Researchers have found that smelling something reminiscent of an open space can relieve anxiety among people shopping in a crowded store, and vice versa.
197 students were invited to a mock shopping space that was either crowded or arranged in a mostly empty, minimalist design. The subjects shopping in a crowded space reported that smells like the seashore helped relieve the claustrophobia, while those in the less crowded space felt more comfortable when smelling something like firewood, which reminded them of the indoors.
Original research paper published in the the American Journal of Business
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