Does+Perfume+Distract+Males?

Abstract: Our experiment is testing whether or not feminine perfume distracts males. We found 6 participants to take an IQ test. First without perfume, then the next time with perfume sprayed into the air. After the testing was completed, we recorded the results and plugged them into a table and graph. The results showed that feminine perfume does, in fact, distract males.
 * __SMELL vs. DISTRACTION : Does Perfume Distract Males?__**

Purpose: We chose the the topic of Smell vs. Distraction because we wanted to find out if the smell of feminine perfumes distract males. Some background information on perfume itself; Perfume, which is a mixture of fragrant oils or aroma compounds, are used to give both the human body and objects a more pleasant smell. (Perfume, 2012) Most people use perfume to attract/distract the opposite gender."Certain smells can affect a person's mood, thoughts, feelings, and can trigger memories that have a connection to that scent. In order for a scent to elicit any kind of response one would need to figure out how to associate the scent with an event." (Do, 2012) So with the following information in mind, using a feminine perfume will trigger the thought of girls to the male. For an example, when I smell gingerbread I immediately think of Christmas! The smell puts me in a warm, joyful mood. "The chemicals used in a perfume or fragrance are called essential oils (better known as essence). All of these can evaporate very quickly when left open, and are generally gotten from the leaves or flowers of plants. For example, limonene is an essential oil that comes from lemon leaves and gives the familiar 'lemon' smell." ("Everyday ,2012) Knowing that the fragrance will not stay in the air around the male being tested for a longer period of time, the IQ test will need to be shorter. (Perfume, 2012) "Our brains treat the smells from flowers and fruits as attractive, because it often implies that there is good food to be found with them." ("Everyday, 2012) The things they associate the scents with could possibly be the reason that males are distracted by the perfume. (Odors, 2012)For our experiment, we plan to have some boys take a test without perfume being sprayed around them. Then they will be divided and one group will take a test with water sprayed and then the other group will take the same test but we will spray feminine perfume in the testing area, and see how well they do on the test. Essentially, the idea is that the perfume will trigger a thought about a girl, causing the boy to lose focus, on the test that is in front of him.

Hypothesis: If feminine perfume is sprayed around a boy while he is taking a test, then the boy will be more distracted.

Materials: Perfume, IQ tests, pencils, boys, and water.
Procedure:First we will choose 6 random male participants. All 6 male students will take the same IQ test, without anything being sprayed in the air. After we record those scores separately, the 6 participants will take another test in a semi-air controlled environment but this time we will spray perfume into the air . This will determine if our hypothesis, "If feminine perfume is sprayed around a boy while he is taking a test, then the boy will be more distracted," is supported or not.

IV: Perfume DV: Test Results

Data: Perfume || Result w/o Perfume ||
 * Group 1 || Result w/
 * Subject 1 || 4/10 || 6/10 ||
 * Subject 2 || 1/10 || 7/10 ||
 * Subject 3 || 2/10 || 4/10 ||
 * Subject 4 || 3/10 || 6/10 ||
 * Subject 5 || 4/10 || 5/10 ||
 * Subject 6 || 4/10 || 7/10 ||

Analysis: Subject 1 did better when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 2 did better when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 3 did better when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 4 did better when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 5 did better when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 6 did better when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 1 got a score of 4 when perfume was sprayed. He got a score of 6 when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 2 got a score of 1 when perfume was sprayed. He got a score of 7 when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 3 got a score of 2 when perfume was sprayed. He got a score of 4 when perfume was not sprayed. Subject 4 got a score of 3 when perfume was sprayed. He got a score of 6 when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 5 got a score of 4 when perfume was sprayed. He got a score of 5 when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 6 got a score of 4 when perfume was sprayed. He got a score of 7 when no perfume was sprayed. Subject 2 improved the most. He went from a score of 1 to a score of 7. Subject 5 improved the least. He went from a score of 4 to a score of 5.

 Conclusion: Our hypothesis was supported. The subjects did the best without perfume in the air to distract them. The data proves our hypothesis to be right. Since we found that boys are distracted by the perfume we came up with a new hypothesis; If feminine perfume distracts boys, then masculine cologne will distract girls.

Limitations: If we were to do this experiment again, we would do it in a controlled environment where no other smells could be a contributing factor. We would also have a more controlled spray bottle because more might have been sprayed with different subjects. We could have also picked people that were not as smart as the others so that may have messed with our data.

Citations:

Adams, Mike. "Taste Inflation Revealed: Why Sugar, Salt and Fragrance Make You Stupid."Taste Inflation Revealed: Why Sugar, Salt and Fragrance Make You Stupid. Natural News, 18 Oct. 2005. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. .

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">"Do Perfumes Make You Stupid?" Do Perfumes Make You Stupid? Vivien Pomfrey, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.vivienpomfrey.co.uk/parfum/stupid.html>.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">"Do Scents Affect People's Moods or Work Performance?: Scientific American." Do Scents Affect People's Moods or Work Performance?: Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-scents-affect-peoples>.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">"Everyday Chemistry - What Makes Perfumes Smell Nice?" Everyday Chemistry - What Makes Perfumes Smell Nice? Everyday Chemistry, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://humantouchofchemistry.com/what-makes-perfumes-smell-nice.htm>.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">"Odors- Unnecessary Distractions." Odors- Unnecessary Distractions. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.machadoair.com/2010/articles/articleodors.htm>.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">"Perfume." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume>.