The consequence of cleanliness

“Study shows messiness leads to behavior decline” was the title of a news article that got my attention in Yahoo! News. I looked around my house and wondered if that article was talking about persons like me. I work with a lot of books and documents strewn all over my kitchen table and when I have simultaneous projects going on, my workspace can look messy.

Thankfully, it was not about workplace messiness although my inner Martha Stewart argues that the same principles can apply. The news item discussed the findings of Dutch scientists that actions ranging from littering to trespassing and minor stealing all increased when people saw evidence of others ignoring the rules of good behavior.

The scientists conducted several experiments and found that people littered less if they saw that people were obeying rules on fireworks compare to a situation where they saw that the rules were being violated. In one experiment, people obeyed a sign telling them to return shopping carts to their proper place where they saw that other carts were there. They ignored the sign when they saw shopping carts left in the parking lot.

In another experiment, they also made findings that people were more likely to take an envelope with money in a place with graffiti compared to a place that was clean. They concluded that disorder increases people’s likelihood of committing similar acts. Based on this finding, it can be inferred that keeping areas neat will make people behave better.

I think that the study indirectly explains the revitalization of a district after old and dilapidated buildings are restored. In New York, for example, old factories were converted into residential lofts and people came back to the area, eventually driving up real estate prices. Closer to home, the restoration of the Far Eastern University complex and the surrounding buildings has contributed to urban renewal in the Morayta area in Manila.

Since grade school, we have been taught that “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” I suppose that the research findings just provide empirical evidence of this adage. For some reason, however, this lesson seems to be forgotten as soon as people leave grade school. I get shocked when I see passengers of fast-moving vehicles throw out bags of food packaging in highways. In some places, mounds of garbage compete with people and jeepneys for street space.

I am hopeful that the research about messiness and norms of behavior will get more attention from the public and from government authorities. While the idea of keeping our surroundings clean seems commonsensical, people seem to believe something more if it has “scientific basis.” Barring any strike by garbage collectors or the closure of a garbage dump, cities should be able to do something about their environs and consequently, improve the behavior of its residents.

I don’t know if other conclusions can be made from the study. It would be interesting to know if graft and corruption can be curbed if government offices were made cleaner and more orderly. I also wonder if putting public officials in glass houses would make them less susceptible to committing crimes. Certainly, there would be no secret meetings if we all saw what they were doing. Then again, they can always go abroad.

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