# The power of freshly baked bread to stimulate altruism

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/11/18/power-freshly-baked-bread-stimulate-altruism/
- Published: 2012-11-18T21:51:28+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

![](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/images/news/bread-flickr-teubok.jpg)

 

If we want to sell our house, estate agents tell us to fill our home with the smell
of freshly baked bread. According to recent research, the power of the smell of 
baking bread can even lead to increased altruism.

The findings, published in the _Journal of Social Psychology_, suggest that such
smells can lead to a heightened level of concern for the welfare of others.

The research was conducted by the University of Southern Brittany and the field 
work involved asking volunteers to drop a glove or packet of tissues outside a bakery
or a clothes shop. The aim was to see if a stranger would pick it up and return 
it and whether that behaviour would be different between places with pleasant ambient
odours and those without them.

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The experiment, which was viewed by observers 60 feet away, was repeated over 400
times.

The scientists found that the personal item was returned 77% of the time by people
outside the bakery compared to 52% of the time outside the clothes shop. They concluded:"
our results show that, in general, spontaneous help is offered more in areas where
pleasant ambient smells are spread. This experiment confirms the role of ambient
food odours on altruism".

The findings were published in [The Sweet Smell of … Implicit Helping: Effects of Pleasant Ambient Fragrance on Spontaneous Help in Shopping Malls](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224545.2011.630434).

## Fundraising outside the bakery

Does this research mean that fundraisers will enjoy better results if they stand
outside a branch of Greggs? Will face-to-face fundraisers all start congregating
outside the nearest bakers? Will you urge your street collectors to find the strongest
smell of baking bread along the high street and grab that spot?

Or, will major gift fundraisers walk into meetings with prospects with a fresh granary
loaf in their briefcase?

And what about the opportunities at fundraising dinners to introduce a little extra
whiff from the kitchens where the bread rolls are being warmed?

Time to check if the ethics of ambient smells are included in the new Code of Fundraising
Practice.

_Photo: [Teuobk on Flickr.com](http://www.flickr.com/photos/teuobk/2104039823)_

 

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