Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2026
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Michael Granaas
Abstract
The present study investigates whether the experience of a pleasant-valenced physical stimulus will positively influence performance on a cognitive task. The concept of hedonics is explored as hedonic responses, emotional reactions to stimuli involving feelings of pleasure and displeasure, play a crucial role in various psychological processes. There is a limited amount of literature regarding pleasant smell and its impact on the performance of cognitive tasks. The reported study addresses this limitation by comparing Stroop task performance of participants in two conditions, pleasant scent and neutral scent. These findings add to our understanding of the impact of pleasant smell on cognitive task performance, influencing the design of workspaces and classrooms to support more productivity and efficiency.
Subject Categories
Cognitive Psychology | Human Factors Psychology | Psychology
Keywords
cognitive tasks, hedonics, pleasure, scent, smell, workspace design
Number of Pages
64
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Iqbal, Nafisa Kazi, "EXPLORING THE ROLE OF PLEASURE IN COGNITIVE TASKS" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. 416.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/416