Lavender has been touted as a sleepy-time scent - it is said to help those who have difficulty relaxing or falling asleep - but a new study claims that lavender can affect our perceptions of whom to trust, according to U.K.'s Daily Mail. Researchers think that the calming effect can promote a bond between people, whether they are members of a sports team, business partners or a salesman hoping to make a big commission.
The study, by Roberta Sellaro and Lorenza Colzato from Leiden University in the Netherlands, was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.
The olfactory nerve is connected to the medial prefrontal cortex, which controls the way we trust others, Colzato told Daily Mail.
The researchers used 60 people in their study that were broken into groups that would each test an aroma. One group tested lavender; another, peppermint, and a third did not test a smell.
The study subjects then played a "trust game," according to Daily Mail. One person, the truster, was given five euros and was told he could dole as many as he'd like to a trustee. The truster would get extra money if the trustee gave him back enough money. Researchers were trying to test mutual trust.
The test subjects in the lavender group gave considerably more money to the others in their group.
"Our results might have various serious implications for a broad range of situations in which interpersonal trust is an essential element," Sellaro told Daily Mail. "Smelling the aroma of lavender may help a seller to establish more easily a trusting negotiation to sell a car, or in a grocery store it may induce consumers to spend more money buying products. The smell of lavender may also be helpful in sport psychology to enhance trust and build team spirit, for example in the case of team games such as soccer and volleyball."
