Publication Date
Spring 3-23-2026
Presentation Length
15 minutes
College
College of Sciences & Mathematics
Department
Psychological Sciences and Neurosciences, Department of
Student Level
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Michael Oliver
Metadata/Fulltext
Metadata ONLY
Presentation Type
Talk/Oral
Summary
Smell has long been known to be an advantageous evolutionary advantage to humans, aiding in threat detection as well as identifying potential sources of food (Brandt & Hubert, 2025). Furthermore, contemporary research additionally suggests that olfaction can regulate visual attention and help redirect cognitive and perceptual processes upon the identification of salient stimuli (Horberg et al., 2020). This indicates that both vision and olfaction can be involved in attentional capture under the correct circumstances (Fallon et al., 2020). This being said, the relationship between olfaction and maintaining visual attention is still widely unknown. The purpose of the present study is thus to investigate the effects of different odours on visual attention and reaction. This study utilizes a between-subjects experimental design including a non-odour control group, a pleasant-odour experimental group, and an additional aversive-odour experimental group to analyze the effects of different smells on visual attention and reaction on a simple visual reaction time test. Participants will subsequently be asked to qualify their mood using a 5-point Likert Scale upon completion of the protocol in order to account for their subjective experience. The team hopes to find a significant difference between the reaction times of both experimental groups and the control group, as well as with each other. The team hypothesizes that reaction times within the pleasant odour experimental group will be shorter compared to the control group, whereas the reaction times for the aversive odour group will be longer compared to the control group. These findings will help elucidate the impact of environmental olfactory stimuli on visual attention and reaction.
Recommended Citation
Telles Orellana, Daniel I.; Smith, Lily; Thompson, Elle; and Koenigsberg, Ezra, "What's That Smell?: The Effects of Odors on Visual Reaction Times" (2026). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 930.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/930
