Personal Hygiene during Covid-19: The influence of odor on visual perception related to hygiene

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of odor on visual perception. Specifically, whether exposure to the scent of deodorant and image context congruency affects visual perception of hygiene. To test this, a visual task was designed. Two groups of participants (experimental vs. control) had to rate perceived cleanliness and dirtiness of two categories of images: shirts (congruent) and dishes (incongruent). Based on prior evidence, it was expected that participants from the experimental group would show higher cleanliness ratings and lower dirtiness ratings of the congruent images after exposure to deodorant, compared to the control group. Contrary to our expectations, the results showed no significant effect of odor nor an interaction effect between odor and image context congruency. The corona pandemic added another angle to this study. The second aim of the study was to collect and compare information about personal hygiene routines before and during the lockdown