I read an article a long time ago that has stuck with me for life. It said that the first stall in a public bathroom is always the cleanest, because people tend to skip it for one further back to have more privacy.
The middle ones have the most germs, because of a weird human trait called “centrality preference.” According to a study published in the Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, it is an implicit rule that makes people prefer items located in the middle, but not those at the extreme ends.
Things in the middle are looked at longer, and remembered better than things on the extreme ends so it makes us feel more comfortable to choose middle things.
The study asks you to imagine a bowl of coffee beans and you have to sort out good ones from the bad ones. You would usually put the good ones in a pile right in front of you and leave the bad ones in the bowl or put them to either side. We put important things in the middle of the photograph when we take pictures, too.
I wonder if it’s more significant in other ways too. Does centrality preference dictate even more things in my life? Beyond where I pee?
I always sat in second row in class, towards the front but not the actual front. I never sat in the back or the middle. I think half of the reason is because of my shitty ass eyesight (I can never see the board) and the other half is because I like to know things. I like learning. I like class. I don’t want to slouch in the back or blend in with the middle kids, but at the same time I’m not a front rower.
Everyone knows if you don’t know the answer to a multiple choice question you pick ‘C.’ You just do it, and you feel like it was a wise guess.
Grocery stores stock their shelves with the least expensive items at the bottom because we’re least likely to buy them. We choose what’s in the middle of our line of sight, probably a more expensive name brand instead of the affordable generic brand.
I would never pick the first thing off the menu at a restaurant. I tend to scan through the rest of the page before ultimately deciding. The best thing is never the first thing.
I really wonder how far this thing goes. How many times have I picked something just because it’s in the middle? And was it really the best thing I could have picked?
Prattle Peach 