Is Cleanliness Next to Godliness?: The Role of Housekeeping in Impression Formation

We conducted a study to determine if the cleanliness of an apartment would affect observer impressions of the resident. Participants (210 female and 126 male undergraduate students) read a story in which a character’s apartment was described as clean or dirty or in which no information about houseke...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment and behavior 2005-01, Vol.37 (1), p.81-101
Main Authors: Harris, Paul B., Sachau, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude Measures
Behavior
Cues
Environment
Gender Differences
Home environment
Homemaking Skills
Housework
Human behaviour
Hygiene
Identity
Impression formation
Personality
Personality Traits
Reader Response
Social Cognition
Territoriality
Undergraduate Students
USA
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Summary:We conducted a study to determine if the cleanliness of an apartment would affect observer impressions of the resident. Participants (210 female and 126 male undergraduate students) read a story in which a character’s apartment was described as clean or dirty or in which no information about housekeeping was provided. For each condition, half the characters were male and half were female. After reading the story, participants rated the personality of the character. Poor housekeepers received lower ratings on measures of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Intelligence, and Femininity but received higher ratings on measures of Openness and Neuroticism. Results indicated no significant interactions between housekeeping and participant or character gender. Findings support the idea that housekeeping is a cue utilized in environmental impression formation.
ISSN:0013-9165
1552-390X
DOI:10.1177/0013916504266803