Effects of ambient odors of lavender and cloves on cognition, memory, affect and mood

The effects of the odors of lavender and cloves on three cognitiveskills—memory, affective reaction to the experiment andmood—of college students are studied in two sessions,separated by 1 week. Essential oils of lavender or cloves werediffused throughout the laboratory, or no odor was presented.In the second session, approximately the same number of subjectsfrom each odor condition of the first session influenced arithmeticreasoning in the first session (3 x 3 factorial design). Lavenderadversely influenced arithmetic reasoning in the first session.At the same time, subjects' affective reactions to the experimentwere more favorable with lavender present, though cloves decreasedwillingness-to-return. In the second session, effects on cognitivefunctioning were not evident, and effects on affect were complex:relative to no-odor controls, groups that had odor in at leastone session expressed negative affect and unwillingness-to-return.Discussion concerned implications for the claim that lavenderis physiologically relaxing, the surprising absence of an effectof an effect of odor change on memory, and possible interactionsof odor and personality factors.