Women exposure to pleasant ambient fragrance and receptivity to a man's courtship request

Abstract

It has been previously found that pleasant scents favored positive social relationships. Nevertheless, the effect of such odor on romantic relationships has never been tested. In a laboratory setting, young women were exposed or not with pleasant ambient odors (croissant) that were spread in a room. Hereafter, in another room without any odor, women were solicited for a courtship request by an attractive young male confederate. It was found that women agreed more often to the confederate's courtship solicitation in the pleasant-smelling condition. Positive mood induced by ambient odors may explain such results. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.