Good clean smell promotes morality

It's an unlikely tool to encourage fair and moral behaviour, but researchers have discovered that just a hint of lemony-freshness in the air "promotes ethical behaviour".

The news will no doubt have workers reaching for the Cif in a bid to reveal a fairer, more generous boss.Researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah began by inviting volunteers to perform a variety of tasks, including a "trust game". While some of the participants worked in an unscented room, the others were treated to the fresh smell of Windex as they worked.

Each subject received $12 which they were told had been sent by an anonymous partner in another room. They were then asked to decide how much of it to keep or return to their partners who had trusted them to divide it fairly.

Those enjoying a lemon-fresh scent gave back an average of $5.33, while the unscented subjects sent only $2.81.

The volunteers were then tested as to whether a clean scent would encourage charitable behaviour, by indicating their interest in donating funds to a worthy campus cause.

Once again, the Windex proved successful and each participant confirmed that they had not noticed the scent in the room.

Co-author Adam Galinsky from Northwestern University, told the Daily Mail: "Basically, our study shows that morality and cleanliness can go hand-in-hand."

And Professor Katie Liljenquist, who led the study, said that the results could have implications for workplaces and stores, saying: "Companies often employ heavy-handed interventions to regulate conduct, but they can be costly or oppressive.

"This is a very simple, unobtrusive way to promote ethical behaviour."

Cleanliness, it seems, really is next to godliness.