Study authors:
Bryan Raudenbush, Daniel Felbaum, Justin Schmitt and Kristen Koval, Wheeling Jesuit University

Research Summary
Are you feeling sluggish around the office? Take a whiff or two of scents derived from products you already rely on to get you through the day: Coffee and Chocolate. At the 2007 Conference of the Association for Chemical Reception Sciences, Bryan Raudenbush, Daniel Felbaum, Justin Schmitt and Kristen Koval from Wheeling Jesuit University reported that the scents of coffee and chocolate have a significant effect on enhancing cognition and clerical office work.

Thirty participants were asked to complete a variety of tasks associated with clerical office work. One of the tasks was the completion of a series of cognitive problems measuring visual memory, verbal memory, reaction time, and impulsivity. Participants were also subjected to a typing task, where they were asked to reproduce as quickly as possible, but also as accurately as possible, a short story.

The mock office workers visited the laboratory three times, each time performing the tasks under a different scent condition. These conditions consisted of the presentation of coffee scent or chocolate scent (administered through low flow oxygen via a nasal cannula), and a control condition where only un-scented oxygen was presented.
Upon completion of the clerical tasks, several additional assessments were made, such as the participants’ mood, self-rated measures of workload, and ratings of alertness and fatigue.

Statistical analyses were conducted by controlling the covariates of frequency of coffee and chocolate consumption, preference for coffee and chocolate smells, and preference for coffee and chocolate taste. Typing accuracy was greater when coffee scent was used, as was a significant increase in typing speed words per minute. When chocolate scent was administered, there was a significant increase in visual motor speed information processing and an increase in impulse control. An increase in visual motor speed means you can process visual information more quickly, and thus respond to information more quickly, so you can get your office tasks completed faster. An increase in impulse control also implies that you are less likely to make a mistake on your tasks. It’s a win-win!

So if you want to keep on track with your word processing tasks, keep that cup of coffee next to your computer so you can benefit from the aroma. Or if you need an extra cognitive boost for your Sudoku puzzle, an open box of aromatic chocolates may do the trick.

References
Want to know more about the effects of chocolate and coffee scents? These research articles will help:

Baron, R. A. (1997). The sweet smell of…helping: Effects of pleasant ambient fragrance on prosocial behavior in shopping malls. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(5), 498-502.

Kemmotsu, N. & Murphy, C. (2006). Restrained eaters show altered brain response to food odor. Physiology & Behavior, 87(2), 323-329.

Knasko, S. (1995). Pleasant odors and congruency: Effects on approach behavior. Chemical Senses, 20(5), 479-487.

Kole, A., Snel, J., & Lorist, M.M. (1998). Caffeine, morning-evening type and coffee odour: Attention, memory search and visual event related potentials. In J. Snell and M. Monicque (ed) Nicotine, caffeine and social drinking: Behaviour and brain function. Harwood Academic Publishers, Amsterdam, Netherlands, pp. 201-214.

Laing, D.G. & Clark, P.J. (1983). Puberty and olfactory preferences of males. Physiology & Behavior, 30(4), 591-597.

For Additional Information

Contact:
Dr. Bryan Raudenbush,
Wheeling Jesuit University, Department of Psychology
Wheeling, WV 26003, USA.
raudenbc@wju.edu