Inside Cathie Fisher's closet, a sloppy student's nightmare is relived. All of the T-shirts hang together, next to the button-downs, which are next to the turtlenecks. On the top shelf are her compact discs, in alphabetical and topical order. On the floor are the four sets of shoes she wears most --neatly arranged. And she says it just has to be that way.

Fisher (senior-elementary education) casually admits herself into the rigid leagues of the anal retentive. She is the roommate who must make the bed every day or the friend whose desk-top arrangement must be just perfectly aligned.

And although students may think anal-retentive people are just perfectionists who can't relax, the reason is not so neat and tidy.

Anal retentiveness is a Freudian psychoanalytic concept, said Juris Draguns, professor of psychology. Experiences during the toilet-training period of life, between 1 and 2 years old, are important. Anal-retentive people retain the needs and pleasures of this period and "get stuck" in this stage of development, he said.

But students have different ideas of anal retentiveness. Hoang O (junior-labor and industrial relations) didn't know what it meant and Karyn Lighthall (junior-human development and family studies) said anal retentive people are "extremely picky." Craig Clarke (senior-business logistics) thinks "all people are anal to some degree."

Characteristic anal-retentive behaviors include excessive neatness, punctuality and stinginess, Draguns said, adding that anal people also "hold things in" and "live by the clock."

Freudians would say anal retentiveness is fairly common, but not everyone agrees, he said.

"Fixations may be in a pure or diluted form," Draguns said, adding that forms range from extremely anal to partially anal people.

Football Coach Joe Paterno said being anal retentive is a "question of your own personality." People accomplish things differently, some are "free spirits" and some must be organized, he said. Paterno gave his five children as examples -- some are organized and others aren't.

But Paterno said he is organized because his job demands it.

"I think if you're not organized, you waste other people's time," he said.

Undergraduate Student Government President Chris Saunders said he may wait until mold grows at home before cleaning, but the office is a different story.

"My office has to be completely organized," he said, adding that all his files must be bound and color coded. "I hate it when people move things around on my desk."

Joking, he describes himself as "schizophrenic anal retentive."

These are the behaviors Freudians claim originate during the toilet-training or anal period, Draguns said, adding that this explanation is not widely accepted.

Tom Ficorilli (junior-polymer science) blames his parents for his anal habits. His desk at home is organized -- the first drawer holds papers and notebooks, the second, letters, notes and supplies and the third, cassettes and miscellaneous items.

Ficorilli likes having things where he can find them and gets frustrated when he can't find what he's looking for. People who are unorganized weren't "brought up correctly," or they might just be lazy, he said.

But Jessica Aucamp (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said she isn't anal -- she is compulsive.

"I have to check the curling iron like five times before I leave," she said.

Actions like Aucamp's are called "checking rituals" and are behaviors exhibited by those who experience obsessive-compulsive disorder, Draguns said.

"Anal-retentive people are at risk for obsessive-compulsive disorders," Draguns said. Anal retentiveness is a personality trait, not a psychological disorder like obsessive-compulsive behaviors, he added.

"Obsessive-compulsive individuals are depressed, and to some extent are disabled by their symptoms," Draguns explained.

For those who have anal-retentive behaviors and wish to change, the process is long, Draguns said. It demands gradual change and retraining in the person's lifestyle, he said.

But for most, anal retentiveness exists in little quirks. Even Lady Lion's Basketball Coach Rene Portland has some anal behaviors.

She describes herself as "a list person." Portland's lists are so specific that she writes down the color of stockings to wear at an away game, and may write an out-of-bounds play on a grocery list.

"My lists are crazy sometimes," she said.