A: Walk

PEOPLE MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT YOU BASED ON HOW YOU WALK: Do you walk with swagger, or are you known for taking tiny, cautious steps? New data shows that people draw conclusions about others based on how they walk. British researchers showed participants looping video clips of 26 people walking through a single “gait cycle,” or a completed step with each foot. They were then asked to rate the walker on a range of personality traits. Overall, participants thought walkers with looser gaits were more extroverted and adventurous, while those who took shorter steps were perceived as neurotic. The impressions of the participants did not match up with the walkers’ scores on personality tests. Study author John Thoresen says, “It appears that trait impressions based on motion data…are reliable, but not valid.” In other words, observers agree with one another about the personality traits walkers emit, but they are all incorrect. (Yahoo)