Assignment 1: Are You What You Wear/Buy/Sit On/Sleep In/Talk To?

This assignment/experiment consists of several parts, swapping photos with someone from another discipline (who I don’t know personally) of either your living space or from your childhood, analysing these photos and coming to a conclusion as to what you believe their personality is like. Results are then swapped back to your partner to see how accurate your findings are.
When we were first given this experiment I was slightly hesitant as to how the process would work and how correct your assumptions on someone can be, we were assured that the experiment was supposed to make us feel uncomfortable as you’re making decisions on what a stranger is like through photos of them.

I found it easier to list different categories on my partner, for example: Environment, Activities, Common Objects, Family/Friends and Hobbies. Grouping photos together into each category allowed me to see if there was a running theme that featured throughout. Unbeknown to my partner she had sent me two pictures related to her and dolphins, I made an assumption that they were her favourite animal and took this further to assume that perhaps she was involved in sponsoring dolphins and/or animal charities/organisations, which ended up being spot on. Was this a subconscious decision on her part to send me multiple photos with the same theme? It felt almost rude to make a statement about someone you’ve never met even if it was with their permission, however I found letting yourself make an assumption which leads to another and then another ended up being successful and proves how much you can learn about someone from such a small clue. Another example was that her family featured in the majority of her photos leading me to be sure that she’s a very family orientated person and they’re very important to her, there were plenty of photos of her participating in physical/competitive activities showing that she’s an enthusiastic and lively person who may be part of a team or club (I guessed trampolining due to two of the photos and was unfortunately wrong).

As for my results I was taken aback by how much could be revealed about my personality from the stuff in my room, how things acquired over time can tell so much about you and how what you choose not to showcase is just as important as what you do. My partner came to the conclusion that I was quite an untidy person due to loose socks etc around my room, however I’m aware of where everything is, the term organised mess comes to mind which I’ve heard countless times about my living space. Alot of observations she made about me had also been brought up by my flatmate a couple days earlier who has know me for five or so years, which was quite surprising considering a stranger’s judgment on me based solely on my belongings is the same as someone who I count as being a close friend. Having alot of photos/flyers/posters stuck up on my walls is something that I’ve always had, however I’ve never really put any thought into how much of my personality is revealed through what imagery I choose to surround myself with, whether it be photos of memories with friends, gigs I attended or my calendar revealing my shameless fascination with Beyonce.

This is where Snoopology came in handy, I found it an interesting read especially seeing as it can take just one item, and where it’s placed in a room for someone to form a complete opinion on you or be baffled as it doesn’t match what they thought they knew about your personality, this comes from the ‘Belgian Sleuths and Scandinavian Seabirds’ chapter where the author mulls over a seagull mobile his colleague displays in her office and changes his mind several times over on what he thinks it symbolises. I was left with the question, does every item we own have a significance? Is it enough to simply like the look of something without it representing a personality trait you may/may not know you had? With my partner’s feedback I realised that this is true to a certain extent, with every item we acquire comes the decision to keep or throw out, to display or hide, to be used or shoved to the back of the cupboard and forgotten about.

This links to the Johari Window, which according to founders Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham is “one of the most useful models describing the process of human interaction”, split between what you know about yourself that others know, what you know and others don’t, what others know and you don’t and what neither of you know. The thought of having traits that you don’t know you possess and others do is a slightly scary thought, and when these are pointed out to you can make you feel self conscious and question how well you know yourself, for example I wasn’t aware that my lack of ‘chick flicks’ in my dvd collection may be a defining attribute to my personality, I think this is where this experiment made myself and peers uncomfortable as these characteristics are being pointed out to you by a complete stranger who has acquired photos of your room/self.