First Impressions of People

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression...” - Harlan Hogan While we can correct, over time, misconceptions of a bad first impression, the first impression will be with us forever. Whether we like to admit it or not, as a society we judge everyone we meet, as soon as we meet them. Right or wrong, each of us do this, usually in under the first 30 seconds of meeting someone new. This is done automatically for many reasons including for safety and procreation. However well evolved we may be, our natural instincts remain intact to assist in keeping us safe and the human race to continue on.

We look at hair style, clothing choice, piercings, and tattoos. I know I do this everyday as a state trooper. When I see someone with prison-type tattoo's - that's a clue to me that they may be up to no good. While not everyone who has neck tattoo is a felon, it does heighten my awareness when I see one. These observations are not the only things I use, but our first impressions are a valuable tool. Just as I am sizing someone up, they too are doing the same to me. If I pull someone over and approach their vehicle with my a stained, untucked uniform shirt, and with boots that are scuffed and looked they hadn't been shined since being in the academy, the occupants will be formulating a negative image of the officer at there vehicle window. For most people this would be an annoyance that someone who looks so slovenly wears a badge, to someone looking to cause the officer harm - this would be an open invitation. If one looks lazy, they probably are. If an officer's hasn't taken the time to get their uniform in ord...

... middle of paper ...

...ing that inaccuracies may exist, we need to adjust for those within our impressions.

Our own bias' are always present. Many studies have shown that attractive people are hired more often, receive higher pay, and are generally perceived to be more happy then unattractive people. Jeremy Biesanz of the University of British Columbia stated, “You do judge a book by its cover, but a beautiful book lead you to read it more closely.”

References:

Vincent D'Onofrio, Search Quotes 2011 retrieved from http://www.searchquotes.com/quotes/author/Vincent_D'onofrio/

Carlin Flora (2004) Psychology Today (2011). Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200405/the-first-impression

Jeremy Biesanz (2010) MedicineNet.com (2010) First Impressions of Attractive People Often Correct: Study. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey