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As a fan of Big Brother I watch it in a different way to most people. Due to my training and experience as a psychological interpreter when I watch Big Brother I observe how the different contestants behave and interact with each other. Unlike many other psychologists I don't make interpretations in quite the same way.

For example: Many psychologists look for specific behaviours and then make interpretations based on isolated behaviours. One common behaviour is that crossing your arms or legs means that you are being defensive. This may be true but if you see this behaviour you shouldn't take it in isolation to other behaviours. It could equally be that it is cold or that the person is more comfortable by crossing their arms or legs.

The key point that I would make is that you should keep in mind to watch out for PATTERNS. If someone, for example, covers their mouth and you think they were lying then look for other behaviours that were done at the same time and then check these in future situations. Poker players do this often to notice the behaviours of other players that give away whether they have a good hand or not.

There is so much that I could cover for you to look out for when watching Big Brother that I have to cut down to what I think are the key points. Firstly I will cover what to look out for on the first night.

The first night will be the prime time to really notice what all of the contestants initially think of each other. As everyone knows first impressions count. When it is Celebrity Big Brother all the contestants will not just make judgments based on what the other contestants look like but also on what they know about the reputations and images of the other contestants.

I'm only going to cover the basics here. I will do this partly because you will be watching Big Brother on a screen and are unlikely to see some of the more subtle behaviours like noticing people's eyes dilating (the centre of the eyes getting larger to let in more light/information, a common sign of attraction).

Stepping back

When the contestants enter the house watch how they are greeted by the contestants already in the house. There are many behaviours people do just to be polite. They will do things like cuddling or kissing people on the cheek etc if you watch their feet though you can notice if they really want to keep away from that person or not. If they want to keep away then they are likely to step back putting their weight onto their back foot. If you watch for this sign

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