REAL LIFE NEWS: MESSY DESK, CREATIVE MIND
by Hazed
Staying with the office: most people think having a clean desk is a good thing. “Tidy desk, tidy mind.” But it turns out that working at a messy desk may help you to think more creatively.
Scientists from the University of Minnesota mapped the behaviour of people who worked on messy desks and clean desks, in a series of experiments. In the first one, participants were asked to fill out questionnaires in an office. Some of the rooms were clean and tidy, others were messy with papers strewn about and clutter everywhere. Afterwards, they were given the chance to donate to charity. They were also allowed to take a snack of chocolate or an apple as they left.
Those who were in the tidy room were more likely to do what was expected of them – donate to charity and take the apple instead of the chocolate.
In another test, people were given a choice between a new product and an established one. Those in the messy room were more likely to take the new one, which signals that being surrounded by disorder prompts a release from conventionality.
A third test had the participants coming up with new uses for ping pong balls, and the ones in the messy room came up with more interesting and creative uses that those in the clean room.
Professor Vohs, one of the researchers, said: “Being in a messy room led to something that firms, industries, and societies want more of – creativity. Previous research has found that a clean setting leads people to do good things, such as not engaging in crime, litter and showing more generosity.
“We found, however, that you can get really valuable outcomes from being in a messy setting.”
So if you habitually sit at a messy desk, don’t let anyone tell you to tidy it up!
