Odor's Effect On Transcendental Memory

The links between sensory cues and memory recollection have interested researchers in cognitive psychology over generations. The Proust phenomenon, the link between odors and autobiographical memory, is perhaps the most famous. There has been an increase in research into this phenomenon in the past decades, one notable example being a recent experiment that found significant evidence that odors are particularly effective at aiding autobiographical memory (Chu and Downes, 2002). It is because of this evidence that I would like to test if odor will have a similar effect on semantic memory. If it is found that an ambient odor aids in knowledge retention, then a method could be developed to aid in studying, schooling, and even learning as a whole.

In order to gain insight into this possible connection between semantic memory and the olfactory system, I propose an experiment that will test the effect of a pleasant ambient odor on college student’s scores on a semantic memory test. The independent variable in this test would be the presence of the pleasant ambient odor (or lack thereof) and the dependent variable would be the participants’ scores on the semantic memory tests.

The odor selected would be based on the pretest done in a previous experiment that aimed to test whether olfactory cues have an effect on consumers’ buying behaviors (Spangenberg et. al. 1996). This pretest indicated that, out of five categories, lemon was the most pleasant scent, so a lemony scent would be appropriate for this experiment (Spangenberg et. al. 1996). The semantic test used would involve giving the participants a list of words individually paired with a visual cue to memorize, and then having them recall however many correct pairings as they are