentsproduceavoidance,whilepleasantscentsproducedapproach.Bothleave lastingeffectsonthepersonslikingordislikingofaperson,place,orthing(Fulbright, Skudlarski,Lacadie,Warrenburg,Bowers,Gore,&Wexler,1998).Unpleasantscentproduced avoidanceandledtothedislikingofaperson,place,orthing.Positivemoodsproducedmore interpersonalattraction(ClarkandWaddell,1983).Whenoneisprovokedinamannerwhich leadstodiscomfortandnegativemoods,interpersonalattractiondecreases(GriffitandVeitch,

EnvironmentalScents 6 1971). Itappearsthatmoodaffectsattractionandscentaffectsmood,howeveritmaybethat scentisaffectingmoodonlyandnotnecessarilyattraction. ResearchQuestion Theweightofevidencefrompastliteraturesuggeststhatif scentispresent,behaviors willbeinfluencedmoreby moodthantheywillbeinfluencedby thescent. Thesebehaviors couldbemoodandthatthescentprovokespositiveornegativeemotionsbasedonwhetherone associatesthescentaspleasantorunpleasant.However,bothscentandmoodarehighlycomplex factors.Mostofthisresearchisbasedonassumptions.Theresearcherassumedthatpositive scentpositivelyinfluencesmoodandattraction.Theresearcherwentontoassumethatpositive moodpositivelyinfluencesattraction.Theresearchintheseareasistrickybecauseeventhemost positivescentcancausenegativeassociationsiftoostrong.Evenifsomeoneclaimstobeina goodmood,therearemanydifferentemotionalaspectandmanydifferentassociationsthatrelate tobeingingoodmood.Testingthisarearequiresmanyfactorstoreducetheconfounding variablesassociatedwiththerelationshipbetweenmoodandscent. Totesttheeffectthatenvironmental scentshaveoninterpersonal attraction,KirkSmith andBooth(1987) showedthatisitbesttoallowthescenttoinfluencesomeoneonhisorher ownterms.Minimalintrusionsarethebestandthismeansthatoneshouldnotmakethe participantsoverlyawareofthescent.Whenoneisawarethatheorsheisbeingtestedonthe scent,heorsheismoreawareofthescentandithaslessabilitytoinfluencetheircognitive thoughtprocesses. Basedonpastresearch,itwaspredictedthatascentintheenvironmentwould influencehowparticipantsperceivedobjectsandfaces.Also,moodplaysaroleinwhathumans findattractive.Scent,mood,andattractioninterconnectonsomelevel.Itispredictedthatscent

EnvironmentalScents 7 influencesattractionbyinfluencingthemoodtheindividualexperienceswiththescent.Itisalso predictedthatbecausescentinfluencesinterpersonalattraction throughmood,thereshouldbe littletonodifferentbetweenthemoodoftheparticipantsinthescentconditionandinthemood condition.Thoseparticipantswhoexperienceanincreaseinmoodandareinthepresenceofthe lemonscentshouldhavethehighestratingsofinterpersonalattraction.Thoseinthecontrol shouldhavethelowest. Method Participants AtaliberalartscollegeintheMidwest,32undergraduateparticipants(femalesN=29) volunteeredinthisstudy.Allparticipantswerewhiteandbetweentheagesof18and22.Some oftheparticipantsreceivedextracreditfortheirparticipationandotherswereaskedto participatefromtheexperimenter.Noneofparticipantshaddifficultywiththeirsenseofsmellor haveanymedicalconditionsorallergies.Oneoftheparticipantshadtobedroppedforrefusalto dotheneutralcognitivetaskleavingthetotalnumberofcompletedparticipantsat31(femalesN =28). Materials Thevariablesexaminedweremoodandscent.Thescentusedwaslemon,basedon Spangenberg,Crowley,&Henderson(1996)study.Thisstudyshowedthatlemonhadthe highestpositivemoodoutcomewithoutlossofenergy.Manysmells,likemanyofthepleasant woods,showedadecreaseinenergylevelwhichwouldhindertheparticipantsabilityto performtheactivity.Toensurecontrol,lemoninpureoilformwasaddedtowaterandallowed toevaporateoveraflame.Thirteen dropsplacedinoneounceofwaterusingaclayoildiffuser.

