Endogenous mood state and hedonic responses to pleasant odors

Abstract

AbstractResponses to olfactory cues hold significant practical implications. For instance, emerging research reveals that strategic administration of pleasant olfactory cues can support positive health and well‐being outcomes. The underlying assumption is that pleasantness of odor perception stimulates various downstream benefits. However, olfactory responses vary across individuals and identifying who is most receptive to positive olfactory effects remains an important objective. One key factor may be the perceiver's mood. This study evaluated the association between natural mood state and subjective pleasantness ratings to normatively positive odors. In two experimental sessions, 232 participants with intact olfactory function rated their current mood and the pleasantness of six odorants. Across sessions, individuals with more positive baseline moods rated the odors as being more pleasant than did those with lower baseline mood scores. These findings suggest that individual differences in natural occurring mood should be considered in research examining the positive effects of olfactory cues.Practical ApplicationsPleasant olfactory cues show great potential for interventional research design within sensory science; however, there is little research examining how individual differences may impact the perception and effectiveness of odors. Our data demonstrate that baseline mood state is directly associated with the hedonic perception of pleasant odors. These findings illustrate that individual mood state may be essential to consider for basic research, applied, and consumer sensory panel testing of odor hedonics, and further suggest that inherent mood may influence the degree to which smelling normatively pleasant odors may enhance mental and physical health outcomes.