4 ms·

Study Suggests Hand Washing Cleanses The Mind

10 points by mahipal 16y ago

mahmud 16y ago
I heard the study author on NPR's Talk of the Nation - Science Friday podcast and skipped it within 5 minutes. The researcher sounded like he already had a religious/mystical predisposition and wanted to confirm his own biases. He said something to the effect of: "We know from religion that washing purifies the soul .. and I wanted to see if it's true". NEXT.
- mahipal 16y ago
  Interesting. His quotes (as reported in this and other articles) make it seem like he's just referencing the existing ideas in popular culture about the metaphor of hand-washing. Regardless of his personal beliefs though, I'd assume that the study had standard double-blind procedures and only reported the result because it's statistically significant (especially considering that it's being published in Science).
  - frossie 16y ago
    Their control sample seems to have done something else entirely (like evaluated bottle designs or something). The correct control would have been something involving water but without the psychosocial overtones of hand washing - for example asking people to pull marbles out of a bowl of water. The reality is that "water play" is very soothing. Put an angry toddler in front of a sink full of warm sudsy water, and I don't think they are happy because they are channeling Lady Macbeth.
InclinedPlane 16y ago
Very interesting. But I'm not convinced this has anything to do with washing specifically. I suspect it might just be that performing an ordinary, rote activity interrupts the normal process of the decision making activity and the feeling of completion carries over back into the other activity. I wonder if tasks such as tying one's shoes, packing a box and sealing it, etc. would have a similar effect. Ultimately the study doesn't provide enough data to fully support the hypothesis (that cleansing, washing away provides some mental, decision making benefit), though the fact that there's any effect at all warrants a lot of further study.

10 points by mahipal 16y ago

I heard the study author on NPR's Talk of the Nation - Science Friday podcast and skipped it within 5 minutes. The researcher sounded like he already had a religious/mystical predisposition and wanted to confirm his own biases. He said something to the effect of: "We know from religion that washing purifies the soul .. and I wanted to see if it's true". NEXT.

mahipal 16y ago
Interesting. His quotes (as reported in this and other articles) make it seem like he's just referencing the existing ideas in popular culture about the metaphor of hand-washing. Regardless of his personal beliefs though, I'd assume that the study had standard double-blind procedures and only reported the result because it's statistically significant (especially considering that it's being published in Science).
- frossie 16y ago
  Their control sample seems to have done something else entirely (like evaluated bottle designs or something). The correct control would have been something involving water but without the psychosocial overtones of hand washing - for example asking people to pull marbles out of a bowl of water. The reality is that "water play" is very soothing. Put an angry toddler in front of a sink full of warm sudsy water, and I don't think they are happy because they are channeling Lady Macbeth.

InclinedPlane 16y ago

Very interesting. But I'm not convinced this has anything to do with washing specifically. I suspect it might just be that performing an ordinary, rote activity interrupts the normal process of the decision making activity and the feeling of completion carries over back into the other activity. I wonder if tasks such as tying one's shoes, packing a box and sealing it, etc. would have a similar effect. Ultimately the study doesn't provide enough data to fully support the hypothesis (that cleansing, washing away provides some mental, decision making benefit), though the fact that there's any effect at all warrants a lot of further study.