Why Are We So Attached to Sitting in the Same Seat?

The Sunday morning step class at my gym draws a devoted group of regulars. I don’t take the class, but I’ve observed the people who do. Some arrive up to 90 minutes early to set up their steps in the spot in the room that they like. Many of them have apparent arrangements where one person will get there early to set up for several others, and they’ll switch off who is in charge each week.

This branch of the gym is small, without much floor space, and many members will use the fitness studio for stretching and free-weight workouts when class isn’t in session. If you happen to be exercising in a spot that one of these step-class fanatics wants to claim, you can feel their energy as the class time approaches. They fill the room with anxiety until you move out of the way so they can set up their steps.

If you observe people in any classroom or conference situation, you will notice similar behavior.

The desire to claim our space is innate.

Territoriality

This behavior is an expression of “territoriality,” a spatial organizing mechanism through which we establish our place in the world and control our environment.

In an article on this topic, Shekhar Chandra quotes University of Victoria psychology professor Robert Gifford, who explains that

Usually territoriality is thought of in terms of aggression and defense, such as when nations or gangs fight, but actually its most common purpose is to keep the peace. Most of the time most people claim a space and others tacitly agree to it.

Why Do We Do This?

So, we know this is a real thing we do. And not just in classrooms, but in conference rooms, on airplanes, on trains, and anywhere else we are asked to sit or be in a certain spot.

The question is: Why do we do this? What’s behind this behavior?

Comfort & Control

It comes down to two things: comfort and control. Comfort is about feeling safe and secure. Control is about controlling the environment around you.

In terms of our human needs, both fall into the category of “certainty.”

Marco Costa, the head of the Department of Environmental Psychology at the University of Bologna, decided to track students’ seating habits. He found that most students choose the same seat repeatedly.

Costa observed that even if they couldn’t “personalize their space and defend it against the invasion of other users when they are absent,” they still sat in the same positions. He concluded that the choice of the same seat helps students gain control of their environment and achieve academic and personal goals with minimal interference.

In other words, it is a way of reducing friction. This is part of how we create the space for our best work. In this case, “best work” may just mean paying attention better during class. By not wasting energy in dealing with elements of the external environment, we free up available resources to allow our brain to focus.

As Chandra notes,

In case of classrooms, always choosing the same spot allows students to effectively regulate and control their relationships with their fellow students in a shared space, which makes them feel more comfortable and less vulnerable.

How Long Does It Take to Form the Habit?

Although you may not think of it as such, choosing the same seat or spot every time you go to the same class is a habit. And it’s probably a habit you didn’t work hard to create.

As I like to say, it’s harder to break a habit than to create a habit.

How long, exactly, does it take us to create this seating habit?

This was the subject of a different study that Chandra mentions in the Quartz article. Gilles Clement of Lyon Neuroscience Research Center and Angie Bukley of International Space University sought to explore how quickly students settle into a specific seat location, if they do at all.

Their research showed that that students start settling into their preferred seats starting from the second day of class. By the end of the first month in the longer course they observed, over half of the students were sitting in the same seat every time.

Two days. I’m pretty sure those students didn’t use habit trackers or willpower to form that habit. 😉

Practice: Broaden Your Perspective

By sitting in the same seat we remove a lot of friction in negotiating with our environment, which help us focus. But we can easily get stuck in a rut. An easy way to get new perspective or open your mind for greater learning is to switch up your seat or spot in the room.

In my apartment, I typically sit in the same chair to do my writing. So at least once a week, I choose a different spot at the table. In yoga class, I’ll switch my spot in the room. It’s a great way to add variety and signal to your nervous system that you will still be safe, even among slightly different surroundings.

You never know what may open up for you just by choosing a new place to sit.

Try it out and let me know what you discover.