EnvironmentalScents 8 Theapparatuswasplacedinthecenterof thetableandallowedtositfortenminutesbeforethe studybegantoallowthescenttodiffusethroughoutthetestarea. Aslideshow(seeAppendixF)wasviewedthatconsistedof21malefaces(1Hispanic, 10black,and10white)and21females(3Asian,8black,and9white).Thefacesweretakenout ofadatabaseofpreratedfaceswhichwereblackandwhite.Allfaceshadneutralexpressions. Theobjectsphotos,alsoblackandwhite,wereeverydayitemslikeapenorball.Carewastaken tomaketheobjectsasneutralaspossibletopreventconfoundingvariables. Askilledtaskwithpositivereinforcement(seeAppendixC)wasusedtoimprovemood withoutmakingonefeellucky.Thiswasariddleofskilltoallowtheparticipanttofeelsmarter andnotariddleofchancetomaketheparticipantfeelluckier(HillandWard,1989).Afterthe skilledtaskwasgiven,theparticipantsreceivedthepositivereinforcement. Procedure A2x2x3mixedsubjectsdesignwasemployedwiththeindependentvariablesbeing scent(lemonornoscent),mood(positivemoodormoodnotaltered),andpicture(male,female, andobject).Thefourconditionswouldbenoscentandnoskilledtaskwithpositive reinforcement,noscentandskilledtaskwithpositivereinforcement,lemonscentandnoskilled taskwithpositivereinforcement,andlemonscentandskilledtaskwithpositivereinforcement (SeeTable1.). Uponwalkingin,theparticipantreceivedaneutralcognitivetaskwhichwasasimple wordsearch(seeAppendixB)toallowtheirmoodtosettleandtobeinfluencedbythelemon scentifthescentwasbeingmanipulated.Ifthemoodwasbeingmanipulated,ariddlewhich promotedpositiveemotionswasgivenout.Theywereaskedtowritetheanswerdownandthe researchercollectedtheinformation.Becausetherewerealimitednumberofparticipantsin

EnvironmentalScents 9 everyrounditwaseasyfortheresearchertoquicklygothroughthese.Nomatterwhatthe answerwas,theresearcherprovidedpositivereinforcementwhichwasintendedtoimprove mood.Aftertheactivity,theslideshowwaspresented.Theparticipantswereaskedtoratehow muchtheyfoundthepictureattractiveusingthesevenpointLikertScalewith1beingtheleast attractiveand7beingthemostattractive.Moodwasmeasuredaftertheslideshowusingthe PositiveandNegativeAttitudeScale(PANAS,seeAppendixD)totracktheimprovement.This wastomeasuredifferentcharacteristicofmood(strong,upset,orjittery)togetanoverallpicture ofmood.Ituseda5pointLikertscalewith1notatalland5stronglyfeel. Results Photoswereratedona1to7LikertScaleandthenwereaveragedforeachparticipantfor themalephotos,femalephotos,andobjectphotos.Thedatacollectedwasconsolidatedinto threecategoriesofmalefaces,femalefaces,andobject.Thereliabilitycoefficientsofthisdata weremalephotos=0.91,femalephotos=0.92,andobjectphotos=0.95.Twoofthemalefaces hadtoberemovedtoobtainthereliabilitycoefficient.Theratingsofthesetwowereunreliable becauseoftheinconsistenciesoftheratings.Usinga2x2betweensubjectsanalysisofvariance testtherewasnotamaineffectof mood on ratingsoftheobjects,F(1,27)= 0.131,p =.49. Similarly,therewasnotamaineffectofscentonratingsoftheobjects,F(1,27)=1.239, p=.28. Therewasnotamaineffectof mood on ratingsofthemalefaces,F(1,27)= 0.157,p =.70. Similarly,therewasnotamaineffectofscentonratingsofmalefaces,F(1,27)=0.365, p=.55. Therewasnotamaineffectof mood on ratingsofthefemalefaces,F(1,27)= 0.738,p =.40. Therewasamaineffectofscentonratingsofthefemalefacessuchthattheparticipantswho wereexposedtothelemonweremorelikelytoratethefaceslower,F(1,27)=4.41, p> .05(See Table2,Figure1).Therewasnointeractionbetweenmoodandlemon(SeeTable3).The

