Smell and tell: Strategically using odours to facilitate communication during witness interviews
Engelsk titel: Smell and tell: Strategically using odours to facilitate communication during witness interviews
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Författare:
Landström, Sara
;
Magnusson, Mikaela
Email: mikaela.magnusson@psy.gu.se
Språk: Eng
Antal referenser: 28
Dokumenttyp:
Artikel
UI-nummer: 18010336
Sammanfattning
Odours are often identified as effective cues to evoke autobiographical memories. The purpose
of the present experiment was to examine if olfactory exposure during encoding and retrieval
could be strategically used to facilitate recall of information relating to a crime. Ninety-seven undergraduate
students volunteered to participate in a 2 (Encoding: vanilla odour vs. no odour) × 2
(Retrieval: vanilla odour vs. no odour) between-subjects design. Amount and accuracy of reported
details from a news report concerning a rape case functioned as dependent variables. Analyses
indicated no significant effects on the total amount of reported details as a function of odour
exposure. However, the participants who smelled vanilla during memory retrieval achieved, independent
of previous encoding context, significantly higher accuracy rates. Unexpectedly, utilizing
a pleasant vanilla odour during the report phase thus appeared beneficial to enhance the
accuracy of a testimony. Methodological limitations with the experimental paradigm and odour
distribution techniques will be furthered discussed.