{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]],"date-time":"2026-04-21T06:36:02Z","timestamp":1776753362351,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]],"date-time":"2026-04-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776729600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Virtual Real."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Immersive virtual reality (iVR) offers a multisensory environment for education, yet the integration of olfaction remains underexplored. This study examined whether incorporating ambient olfactory stimuli into an iVR environment enhances foreign language vocabulary retention and the user\u2019s sense of presence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A between-subjects experiment was conducted with 59 participants who learned German vocabulary in a virtual airport scenario. Participants were assigned to one of five ambient olfactory conditions systematically selected to represent distinct quadrants of the circumplex model of affect: no scent (control), spearmint (pleasant-arousing), lavender (pleasant-calming), burning wood (unpleasant-arousing), or sewage (unpleasant-calming). Vocabulary retention was measured using matching pre- and post-tests, while subjective presence was assessed using the standardised Igroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQp).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The results indicated that ambient olfactory stimulation, regardless of affective valence or arousal level, did not significantly improve immediate vocabulary retention compared to the control condition. However, scent did impact the subjective experience of presence; notably, an unpleasant, high-arousal scent (burning wood) served as a distraction, significantly reducing perceived spatial presence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings establish an important boundary condition for multisensory educational VR. They demonstrate that the simple addition of ambient, affective scents as a background stimulus is insufficient to drive immediate cognitive learning gains, and may even detract from immersion if unpleasant. Multisensory iVR design must be guided by pedagogical priorities rather than novelty alone, suggesting that relying solely on ambient emotional modulation via olfaction is not a viable strategy for complex cognitive tasks.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/frvir.2026.1751609","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]],"date-time":"2026-04-21T05:35:50Z","timestamp":1776749750000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The impact of olfactory stimuli on foreign language vocabulary acquisition in an immersive virtual reality environment"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Bruno","family":"Peixoto","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidade de Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)","place":["Vila Real, Portugal"]},{"name":"INESC TEC","place":["Porto, Portugal"]}]},{"given":"Luciana Cabral P.","family":"Bessa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidade de Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)","place":["Vila Real, Portugal"]},{"name":"INESC TEC","place":["Porto, Portugal"]},{"name":"CITCEM, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto (FLUP)","place":["Porto, Portugal"]}]},{"given":"Guilherme","family":"Gon\u00e7alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidade de Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)","place":["Vila Real, Portugal"]},{"name":"INESC TEC","place":["Porto, Portugal"]}]},{"given":"Maximino","family":"Bessa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidade de Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)","place":["Vila Real, Portugal"]},{"name":"INESC TEC","place":["Porto, Portugal"]}]},{"given":"Miguel","family":"Melo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidade de Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)","place":["Vila Real, Portugal"]},{"name":"INESC TEC","place":["Porto, Portugal"]}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"19265","DOI":"10.1007\/s11042-020-08763-3","article-title":"Using olfactory media cues in e-learning\u2013perspectives from an empirical investigation","volume":"79","author":"Alkasasbeh","year":"2020","journal-title":"Multimedia Tools Appl."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1145\/3025453.3026004","article-title":"Essence: olfactory interfaces for unconscious influence of mood and cognitive performance","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 2017 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems","author":"Amores","year":"2017"},{"key":"B3","volume-title":"Infinite reality: Avatars, eternal life, new worlds, and the dawn of the virtual revolution","author":"Blascovich","year":"2011"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"295","DOI":"10.1038\/377295a0","article-title":"The amygdala and emotional memory","volume":"377","author":"Cahill","year":"1995","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1093\/chemse\/25.1.111","article-title":"Odour-evoked autobiographical memories: psychological investigations of proustian phenomena","volume":"25","author":"Chu","year":"2000","journal-title":"Chem. 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