We all know the dangers of smoking cigarettes these days, and we don’t condone it. However the 1950’s were a different time, where the advertising and cultural pressure to smoke were strong. Smoking was seen as the epitome of cool and sophistication, and people were largely unaware of any negative consequences.
This article, from a 1959 issue of Caper Magazine, shows a few examples of what psychoanalyst Dr. William Neutra hypothesized after observing the ways people chose to smoke. According to his analysis, the method an individual uses to hold the cigarette shines a light onto their inner selves, exposing their personality traits, moods and insecurities. If you are a smoker, perhaps you recognize some of these yourself?
Scroll down below to check them out for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
(h/t: Vintage Everyday)
A psychoanalyst in the 1950’s believed that the method an individual uses to hold a cigarette shines a light onto their inner selves, exposing their personality traits, moods and insecurities
1. Just a guess for this female mannerism: insecure, afraid to lose that cigarette. She probably holds on to her man like glue
2. Typical grasp of a female bored with her date. She has to concentrate on the tip to keep from yawning
3. Dr. Neutra claims this man is an intellectual, a very brainy type of guy, a contemplative character
4. This person is generally unreliable, weak, hard to live with, and inclined to excessive lying
5. Very tense individual, direct, straight-forward, inclined towards stubbornness
6. A hail fellow, well-met character who enjoys high living. Sort of the Texas millionaire type
7. This guy’s obviously daring, calculating, literally likes to “play with fire”
8. A dreamer, always off on a tangent
9. Very pessimistic, excessive in business caution
Here’s what people had to say about it
