Effects of a Pleasant Natural Odor on Mood: No Influence of Age

Certain fragrances significantly influence affective and cognitive states in humans as shown not only in the laboratory but also in natural outdoor settings. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of age on the relationship between a complex, natural odor and affective states, i.e., calmness, alertness and positive mood, in the field. The effect of a selected ambient odor on emotional well-being as well as on evaluations of odor intensity and pleasantness was assessed in healthy human subjects and compared with a control condition involving the same outdoor environment without the tested natural odor. The influence of age was studied in three different age groups, i.e., school children, young adults and elderly subjects. Despite overall emotional differences as a function of age, the tested ambient odor compared with the control condition improved subjective ratings of calmness, alertness and positive mood in all groups. Differences were found between age groups in regard to odor pleasantness, but not intensity. We concluded that the beneficial effect of the natural odor on affective states is not constrained by age. Furthermore, we replicated our previous finding that pleasant natural fragrances in outdoor environments improve mood state in humans.