First Impressions and Human Behavior

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Recommended: Importance of impression management

Imagine attending a college graduation ceremony and the man giving the keynote address strolls with hunched shoulders up to the podium. His hair has dreadlocks and stands on end in several places. His clothes look as if he quickly picked them out of the bargain bin of the local Goodwill Store. He is wearing a striped sports jacket, plaid golf pants and white, athletic socks with his bright, Bronco orange Crocs. Based solely on this information, will the audience listen intently and gain inspiration from the knowledge this man has to impart? Is it possible for his words to have the same impact on this particular audience as a speaker who marched confidently up to the podium, his head held high, his hair neatly combed, his suit meticulously tailored, and shoes polished to a glossy shine? Most likely not because human nature takes over and first impressions form.

First impressions are powerful and can be difficult to overcome. Research shows first impressions form within a few moments of an encounter and may take many additional encounters to overcome (Tongue, 2007). Observers use many different criteria, such as personal beliefs, verbal cues, non-verbal cues, and aesthetic cues, to form first impressions. However, content has little to do with the impact of a first impression. Appearance has the most impact on a first impression. In fact, only 7% of an impression comes from the actual content of a message. Another 35% of the impression comes from the delivery of the message; tone, inflection and pitch. This leaves, a very large percentage, approximately 55%, of an impression forming based on visualization, how one appears (Jeavons, 2007). Imagine appearance being the deciding factor rather than knowledge. This is h...

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...s” is one of many tools that can be used to gain the necessary understanding of human behavior to be successful in setting aside first impressions and working toward a common goal.

Works Cited

Babcock, M. K. (1989). The dramaturgic perspective: Implications for the study of person perception. European Journal of Social Psychology, 19(4), 297-309. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Clark, D. R. (2010). First Impressions. Retrieved Sept 9, 2011 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/impress.html

Clark, D. R. (2011). Leadership and Human Behavior. Retrieved Sept 9, 2011 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadhb.html

Jeavons, S. (2007). Take Command of the Room With Strong Body Language. American Salesman, 52(4), 28. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Tongue, S. (2007). Every day brings a first impression. Nursing Standard, 22(4), 62-63. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

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