Abstract
A previous study has shown that the degree of trust into others might be biased by inducing either a more “inclusive” or a more “exclusive” cognitive-control mode. Here, we investigated whether the degree of interpersonal trust can be biased by environmental factors, such as odors, that are likely to impact cognitive-control states. Arousing olfactory fragrances (e.g., peppermint) are supposed to induce a more exclusive, and calming olfactory fragrances (e.g., lavender) a more inclusive state. Participants performed the Trust Game, which provides an index of interpersonal trust by assessing the money units one participant (the trustor) transfers to another participant (the trustee), while being exposed to either peppermint or lavender aroma. All participants played the role of trustor. As expected, participants transferred significantly more money to the alleged trustee in the lavender as compared to the peppermint and control (no aroma) conditions. This observation might have various serious implications for a broad range of situations in which interpersonal trust is an essential element, such as cooperation (e.g., mixed-motives situations), bargaining and negotiation, consumer behavior, and group performance.
Highlights
Interpersonal trust is one of the most important determinants of initiating, forming, and maintaining social relationships (Balliet and Van Lange, 2013)
To assess the effect of Frontiers in Psychology | Cognition aroma, trust scores were submitted to a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with condition (Lavender, Peppermint, Control) as between-subjects factor
Fisher LSD post hoc tests showed that participants in the lavender-scented room transferred more money to the trustee (M = 3.90, SD = 125.5) than participants in both the peppermintscented room (M = 3.23, SD = 115.0) [95% CI = (7.48, 125.85), p = 0.03], and the non-scented room (M = 3.20, SD = 104.5) [95% CI = (11.08, 129.45), p = 0.02], whose performance was comparable [95% CI = (−55.59, 62.79), p = 0.90]
Summary
Interpersonal trust is one of the most important determinants of initiating, forming, and maintaining social relationships (Balliet and Van Lange, 2013). As it facilitates important social behaviors, such as social bonding and cooperative behavior, it is often regarded as the social glue of society (Pruit and Kimmel, 1977; Yamagishi, 1986; Grovier, 1997; Van Lange et al, 2011). Increasing our knowledge about the factors that influence interpersonal trust is crucial for a better understanding of social life. More recent studies have demonstrated that interpersonal trust increases by administering the food supplement L-Tryptophan, the biochemical precursor of serotonin (Colzato et al, 2013), and the neuropeptide oxytocin (Kosfeld et al, 2005). Tops et al (2013) reported trust scores to increase with salivary oxytocin levels under conditions of social novelty, but to decrease with such levels under conditions of social familiarity
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