> For example, my wife has a much keener recognition for something that's messy - a full sink or a shirt laying on the floor of my office will "scream" at her louder that it does at me.

This may be because she's trained more that there are negative consequences for her, or that she's responsible for that stuff. I don't really pay attention to tickets I'm not assigned, for example, unless they're on stuff that I'd be the go-to-guy for if anything broke. I figure stuff like that works the same way: at least when I was growing up it was ok for me to be a bit lackadaisical with my living quarters whereas my sister was considered filthy for leaving a makeup brush unwashed too long.