Computer screens reveal our personalities

• 
  Antony Savvas
• Published: 27 Feb 2009 12:51

How we organise our computers screens reveals a lot about our personality.

A Microsoft-sponsored study says our screens reveal our personalities, habits and ambitions.

Donna Dawson, a psychologist specialising in personality and behaviour, examined a selection of office workers' desktops as part of the study.

She told the Daily Telegraph personalities could be divided into categories, including, generic, specific place, goal-orientated, trophy, escapist, artistic and sociable.

She said: "Our desktops are our personal space and as such provide a fairly accurate personality description of an individual."

What our desktops reveal:

• Desktop with icons strewn across screen - the owner is disorganised and tends to lose focus easily.
• Even icons on each side - the owner values balance and proportion and tends to keep a cool head in tricky situations. Likely to be organised and dislike clutter.
• Desktop with many rows of icons - reflects a person who needs everything to hand, likes to feel in control and on top of their life, while at the same time revealing a tendency to be slightly disorganised.
• Personal photos as wallpaper - indicates the kind of person you are and what priorities you have. Often a parent will have a photograph of their child, or a keen traveller will have a photo of an exotic location. Photos of friends show popularity, which is useful in work environments where you need good people skills.
• Plain blue wallpaper - suggests the kind of person who likes to keep their personal life private.
• Trophy photos as wallpaper - can suggest a big ego and someone who revels in their past successes.

Source: Daily Telegraph