Two recent studies of where people prefer to sit make drafting seating plans for holiday events a little bit easier.

It won't surprise you to learn that science has found that people tend to repeatedly select the same seat (think: chair in a classroom). Costa, writing in Environment and Behavior, has done some interesting research indicating why: "The territorial behavior observed in public settings may originate from the reducing influence that territoriality exercises on conflict behavior. The ability to link a person or a group with a particular location seems to help in predicting both other people's behavior in that space and interaction patterns. Territorial functioning in public territories, therefore, helps individuals to control the environment to achieve goals with minimal interference, thereby reducing stress and anxiety." So, research would support taking the easy way out - Aunt Sue should sit between Uncle Bill and Uncle Bob, in the arrangement the three of them developed decades ago.