Nonconscious Effects of Scent on Cognition and Behavior
Scents have a lasting impact on people’s emotional disposition, behaviour and job performance in several ways. The ability for odours to affect our cognitive thoughts and responses depend on the individual’s experiences with a specific scent stimulus. The study, therefore, seeks to answer the research question as to whether odours have any influence on an individual’s moods and job execution. The research will critically analyze the associative learning perspective to examine the impact of scent on an individual’s behaviours. Associative learning is an essential psychological theory that suggests that ideas and experiences strengthen each other and have a close cognitive connection with each other. Thus, in olfaction, people first experience a particular odour (stimuli) which in turn influence their reactions. Recent studies suggest that scent learning begins during the early stages of pregnancy, whereby the fetus ingest certain flavours from the mother’s diet. Besides, pregnant women consume particular smells, for example, perfumes, washing detergents, spices and cigarette smokes that influence the child’s taste and flavour preference later in their lives. Flavours are a product of scents while taste provides the sensations of whether a specific type of food is sweet, salty or bitter.
Furthermore, the olfactory system (nose and the nasal cavity) have a close link with the emotional nerves and associative learning. The limbic system is an essential part of the brain responsible for emotions and motivation, and the olfactory bulbs are part of the system. Hence, the neurological foundation for the influence of odours on an individual’s feelings and work motivations. Recent studies proved the relationship between sweet scents and pleasant tastes as well as irritating fragrances with negative emotions. Besides, individuals differ on which odours are soft and those that are irritating, and thus the study seeks to propose a new research methodology to consider these disparities. Odours, moreover, influence people’s moods, especially regarding creativity and problem-solving skills. Therefore, sweet scents enable individuals to resolve a specific problem and thus make a sound decision compared to those people exposed to odours they dislike. The research will, therefore, design a suitable experiment to address the slow responses by participants in the third experiment in identifying the specific scent diffused in the cubicles.
Moreover, odours play a significant role in people’s work performance and individuals exposed to pleasant scents while working. Individuals working in spaces with irritating odours are more likely to underperform in their respective jobs. Several literature studies believe that an individual’s moods impact job productivity and thus, pleasant and unpleasant dispositions affect their work performance in the long run. The study will, therefore, add an extra question in the two-page questionnaire asking the participants about the impacts of the odours on their moods after completing the experiments.
The research will adopt a fourth experiment whereby other fragrances apart from the citrus-scented cleaning detergents will act as new scent conditions. The trial will conduct the fourth experiment on the twenty-one participants from the third experiment to determine whether they will be able to identify other scents. The twenty-second participant will not participate in the analysis as he was able to locate the citrus-scented cleaning detergent. The logic behind this new experiment is because the participants have different odour responses and thus depending solely on citrus-scented cleaning supplies will limit the realization of the research objectives. Besides, the researchers will have a rough time drafting sound conclusions. Else, people perceive certain scents depending on past experiences and exposure to the stimulus (odour), and thus some participants may not identify any different fragrances diffused in the cubicles. The lavender and lemon-scented all-purpose cleaners will act as new conditions, and all twenty-one participants will participate in the experiment.
Lastly, the experiment will utilize the go/no-go lexical decision task (LDT) to analyze the participant’s responses to the scent and control conditions. Contrary to the yes/no lexical decision task, the go/no go LDT offers faster reaction time as well as more accurate response. Besides, the go/no-go lexical decision tasks enjoy reduced demands for process, unlike the yes/no LDT. The study will, therefore, adopt a modern LDT to reduce the time taken by participants in responding to the specified conditions, whether control or scented. In conclusion, the review will strive to determine whether odours have any effect on people’s moods and work achievements. The study will experiment with twenty-two volunteers from the third experiment and expose them to four conditions, that is, three scented conditions and one control experiment. Finally, the research will adopt the go/no-go lexical decision task to allow fast responses and correct information from the participants.