If you saw a headline like this one in your local newspaper, you might first think it’s some type of info-tisement sponsored by the floral industry. You’d probably be right, too. So what is this headline doing in Cognitive Daily? We’ve found a study to support the notion that flowers actually induce real positive emotions.
Was it paid for by the floral industry? Yes, it was. Does that mean it’s bad research? Not necessarily. A team led by Jeannette Haviliand-Jones has conducted an impressive set of three experiments, each of which contributes to the idea that giving someone flowers improves their mood, not just at the moment of delivery, but long afterwards.
In the first experiment, 147 women were recruited using ads in supermarkets to participate in a study about “normal daily moods.” In exchange, they would be given one of 10 possible gifts, but they weren’t told which gift they’d receive. The women were all called on the phone and given a questionnaire to assess their mood and overall life satisfaction. Then, 10 days later, two experimenters showed up at their door at a scheduled time to deliver the gift.
One third of the women received flowers, one third got a fruit basket, and one third got a candle. These gifts had been pre-selected by a group of volunteers to have equivalent appeal, and they all had equivalent monetary value. Chocolate wasn’t chosen as a gift because some raters found it unappealing because of the danger of gaining weight.
One experimenter delivered the gift, and another recorded the reaction of the women as they received it. The gifts were delivered in such a way that the recorder couldn’t initially see what gift was delivered. Today:1
