MESSY people are more INTELLIGENT and CREATIVE, study finds

Do you struggle to have order in your house or on your desk at work?

Well, it seems the washing pile on the floor or the unwashed mugs on your desk are the sign that you are creative and intelligent!

According to a recent study, which was published in Psychological Science, a messy house encourages your mind to work more abstractly.

Messy people are more intelligent and creative, scientists find

Study lead Kathleen Vohs, from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, and her team asked 48 participants to come up with uses for a ping pong ball. Half of them worked in a messy room and the other in a neat room.

Experts found that those who worked in an unorganised environment conjured up more ideas, which were deemed as significantly more creative and intelligent.

“Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights,” says Vohs.

“Orderly environments, in contrast, encourage convention and playing it safe.”

You’re more likely to be more adventurous in a messy environment

However, it seems messy environments can also lead to unhealthy food choices. Another 34 participants filled out a questionnaire – half did so in a tidy room, the other half in a room with books and papers strewn around.

They were asked to voluntarily contribute to a charity, and were then offered them an apple or candy bar on the way out.

Researchers found that 82 per cent of those who took part in the study donated money in a neat room, only 47 per cent in the messy room.

What’s more, 67 per cent took the apple over the candy in the organised room, while only 20 per cent took the apple in the unorganised room.

In another study by the same team, 188 participants were asked to study menu choices for a cafe. Again, half were asked to do this in a neat room, the others in a messy room.

Some of the items on the menu were named ‘new’ or ‘classic’ for a health smoothie. Researchers found those in the neat room were more likely to play it safe and choose the ‘classic’ smoothie, while those in the messy room were more likely to choose the smoothie labelled ‘new’.

“There’s a multibillion dollar industry to help people de-clutter their lives,” adds Vohs.

“Relationship partners, employers, everyone wants you to be neat … but there may be times being messy is good, too. I think messy people feel vindicated big time.”

Well, now you can feel less guilty about leaving your clothes on the floor. After all, you’re just being ‘creative’ instead of messy!

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