12 small habits that reveal a lot about your personality

People show who they really are in very subtle ways – including their habits. In fact, your choices and preferences are almost as telling as your Myers-Briggs personality type. Read on to learn more about the habits that speak volumes and that reveal more about your personality than you think.

Check out what your face shape could be saying about your personality.

The debate about the “right way” to hang your TP has raged nearly since the roller’s invention. However, relationship therapist Dr Gilda Carle, claims that she can learn about your personality through your preference on this matter. She surveyed 2000 men and women about whether they hang their toilet paper in the overhand or underhand position. She also asked her volunteers to fill out questionnaires that would probe how assertive they were – on a scale of 1 to 10 – in their relationships. Dr Carle’s results suggest that those who prefer the overhand method are more dominant, while the under-handers tend to be more submissive. (Some extremely dominant types even admitted to switching the paper direction in other bathrooms they visited.) “What first began as a fun exercise actually turned into an accurate assessment tool. While it adds humour to the conversation, it also provides insight on your compatibility with a prospective partner,” Dr Carle tells the Independent.

A study published in Journal of Research in Personality suggests that you can read someone’s personality through their choice in footwear. Volunteers submitted photos of their shoes and then completed a questionnaire on their personality traits. Another group gazed upon the photos and then described the personality of the wearer – and they were remarkably accurate. They gauged the age, income and attachment anxiety of someone based solely on the shoes. Their results indicate that people who wear comfortable shoes tend to be relatively agreeable. Ankle boots are generally worn by those who are more aggressive. Wearing uncomfortable shoes implies that you’re more of a calm person, while those with new and well-maintained footwear have a more anxious or clingy persona.

Not an introvert or an extrovert? Here are some signs you could be an ambivert.

Body language expert Patti Wood tells Men’s Health that your stroll reveals your personality. If your weight is usually forward and your stride is quick, you are extremely productive and highly logical. People admire you for that, but you may come off a bit cold and competitive. If you walk with your chest forward, shoulders back, and your head held high (common in a lot of politicians and celebrities), you are fun, charismatic and socially adept, though you may tend to hog the spotlight. If your weight is over your legs, not forward or back, you’re more interested in people than in tasks, and more focused on your personal life than your career. You’re great when part of a group, but tend to get distracted. Lastly, if you’re light on your toes when you walk and your eyes are glued to the floor, you’re most likely introverted and polite. A study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence suggests that jail inmates with psychopathic tendencies were able to judge vulnerability and pick potential victims simply by viewing the way people walk; you might want to adopt some of those more assertive styles.

Read on to find out what your walking style can also reveal about your health.

A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found your handshake can alter people’s impressions of you. In the experiment, judges were trained to assess eight characteristics of a handshake: completeness of grip, temperature, dryness, strength, duration, vigour, texture and eye contact. The results indicate that participants with firmer handshakes described themselves as more emotionally expressive, extroverted and positive than others. Those with looser grips were more shy and neurotic. The judges’ first impressions correlated with this – they agreed that the participants with firmer handshakes were more confident and less socially anxious.

If you’re trying to pick up cues from your colleague, the answer may lie in your inbox. Psychologist Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, writes in Fast Company that there is a strong connection between our email persona and our real-life character. Text mining studies have found associations between certain keywords and major traits. Narcissists will generally use words such as “I,” “me,” and “mine” frequently. Extroverts tend to be more casual and talk about fun-related things, like music and parties. And it’s not only what you say – it’s how you say it. An absence of typos is a sign of someone’s conscientiousness, perfectionism and potential obsessions, whereas poor grammar indicates lower levels of IQ and academic intelligence. Interestingly, long emails reflect energy and thoroughness, but also some degree of neediness.

Before you hit ‘Unsubscribe’ on unwanted emails, read this first.

Are you a nail biter or skin picker? Scientists call these “body-focused repetitive behaviours” (BFRB). In a 2015 study published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, researchers analysed people’s personalities and then filmed while they were in a situation that was extremely frustrating, relaxing, or boring, looking for tics that might emerge. People who compulsively tugged on their hair or bit their nails tended toward perfectionism, and their actions are a result of trying to soothe boredom, irritation and dissatisfaction. Because it feels better to do something instead of nothing, repetitive behaviour proves comforting.

A study published in the Journal of Research in Personality suggests that timeliness is an accurate assessment of positive character traits. In the study, researchers asked participants to complete a personality assessment at home and come to the laboratory for a group experiment. By analysing the participants time of arrival, they found punctual people were more conscientious and agreeable; being early was connected to neuroticism. And those who are chronically late tended to be more laid-back.

Read on to find out if your neuroses are normal.

You are what you eat – but science suggests you also are how you eat. Dr Julia Hormes, a psychologist specialising in food behaviour, and Juliet Boghossian, a behavioural food expert, told huffingtonpost.com that food-related behaviours can tells us a lot about personality. Slow eaters are usually people who like to be in control and know how to appreciate life, but fast eaters tend to be ambitious and impatient. The adventurous eater is a thrill-seeker and risk-taker, while picky eaters are likely to exhibit anxiety and neuroticism. Lastly, if you’re someone who likes to separate different foods on their plate, you’re very cautious and detail-oriented in your everyday life.

Don’t miss these habits for eating well.

Want to get to know someone better? Take them to a shopping centre. A series of experiments, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found that there are two types of consumers: the explanation fiend and the explanation foe. A fiend is the type to meticulously scrutinise every single shampoo bottle in the aisle before settling for something. On the other hand, a foe will quickly decide and be done. According to the researchers, the fiends score high on measures of cognitive reflection, meaning they analyse information to death and are detail-oriented. Explanation foes don’t do well with details and prefer more general information.