Etiquette, Scents and Sensibilities

 Common Scents, Etiquette and Courtesies

According to a 2009 TIME Magazine article, an experiment was conducted to test people's propensity toward charity and good manners by using common scents. Ninety-nine participants were assigned to either a Windex-scented room or a neutral-smelling room and given a list of tasks to complete. Included in the list was a request for volunteers and donations for "Habitat for Humanity".

Researchers on morality and scientists agree that people do strongly associate physical cleanliness with “purity of conscience.” It is the thought at the heart of old sayings like “cleanliness is next to godliness ...”

Results revealed that people in the Windex scented room were more likely to give money and help others than those in the room that was not scented with Windex. According to co-author and social psychologist Adam Galinsky, from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, "Economists and even psychologists haven't been paying much attention to the fact that small changes in our environment can have dramatic effects on behavior. We underemphasize these subtle environmental cues," he says.

Researchers on morality and scientists agree that people do strongly associate physical cleanliness with "purity of conscience". It is the thought at the heart of old sayings like "cleanliness is next to godliness" and "as evidenced by the widespread use of cleansing ceremonies to wash away sins in various religions around the world".

Ninety-nine participants were assigned to either a Windex-scented room or a neutral-smelling room.

Another study, published in a 2008 Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin showed that people are more critical and judgmental about certain moral issues when exposed to the vapors of a commercially available, "fart" scented spray. At Etiquipedia, we'll stick with the Windex, thank you.