Psychology: Sniff and Solve; The Role of Aroma in Puzzle Performance

Publication Date

2025

Presentation Length

15 minutes

College

College of Sciences & Mathematics

Department

Psychological Science, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

SPARK Category

Research

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Oliver

SPARK Session

Sensation and Perception (1 or 2)

Presentation Type

Talk/Oral

Summary

Scents have the ability to influence people's way of thinking and doing things. Through the sense of smell, humans can perceive a variety of different objects from the outside world. As individuals go about their day, they are exposed to multiple different odors, all of which can be perceived differently. Previous research has determined that different aromas contribute to individuals' cognition and behavior without the individuals being consciously aware of it (Holland, 2005). Existing literature has also proven that while in the presence of olfaction, individuals' performance on cognitive tasks are significantly enhanced (Ghinhea, 2015). Other research has studied the effects of specific aromas, such as citrus, peppermint and lavender, having different effects on an individual's driving fatigue. Previous research shows that all three odors, peppermint, grapefruit, and lavender, are associated with a significant decrease in all levels of driving fatigue, as well as a significantly lower level of driving fatigue compared to a control group (Jiang, et al., 2024).

While having an aroma present is a significant factor in task completion, the type of aroma is also a factor to consider in productivity of a task. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to assess how different aromas contribute to individuals productivity and task completion. Specifically, how the scent of lavender, citrus and a control group will contribute to individuals' timely completion of a puzzle task. While research is ongoing, we hypothesize that the citrus group will have the fastest average puzzle completion time, followed by the no scent group, and then the lavender scented group will have the slowest puzzle completion time on average. We also hypothesize that the citrus group will say that the scent had a positive effect on their puzzle completion time. The no scent group will say that the scent had a neutral feeling about the scent affecting their puzzle completion time. The lavender scent group will say it had a negative affect on their puzzle completion time. Further details on the results and their implications will be presented upon completion of the study.

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