First impression, or What can you say about a person in a couple of seconds

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

According to psychologists, it takes just a few seconds for a person to decide whether you are smart, gay or straight, whether you are successful and whether you can be trusted. What is the first impression phenomenon? Find out from this article.

Thin slices

The term was coined in 1992 by psychologists Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal. They used it to study the phenomenon of first impressions and social intuition.

According to the hypothesis, a person's non-verbal behavior can tell a lot about him. To test this assumption, the scientists recorded 10-second silent videos of lectures by Harvard professors. The videos were shown to people unfamiliar with the teachers and asked them to rate the speakers by 15 parameters (“thin slices”). Volunteers judged how active the lecturers were, self-confidence, spiritual and so on.

Then the experiment was repeated, but already 5-second videos were shown to another group of spectators. Surprisingly, the thin sections in both cases are almost the same. Scientists went further: the timing was reduced to 2 seconds, and the participants in the experiment were updated again. The result was repeated.

After that, the researchers asked to characterize the teachers of the students who attend their lectures and know them for more than one semester. And here was the main surprise.

Thin sections among students and outside observers, who evaluated teachers only on short "silent" videos, practically coincided. This made it possible to summarize:

People make a conclusion about those they see for the first time very quickly, literally within the first 2 seconds of communication. Moreover, their judgment has nothing to do with what the person says.

Let's find out what thin slices people make about us in the first seconds of their acquaintance.

Confidence

Alexander Todorov and Janine Willis from Princeton University, that people make a conclusion about the reliability of the interlocutor in 100 milliseconds.

One group was shown photographs of strangers and asked to rate their attractiveness, competence, and reliability. Each shot was shown 0.1 seconds. Another group was given the same pictures, but time was not limited. As a result, the assessments of the participants in the experiment, who contemplated the photos for only 100 milliseconds, coincided with the assessments of those who looked at the photo as much as they wanted. The correlation was especially strong when assessing the level of trust in a person.

Social status

A study by Dutch scientists that people use clothing as a social marker that determines the position in society and the level of an individual's income. When a person wears Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste or other well-known brands, people around him think that he is in high position.

In one experiment, participants were shown video interviews of applicants for a university laboratory position. Some of the applicants were dressed in plain white shirts, and some in shirts with a clearly marked brand. But the actions and speech of all were identical. Each volunteer was shown only one video, after watching which he had to evaluate on a seven-point scale how much this or that applicant deserves the position and what is his social status. Job seekers in designer clothing were rated higher in society, as were their chances of getting a job.

The authors of the study note that designer clothing did not affect the assessment of other qualities - reliability, kindness, and others. Status only.

Sexual orientation

Nalini Ambady and Nicholas Rule conducted a study, and that a man's sexual orientation can be determined in 50 milliseconds.

Volunteers were shown photographs of men (hetero and homo) from dating sites in random order at different time intervals. With 50 millisecond eye contact with the photo, the accuracy of sexual orientation estimates was 62%.

Rule, Ambady & Hallett, 2009). Moreover, this required even less time - 0.04 seconds.

Intelligence

Nora A. Murphy, professor of psychology at Loyola University in Los Angeles, said that the ability to look in the eyes is considered a sign of intelligence. Those who do not look away when they meet give the impression of more intellectually developed persons.

Murphy tried to determine by what criteria people evaluate intelligence. For this, the subjects were divided into two groups: the first were asked to demonstrate their erudition during a conversation recorded on video; the second were not given such instructions. All participants took an IQ test. The "players" behaved in about the same way: they kept their posture, made a serious face and certainly looked into the eyes of the interlocutor. And it was in this group that viewers most often reliably determined the level of intelligence of the participants, including the low one.

Eye contact during a conversation is the key to behavior. This is correlated with the assessment of intelligence, which can be manipulated if you do not hide your eyes.

In addition, there are other stereotypes that form the idea of the human mind. For example, wearing solid glasses.

If you want to be, not seem, read the articles "" and "".

Licentiousness

British scientists that women with tattoos on prominent parts of the body are perceived as more promiscuous (loving at times hard drinks and leading a promiscuous sex life).

Study authors Viren Swami and Adrian Furham showed subjects photographs of women in swimsuits. Some of them had tattoos on their belly, others on their arms, still others had tattoos here and there, and the fourth did not have them. Volunteers were asked to rate women on three dimensions:

• moral stability;
• alcohol consumption;
• physical attractiveness.

The more tattooed a woman was, the less attractive and chaste she was considered. "A girl with a tattoo in the eyes of the public is a kid who loves alcohol, cool cars and the attention of men," the scientists summed up.

Leadership

Albert E. Mannes of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, that bald men are considered dominant, are perceived as leaders who can successfully lead a team.

The scientist conducted a series of experiments. During one of them, he showed photographs of men with and without hair. The persons in the photo were of the same age and in the same clothes. The volunteers had to look at the pictures and say which of the men is stronger morally and physically. The palm went to the bald ones.

Success

A group of British-Turkish researchers that people in tailor-made suits appear to be more successful in their careers.

The researchers also came to this conclusion during experiments with photographs. The volunteers needed 5 seconds to make a conclusion.

If you want to improve your image and look more successful in the eyes of others, wear clothes that are custom tailored by good tailors.

The study also found that women in sexy skirts and deep-necked blouses are perceived as lower-status workers than women with a strict dress code. Scientists attribute this to the fact that a closed body is a sign of power. From time immemorial, representatives of power structures wore closed robes.

Potential

In 2011, Canadian researchers came to the following conclusion: in the eyes of those around them, men who prefer a classic business suit achieve fame, money and success faster than adherents of the casual style.

Participants of the experiment were shown photographs of models. Some of them were in elegant suits, and some in simple everyday things. Volunteers were asked to predict who the people in the photo would work and what fate awaited them. As a result, men in jeans and sweaters were credited with lower wages and lower positions, even if they sat in leather chairs in plush offices. Conversely, those in strict suits were judged as "kings of life": they will have a lot of money, they will quickly achieve success.

Adventurism

At Durham University, the link between gait and adventure. In their opinion, a free and relaxed gait speaks of extraversion and a penchant for adventures. While jerky gait is inherent in neurotic individuals.

The conclusions were made during an experiment where students watched videos of people walking.

As you can see, the folk wisdom "they meet by their clothes …" has scientific justification. At the same time, the first impression made by a person often remains final.

What do you pay attention to when meeting and why? Let us know in the comments.