Each person has their own preferences and everyday rituals. We rarely think why they have such habits. We are used to seeing them as very ordinary actions whereas scientists claim that our habits (which may seem quite random) can actually tell a lot about the parts of our personalities we try to keep hidden.
We have prepared a list of 7 common habits and found out which of our secrets they can reveal. At the end of the article, there is a very interesting bonus that will help you tell the difference between fake people and genuine people.
1. Organic food
People who don’t eat harmful food and choose food of high quality without hormones and pesticides are more inclined to judge other people. They are usually less altruistic and very subjective towards others.
The leading author of the research explains the results this way: “People think that they did a good thing and now they have the right to be unethical in the future. It can be compared to visiting the gym, running several miles, and then thinking that now you can eat a chocolate bar.” The same goes for people who eat organic food. They give themselves certain points which they can spend later on some unethical actions.
2. Tanning booths
Most people are aware of the negative effects of tanning and this led to a decrease in the popularity of tanning booths. However, there are still people who visit them regularly and scientists claim that the desire to tan under the artificial sunlight shows that people have other addictions. For example, such people have a 6 times higher chance of becoming alcoholics and are 3 times more likely to suffer from seasonal affective disorder.
3. Cold shower
Scientists claim that people often make up for emotional warmth by changing the temperature of the water in the shower. For example, the more time a person spends in a warm shower, the more lonely they feel. And what about those who love taking cold showers? Research shows that they are stubborn, egocentric, and they don’t like the opinions of others. Such people can listen to a different point of view but they will never agree with it.
4. Reusable shopping bags
A few years ago, reusable fabric shopping bags became trendy and some people were happy to replace plastic and paper bags with them. In this case, just like with the fans of organic food, people feel that they collect points for the good things that they do so such people often buy unhealthy foods like chips, chocolate bars, soda, and so on.
The authors of the study explain that the customers who buy fabric bags think this makes them care about the environment so they have a right to buy something tasty but unhealthy.
5. E-mails
A person’s mailbox can tell a lot about someone’s personality:
- People who never ignore new letters (they sort them, delete, or respond as soon as they get them) love keeping things under control.
- If a person rarely deletes messages after reading, it is a sign of perfectionism. This person needs the sense of security. They keep everything just in case.
- People who leave e-mails unread and don’t delete them are more intelligent because they understand that reading these letters won’t give them anything useful so they choose to not waste their time on it.
6. Social media likes
During the research, scientists discovered that you can use likes on Facebook to find out a person’s gender, political views, sexual orientation, religious views, and intelligence level. The study was conducted to improve the methods of sales of different goods but the researchers also found out that likes are a form of “slacktivism” and a sign of laziness. People can express the fact that they are worried about something with one click of the computer mouse. They save their time and don’t really put forth any effort.
7. Bitter food
Every person knows someone who likes coffee without cream or sugar. Scientists claim that people who like drinking pure black coffee are more likely to have some psychological disorders — like the ones that serial killers have.
According to the results of the study, a taste for bitter foods may be a sign that a person is a psychopath. At the same time, people who like beer, tonics, and other unsweetened drinks are more likely to exhibit traits of sadism or narcissism — they can be hypocritical, vain, and selfish. They might also enjoy it when other people suffer.
Bonus: how to tell fake people from genuine people:
Everyone wants to be successful — it’s hard to deny that. But fake people rush to tell everyone about their achievements. They want to present themselves in the best way possible. And genuine people don’t need to prove anything to anyone. They can feel fulfillment and happiness without showing off and they can be happy for the success of other people.
