"Clean People Are Less Judgmental
Senior Writer LiveScience.com jeanna Bryner senior Writer livescience.com – Mon Dec 1, 10:18 am ET
A vigorous hand wash or shower could cause a person to be less judgmental.
A new study, set for publication in the December issue of the journal Psychological Science, reveals that when a person feels physically clean, he or she cuts others more moral slack.
The findings add to past research that has shown a link between physical warmth and generosity as well as physical chill and social isolation. Other past research has shown that sins seem to nudge people to clean themselves, a phenomenon the researchers dubbed the 'Macbeth effect' after the dramatized murderess who tried scrubbing her hands to clean off imaginary blood.
'When we exercise moral judgment, we believe we are making a conscious, rational decision, but this research shows that we are subconsciously influenced by how clean or "pure" we feel,' said lead researcher of the new study Simone Schnall, a psychologist at the University of Plymouth in England. 'Take for example the situation of a jury member or voting in an election - if the jury member had washed their hands prior to delivering their verdict, they may judge the crime less harshly.'" news.yahoo.com
I had to laugh when reading this article and also question if how valid it might be. Maybe I can get a government grant to test how strippers react to a nice warm bubble bath? :) In a less prudish country a bubble bath maker might foot the bill for such lofty research. :)
There is an old saying when someone is acting like an A hole: Go take a bath! That old saying might have been strikingly on target . . .
Not that it matters, but with all the "studies" these days, I bet you could find someone that would "study" air and determine that it is good for life!