An Approach to Work Space Improvement

The purpose of my research is to improve the work environment of my cohort. By using a pleasant aroma, I will be creating data with my participants to answer whether or not having an aroma present will refine or enhance a surrounding for the average artist, whether they’re independent or in a professional work space. 

Investigation and research in regards to the olfactory system started to become a popular subject in science after the 1970s, as tracked by databases like EBSCO and PubMed. Researchers investigate in the neurophysiological functions of olfaction, the relation it has to gustatory stimuli, hedonic responses of various degress (positive vs negative), how the amygdala affects reactions, etc., and each paper is an advancement towards scientific knowledge.

Updated 2.7.20

For this study, I am using neurobiology and neuropsychology to investigate if there is way and means of improvement in the work space of artists, whether they're students or professionals within a high school setting.

To further my investigation, I will be using a single, sweet odor. The smell of baking cookies have a positive connotation. These cookies are to be cooked during the manipulated variable group's work period. I plan to be using my institution's culinary room.

The purpose of this experiment is to investigate and discover the perceptive responses my participants may have in a room with a sweet odor, and to test my hypothesis of whether or not the new variable will create a difference in their work space.

Hypothesis. I hypothesize that if I create cookies around my participants, sweet smells will create positive emotions in my subjects much more to help work productivity, because sweet smells produce a positive, hedonic response.

Assumptions. I'm walking into my research assuming that an artist may be greatly, somewhat or may not even be affected by any sort of sensory perceptions when in a professional study.

Additionally, I'm assuming that my participants' ability to adapt to long-term sensory stimuli will have very little effect on the results I'm seeking with my experiment.

Finalized 6.1.20

For my research, I am proposing an experimental case study in which I will be asking high school art students and high school art teachers to participate. My goal is to solicit a sufficient sample size for my cohort.

Before the experimental case study happens, I will be handing out a consent form to inform and gain consent from my participants. This is necessary for safety, liability and legal reasons.

During the experimental case study, I will have a control variable group and a manipulated variable group. The control group will have no sweet aroma, and the manipulated group will have the sweet aroma. The room will they will be in will be room temperature.

Afterwords, I will be distributing a survey asking if the smell interrupted their thought process. Additionally their perceptions will be measured on a Likert scale of my own making in a survey. This survey will be questioning their comfort during the experimental case study, measured in a psychometric scale from "(0): I hated the smell" to "(5): I noticed and loved the smell".

For more insight on my data collection, see "Data Collection (in-depth)" on this webpage.

Beauchamp, G. K. (2016, October 1). Why do we like sweet taste: A bitter tale? Physiology & Behavior. doi.org

Donohoo, T. (2019, December 7). What Ever Happened to The D.Gray-man Anime? CBR. D. Gray Man

Köster, Egon & De Wijk, Rene. (1991). Olfactory Adaptation. 10.1007/978-3-642-76223-9_10.

These sources are important because they influenced my thinking. Beauchamp's paper explained the essentials to chemosensory and sweet taste. Donohoo's article on the serialized journey for the manga and anime, D. Gray Man, gave an example of an artist struggling in the industry. Köster's paper didn't influence my thinking enough, simply because I did not read it in depth enough.

Olfactory adaption was the ultimate factor I didn't consider in this project.

Olfaction. The scientific term that refers to the sense of, the action thereof, the capacity of smell.

Olfactory System. The system which is used by most vertebrate species to have a sense of smell. It is a unique sensory system which is used to communicate, identify and create memory. With the gustatory system (sense of taste), it is referred to as the chemosensory system as it breaks down chemical compositions and give that information to the brain with transduction.

Olfactory Memory. The collection of smells that the vertebrate brain remembers.

Brain Physiology. The scientific study on the organ called the brain. The organ is responsible for nervous tissue that commands task-evoked responses, senses, movement, emotions, language, communication, thinking, and memory.

Neurology. A branch of medicine that concerns the organic nervous system, including the central system, peripheral system and any other related biological connections.

Neurophysiology. The specific branch of study in neuroscience and physiology that focuses on function of neurology.

Sensory Neurons. Nerve cells within the nervous system responsible for detecting and carrying external stimuli input to the central nervous system to be processed.

Olfactory Sensory Neuron. The nerve cells that detect odorant stimuli.

Cognition. The neurological function that allows a brain to execute high-level actions like sensory input, thinking and experiencing to obtain knowledge and understanding.

Olfactory Adaptation. Also known as nose blindness, the olfactory system becomes fatigued to a specific smell after being exposed for a prolonged period. 

