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Wang and Chang add to the body of literature linking colors and tastes.  They report that their “study takes popcorn packaging as an example to explore the impact of packaging color on consumers' taste perception and preference evaluation. . . . Four experimental package design colors (red, blue, yellow, and white) and three popcorn tastes (sweet, salty, and tasteless) were used. . . . The results of this study indicated that . . . yellow and red packaging are suitable for a sweet product, blue is suitable for a salty product, and white is suitable for a tasteless product.”

Ching-Yi Wang and Fei-Ya Chang.  2022. “The Influence of Packaging Color on Taste Expectations and Perceptions.” COLOR Research and Application, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 1426-1441, https://doi.org/10.1002/col.22812

Naletelich and colleagues studied the different effects of representational and abstract images on consumer thoughts regarding products. They share that “Four experimental studies— including one controlled laboratory experiment and one online behavioral response study—show that when representational imagery is matched with a prevention-focused and abstract imagery with a promotion-focused mindset or framed message, consumer outcomes are enhanced. Further, we find that perceived risk mediates the results for those with a prevention focus and departure from the status quo for those with a promotion focus.”

Kelly Naletelich, Seth Ketron, Nancy Spears, and J. Gelves.  2022. “Using Representational and Abstract Imagery to Create Regulatory Fit Effects.” Psychology and Marketing, https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21736

Allen probed scent-based experiences in New Zealand during COVID-19-related lockdowns.  She determined that “changes in suburban smells signal disruption to daily life as a result of the government’s social and economic pandemic-response measures. For instance, the empty cold smell of the mall usually warm and bustling with activity, conveys the isolation and loss of social connectedness produced by lockdown restrictions. Similarly, the dry smell of concrete dust created by the closure and demolition of a high-street bank reflects the slowing of the national economy. Attention to smell enables insight into new modes of being for residents that involve heightened anxiety around viral contagion and a slower, quieter, environmentally cleaner way of life.”

Louisa Allen.  “What Does Lockdown Smell Like?  Understanding the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Smell.”  The Senses and Society, in press, https://doi.org/10.1080/17458927.2022.2138089

Liu, Wu, and Awan probed how touching products influences attitudes about them.  They found that “Consumers rely on physical touch in offline shopping and vicarious touch (i.e., imagining touch) in online shopping to develop their attitudes toward a product. . . . This study conducted a meta-analysis. . . . In general, relative to not touching, touching had a positive effect on consumers' attitudes toward a product . . . and the effect size was moderate. Furthermore, the positive touch effect was mediated by consumers' cognitive experiences relating to the product and their affective experiences relating to the product. The cognitive path . . . being stronger than the affective path.”

Wumei Liu, Feng Wu, and Tahir Awan.  “Does Product Touch Affect Consumer Attitude Toward a Product?  Meta-Analysis of Effect Sizes, Moderators, and Mediators.”  Psychology and Marketing, in press, https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21766

Laplace and Guastavino studied acoustics in churches. They found that “sound [in churches] acquires ‘a life of its own,’ abstracted from the sound sources, unlike other everyday listening situations where sounds are experienced as pointers to object or agents who produce sound. . . . Church acoustics can also reinforce the impression that sounds are detached from their sources. Sound phenomena acquire a form of agency to directly affect participants’ perceptions, reflections and mood, placing them in a world of its own where time passes more slowly and space functions differently.”

Josee Laplace and Catherine Guastavino.  2022. “Exploring Sonic Experiences in Church Spaces: A Psycholinguistic Analysis.”  The Senses and Society, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 343-358, https://doi.org/10.1080/17458927.2022.2139134

Zhang and colleagues link air temperature and perceived indoor air quality in university classrooms; it seems likely that their findings are also relevant in other contexts.  The researchers found that “Perceived air quality was reduced significantly as indoor temperature increased. . . . Higher outdoor air supply rate is recommended when indoor temperature rises. . . . The subjective evaluations collected during intervention experiments showed that perceived odor intensity by visitors upon entering the room increased significantly, meanwhile the satisfaction and acceptability of air quality reduced considerably at the indoor temperature of 27 °C than that at 24 °C. . . . the calculated CO2 emission rate by students increased by 0.54 L/h per person for every 1 °C rise in indoor temperature. Corresponding to the control target of indoor CO2 concentration of 1,000 ppmv, the outdoor air ventilation rate required to eliminate occupant-generated pollution needs to be increased by 0.25 L/s per person.”

Xiaojing Zhang, Caixia Zhao, Tianyang Zhang, Jingchao Xie, Jiaping Liu, and Nan Zhang.  2023. “Association of Indoor Temperature and Air Quality in Classrooms Based on Field and Intervention Measurements.”  Building and Environment, vol. 229, 109925, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.109925

Mercier and Lubart link enhanced creative thinking to playing board games.  They share that “Games are powerful educational tools, and several early studies have shown the potential of video games and role-playing games to improve creativity. . . . the first study [Marcier and Lubart conducted] showed that the frequency of playing board games was positively correlated with several components of creative potential: divergent thinking, openness to experiences, creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity. . . . the second study demonstrated that playing creative games—requiring the generation of creative ideas—had a beneficial effect on participants' originality, compared to playing noncreative games and a control condition. This result was observed independently of the participants' baseline creative potential. . . . This beneficial effect, obtained after 30 minutes of play, could be used to temporarily improve creative performance, in education or in business.” 

Maxence Mercier and Todd Lubart.  “Board Games Enhance Creativity:  Evidence from Two Studies.”  Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, in press, https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000547

Research on the benefits of gardening continues to accumulate.  Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder report that “the first-ever, randomized, controlled trial of community gardening found that those who started gardening ate more fiber and got more physical activity—two known ways to reduce risk of cancer and chronic diseases. They also saw their levels of stress and anxiety significantly decrease. . . . those who came into the study most stressed and anxious seeing the greatest reduction in mental health issues. The study also confirmed that even novice gardeners can reap measurable health benefits of the pastime in their first season.” Study findings were published in Lancet Planetary Health.

“The Scientific Reasons You Should Resolve to Start Gardening in 2023.”  2023. Press release, University of Colorado Boulder, https://www.colorado.edu/today/2023/01/05/scientific-reasons-you-should-resolve-start-gardening-2023

Speed, Papies, and Majid studied relationships among sensory experiences.  They share that “we found unhealthy food concepts are more strongly associated with gustation [taste], olfaction, and interoception [sensing body signals, such as hunger] than healthy food concepts. . . . unhealthy food concepts were more strongly associated with all perceptual modalities than healthy food concepts. . . . Overall, we find multimodal sensory experience underlies people’s belief that unhealthy food is more attractive than healthy food.” 

Laura Speed, Esther Papies, and Asifa Majid. “Mental Simulation Across Sensory Modalities Predicts Attractiveness of Food Concepts.”  Journal of Experimental Psychology:  Applied, in press, https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000461

Alkaabi and Raza link temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels in cars to driver comfort.  They report that “body fatigue decreased from 4.2 to 2.7 when the average relative humidity is reduced from 37.2% to 24.2%, and the temperature dropped from 41.8°C to 40.0°C. . . . Cabin temperature was found to be a better predictor of driver (dis)comfort than cabin humidity and CO2 levels.”

Khaula Alkaabi and Mohsin Raza. 2022. “Revisiting the Dynamics of Car Cabin Environment and Driver Comfort.”  Frontiers in Built Environment, https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2022.1041305