No Effect of Ambient Odor on the Affective Appraisal of a Desktop Virtual Environment with Signs of Disorder

Abstract

BackgroundDesktop virtual environments (VEs) are increasingly deployed to study the effects of environmental qualities and interventions on human behavior and safety related concerns in built environments. For these applications it is essential that users appraise the affective qualities of the VE similar to those of its real world counterpart. Previous studies have shown that factors like simulated lighting, sound and dynamic elements all contribute to the affective appraisal of a desktop VE. Since ambient odor is known to affect the affective appraisal of real environments, and has been shown to increase the sense of presence in immersive VEs, it may also be an effective tool to tune the affective appraisal of desktop VEs. This study investigated if exposure to ambient odor can modulate the affective appraisal of a desktop VE with signs of public disorder.MethodParticipants explored a desktop VE representing a suburban neighborhood with signs of public disorder (neglect, vandalism and crime), while being exposed to either room air or subliminal levels of unpleasant (tar) or pleasant (cut grass) ambient odor. Whenever they encountered signs of disorder they reported their safety related concerns and associated affective feelings.ResultsSigns of crime in the desktop VE were associated with negative affective feelings and concerns for personal safety and personal property. However, there was no significant difference between reported safety related concerns and affective connotations in the control (no-odor) and in each of the two ambient odor conditions.ConclusionAmbient odor did not affect safety related concerns and affective connotations associated with signs of disorder in the desktop VE. Thus, semantic congruency between ambient odor and a desktop VE may not be sufficient to influence its affective appraisal, and a more realistic simulation in which simulated objects appear to emit scents may be required to achieve this goal.

Using Ambient Scent to Enhance Well-Being in the Multisensory Built Environment

“…That is, the highest store ratings were documented when the non-Christmas music was presented in the absence of any specific ambient scent. At the same time, however, it is worth bearing in mind here, given that Spangenberg et al (2005) only presented a series of pictures to the participants, other findings suggesting that scents do not have quite the same effect in virtual reality environments (Toet et al, 2013; see also Jiang et al, 2016).…”

“…As well as positively influencing our mood and emotion, it has been suggested that certain semantically meaningful scents are also capable of priming specific behaviors (e.g., Baron, 1990). So, for example, according to the results of a couple of published studies, people engage in significantly more cleaning, and are more likely to pick up rubbish, with a citrus cleaning scent in the air (Holland et al, 2005;De Lange et al, 2012; though see also Toet et al, 2013, for evidence suggesting that scents may have somewhat different effects in virtual environments). Meanwhile, other researchers have reported that the presence of 'clean' ambient scents (a spray of citrus-scented Windex) can also promote reciprocity (in a one-shot anonymous trust game) and charitable behavior (e.g., as assessed by the intention to volunteer; Liljenquist et al, 2010).…”

Should we add smells in simulation training? A systematic review of smells in healthcare-related simulation training

“…To improve the immersive nature of the scenario being practiced, realism is improved by mimicry of the sights, sounds and tactile sensations participants might experience in a real-world scenario, and scenarios are designed to be emotionally realistic. Smell is rarely used during medical simulations, though it has the potential to alter the behaviour of participants,12 16 to further improve simulator validity,1 3 13 to assist in biographical memory formation9 17 18 and to desensitise trainees to strong malodours 7 8 19. We carried out a systematic review of literature relating to the use of smell in medical simulation training.…”

Scenting Entertainment: Virtual Reality Storytelling, Theme Park Rides, Gambling, and Video-Gaming

“…According to Chen (2006): "scents are extremely evocative in the virtual world, they can shift attention, add novelty, enhance mental state and add presence" (p. 580; see also Gallace et al, 2012). That said, one of the key findings from the laboratorybased scent-enabled VR research that has been published to date has been that while unpleasant scents tend to increase immersion, positive and neutral scents often show little effect (e.g., Baus & Bouchard, 2017;Ghinea & Ademoye, 2012;Ischer et al, 2014; though see also Toet et al, 2013). Indeed, according to the title of a 2019 paper by Baus et al: "Exposure to a pleasant odour may increase the sense of reality, but not the sense of presence or realism."…”