Study: Shoes Accurately Reveal Personalities

A new study finds that shoes are an accurate judge of personality.

The research, from the University of Kansas and published in the Journal of Research in Personality, found that volunteers were often able to determine personality traits simply by looking at shoes. The researchers asked volunteers to identify whether the owner was an extrovert or introvert, liberal or conservative and various levels of emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness.

Some correlations that were uncovered: High earners bought expensive shoes, extroverts wore flashy and colorful footwear, while old shoes in good condition belonged to the conscientious.

The volunteers were best at guessing age, gender, and income based on shoes.