Smells Like Clean Spirit: Nonconscious Effects of Scent on Cognition and Behavior

@article{citeulike:302744, abstract = {Three studies explored whether odor can influence people's cognition and behavior without their being consciously aware of the influence. In two studies, we tested and confirmed that when participants were unobtrusively exposed to citrus-scented all-purpose cleaner, the mental accessibility of the behavior concept of cleaning was enhanced, as was indicated by faster identification of cleaning-related words in a lexical decision task and higher frequency of listing cleaning-related activities when describing expected behavior during the day. Finally, a third study established that the mere exposure to the scent of all-purpose cleaner caused participants to keep their direct environment more clean during an eating task. Awareness checks showed that participants were unaware of this influence. The present studies reveal the nonconscious influence that olfactory cues can have on thinking and doing.}, author = {Holland, Rob W. and Hendriks, Merel and Aarts, Henk }, citeulike-article-id = {302744}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01597.x}, issn = {0956-7976}, journal = {Psychological Science}, keywords = {behavior, cognition, limbic-lounge, odor, olfaction, scent, unconscious}, month = {September}, number = {9}, pages = {689--693}, posted-at = {2005-08-25 10:53:13}, priority = {4}, publisher = {Blackwell Publishing}, title = {Smells Like Clean Spirit: Nonconscious Effects of Scent on Cognition and Behavior}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01597.x}, volume = {16}, year = {2005} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:302744 L3 - citeulike-article-id:302744 TI - Smells Like Clean Spirit: Nonconscious Effects of Scent on Cognition and Behavior JF - Psychological Science VL - 16 IS - 9 SP - 689 EP - 693 PB - Blackwell Publishing SN - 0956-7976 N2 - Three studies explored whether odor can influence people's cognition and behavior without their being consciously aware of the influence. In two studies, we tested and confirmed that when participants were unobtrusively exposed to citrus-scented all-purpose cleaner, the mental accessibility of the behavior concept of cleaning was enhanced, as was indicated by faster identification of cleaning-related words in a lexical decision task and higher frequency of listing cleaning-related activities when describing expected behavior during the day. Finally, a third study established that the mere exposure to the scent of all-purpose cleaner caused participants to keep their direct environment more clean during an eating task. Awareness checks showed that participants were unaware of this influence. The present studies reveal the nonconscious influence that olfactory cues can have on thinking and doing. KW - behavior KW - cognition KW - limbic-lounge KW - odor KW - olfaction KW - scent KW - unconscious AU - Holland, Rob AU - Hendriks, Merel AU - Aarts, Henk PY - 2005/09// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01597.x ER -