On the association between loneliness and bathing habits: nine replications of Bargh and Shalev (2012) Study 1

Abstract

Bargh and Shalev (2012) hypothesized that people use warm showers and baths to compensate for a lack of social warmth. As support for this idea, they reported results from two studies that found an association between trait loneliness and bathing habits. Given the potential practical and theoretical importance of this association, we conducted nine additional studies on this topic. Using our own bathing or showering measures and the most current version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, 1996), we found no evidence for an association between trait loneliness and a composite index of showering or bathing habits in a combined sample of 1,153 participants from four studies. Likewise, the aggregated effect size estimate was not statistically significant using the same measures as the original studies in a combined sample of 1,920 participants from five studies. A local meta-analysis including the original studies yielded an effect size estimate for the composite that included zero in the 95% confidence interval. The current results therefore cast doubt on the idea of a strong connection between trait loneliness and personal bathing habits related to warmth.