Data from: No effect of ambient odor on the affective appraisal of a desktop virtual environment with signs of disorder

Background: Desktop virtual environments (VEs) are increasingly deployed to study the effects of environmental qualities and interventions on human behavior and safety related concerns in built environments. For these applications it is essential that users appraise the affective qualities of the VE similar to those of its real world counterpart. Previous studies have shown that factors like simulated lighting, sound and dynamic elements all contribute to the affective appraisal of a desktop VE. Since ambient odor is known to affect the affective appraisal of real environments, and has been shown to increase the sense of presence in immersive VEs, it may also be an effective tool to tune the affective appraisal of desktop VEs. This study investigated if exposure to ambient odor can modulate the affective appraisal of a desktop VE with signs of public disorder. Method: Participants explored a desktop VE representing a suburban neighborhood with signs of public disorder (neglect, vandalism and crime), while being exposed to either room air or subliminal levels of unpleasant (tar) or pleasant (cut grass) ambient odor. Whenever they encountered signs of disorder they reported their safety related concerns and associated affective feelings. Results: Signs of crime in the desktop VE were associated with negative affective feelings and concerns for personal safety and personal property. However, there was no significant difference between reported safety related concerns and affective connotations in the control (no-odor) and in each of the two ambient odor conditions. Conclusion: Ambient odor did not affect safety related concerns and affective connotations associated with signs of disorder in the desktop VE. Thus, semantic congruency between ambient odor and a desktop VE may not be sufficient to influence its affective appraisal, and a more realistic simulation in which simulated objects appear to emit scents may be required to achieve this goal.背景：桌面虚拟环境（desktop virtual environments, VEs）正日益被应用于探究建筑环境中环境属性与干预手段对人类行为及安全相关顾虑的影响。针对此类应用而言，用户对该虚拟环境的情感特质评价需与其真实对应场景的评价相一致，这一点至关重要。既往研究表明，模拟光照、音效与动态元素等因素，均会对桌面虚拟环境的情感评价产生影响。由于已知环境气味会影响真实环境的情感评价，且已有研究证实其可提升沉浸式虚拟环境的临场感，因此环境气味或许也可作为调节桌面虚拟环境情感评价的有效手段。本研究旨在探究，暴露于环境气味是否可调节带有公共失序迹象的桌面虚拟环境的情感评价。 方法：受试者在暴露于室内空气、阈下水平的不愉快气味（焦油味）或愉快气味（割草清香）的同时，探索一个带有公共失序迹象（疏于维护、故意破坏公物与犯罪行为）的城郊社区桌面虚拟环境。每当受试者遇到失序迹象时，需报告其安全相关顾虑及伴随的情感感受。 结果：桌面虚拟环境中的犯罪迹象与负面情感感受，以及对人身安全和个人财产的顾虑存在关联。然而，在对照组（无气味组）与两种环境气味条件组之间，受试者报告的安全相关顾虑及情感内涵均无显著差异。 结论：环境气味并未对桌面虚拟环境中与失序迹象相关的安全顾虑及情感内涵产生影响。因此，环境气味与桌面虚拟环境之间的语义一致性，或许不足以影响其情感评价；若要达成此目标，可能需要采用更具真实感的模拟方案，即让模拟物体能够散发出相应气味。