ReviewFrontiers in psychology2020
Using Ambient Scent to Enhance Well-Being in the Multisensory Built Environment.
Review in Frontiers in psychology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 107 citations in OpenAlex.
- Health effects of plants, light, and natural elements of biophilic interventions in confined settings: a systematic review.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Mapping the olfactory mindscape in museums: a grounded theory investigation into smellscape perception and its impact on cultural tourism experience.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Visual Sensory Cues and Customer Experience Management in Coffee Shops: An Experimental Study of Gender as a Moderator.F1000Research · 2026Article
- Olfactory perception and wellbeing across hormonal contraceptive users and menstrual cycle phases.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Exploring neurogastronomy: an analysis using the word association test and free word association.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Effects of multisensory packaging on taste perception, emotional responses, and willingness to pay for chocolate.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Measuring emotions triggered by fragrance through behavioral paradigms.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Neurophysiological study of consumer emotional reactions in a simulated multisensory retail environment.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Article
- Restorative benefits of multisensory experiences in a classical Chinese garden compared to visual experiences only.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Microbial Colonization, Biofilm Formation, and Malodour of Washing Machine Surfaces and Fabrics and the Evolution of Detergents in Response to Consumer Demands and Environmental Concerns.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Nature and human well-being: The olfactory pathway.Science advances · 2024Review
- Nature, smells, and human wellbeing.Ambio · 2023Article
- A Fresh Look on Old Clothes: Laundry Smell Boosts Second-Hand Store Sales.Brain sciences · 2022Article
- Odour hedonics and the ubiquitous appeal of vanilla.Nature food · 2022Review
- A three-factor benefits framework for understanding consumer preference for scented household products: psychological interactions and implications for future development.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2022Review
- Should Panelists Refrain from Wearing a Personal Fragrance Prior to Sensory Evaluation? The Effect of Using Perfume on Olfactory Performance.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Sensehacking the guest's multisensory hotel experience.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Review
- A New Classification of Perceptual Interactions between Odorants to Interpret Complex Aroma Systems. Application to Model Wine Aroma.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- The scent of attraction and the smell of success: crossmodal influences on person perception.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2021Review
- Garden Smellscape-Experiences of Plant Scents in a Nature-Based Intervention.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The majority of the world's population now lives an urban existence, spending as much as 95% of their lives indoors. The olfactory atmosphere in the built environment has been shown to exert a profound, if often unrecognized, influence over our mood and well-being. While the traditionally malodorous stench to be found indoors (i.e., prior to the invention of modern sanitation) has largely been eliminated in recent centuries, many of the outbreaks of sick-building syndrome that have been reported over the last half century have been linked to the presence of a strange smell in the environment. At the same time, however, there is also growing evidence that consumer behavior can be manipulated by the presence of pleasant ambient odors, while various aromatherapy scents are said to improve our mood and well-being. This Anglophone review focuses primarily on indoor western urban developed spaces. Importantly, the olfactory ambience constitutes but one component of the multisensory atmosphere and ambient odors interact with the visual, auditory, and haptic aspects of the built environment. Surprisingly, the majority of published studies that have deliberately chosen to combine ambient scent with other sensory interventions, such as, for example, music, have failed to increase store sales, or to enhance people's mood and/or well-being, as might have been expected. Such negative findings therefore stress the importance of considering multisensory congruency while, at the same time, also highlighting the potential dangers that may be associated with sensory overload when thinking about the effect of ambient smell on our well-being.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.