Abstract

Visually impaired people have special requirements for concentrating on the learning process. In this research, experiments were conducted to learn the aspects of sound and aroma stimuli as an effort to improve the concentration of visually impaired people for problem-solving tasks. These experiments included: (a) motoric test— compiling rectangular wood slabs; and (b) cognitive/anagram test—compiling word composition. These two tests were categorized into pre-test and post-test with and without stimuli in the room, and the three types of rooms included: (a) a room without any stimuli (NT; non-treatment); (b) a room with instrumental sound stimulus (AT; auditorial treatment); and (c) a room with lavender aroma stimulus (OT; olfactory treatment). In the motoric test, the correlation coefficients obtained for NT, AT, and OT rooms were 0.73, 0.58, and 0.83, respectively. Meanwhile, in the cognitive test, the correlation coefficients obtained for NT, AT, and OT rooms were 0.04, -0.26, and -0.37, respectively. In T-test analysis, only test pairs of NT-OT rooms among the six pairs in the cognitive test showed significant results (α=0.026), which shows that duration in the OT room was shorter than that in the NT room. To understand the cognitive aspect, Associative Concept Network Analysis (ACNA) technique was applied based on verbal protocol. The result revealed that aroma stimulus reduced thought distraction of the participants, marked by fewer associative word line grouping and associative word classification indicating an improved focus on word classifications, especially ‘Size and Measurement’ and ‘Learning Process.’ This research suggests that a room with aroma stimulus can provide a positive contribution to the concentration of the visually impaired people for performing problem-solving tasks. The results of this study are expected to be useful in optimizing the learning process of visually impaired individuals.