Creation. The act of making, forming, or bringing something forth into existence.

Professional Artist. A person who makes an income out who of their drive to improve and perfect their technique in their artistic field of study. This includes any individuals, contractors, hobbyists, teachers/professors, and so forth who dabble in commercial art, traditional art, and digital art (i.e. logo designing, photography, acrylic painting, graphite drawing).

Art Student. A person who has invested time in formally learning and practicing their desired field of study for the future. Students may be aiming to create and learn commercial art, traditional art and digital art practices.

Hedonic Response. A homeo sapien response to pleasure, specifically with foods and anything associated with it.

(Contextualized) Like. To find agreeable or enjoyable.

(Contextualized) Hate. An intense dislike; the opposite of like.

(Contextualized) Work Space. The chosen space in which a person decides is comfortable enough for their production of art, whether they are working for an income, for an art degree, or an art credit.

Finalized 6.1.20.

My Variables. I have one control and one manipulated variable group. The control group will have no odorant, and the manipulated group will have the sweet and savory odorant. All of my participants will be going through both the control and manipulated groups, and will be receiving the same survey after each process.

My Measurements. To gain data, I will be measuring their perceptions with an original Likert scale. Additionally, they will be asked of any distractions, and periods wherein they needed to leave the room.

Copy of the Official Practice Survey (view only).

The scale.

(0) I absolutely hated being around the smell while I worked.

(1) I didn’t like being around the smell while I worked.

(2) I didn’t notice the smell at all.

(3) I didn’t notice the smell after a short amount of time.

(4) I kind of liked the smell while I was working.

(5) The smell was wonderful and I loved working with it around me.

For the entirety of my process, the biggest setbacks of my project have been:

• [1.2020] Lacking Work Ethic. Procrastination of literature review content.

• [1.2020] What I need. Figuring out which chemical reaction I wanted to use, as I figured I would aim to hit the "create" category within the realm of AP Research papers.

• [2.24.20] Faculty liability; I have access to all I need for my experimental case study within my school. But, in doing so, I would be making my institution liable for any injuries that may be caused with my participants. My best course of action is to rent the room needed. However, this is only a problem if I use a chemical reaction.

• [2.25.20] Ethics. My original idea had been to create a banana oil smell with a chemical reaction. However, the IRB has come to the final conclusion that my procedure was too risky to involve human participants. I'm revamping my manipulated variable, and have decided to use baking.

• [3.12.20] COVID-19. This coronavirus has created a huge limitation on my project's experimental case study. I prepared for my institution's potential shut down, but not as suddenly as now, and not for as long as over 6 and a half weeks.

• [5.5.20] Lack of Data. I could not do my experimental case study. I had to use my practice survey data. The pandemic has created a lack in accountability for my participants. I had just enough data to create a theoretical methods approach for my results.

Practice Survey (view only)

For the first question, 66.7% of my subjects answered “Yes” to feeling joy or discomfort, while 33.3% answered “No” to feeling joy or discomfort.

For the second question, 66.7% of my subjects did not need to leave the room while influenced or not influenced by the aroma of their choice, while 33.3% of my subjects decided that they needed to leave the work space during either the controlled work period or manipulated work period. 

For the psychometric scale question, 11.1% of my simulation subjects chose options “(0) I absolutely hated being around the smell while I worked”, “(4) I kind of liked the smell while I was working”, and “(5) The smell was wonderful and I loved working with it around me”. 22.2% of subjects chose “(1) I didn’t like being around the smell while I worked”, and 44.4%, the majority of subjects, chose “(3) I didn’t notice the smell after a short amount of time.

The images can be seen at the bottom, under this section, and Conclusions.

The Implications of my Project. Overall, the evidence I produced has successfully implied that my hypothesis is wrong. I did not take sensory fatigue into account for my subjects, and I didn’t realize it in time for my research project to be modified with this in mind. In the future, this research project can be modified to further gain understanding of the olfactory system in social settings such as first social impressions, and lasting social impressions.

Future Steps with my Project. More likewise inquiry could potentially be on using baking smells in different scenarios such as relationship bonding, finding a new hobby, or using it as a different type of stress-relief rather than a medium of de-stressing aromatherapy. There are positive perceptions around baking, but the next steps for baking in scientific research is pretty much unknown.

However, including baking has been a pleasant experience, and I would not mind doing it again in another future research project. This paper has given me, as a novice researcher, grounds to start an academic career on; future plans with this project specifically, however, is personally left undecided due to a lack of interest in the odd combination of baking and olfaction from the scientific lens