Originally Posted by
AlwaysFlyStar
I usually do this (albeit with my foot rather than hand) when I am escorting my grandparents or if someone is pushing a pram or wheelchair. But that is primarily because some lifts will close until they meet resistance rather than just going by sight and I don't want the doors to knock them over.
I tend to think it's like when you see Japanese people on their cell phones bowing to whomever they are speaking to..as if the person on the phone can see them bowing. There is a kind of muscle memory. But still, it's unthinking behavior and irks me.