Feeling clean affects moral judgment
If you have a difficult moral decision to make, you probably shouldn't mull it over in the bath or shower.
Research has found that people who have recently washed are less harsh when making moral judgements.
They say feeling clean significantly reduces the severity of moral judgments, showing that intuition can influence our perception of what is right and wrong.
The boffins believe such is the impact that jurors who have washed their hands may make their verdict less severe and voters may be more likely to excuse a politician's misdemeanor if they have recently showered.
As a result UK politicians are considering bringing in new regulations to ensure everyone showers at least four times per day.
Dr Simone Schnall from the University of Plymouth said: "When we exercise moral judgment, we believe we are making a conscious, rational decision, but this research shows that we are subconsciously influenced by how clean or 'pure' we feel."
In the study a sample of people were asked to watch a 'disgusting' film clip and rate how morally wrong they deemed the series of acts.
Those who had washed their hands were foundless likely to judge the actions as harshly as those in the group who had not.
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