EnvironmentalScents 10 PANASwasreversedscoresonthefollowingtraits:distressed,upset,guilty,scared,hostile, irritable,ashamed,nervous,jittery,andafraid.Thusasinglescorewasderivedforeach participantwhenthescoreswereaveragedtogether.Therewerenocorrelationsbetweenratings ofmalefaces,femalefaces,orobjectswiththemeanmoodfoundusingthePANAS(SeeTable 4). Discussion Thehypothesiswasnotsupportedbythisstudyandthisstudyconcludedthatscentdid notinfluenceinterpersonalattractionthroughmood.Thisstudyshowedthatscentwasnota positiveinfluenceoninterpersonalattractionandthatmooddidnotinfluenceinterpersonal attraction.Thiswasconcludedbecauseoftheratingsofthefacedidnotincreaseinthepresence ofthelemonscentanddidnotsignificantlyincreasewiththemoodintervention.Thisstudy showedthatscentwasnotinfluencingattractionthroughmoodbecausewhenmoodwas manipulatedtoobtaintheresults,changesdidnotoccur.Withthepredictedhypothesis,there shouldhavebeenpositivecorrelationsbetweentheratingsofthemalefaces,femalefaces,and objectswiththemeanofthemoodwhichwasfoundusingthePANAS.Nosuchcorrelations werefoundusingthedatacollectedduringthisstudy.Allofthisconcludedthatthisstudydidnot supportthepredictedhypothesis. Thisstudyshowedthatwheninthepresenceoflemonscentfemalefacesareperceived aslessattractive.Therecouldbeforanumberofreasons,butthesimplestcouldbethe confoundingvariablesassociatedwithlemon.Lemonisahighlypositivescent(Spangenbergal et.,1996),yettherearemanyassociationswithlemonthatcouldexplainthedecreaseinthe ratingsofthefemalefaces.Forexample,lemonisassociatedwithcleaningandbaking.These aretwohighlystereotypedfemaleactivities.Theparticipantsinthisstudywereeducatedand

EnvironmentalScents 11 couldhavelookeddown ontraditionalfemaleroles.Kane(1995)foundthateducation encouragedchangeinhowfemalessawtheirlessergroupsstatus.Thelemonsmellcouldhave triggeredtheseassociationsandtheparticipantscouldhaveratedthemaslessattractivebasedon theseassociations.Thisstudydoesnotenableonetoconcludethatlemonscentaffectedthe moodoftheindividualsinthescentconditions.Thereforetherecanbenoassumptionmade abouttherelationshipsbetweenmood,lemonscent,andattraction. Implications Environmentalscentresearchfocusesheavilyonretailstoresusingthescenttoimprove customerstripstothesestores(Spangenbergalet.,1996).Althoughthisstudyshowedan increaseintheratingsofobjectswheninthepresenceofthelemonscent,thisratingwasnot significantandtheratingsoffemalesweresignificantlylowerthanwithoutthelemonscent.This impliedthattherecouldbeapositiveinfluenceontheobjectsbeingbought.Yetifthescentthe storeisusinghasconfoundingassociationslikethelemonscentdoes,itcouldcausenegative judgmentamongthecustomers.Thiswouldleadtoanegativeshoppingexperiencewhichthe storesdonotwant.Thislemonscentcausednegativejudgmenttowardsthefemalefaces.This couldmeanthatstereotypingoffemalesintheirtraditionalrolesisstilloccurring. Thelemonoilcouldhavecausedconfoundingvariablesandledtoassociationwith femalesabouttheirroleinsociety.Thisstereotypingismakingthemappearlessattractiveand moreopentonegativeassociations.Howeverbecausetraditionalrolesassumptionscannotbe madebasedonthedatacollectedinthisstudy,allthatcanbeconcludedisthatlemonscentmade femalesappearlessattractivewhichcouldledtonegativeassociationsinastoretowardsfemale shoppersifthelemonscentispresent.However,thisstudywasnotdoneinaretailstore,butina lab,thereforenoconclusionsabouttheimplicationsthatcouldhappeninanenvironmentoutside

