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First impression is misleading
Environment influences human behavior
The impact of first impression
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Recommended: First impression is misleading
Human beings have evolved an incredible ability to form first impressions, rapidly and with a high degree of accuracy as a survival mechanism. Admittedly, it is still difficult to know whether to trust first impressions, given there are so many cautionary warnings. We are told how important it is to make a first impression when going on a first date, a job interview or to meet with a new client. We are also warned to never judge a book by its cover, indicating that our first impression could be flawed and suggesting that first impression are formed solely from appearance. Instead, I suggest that human beings are unconsciously skilled at making first impressions by rapidly assimilating information on visual, environmental and behavioral cues and comparing the cues with their own knowledge and experience to create meaning.
The First Impression Exercise provides a brief paragraph describing the behaviors and environment of two Johns, extroverted John and introverted John(Clark, 1998). After reading each paragraph I quickly documented my first impression of the John described in each paragraph. I described extroverted John as happy, energetic, whole, successful, and lucky. I described introverted John as depressed, slow, unhappy, unsuccessful, alcoholic, lonely and unfriendly.
To determine the factors that contributed to my perception, I read each paragraph again and had several observations, foremost among them being that the paragraphs primarily described behaviors. The paragraphs also described the environment and yet did not actually describe John at all. So what did the behaviors suggest about John?
Extroverted John walked on the sunny side of the street suggesting he was happy and energetic. He also took the...
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...red as a whole and they can be very resistant to change. The research leads me to believe that we should trust our intuition while making a conscious effort to challenge our preconceived notions on a regular basis…just in case.
Works Cited
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Clark, Don. (1997, 4/18/2010). Leadership & Human Behavior Retrieved 3/19/2011, 2011, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadhb.html
Clark, Don. (1998, 8/18/2010). First Impressions Retrieved 3/19/2011, 2011, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/impress.html
Smith, Eliot R., & Mackie, Diane M. (2007). Perceiving Individuals. Social Psychology (3rd ed., pp. 57-93). Hove: Psychology Press.
Agnieszka, Sorokowska, (2013, September), Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, Volume 37, Issue 3, pp. 153-163, Published online (2013, April 16), Assessing Personality Using Body Odor: Differences Between Children and Adults.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the novel explains greatly about a famous phrase that starts with “Don’t judge a book by its cover. People aren’t who they seem to be because most people have qualities that they hide/fake about. This theme is the most significant aspect in the novel. Boo Radley is a character that does a perfect example of hiding his lifestyle the people in Maycomb heard rumors about him being a monster. Atticus is also another great example. In the beginning of the book, Jem refuses to eat dinner until his dad, Atticus, promises him to play football. When Atticus does not tolerate to do that promise, Jem calls/consider him a boring dad. Mrs. Dubose is considered to be a cranky lady, but she is a whole different person. Out of all
Typically, 2 people will form an opinion of others within the first 3 seconds of meeting one another. The way these opinions are formed so quickly is, generally speaking, solely because of physical appearance. All too often, in our society today, people are criticized for what material possessions they have and how much money said people have to spend on things that they do not need, but instead just want. It does not matter where you go; this can be observed almost anywhere. Sometimes, when people notice that someone has cheaper clothes or less objects of purely material value, the people who have more frown upon those who have less. Ev...
...onson, E., Wilson, T.D., & Akert, R.M. (2013). Social Psychology (8th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
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Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2014). Social psychology (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
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Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of Personality (7th ed.). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill.
First impressions are created by a composite of signals given off by a new experience (Flora, 2004). The judgment of these impressions depends on the observer and the person being observed (Flora, 2004). When you meet someone for the first time it takes about three seconds to be evaluated by the observer (Mind Tools, 1996-2011,). During this time the person forms an opinion about you based on your appearance, your body language, your demeanor, and how you dress (Mind Tools, 2996-2011,). Impressions are important to us because they are impossible to be reserved and the set the tone for all the relationships that follow (Mind Tools, 1996-2011).
How first impressions are formed has been a subject of interest by many researchers in the area of psychology.
Sollod, R., Wilson J., & Monte C. (2009.). Beneath the mask: An introduction to theories of personality (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
McAdams, D. P. (2009). The person: An introduction to the science of personality psychology (5th ed.). Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Human interaction can be broken down into two basic fundamentals, non-verbal and verbal communication. Non-verbal communication can include everything from how a person looks, walks, and acts to their body language. People often form immediate first impressions based on these things alone, before that person ever opens their mouth to speak (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2008). Verbal communication can influence this impression and
The New Yorker, with 47 publications each year, often generates some debate. In July 2007, the literary magazine released its latest issue. The cover included the title, price, edition, and three differently dressed women sitting on a bench. The first woman’s face and body are covered, except for her eyes. The second, with long blonde hair, is wearing a halter top, short shorts, sunglasses, and flip flops. The third is wearing a tunic and veil. Our first impressions are often stereotypical, and we must look deeper than the cover. Immediately, different conclusions are drawn based on each woman’s appearance. Just from this magazine cover, we can assume different things about each individual: including her religion, self image, and family life.
Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of Personality, Seventh Edition. Retrieved from http://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBook