A quasi-randomised pilot study on the efficacy and perceived usefulness of adding chemosignals to mindfulness practice for women with social anxiety.

ABSTRACT: Body odours (BOs) of individuals in specific emotional states can influence receivers' responses - referred to as an emotional contagion. To investigate the potential of BOs to enhance the effects of mindfulness practice, this quasi-randomised pilot study tested the hypothesis that participants exposed to emotional BOs during mindfulness meditation would exhibit a steeper decrease in state anxiety symptoms compared to mindfulness alone (clean air control). Ninety-eight women meeting criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) received two mindfulness sessions over two consecutive days, while randomly allocated to one of four conditions: fear BO, joy BO, neutral BO or a clean air control group. No odour × time interaction effect was observed, rejecting the primary hypothesis. Although not st

SUBMITTER: Eliasson ET 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12432134 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature