Playing Tetris Lets You Rate Odors as Less Intense

Abstract

Overweight and obesity are considered a huge problem in modern societies. Previous studies have shown that people who are regularly distracted by playing videogames or watching TV while eating are more likely to be overweight and that the number of people that are gaming worldwide is rising. Further, it has been established that both, watching TV or playing video games lead to an increased snack intake and a lower rating of perceived taste intensity. Since flavor perception is accomplished not only by the sense of taste but also the sense of smell, we investigated the influence of cognitive load created by playing a video game on odor intensity perception. The participants played a low or high difficulty version of Tetris while presented with odors of food and non-food items. A higher skin conductance response (SCR) along with a decrease in task performance verified that the higher difficulty level leads to a higher cognitive load. Our behavioral data indicates a significant decrease in intensity estimates of food odors and non-food odors during the high compared to low cognitive load condition. We conclude that odor intensity estimation is influenced by real-life cognitive tasks which might in turn lead to overeating while distracted.

The impact of cognitive distraction on gustatory perception in volunteers with obesity

“…Noteworthy, despite the wealth of studies, the understanding of how cognitive load impacts chemosensory perception remains fragmented and ambiguous. Adding to this body of knowledge, a recent study by Schadll et al 13 further substantiated the notion of changes in odor perception under conditions of distraction. Notably, this study advances the field by employing a more ecologically valid approach, utilizing a Tetris game as a means of cognitive load.…”

“…The study employed the Tetris-game paradigm, as detailed by Schadll et al 13 , to serve as the cognitive distraction framework. This framework introduced two levels of cognitive load, categorized as low and high, which were created by varying the speed of falling blocks in the game.…”

“…These findings raise a compelling question: will the known features of taste perception in obesity translate into distinct influences of distraction on the gustatory system in individuals affected by overweight and obesity? To answer this question, we systematically compared changes in perception of taste intensity between participants of different weight status, utilizing an ecologically valid Tetris game as a distraction paradigm 13 . Going beyond perceived intensity, we aimed to investigate how distraction affects the pleasantness of taste perception.…”

The impact of cognitive distraction on gustatory perception in volunteers with obesity

“…Similarly, within the realm of olfaction, Hoffmann-Hensel et al (2017) (8) observed a decrease in the intensity of odors associated with low-caloric foods, while no discernible effect was noted for odors linked to high-caloric foods. Adding to this body of knowledge, a recent study by Schadll et al (2021) (9) further substantiated the notion of changes in odor perception under conditions of distraction. Notably, this study advances the eld by employing a more ecologically valid approach, utilizing a Tetris game as a means of cognitive load.…”

“…The study employed the Tetris-game paradigm, as detailed by Schadll et al (2021), to serve as the cognitive distraction framework. This framework introduced two levels of cognitive load, categorized as low and high, which were created by varying the speed of falling blocks in the game.…”