EnvironmentalScents 12 alabcanbemade.Allthatcanbeconcludedisthatenvironmentalscentsinthisstudydidhave aneffectonattractionandthusenvironmentalscentsdoinfluencepeople. Limitations Themainlimitationofthisstudywasthelackofdiversityintheparticipantpool.No minoritieswererepresented,theagerangewasnarrow,andtheindividualswereeducatedhaving attendedcollegeinordertocompletethisstudy.Otherlimitationswerethatbothscentand mood,whichhaveacomplexrelationship,producedmorequestionsthananswers.Therewasno wayofknowingifthemoodinterventionimprovedmoodastheresearchsuggests(Hill&Ward, 1989)oriflemonwashavingapositiveaffectontheparticipants(Spangenbergalet.,1996). Therewerenobaselinestakentoensurethatwhatwascollectedwasinthecorrectdirection. FutureResearch Moodandscentarebothhighlycomplexfactors.Forfutureresearchitwouldbewiseto domorewithmoodsuchasdoaPANASrightaftertheneutralcognitivetask.Thiswouldnot onlygiveabaselinetoseeifmoodimproved,butalsoitwouldshowwhichemotionsor characteristicsarebeinginfluenced.Bydoingthis,itwouldallowonetocompareareasofmood thatarebeinginfluencedornotbeinginfluencetoaddsupport.Inthecaseof thefemaleface results,itwouldbeinterestingtoseeifcharacteristicslikestrongorproudarebeinginfluence whichwouldbettersupportthenotionthatfemaletraditionalroleswerebeingassociatedwith thelemonscent.Dutton(1974)studiedmoodandattractiontofindthatheightenedanxietyledto anincreaseinattractioninmalesforfemales.Whensomeonehasmoreanxietytheirmoodisnot improvedbutinthiscaseinterpersonalattractionincreased.Forthefutureothermoodswould needtobestudiedtoseetheaffectsonattraction.

EnvironmentalScents 13 Similarfutureresearchcouldbedonewiththescentintervention.Onlyonescentwas usedinthisstudy.Thisscentwaslemonandasstatedbeforetherearemanyconfounding variablesassociatedwithlemon.Otherscentslikelavendercouldbeusedtohavethepositive effectwithoutthestereotypedgenderrolesinvolved.Also,negativescentshouldbeusedtosee whatinfluencetheyhaveonratingsofattraction.Researchhasmadethatassumptionthat negativesmellsledtonegativeassociationswithattraction(Wrzesniewski,McCauley,&Rozin, 1999).

EnvironmentalScents 14 References Baron,R.(1981).Olfactionandhumansocialbehavior:Effectsofapleasantscentonattraction andsocialperception.PersonalityandSocialPsychologyBulletin,7(4), 611616. Dutton,D.(1974).Someevidenceforheightenedsexualattractionunderconditionsofhigh anxiety.JounralofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,30(4), 510517. Ehrlichman,H.&Halpern,J.(1988).Affectandmemory:Effectsofpleasantandunpleasant odorsonretrievalofhappyandunhappymemories.JournalofPersonalityandSocial Psychology,55(5),769779. Fulbright,R.,Skudlarski,P.,Lacadie,C.,Warrenburg,S.,Bowers,A.,Gore,J.,&Wexler,B. (1998).FunctionalMRimagingofregionalbrainresponsestopleasantandunpleasant odor. AJNRAmJNeuroradio,19(1), 17211726. Gottfried,J.,ODoherty,J.,&Dolan,R.(2002).Appetitiveandaversiveolfactorylearningin humansstudiedusingeventrelatedfunctionalmagneticresonanceimaging.Journalof Neuroscience,22(4),1082910837. Griffit,W.&Veith,R.(1971).Hotandcrowded:Influencesofpopulationdensityand temperatureoninterpersonalbehavior.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,17, 9299. Herz,R.& Inslicht,M.(2002).Sexdifferencesinresponsetophysicalandsocialfactors involvedinhumanmateselection:Theimportanceofsmellforwomen.Evolutionand HumanBehavior,23,359364 Kane,E.(1995).Educationandbeliefsaboutgenderinequality.SocialProblems,42(1),7490. KirkSmith,M.&Booth,D.(1987).Chemoreceptioninhumanbehavior:Experimentalanalysis ofthesocialeffectsoffragrances.ChemicalSenses,12(1),159166. ProductiveAgingLaboratory(n.d.)RetrievedJanuary,8,2006,from http://agingmind.cns.uiuc.edu/facedb/ Rhodes,G.&Zebrowitz,L.(Ed.).(2002).FacialAttractiveness:Evolutionary,cognitive,and socialperspective.Westport,CT:Ablex. Spangenberg,E.,Crowley,A.,&Henderson,P.(1996).Improvingthestoreenvironment:Do olfactorycuesaffectevaluationsandbehaviors? JournalofMarketing,60(2),6780. Watson,D.,Clark,L.,&Tellegen,A.(1988).Developmentandvalidationofbriefmeasuresof positiveandnegativeaffect:ThePANASscales.JournalofPersonalityandSocial Psychology,54,10631070. Wrzeniewski,A.,McCauley,C.,&Rozin,P.(1999).Odorandaffect:Individualdifferencesin theimpactofodoronlikingofplaces,things,andpeople.ChemicalSenses,24,713721.

