The fragrance that makes you seem more trustworthy

Are you hoping to get a more-than-$50 loan from a friend? Or do you want more responsibility at work?

Well, instead of wasting your best tactics of persuasion, you might be better off spritzing yourself with a lavender sent and just asking ‘em straight up.

Um, yeah, lavender. It sounds weird, we know, but apparently there’s some evidence behind it.

Psychologists over at the Leiden Institure for Brain and Cognition conducted a study that suggested the scent of lavender can encourage cooperation.

Here’s how it worked:
Volunteers in the study were involved in a game where they could either keep a sum of money for themselves, or give triple the amount to another person and leave it to them to divide it up amongst the participants. So, they’d need to trust that the complete stranger would be fair and equal with the moolah and not run off on a spending spree.

Now, there were three scenarios in which this took place, with one thing changing each time – the scent in the room (the independent variable, for you science-y folk), which was either lavender, peppermint or nothing. The psychologists found the volunteers tended to hand over money when the air was lavender scented, meaning they felt more certain they would get some of that money back.

Sure, that’s not scientific evidence you can count on, but hey, it’s worth giving it a crack next time you really need something but can’t be bothered arguing your case.

And if you don’t already own a lavender scent, can we suggest one of these trust-inducing bad boys?

Crabtree & Evelyn Lavender Eau de Toilette
L’Occitane Lavender Eau de Cologne
Styx La Provence Eau de Parfum

Do you think a scent can change someone’s perception? Do you wear lavender-based perfumes?