Psychologists say people who apologize to inanimate objects
share these 5 positive traits
By Evan Porter | Jun 30, 2026
We’ve all done it, but some of us do it more than others: saying “Sorry!” after bumping into a doorframe or “Excuse me!” while nudging past a chair in the privacy of our own homes.
If you’re one of the people who apologize to inanimate objects, you’re not alone. It’s common for people to apologize for things that are out of our control, in general. In fact, about a quarter of Americans do it every day.
Even better, if you’ve recently apologized to your refrigerator, it actually says a lot about you, most of it good. Psychologists say people who apologize reflexively like this, even to nonliving things, likely share these personality traits:
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3. Good at self-regulating
Interestingly, people who apologize to objects aren’t actually apologizing, per se. They aren’t trying to soothe the doorframe they just bumped into. Rather, they’re soothing themselves and regulating their own reactions.
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Moriah O’Barr, PsyD and co-clinical director at Cultivating Courage Psychological Services, adds that these types of apologizers may be highly anxious people by nature. The reflexive “sorry” is just one tool they use to self-regulate.
“When someone runs anxious or is super sensitive to others and surroundings then they may find the ‘sorry’ as soothing to their own reaction,” O’Barr said.