EnvironmentalScents 15 Table1 Conditions NoCognitive Cognitive Task,No Task, Reinforcement Reinforcement Pleasant Scent NoScent Table2 MeansandStandardError forGroupMeansofConditionandPhotoTypeforallParticipants Mean StandardError MalePhotos Scent 3.128 .228 NoScent 3.303 .180 Improved 3.273 .232 Neutral 3.158 .174 FemalePhotos Scent 3.346 .237* NoScent 3.979 .187 Improved 3.792 .241 Neutral 3.533 .181 ObjectPhotos Scent 2.762 .280 NoScent 3.160 .221 Improved 2.896 .286 Neutral 3.026 .214 Note*equalsp<.05

EnvironmentalScents 16 Table3 MeansandStandardError forConditions Mean StandardError MalesPhotos NoScent 3.416 .240 Neutral NoScent 3.191 .268 Improved Scent 2.901 .253 Neutral Scent 3.355 .379 Improved FemalesPhotos NoScent 3.838 .249 Neutral NoScent 4.119 .278 Improved Scent 3.228 .262 Neutral Scent 3.464 .394 Improved ObjectsPhotos NoScent 3.100 .295 Neutral NoScent 3.220 .330 Improved Scent 2.951 .311 Neutral Scent 2.573 .466 Improved

Table4 CorrelationsbetweenMoodandthePhotographTypesforallParticipants MalePhotos .004 FemalePhotosObjectPhotos .057 .134

Moodasmeasured byPANASScore

EnvironmentalScents 17

4.1 4 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.1 3 Scent NoScent

MeanRatings

Figure1.Whenscentwaspresent,theratingsforthefemalephotoswentdown.

EnvironmentalScents 18 AppendixA UnderstandingPerceptionofObjectsandPeople YouhavevolunteeredtoparticipateinaresearchstudyconductedbyAlexisRosefromthe PsychologyDepartmentofHanoverCollege.Ihopetolearnmoreaboutperception. Ifyoudecidetoparticipatetherearenoknownrisksordiscomforts.Thisexperimentshouldbe completedwithinonehalfhourandyourparticipationbenefitsthePsychologyDepartment,as wellaspotentiallyincreasingourunderstandingofhowpeopleperceivethepeopleandobjects aroundthem.However,Icannotguaranteethatyoupersonallywillreceiveanybenefitsfromthis research.Ifyouareinaclassthatprovidesextracreditforyourparticipation,pleaseinformme andIshallsignyourformonyourwayout. Anyinformationthatisobtainedinconnectionwiththisstudyandthatcanbeidentifiedwithyou willremainconfidentialandwillbedisclosedonlywithyourpermission.Yourinformationwill notbereleasedtoanyoneelseandonlyIandmyadvisor(Dr.Mamberg)willseeyouranswers. Yourparticipationisvoluntary.Yourdecisionwhetherornottoparticipatewillnotaffectyour relationshipwithme,Dr.Mamberg,thepsychologydepartmentorHanoverCollege.Ifyoudo decidetoparticipate,youarefreetowithdrawyourconsentatanytime,foranyreason.Simply letmeknowthatyouwishtodiscontinueparticipationandwewillendtheresearchsession. Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasefeelfreetocontactAlexisRose(rosea@hanover.edu)orDr. Mamberg,8667239(mamberg@hanover.edu). Yoursignatureindicatesthatyouhavereadandunderstandtheinformationprovidedabove,that youwillinglyagreetoparticipate,thatyoumaywithdrawyourconsentatanytimeandthatyou maydiscontinueparticipationwithoutpenalty. PrintName______________________________________________________ Signature_______________________________________________________ Date_______________________

