What Your Sitting Position Says About Your Personality; According to Psychologists

You might not notice it, but how you sit varies based on your mood and according to psychologists a lot can be read from your sitting position. Your personality, your intentions, and even your hidden desires can all be worked out by how you arrange your body. It’s a great way to subtly check out someone’s personality, without probing them too heavily.

Here’s a rundown on how the way you sit, could be giving away secrets about your personality.

1. Tall and Erect

This isn’t too much of a surprise, but people who sit straight up with their feet firmly planted on the floor are usually the most confident people you will meet in life. They indicate a strong and reliable person, one of those types everyone runs to in a crisis. You might need to consider chilling out slightly if this is your normal sitting position.

2. Crossed Legs Sitting Position

This can be a confusing one, as it means you are feeling insecure or you could be sitting close or next to someone you are attracted to. Probably best to check out who is around them before you make this call.

3. Crossed Legged Sitting Style

If you’re a person who enjoys sitting crossed-legged it means you are open, easy-going and laidback. Physically, you are open to new ideas and have a flexible emotional nature.

4. Crossed Ankles

Sitting in a chair with one leg over the other at the ankles has a completely different meaning to crossed legs. It’s usually adopted by well-mannered, but down to earth people. The relaxed pose, with the legs slightly open, indicates you have nothing to hide and in an open mood. It’s also a rather regal sitting position, that puts people around you at ease.

5. Sitting in the Center of a Bench

Even deciding where you sit can say a lot about a person – someone who sits directly in the center is confident and perhaps a little self-centered because they don’t consider anyone else when it comes to taking up the room. It could also be a device to ensure no-one sits next to you, meaning you might be seeking space and solitude.

6. Using Armrests

This might comes as a surprise, but sitting stiffly while using armrests is seen as a sign of insecurity because you need something to steady yourself and give you support, both physically and mentally. It can also be an indication that you’re a highly sensitive and grounded person, who is in touch with your feelings.

7. Clasping Your Hands

If you do this then you may be a “people pleaser” or someone that’s attempting to be very polite. It can also mean that you are lying and trying too hard to please those around you.

8. Crossing Your Arms

Not too much of a surprise here – the crossed arms look is an indication you may be angry or feeling defensive. You are creating a physical barrier across your chest, so could also be a sign you are feeling threatened and in need of literally protecting yourself from the outside world. Check out the feet too as whoever they’re pointing away from could be the culprit of that frustration.

9. Crossing Your Wrists

Crossing your hands further down in your lap has an entirely different meaning and could indicate you are feeling insecure. The inner wrist is known to be one of the most vulnerable places on the body, so protecting these could indicate you feel under threat.

10. Hands in Your Lap

If you have your hands interlocked in your lap, you are usually a calm and peaceful person, who might also be on the shy side. Sensitive to other people’s feelings, it is also a signal of someone who is gentle and empathetic to those around them.

11. Kneeling

This might seem submissive because you’re nearer the ground, but according to psychologists, the kneeling position is actually quite aggressive. It’s not a very warm or comforting position, so don’t expect to make friends if you sit like this.

12. Spreading Your Knees Out to One Side

Sitting with your knees and legs out to one side indicates a caring and delicate person with a kind nature. It can also mean you’re feeling flirty if sat close to another person – so best to check who is around when trying to read this sitting position.

13. Leaning Backwards with Your Hands on the Floor

This pose can be seen as a sign of someone analyzing a situation. From this sitting posture, you are able to assess everything going on in front of you. It’s not an aggressive pose, so perhaps you don’t want to get directly involved with what’s happening, but instead quietly forming your own judgment. Considerate people, often adopt this sitting pose.

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