Science has revealed that our habits can reveal a lot about our personalities. There are several weird things that can reveal who we truly are.
We all do things a little differently, but most of us don’t give this a second thought. A habit or preferences is just that, nothing more – right? Well, it’s actually quite surprising what our habits, preferences and the weird things we do reveal about our personalities.
Social scientists have done some interesting studies that show some surprising correlations between specific habits and certain personality types.
See what these 7 habits, preferences and other weird things reveal about you.
1. Your selfie style
Your selfie style may reveal how open you are to new experiences.
In a new study from the University of Singapore, researchers asked a group of 123 selfie-takers to share their photos and complete a personality questionnaire.
Researchers found that those who pouted their lips into a “duckface” tended to be emotionally unstable. However, conscientious folk tended to conceal the location of their selfie, indicating that they were more private and possible security conscious.
The study also found that those who were highly agreeable held the camera lower. In addition, those who were most open to new experiences often laughed or smiled in their photo.
2. Your coffee preferences
You may be surprised what your coffee preferences might reveal about your personality.
A study published in a journal called ‘Appetite‘ showed that people who prefer bitter/sour foods and drinks are more prone to have psychopathic tendencies. Those who prefer bitter and sour flavors, like black coffee, gin, radishes and beer, are, apparently, more prone to exhibit traits that are more psychopathic in nature.
The study found the reverse is true of those who prefer cream and sugar in their coffee. These people tend to be more agreeable and thoughtful of others.
However, before you judge your black coffee loving friends, consider that they might just be health conscious and not actually a psychopath.
3. Your music preferences
A recent study claims that music preferences can be associated with certain character traits.
The study was led by Professor Adrian North of the Department of Applied Psychology at the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. It found a correlation between prefered music style and personality type.
Here are some of the musical styles and the characteristic traits of their fans:
OPERA – high self-esteem, gentle, creative.
CLASSICAL MUSIC – high self-esteem, quiet, introverted, creative.
JAZZ – high self-esteem, outgoing, calm, creative.
BLUES & SOUL – high self-esteem, outgoing, calm, gentle, creative.
REGGAE – high self-esteem, not hard-working, sociable, calm, gentle, creative.
COUNTRY & WESTERN – hard-working, sociable
INDIE – low self-esteem, not hard-working, restless, creative.
BOLLYWOOD – outgoing, restless, creative.
CHART POP – high self-esteem, hardworking, outgoing, calm, gentle, not creative.
RAP – high self-esteem, sociable.
DANCE – sociable, creative.
ROCK & HEAVY METAL – low self-esteem, not hard-working, introverted, calm, gentle, creative.
4. The way you hang toilet paper
The way you hang your toilet paper could be one of the particularly weird things to reveal your character.
Apparently, this simple habit can reveal whether you are passive or assertive. Relationship expert Gilda Carle surveyed 2,000 men and women about the way they hang their toilet paper. She also asked them to fill out surveys about how assertive they were in their relationships.
The results showed that those who roll the toilet paper over tend to be more assertive. At the same time, those who roll it under tend to be more submissive. In fact, some people change the direction of the roll no matter where they are – and those people were the most likely to have dominant personalities.
5. Your email style
Your email style could reveal more about your personality than you realise.
Psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic claims that you can tell an extrovert from their email style as they tend to talk about fun-related things, like music and parties.
He also suggests that you can tell a narcissist because they tend to use negative words, such as “depressed” and “angry.” They also talk about themselves a lot and use words such as “I,” “me,” and “mine.”
6. Your holiday preferences
Your holiday preferences also reveal a lot about your personality.
Whether you prefer big, open spaces like the ocean or closed environments like forests can determine whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert.
According to a study published in Science Direct, introverts are more likely to head into the trees for a getaway. At the same time, extroverts love the open space and the social opportunities of a beach.
7. Your nervous habits
If you have a lot of nervous tics, such as nail-biting, hair pulling or skin picking, it can suggest that you are a perfectionist.
Many people think of nail-biting as a nervous habit, but the driving force behind this behaviour may actually be perfectionism rather than anxiety. Evidence shows that people who compulsively bite their nails, pick their skin or pull their hair are often perfectionists. These actions may help them soothe boredom, irritation and dissatisfaction.
In one recent study, researchers filmed people while they were in a situation that was stressful, frustrating, relaxing, or boring. Results showed that those who scored high on measures of perfectionism were more likely to display nervous behaviors, especially in the stressful, frustrating, and boring conditions.
Closing thoughts
Of course, none of this information is definitive and these findings might not necessarily apply to you. The weird things that we do can all have many causes. However, they do provide a fun place to start to explore our personalities a little more.
References:
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/linqiu/publications/selfie.pdf
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666315300428
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019188690400368X
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/dec/27/what-your-toilet-paper-says-about-you-quiz
https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/sep/24/online-offline-personality-digital-identity
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656615300027
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005791614000925
Kirstie Pursey
Kirstie works as a writer, blogger and storyteller and lives in London with her family of people, dogs and cats. She is a lover of reading, writing, being in nature, fairy lights, candles, firesides and afternoon tea. Kirstie has trouble sitting still which is why she created www.notmeditating.com to share techniques and practices for tuning out the busy mind. She is also the author of Not Meditating: Finding Peace, Love and Happiness Without Sitting Still.