Can your zoom background reveal intricacies about your personality? According to one psychological study, it very well can!
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How Does The Theory Work?
Do you want to appear more trustworthy during your work-from-home video conference? Well, according to a recent study published in the psychological journal PLOS One, having plants in the background can help. The study looked at how zoom backgrounds can influence the first impressions people form.
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Researchers have found that individuals who sit in front of houseplants or bookcases are generally seen as the most trustworthy. Conversely, those who opt for gimmicky or novelty backdrops, like beaches or animals, tend to be perceived as less dependable.
Study co-author Paddy Ross, a psychology professor at Durham University in the UK, told New Scientist, “With videoconferencing, most of what everyone else sees—the majority of your screen—is taken up with your background.”
This puts extra pressure on individuals, as he added, “So you no longer have to just worry about how you look and how you’re presenting yourself to other people, but also what you have all around you.” This is especially important in the post-pandemic period, as hybrid work arrangements have led to a rise in meetings held through digital platforms.
What Became The Basis Of The Study?
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To understand the messages conveyed by various Zoom backgrounds, Ross and his team collected 72 pictures featuring 36 white adults from a collection of human facial images curated for research purposes.
These individuals were evenly split, with 18 men and 18 women, and they either wore a smile or maintained a neutral expression.
The researchers then superimposed these faces onto six different settings, resembling what one would see in a typical Zoom call: a living room, a slightly blurred living room, a bookcase, a cabinet filled with potted plants, a plain wall, and a walrus in front of an iceberg.
Lastly, the researchers invited 167 participants to assess the individuals’ trustworthiness and competence, using a scale ranging from 1 to 7.
The Conclusion Of The Study
In these categories, individuals with backgrounds featuring plants and bookshelves were viewed most positively. On the contrary, those positioned in a living room or in front of the walrus were seen less favourably.
Meanwhile, the slightly blurred living room and plain wall backgrounds fell somewhere in between on the scale of first impressions.
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