8th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Presenter(s): Shana Byerley and Brittany Tanner
Title: Aromatherapeutic Applications to Stress and Anxiety in College Students- An EEG Study
Developed under the guidance of Dr. Jutta Street , Psychology

Prior research implicates that scents have varying effects on a person’s response to stress and anxiety. The purpose of this study is to examine how mint and lavender, two scents that are believed to affect the stress response, change a person’s perception of anxiety and stress. The data was obtained from a sample of undergraduate students at Campbell University using an electroencephalograph (EEG). Stress and anxiety were elicited by exposing the participants to a parkour video selected to induce a state of high emotion. The results of this study will provide evidence for aromatherapeutic applications for stress and anxiety.