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Clean Smells Promote Ethical Behavior
A recent study is suggesting that moral behavior may be encouraged with nothing more than clean smells. The Brigham Young University professor found a "dramatic improvement in ethical behavior with just a few spritzes of citrus-scented Windex." "The researchers see implications for workplaces, retail stores and other organizations that have relied on traditional surveillance and security measures to enforce rules. Perhaps the findings could be applied at home, too, Liljenquist said with a smile. 'Could be that getting our kids to clean up their rooms might help them clean up their acts, too.' The study titled "The Smell of Virtue" was unusually simple and conclusive. Participants engaged in several tasks, the only difference being that some worked in unscented rooms, while others worked in rooms freshly spritzed with Windex."
Unfortunately the actual effect this is going to have is that every store that can get away with it will now treat air fresheners like fratboys treat axe.
A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
If a place smells like a moose just died in it, especially if its also visibly dirty, then I just sort of get the impression that it doesn't actually matter what I do in there. On the other hand, when a place is spotless, smells lemony fresh and everything appears in order then I'm not going to be the one to put my feet on the coffee table, no matter how tempting it might be. Smell ties into taste and is one of the more powerful senses we have, so it makes sense that it would play a large part in determining our impression of what is or isn't acceptable in a given location, every bit as much as it tells us what foods seem OK to eat.
You certainly do have a point, though I question the merits of a study like this one. If scent made such a noticable difference, then you can safely say that these folks were not terribly committed to doing the Right Thing. They needed an external motivation. That's hardly as good as doing the best you can, all the time, because you seriously believe in and want to adhere to sound, timeless principles that have a solid ethical or moral foundation.
For that reason, I take this to be further evidence that most people operate on a sort of auto-pilot.
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
I was going to ask what Washington must smell like. Perhaps we should send the lawmakers each an air freshener.
It's a stupid study, this is something that humans have associated, best example is the hospital smell, whenever you feel that smell, you think about the hospital and everything that it meant for you, a loved one that died there, an operation a long time ago, etc. Some will associate that "clean smell" with an oppressive home, that will most likely make them hate the place, some people are natural slobs, even though their families are not, ever wonder why? it's a stupid study made for marketing purposes. Should I understand that Slashdot is now in the "scyence of marketing"? wtf?
Not to mention that, this being BYU, they probably have some serious selection bias going on in terms of study participants.
Freedom isn't free; its price is the well-being of others.
A Brigham Young University professor suggesting a possible biochemical link to ethical behavior. Sounds like a letter of resignation to me.
Mill's utilitarianism model states that the best choice is the one that provides the most benefit for the most people. In terms of bank robbery, robbing a bank is highly ethical. The robber gets some money, that money gets spent, and a large trickle-down impacts the local economy. The bank is insured so they don't lose any money. The customers and tellers get some excitement and a story to tell for years. "Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I was in a bank robbery?"
If you quantify the cost to society of the insurance settlement and the economic rent burden of the diminished faith in the security of the bank, you'll find that it greatly outweighs the benefits to the robber.
A much better example would be stealing a piece of art from a museum. Assuming the piece is not destroyed and remains in circulation, eventually finding it's way back to the museum circuit, the robber may have actually added value. With some objects, like famous jewels, almost all of their value is in their history. The Hope Diamond is one-tenth the size of the current largest diamond in the world (found in 1985), but it is a much greater tourist attraction because of it's "cursed" history.
Hmm, sort of ironic that a comment about bias that is ostensibly based solely on religious affiliation would actually be a much better example of prejudicial bias. Unfortunately, such hypocritical blindness is all too common.
I'd *just* read some Stainless Steel Rat stories, so give me a break.
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