Research Design Connection: Odors, Temperatures, and Food Consumed
Lefebvre and Biswas studied links between environmental odors, perceived temperature, and food consumption. They found via field and lab experiments that, “the presence of a warm ambient odor (e.g., cedarwood) versus a cool ambient odor (e.g., eucalyptus) reduces the amount of calories consumed and also leads to increased choice of lower-calorie food options. This is attributable to established implicit associations formed from the human body’s innate physiological response to changes in ambient temperature. Specifically, exposure to a warm (vs. cool) ambient odor influences perceived ambient temperature, which in turn alters food consumption behaviors…warm (cool) odor leads to perceptions of warmer (cooler) ambient temperature…if restaurants intend to make their customers eat more, a tempting option is to rely heavily on air-conditioning to make the ambience be perceived as colder. The findings of our studies suggest that instead of using more electricity/energy in running the air-conditioners at colder levels, a more effective, …
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