"The reason why nostalgic participants were more empathetic could be that they learned to be empathetic in the presence of the scent of Vicks, just like their mom was to them when they were sick as children," said Hirsch.
In the study, 100 participants were asked to react to seven different real-life situations designed to elicit empathy. Participants wrote their responses to those situations, while being alternately exposed to a non- scented tissue and Puffs Plus with the scent of Vicks.
Each response was then independently scored based on how empathetic it was. Responses written in the presence of the scent of Vicks were separated from responses written without exposure to the scent.
Tabulated results showed that in the presence of the Vicks scent, participants reacted more empathetically than when they didn't have the scent stimulus.
Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Ltd
marketing@alchempro.com