EnvironmentalScents 19 AppendixB COLORS WordSearch

I V Y R R E B P S A R E B M U I

N A T I

V N A C O B A L T L E T E D D S U R C E T I R I

S A P Y R O V I

E V

H W I

N E R R E E L B R

E B M A G E N T A O B A A R L E O Y O Q G G O L D T A S I C E A I V L N U

G G H A V T L I

R O U P U R P L E R U L E V N P A Q U A A E E E E I T L I

H B V T V L Y O I

D T N A S E E I

M E N O E N Y Q L

E A N Y S K R S A R D H E O A E

N R E E H N G A D N M U S T I I

R A C E K E R Y C O R A L C E T P N M K

P D Y K S R C C B E V R A M B E R E D E O O E I O M U S I U A L P A O E A L C M R G F H F L

A A I

E F U R P U L R P

N W D A E A V I

C N S S A R B A B Y B R O W N U L C R E A M K E C A E P U A T E L R A C S D N R U B U A

WORDLIST
Amber Amethyst Apple Aqua Auburn Baby(blue) Beige Black Blue Brass Brick Brown Cobalt Copper Coral Cranberry Cream Ebony Ecru Emerald Evergreen Fuchsia Gilt Gold Green Grey Honey Hunter Ivory Kelly(green) Kohl Lavender Lilac Lime Liver Magenta Mauve Mink Moss Mustard Navy Nude Oak Off(white) Orange Pastel Pea Peach Pecan Pine Pink Puce Purple Raspberry Red Rose Ruby Sable Sand Scarlet Silver Sky(blue) Tan Taupe Teal Titanium Turquoise Umber Violet Viridian White Wine Yellow

EnvironmentalScents 20 AppendixC Somecogsaretigs Alltigsarebons Somebonsarepabs Somepabsaretigs Therefore,cogsaredefinitelypabsTrueorFalse

EnvironmentalScents 21 AppendixD PositiveandNegativeAttitudeScale(PANAS)

Thisscaleconsistsofanumberofwordsthatdescribedifferentfeelingsand emotions.Readeachitemandthenmarktheappropriateanswerinthespace nexttothatword.Indicatetowhatextentyoufeelthiswayrightnow,thatis, atthepresentmoment.Usethefollowingscaletorecordyouranswer.

1 veryslightly ornotatall

2 alittle

3 4 5 moderatelyquiteabit extremely

_______interested _______distressed _______excited _______upset _______strong _______guilty _______scared _______hostile _______enthusiastic _______proud

_______irritable _______alert _______ashamed _______inspired _______nervous _______determined _______attentive _______jittery _______active _______afraid

EnvironmentalScents 22

AppendixE UnderstandingPerceptionofObjectsandPeople Investigator:AlexisRose DebriefingForm Thepurposeofthisresearchistodeterminewhetherthepresenceofascentorachangeinmood enhances interpersonal attraction. It has been demonstratedthat environmental scents can alter interpersonal attraction and this experiment was to test if and what affect mood had on this alteration. In this study we presented you with photos of everyday objects and faces to see if there is a difference in the ratings of the attraction to the pictures in the different conditions (tighten wording). Depending on the condition you were in, we used lemon oil to manipulate the environmental scent and a riddle to manipulate your mood. If there is a difference between participantsratingsdependingonthecontrol versustreatmentcondition,thiscould showthat environmentalscentsalterinterpersonal attractionbyaffectingthemood. Delete or rephrase: This showed that scents did not make one appear more attractive, but it makesothershappierandmoreinclinedtobeattractedtosomeone. Ifyouareinterestedinthisareaofresearch,thefollowingsourcesareavailableatthelibrary: Baron,R.(1981).Olfactionandhumansocialbehavior:Effectsofapleasantscenton attractionandsocialperception.PersonalityandSocialPsychologyBulletin,7(4),611 616. Ehrlichman,H.&Halpern,J.(1988).Affectandmemory:Effectsofpleasantand unpleasantodorsonretrievalofhappyandunhappymemories.JournalofPersonality andSocialPsychology,55(5),769779. Ifyouhaveanyconcerns,orquestionsaboutthisresearch,pleasefeelfreetoaskmenow.In future, you can contact me, Alexis Rose (rosea@hanover.edu), or my study advisor, Dr. Mamberg, 8667239 (mamberg@hanover.edu) at Hanover College. The final results of this study could be found on the psychology department website psych.hanover.edu by this summer. Finally,thankyouagainforhelpinguswiththisresearch.

EnvironmentalScents 23 AppendixF

EnvironmentalScents 24

EnvironmentalScents 25