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.

研究背景：桌面虚拟环境（Virtual Environments，VEs）正日益被广泛应用于探究建筑环境中环境特质与干预手段对人类行为及安全相关议题的影响。在此类研究中，需确保使用者对桌面虚拟环境的情感特质评价，与其对应真实环境的评价趋于一致，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中的临场感，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。

研究方法：受试者在探索代表带有公共失序迹象（失修破败、蓄意破坏公物与犯罪行为）的郊区社区的桌面虚拟环境时，分别暴露于室内空气、阈下浓度的不愉快气味（焦油味）或愉悦气味（修剪过的青草味）中。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体验。

研究结果：桌面虚拟环境中的犯罪迹象与负面情感体验以及对人身安全、个人财产的顾虑呈显著相关。然而，对照组（无气味条件）与两种环境气味条件下，受试者报告的安全相关顾虑与情感内涵均无显著差异。

研究结论：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。由此可见，环境气味与桌面虚拟环境间的语义一致性，或不足以对其情感评价产生影响，若要实现该目标，或许需要采用更具真实感的模拟方案——即让虚拟物体能够释放相应气味。