The Ultimate Shopping Cart Litmus Test Defines Your Personality

To understand what The Shopping Cart Litmus Theory is all about, let’s do a small experiment. 

Let’s assume that you’ve gone grocery shopping. You’ve purchased all the things you wanted, your bags are loaded, and your shopping trolley is vacated and you’re all set to go home.

Now, did it occur to you if you should return that shopping cart to its designated spot or not? Depending on how you answer this question, you can get to know how efficiently you self-govern.

The theory was anonymously posted by someone on a website forum in June 2020. Later, it was reposted by a Twitter user named Jared, and since then it has been circulated by a large number of people on Twitter. It suggests, “The shopping cart is the litmus test for an individual’s capability of self-governance”. The theory further argues that a person’s moral personality can be explained by whether they return a shopping cart to its designated area after they’re shopping or they simply leave it wherever they want. Returning a shopping cart is a simple task and all of us are aware that this is the right thing to do. Apart from emergencies, there are no situations in which a person is incapable of returning their shopping trolley. Hence, the shopping cart exemplifies itself as an absolute example of a person’s integrity, whether he’s going to do the right thing without being asked to do it.

Our personality traits are usually influenced by the differences that we encounter. Therefore, if you choose not to take the shopping cart back, it will tell something about your character. Since no law says it’s restricted or wrong the behavior will continue to expand. We as individuals need to infer whether it’s right or wrong, ethical or unethical because again there aren’t any norms to consider this behavior inappropriate.

Some bad habits such as throwing garbage, cigarettes, gum, masks, or other things on the floor, laughing when someone falls, or not holding doors for others can also demonstrate our moral principles. These things are deeply rooted in a person’s behavior. Often, they do not even realize that they’re doing something wrong. However, self-awareness and self-governance can help change such habits.