A clean setting leads people to do good things: Not engage in crime, not litter, and show more generosity," Vohs explains for the Association for Psy… - Kathleen D. Vohs

The research has received a lot of media attention, and Vohs thinks she knows why: "I think it makes people feel vindicated," Vohs says. "There's a multibillion dollar industry to help people de-clutter their lives. 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.

Interviewer: Do you have any advice for individuals who wish to pursue a career in social psychology? Vohs: Sure! Work, work, work, and work. This career is one of persistence, and so the harder you work, the more successful you are likely to be. Keep positive! This job is mostly a series of “no, go away” messages so keeping positive and excited about the fact that you are helping to figure out how the world works is key.

Using your mind to make decisions is a very taxing enterprise. When people make decisions, it turns out that it takes energy away from their entire psychological system. That energy is needed specifically for controlling their behaviors, making other good decisions down the line...doing the right thing essentially. So you’ll see people from President Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and going back to Einstein; all wearing the same one or two outfits every single day as a way to minimize the number of decisions that they have to make on what would be called trivial, or what President Obama calls ‘trivial or routinised decisions’.