Psychologists say what people say they are is not as important as what their behaviour shows them to be.
Here is what contributors to a debate on the issue say you should look out for:
Speech. The way, a person speaks tell us a lot about their attitude and personality. The more educated a person is, the more polite he tends to become.
Katherine Kinzler , a Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago and author of How You Say It: Why You Talk the Way You Do—And What It Says About You argues in her new book that nouns, verbs, adjectives, and even the speed at which you talk can give impressions about your personality.
“For example, more outgoing people are more likely to speak louder and more quickly. But there are other ways of speaking that can help you to determine someone’s character,” another psychologist says.
Fashion sense. Psychologists say you should never believe a person who tries too hard to appear cool wearing trendy clothes and costly shoes. “He/she is a manipulator and obviously big imposter.,” they warn.
According to Management Study Guide, your dressing sense reflects your personality, character, mood, style and what actually you are as an individual.
“People wearing gaudy clothes with loud make-up are generally extroverts and love partying. You really can make out what sort of person an individual is by his/her dressing,” the Guide says.
Handwriting. It may be little debatable, but handwriting analysts say the more creative and lazy a person is, the roughest his handwriting gets. On the other hand, organized and disciplined people have good handwriting.
If you love writing in large letters, handwriting analysts say you are outgoing, people-oriented, outspoken and love attention.
“This can also mean that you put up a front and pretend to have a lot of confidence,” they warn.
If you write in average letters, it means you are well-adjusted and adaptable. For those who write in small letters, it means you are shy or withdrawn, studious, concentrated and meticulous.
Handwriting analysts believe that the way you cross your t’s and dot your i’s says a lot about you. From the size of your letters to the pressure with which you write, handwriting offers insight into the person behind the pen, they say.
Want to know what yours says about you? Grab an unlined piece of paper, write two sentences and see for yourself. Not sure what to jot down? Remember: It’s not about what you write, but how you write it.
Hygiene. Ordinarily, you can easily figure out if a person is disciplined or not by noticing their hygiene. It is also believed that those who maintain hygiene have high self esteem and they tend to love themselves.
According to Healthline, however, people are quick to pass off poor hygiene habits as laziness, “whereas poor hygiene can be a sign of a disease, such as Alzheimer’s, or a mental health condition, like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Smile. Human Resources expert Zubin Kapadia says a genuine smile also suggests an optimistic outlook on life, as it indicates the ability to find joy in the simplest of things.
“A confident smile speaks volumes about a person’s self-assurance and belief in themselves. It involves a relaxed and open expression, with the lips slightly parted and the corners lifted,” Kapadia says.
How a person treats animals. English singer and songwriter Paul McCartney says, “You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.”
And, according to German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, “Compassion with animals is intimately associated with the goodness of character.”
The philosopher argues that the opposite is also true — that a bad person is somebody who is cruel towards animals. The basic idea is that the manner in which you treat animals reflects upon yourself — if you show kindness and patience and tenderness towards animals, it means that you’re probably kind and graceful and tender towards yourself.
Whereas if you take it out on an animal, if you’re angry with an animal, if you accuse them of things that have more to do with your own human emotions than with their animal state of nature, it says more about you than it does about them.
