WARNING: The word 'toilet' appears in this article approximately 500 times.
Recently, I have caught myself pondering about how people go about decision-making in public toilets. Blame it on my formal background in Economics or just on my general weirdness, but I do catch myself on this train of thought...frequently. Consequently, I have developed a basic theory of what influences people's decisions about which toilets to use or to avoid, and I think this might help you understand your own choices.
I have observed that toilets send different messages depending on whether they are open or closed.
An open toilet says to a potential user, "What you see is what you get. Take it or leave it".
A closed toilet says, "I make no promises.You never know what is up for offer, so try and see".
Imagine that the closest public toilet only had two cubicles. Now, if both toilets were open one will most likely inspect both and choose the cleaner. When one toilet is open and the other closed, choice depends on whether the person is risk averse or risk prone. If you are not prone to taking risks, you will choose the open one if it is reasonably clean. A small scale choice problem emerges if you don't like what the open one offers. In this case, 'the grass is greener on the other side' manner of thinking is most likely to prevail and one would choose the closed toilet instead.
The biggest problem emerges when both toilets are closed. In such situations your sight is not of any help, so other senses (especially the sense of smell) are employed to enable you make the best decision. In the event that all your senses fail to enlighten you on the true conditions of both cubicles, you suddenly find yourself in a situation where you have to make a blind decision. This could go either way and the experience ends up being one of pleasant surprise and relief OR one of agony and endurance. Unfortunately, neither experience prepares one for making the best of future decisions in the toilet arena. It is always a stab in the dark.
Next time you find yourself in a public toilet, take a moment to evaluate your decision making processes.
DISCLAIMER: These theories are based solely on observations in female toilets, so take appropriate caution when applying them to the male toilet scenario.
