What your mindless daily habits reveal about you, according to science

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There are so many actions throughout your day that go unremembered — pulling off a few sheets of toilet paper, sending a quick email to a colleague, picking up toiletries at the drugstore.

But these small, seemingly insignificant behaviors can provide meaningful insights into your emotions, your personality traits, and the way you approach life in general.

We dug up psychological research and expert opinion on what different daily habits might reveal about you.

Note that none of this information is definitive, and that these general findings might not apply to you specifically. Rather, they can provide starting points for learning more about your own and others' motivations.

Your shopping habits may reveal your preference for detail

A visit to the drugstore could tell you a whole lot about the person you're with.

Do they scrutinize the ingredients on each tube of toothpaste until they find one that suits their needs? Or do they choose one quickly and assume they know exactly how it works?

That first type of consumer is what scientists call an "explanation fiend"; the second is an "explanation foe."

A series of experiments published in 2012 found that explanation fiends score high on measures of cognitive reflection, meaning they analyze information to death and prefer lots of detail about products. Explanation foes, on the other hand, score low on measures of cognitive reflection, meaning they don't do well with so many details and prefer more general information.

The way you hang toilet paper may reveal how assertive you are

Relationship expert Gilda Carle surveyed 2,000 men and women about the way they hang their toilet paper. She also asked them to fill out surveys about how assertive they were in their relationships.

As Carle told The Independent, results showed that those who roll the toilet paper over tend to be more dominant, while those who roll it under tend to be more submissive.

Interestingly, some people reported that they change the direction of the roll no matter where they are — and those people were more likely to have dominant personalities.

Your eating habits may reveal how you approach life

The Huffington Post spoke to experts on food-related behaviors and learned that our eating habits can say a lot about our personalities.

Specifically, slow eaters generally like to be in control and know how to appreciate life. Fast eaters tend to be ambitious, goal-oriented, open to new experiences, and often impatient.

Adventurous eaters probably like to step out of their comfort zones, while picky eaters are likely neurotic in different areas of their lives.

Finally, those who separate different foods on their plate are inclined to be detail-oriented and disciplined.