What is the psychology of keeping shoes in its original box?

Question

If someone tend to keep his shoes on its box, which he use on a regular basis. What does this say about his personality? Please site clinical proof.

Answer 1

Western cultures have an underlying notion of value that holds that most objects are transient in terms of value and material stability. That is to say that most people feel that the things they buy are either going to decrease in value or fall apart and decrease in value.

While this is more of an economic or siciological point of view, society certainly affects psychology. It is not unusual for individuals to try to maintain the value of their objects by keeping them in states as close to newness as possible - e.g., "N(ever) R(emoved) F(rom) B(ox)". Different strategies of maintaining newness might be more or less materially effective - that is, keeping one's shoes in a box may not actually keep them new for as long as just wearing them infrequently and polishing them regularly. Despite this, people may choose cseemingly clashing strategies - e.g., keeping them in the box, but not really taking any extra care of them while wearing them - for the personal, psychological value of the strategy rather than the probably outcome of that strategy - e.g., baby who grows up in a house full of people who yell may attempt to resolve conflicts through yelling, whether or not that works.

So, if someone just takes good care of their shoes, they're tapping into notions of value that are common to most people living in Western cultures. Therefore, they are nominally normal. Someone who buys a categorically transient object (like a comic book made out of poor quality paper) but preserves it without ever using it, might be thought of as somewhat pathological, especially if these collecting tendencies lead them to amass physically unwieldy collections of transient items or to become obssessive about maintaining their objects to the detriment of other parts of their lives.

Answer 2

Honestly, if someone tends to keep his/her shoes in its original box, and uses them on a regular basis...one might argue that this person is compusive, implying that they have a tendency to obsessive-compulsive disorder (the occurance of unwanted and intrusive thoughts or distressing images: these are usually accompanied by compulsive behaviors designed to nutralize the obsessive thoughts or images or to prevent some dreaded event or situation.).

Obsessions involve persistent and recurrent intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses that are experienced as disturbing and inappropriate. People who have such obsessions try to ignore or suppress them, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action (such as getting down on their hands and knees and scrubbing a huge kitchen floor with a tooth brush, 3 times a day).

Compulsions can involve either overt repetitive behaviors (such as the floor washing, described above--or handwashing, checking, or ordering (100 Ronco Slicers and Dicers that they stack in the corner!!) or more covert mental acts (such as counting, praying (a LOT), or saying certain words silently).

A person with this disorder usually feels driven to perform compulsive behavior in response to an obsession (if this wasnt clear enough, above), and there are often very ridged rules regarding how the compulsive behavior should be performed. The compulsive behaviors are performed with the goal of preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation, even though they are not usually very realistically connected with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent, or are clearly excessive (like cleaning a huge kitchen floor with a tooth brush-3 times a day--for reasons of not thinking about images of an Ork coming at them with an axe).

People with this disorder KNOW what they are doing and usually for what reason...thats a kicker, no?

Any way, as for the shoe box issue? If the person keeps their shoes in their box, in a particular way, checks to make sure that they are they way that they left them--several times...takes them out of the box, cleans them, puts them back, checks them again, cleans them again, cleans the area around them (all done within a short period of time--like within hours or a day and repeats every day)...then yes, I would think that they have some kind of issue that they are trying to ignor. Other than that, if they are just keeping them in the box to keep them neat and off the floor--isnt checking them, cleaning them, obsessive over the box and shoes...then its just the way that they do things. No sweat.

Answer 3

I don't believe this in an OCD case, OCD is an extreme anxiety disorder that interferes with people's lives, and this behavior is out of his control.

If this behavior is causing him problems in his life, in which he "freaks out" about not putting his shoes in the shoe box, or his behavior starts to interfere with his relationships with others, or if if this ritual is a time consuming process that interferes with his daily routine....then there might be a problem that needs to be addressed.

Some people have mild obsessions or compulsions that are unusual, but doesn't mean they are automatically label them as OCD.

Answer 4

It depends what kind of shoes it is and how he takes care of it. If he regularly uses it but you can see that he takes good care of it meaning it's not dirty and it always look like brand new, then that means that he takes care and maintains his stuff very well. He also might be a well organized guy or he just might not have a shoe rack (buy him one this christmas).If the shoes are sloppy and dirty and he puts it in its original box, then he is a lazy and a sloppy asswipe.

Answer 5

No. I usually don't keep the shoes in the box because whenever I do that I forget they exist.

Answer 6

As a previous post suggests, sounds like a very light case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Where a person gets obsessed with say cleaning or tidying up. Also, its been proven, that if anything is done too much, its addictive and therefore feels good doing it. That's why good habits are so important.

Answer 7

He's a type A neat freak. A controlling person, a tight-wad insecure easily offended person. One who is materialistic, measures success and wealth on possessions. Tries to keep up with the Jones and hates the Jones.

Proof - my many years of experience working and living with them and studying the behavior because it's actions were directed against me so many times until I figured it out and then I knew how to get along with them.

Answer 8

I keep all my shoes in their original boxes because it's easier to store them, identify them and stay organized that way.

Answer 9

for one thing it makes all of their shoes easier to stack and keep track of. Maybe just tending to be a neatness freak.

Answer 10

heres the logic:
im a cocksuccing ghetto ***** who leaves the laces loose so my shoes dont crease and i keep people at arms length so as not to scuff my kiks.

see thats the logic. me? i own one pair. cons. that it.