Author(s): Claudia Brandt , Debra Horton , Adishree Misha Datta , Monica Angleton

Presentation: poster

Does a person’s tidiness affect their satisfaction and happiness? Surprisingly, there has been little research done on this question. We examined the relationship between self-reported tidiness and life satisfaction. Given the lack of any standardized measures of tidiness, we developed the Tidiness Survey. The Tidiness Survey is made up of three sections and covers general tidiness questions as well as subjective and objective measures such as: “How often do you vacuum?” and “How often do you reuse your dish without cleaning it with soap?” We collected pilot data from 65 participants online using our survey and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. We found a positive correlation between life satisfaction and tidiness, r=.29, p<.05. As self-reports are not always accurate, we wanted to test the predictive validity of our tidiness measure. To do this, we visited 23 campus dorms and student domiciles and took pictures to compare with each individual’s responses to the Tidiness Survey. We coded pictures for tidiness using multiple reviewers and correlated it with each person’s self-reported tidiness. Finally, we attempted to replicate the correlation between satisfaction and tidiness using respondents from multiple cultures. We translated our survey into Japanese, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic and posted it online.

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