What Does Your Email Signature Say About You?
Though I didn't end up directly pursuing a career in the field I received my bachelor's degree in (psychology), I still have a great fondness for learning more about the mind and human behavior. Currently, I am reading a fascinating book by Sam Gosling, Ph.D. called "Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You" and I just finished a section that I thought would be fun to share (and see if you can figure out) which includes a segment where he discusses email signature quotations. I found it rather pertinent, because I just discussed my own email signature in this blog.
In this chapter about identity, Dr. Gosling writes about various email signatures that he has collected over the years from his email correspondence. Below are eight of those quotes, followed by a list of the people who sent the emails. Can you match up the quotes to the mailers, based on a short descriptive of each? After you try your hand at guessing, leave your own email signature as a comment. If you don't have a signature, what quote WOULD you use if you did?
Quotes
- A. "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." - MLK, Jr.
- B. "Solutions that ignore causation solve nothing."
- C. "There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them."
- D. "You know, it's a small world ... but I wouldn't want to have to paint it." - Steven Wright
- E. "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest."
- F. "Basic psychology is one of my subroutines." - A. Schwarzenegger as T3
- G. "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt
- H. "I'll play it first and tell you what it is later." - Miles Davis
Now match these people to their email signature quotes:
- 1. A police officer
- 2. A graduate student interested in evolutionary explanations for human behavior
- 3. A nerdy computer technician
- 4. The director of an Hispanic research center
- 5. A professor of animal behavior known for taking giant imaginative intellectual leaps
- 6. An undergraduate student hoping to be admitted to Dr. Gosling's Ph.D. program
- 7. A psychology professor
- 8. A low-ranking person in an organization who had just taken the plunge and sent out an email to the whole organization detailing a superior's sexual misconduct
**Don't click below until you want to see the answers**
A. "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." - MLK, Jr. = 4. The director of an Hispanic research center
B. "Solutions that ignore causation solve nothing." = 2. A graduate student interested in evolutionary explanations for human behavior
C. "There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." = 1. A police officer
D. "You know, it's a small world ... but I wouldn't want to have to paint it." - Steven Wright = 3. A nerdy computer technician
E. "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." = 8. A low-ranking person in an organization who had just taken the plunge and sent out an email to the whole organization detailing a superior's sexual misconduct.
F. "Basic psychology is one of my subroutines." - A. Schwarzenegger as T3 = 7. A psychology professor
G. "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt = 6. An undergraduate student hoping to be admitted to our Ph.D. program
H. "I'll play it first and tell you what it is later." - Miles Davis = 5. A professor of animal behavior known for taking giant imaginative intellectual leaps
As this exercise reflects, collecting small bits of information about people helps piece together the everchanging puzzle of behavior and personality. Your email signature will surely change over time and accordingly convey glimpses into the ways you perceive yourself and how you want others to perceive you.
What is YOUR email signature and what does it say about you?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 9:18AM
Reader Comments (11)
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
I'm not sure what that says about me. Maybe that I resist to live realistically according to society. The constant struggle of autonomy.
The force is like Duct Tape - it has a dark side, it has a light side, and it binds the universe together!
ya, i love star wars ---- what can I say?
peace&love&pain
- It says i'm a hippy with an attitude
"we should put that record on, the one you found when you were gone. the one that has those sad, sad songs and makes you sing out loud"
Love you, Boo!
My e-mail sig usually is either a line from one of my favorite songs or some smart-a$$ed funny saying.
“Anarchism, really stands for the liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from the shackles and restraint of government.”
hmmm, what does that say about me. Probably depends on who you ask.
Steve, it says to me that you're one free thinking, smart person, and that rocks!
My signature would be: "Sorry for the long ass email" which says I type as fast as my brain thinks...too fast!
"Poof, and there it was"
Sort of like, how "god" created teh Universe. Manifestation. Speak it and it shall be so. Etcetera. :)
My sig has the following quote...
“We get into desperate trouble...when we treat life as something distant from us that we ignore and occasionally visit”.
It reminds me how pathetic it is to spend 40 hours a week with your coworkers but only half that with your family.
Thanks I just found your site but have some blogs I would definitely want to nominate!
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Hey, I'm an environmentalist that is always looking for a way to get people thinking about speaking up for what they believe in. Hopefully, with each email I send it will spark a fire in the hearts of the receiver.