The Air Pollution Experience and Physical Aggression¹

Abstract

Sixty undergraduate males delivered electric shocks to a confederate as punishment for making errors on a learning task. Half did so after being exposed to an aggressive model, whereas the other half did so without being exposed. Shocks were delivered from a room whose atmosphere was either unpolluted or contaminated by a moderately unpleasant odor (ethyl mercoptan) or an extremely obnoxious stench (ammonium sulfide). As hypothesized, the moderately unpleasant pollutant facilitated higher levels of aggression than either the extremely obnoxious one or the absence of pollution. However, contrary to a second hypothesis, pollution facilitated aggression only in the model's absence. The confirmation of the first hypothesis was interpreted as supporting and extending the affect‐aggression model from heat research. It was speculated that disconfirmation of the second hypothesis resulted either from a ceiling effect or from malodor distracting attention away from the aggressive cues of the model. The methodological, theoretical, and applied implications of research on air pollution were discussed.

The Physical Environment and Counseling: A Review of Theory and Research

“…For example, Erlichman and Halpern (1988) found that exposure to unpleasant smells triggered retrieval of unhappy memories, whereas exposure to pleasant smells triggered happy memories. Rotton (1979) found that men behaved more aggressively following exposure to an unpleasant smell than following exposure to a smell-free environment. R. A.…”

De l’odeur à l’impact sur le territoire

“…Les odeurs peuvent induire des effets secondaires, comme des nausées, des troubles de la concentration, de l'appétit, des insomnies et surtout de l'inconfort. De nombreuses études ont montré que l'exposition à des atmosphères malodorantes, bien que non toxiques, affecte, chez un individu, l'évalua-tion des qualités de l'environnement, la sympathie envers les autres et renforce les sentiments d'anxiété, de fatigue et de tristesse (Rotton J. et al, 1979 ;Shusterman, 1992 ;Laing DG. et al, 1994 ;Schiffman, 1998 ;Le Guérer, 1998).…”

Sniffing the mood for cooperation: Personality and odor induced affective states effects

“…Similarly, pleasant smell increased helping behavior, even without a direct request for help, in a study by Guéguen (2001). Rotton, Frey, Barry, Milligan, and Fitzpatrick (1979) performed an experiment in which subjects could punish their partners for making mistakes in a group task. Participants in a neutral odor condition desired to punish their partners to a lesser extent than those surrounded by an unpleasant scent.…”