It’s clear that the pictures, mementos and even the rubble piled in a corner of the office say a lot about the mug behind the desk.

But what? Arrangement of the junk is a good place to start when sizing things up.

“Take a look at the placement of the object,” says Dr. Samuel D. Gosling, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, and author of The Secret Language of Stuff, to be published early next year by Basic Books. “There are two audiences: others and ourselves. Some items are intended to show or build status. Others are simply expressions of values or personality traits, with no effort to establish status.”

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This insight helps you get a first read on a person when you walk into an office or past a cubicle. A person unsure of himself may try on various “looks” and work hard to be outrageous. A person trying to build status, and perhaps a little unsure of his standing, could place a pricey antique barber chair in the center of the office and perch on it during staff meetings.

“People sometimes make these status statements in a desperate way,” Gosling says. “But that doesn’t mean they’re being disingenuous. We want others to know who we are and just because someone is deliberately trying to tell us doesn’t mean they’re trying to pull the wool over our eyes.”

Whether you work at a mom-and-pop operation or at a major firm like JPMorgan Chase (nyse: JPM – news – people ), Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD – news – people ) or Cisco (nasdaq: CSCO – news – people ), you don’t have to be named Sigmund to figure out what you’re supposed to make of a degree from a big name university hung at eye level for all to see when walking into an office: I’m smart! Never mind that the truly brainy don’t feel compelled to advertise the name of their old school. This malady afflicts many run-of-the-mill politicians who always let you know they went to a fancy school and often seem to be saying that the rest of us should shut up and listen to our betters.

“A lawyer with cases and cases of law books, scientists with rows of journals or English professors with all the classics are making implicit associations with various sources of authority,” Gosling says. “The bound volumes persist even though they may rarely be used. If I’m looking up a psychology article, it’s more efficient to get it online, even if it’s in one of the journals on my shelf.”

Pictures of the cubicle dweller with famous people may be intended to convey a similar message: I’m important. But not all pictures are created equal. There’s probably a difference in status and accomplishment between someone pictured with presidents, popes and Nobel Prize-winning physicists and someone shown with movie stars, rock bands or sports heroes. There also may be a difference in intent: The person displaying pictures of matinée idols could be star struck or just having goofball fun.

Warning: There is no cookbook that tells you this or that gizmo or knick-knack means X, Y or Z. It’s therefore very easy to become an armchair shrink and over-reach for meaning. Ask several people what the junk in Joe’s office says about good old Joe and you’re likely to get several different answers. So, think of office decor as the first take on a person whose personality will unfold over time as the working relationship develops.

“Look for an overall theme,” Gosling says. “Individual items may be ambiguous. A single object or picture is just one piece of the puzzle.”

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