Effect of Odors on Creative Thinking

• Published in: Journal of Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 127 - 132
• Main Authors: Inoue, Sakura, Araki, Norihiro, Kimura, Satoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan 2001
• Subjects: Alternate Uses Test; cognitive function; creative aptitude; creative thinking; divergent thinking; essential oil; odor; orange; peppermint; rosemary; TCT test
• ISSN: 0387-5253; 1884-4146
• DOI: 10.5107/sccj.35.2_127

In this study, we investigated the effects of odors on creation of new ideas by utilizing the Alternate Uses Test. The subjects were asked to write down as many possible uses of empty tin cans as they could conceive in 20min. The purpose was to evaluate the subject's ability to think of new and unconventional ways to use the empty cans. Twelve minutes into the experiment, three test groups were exposed to one of three essential oil odors: rosemary, peppermint or orange. For the control group, odor-free air was introduced. The ideas devised by the subjects were classified into two categories according to the standard TCT test method. “T-type” represents ideas having higher similarity to the original usage of the can. “H-type” represents ideas having lower similarity and higher originality. The effect of odors on idea creation was evaluated by the difference in the number of ideas presented before and after the odor introduction. The test scores of the three test groups were statistically compared with that of the control group. The results demonstrated no differences in the number of “T-type” ideas. On the other hand, subjects exposed to rosemary or peppermint, but not to orange, showed a significantly increased number of “H-type” ideas. This suggests that rosemary and peppermint have some effect on the creation of original ideas. Furthermore, rosemary and peppermint seemed to have greater effect on subjects who had scored low in creative aptitude.