BREA TALLEY

[Company address]

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Inquiry Path Project

Brea Talley
6 October 2015
Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103

First impressions
Impressions are made up of multiple components, each playing a vital role. Impressions
do not merely emerge from the first face to face interaction, they are formed long before. An
impression is a combination of various parts both verbal and nonverbal. Whether it be from a
telephone conversation, social media, word of mouth or simply analyzing ones name. Society
wastes little to no time when it comes to judging people. People are constantly inclined to rely
on stigmas and stereotypes in order to not only examine, but to also figure out each other. By
doing this When we compare people rather than evaluating each one separately, run counter to
the well-known halo effect, in which someone scoring high on one quality gets higher ratings on
other traits. (Marina Krakovsky). This forces people to make assumptions on others character
traits and personality, in turn creating a clouded perception of others true dispositions.
Inaccurate speculations are not completely in fault of our twisted society, human nature plays an
important role behind the reasoning as well. As humans we are wired to make decisions on
behavior and survival pretty abruptly (Michelle Trudeau).

Common misconceptions regarding impressions are often made, such as that they are
irreversible. Society believes that you cannot change someones opinion of you. But on the
contrary that is not a true statement, with time and persistence the impression can be altered.
Nowack states that studies show that in a span of four or more future interactions an initial
perception can be altered. Rick Nauert Ph.D. agrees with Nowacks claim by saying Experts
have discovered that new experiences that contradict a first impression become "bound" to the
context in which they were made, whereas first impressions still dominate in other contexts. If
there are additional encounters that leave lasting impressions the initial impression can be
altered. For example if a person perceives you as a mean person after multiple meetings they can
realize and understand that sarcasm is merely your sense of humor, and that the harsh facial
expression is just your general unintentional appearance. "What is necessary is for the first
impression to be challenged in multiple different contexts. In that case, new experiences become
decontextualized and the first impression will slowly lose its power," Gawronski . If society just
took the time to not judge a book by their cover, giving them a chance to prove themselves,
altering of impressions would not have to occur. Which would be especially good considering the
fact that most people are reluctant on giving second chances, always carrying a closed minded
opinion of a person or topic until they are repeatedly prove wrong. Phycology today says Even
if we're presented with lots of evidence to the contrary, we're attached to our initial impressions
of people
Stereotypes cause stigmas which then affect peoples impressions of you. A stereotype
is based on a prior assumption. (Anonymous 1). Within seconds of interaction with others you
are unknowingly categorized, penalized and now carry a stigma before you even have a chance

to tell them your name due to no fault of your own. One has a stigma due to the fact that they are
stereotyped. In addition to already having a preconceived idea of how a person will act and what
their character is; the stigma they are given is what causes them a mark of disgrace causing them
to be counted out or a mark of praise that causes them to have an advantage in certain
circumstances . Stereotypes gone far beyond the commonly thought of topics such as race,
gender, culture and religion. Sexual orientation, fashion sense and cliques are just a few
examples of on how deep stereotypes go as stated in (Stereotype Examples). Kimberly A. Quinn
says In everyday life, we are repeatedly confronted with people with whom we must interact. In
order to accomplish this goal, however, we must form an impression that captures the other
persons characteristics in a coherent and meaningful manner. Although Stereotyping is not the
most accurate process it is the go to method when trying to create conclusions on the spot.
Generally stereotypes and stigmas are negative but in some scenarios these can be positive and
can give certain people an upper hand such as getting a job over someone else because of how an
employer expects you to act.
Verbal and nonverbal are both components by which people are judged, but the nonverbal
communication is valued and studied more than verbal. The greatest ways we are perceived by
others is on non-verbal communication, which includes image and body language (Raes 1). It
sets the foundation on what there hypothesis is of ones verbal communication capabilities, once
again by making inferences. Wikipedia agrees with Raes and says A first impression is a lasting
non-verbal communicator. Essentially saying that an impression is primarily made up of nonverbal components. Nonverbally one can review your gender, age, race, sexual orientation,
status even intelligence and many other characteristics. Verbally one analyzes your tone of voice,
eye contact when speaking, and grasps a feel for your personality, and determines if you are

articulate or not. Body language, appearance and oral all go hand and hand and confirm one
another to help create a complete impression. When creating an impression of others how one
carrys themselves and feels about themselves is projected outward in both verbal and nonverbal. Tone of voice and eye contact are both instances in where confidence can be determined.
Wording and posture are ways in which personality can be inferred as well, it is not quite what
you say yet how you say it and what image your body language is saying. . This is how the two
components work in a partnership to conclude an impression.
Psychology behind peoples perceptions of others. Social psychology says People often
assume that others have inner qualities that correspond to their observable behaviors. "What is
beautiful, is good" meaning that psychologically we anticipate that if a person is attractive that
everything about them will be pleasant as well; as a society it is not assumed that people will not
be as they appear. Our brains are not hardwired to think in a way of assuming the worst, we are
very mentally trusting. About Education agrees We frequently base our impressions on the
roles and social norms we expect from people. All and all the psychological aspect of
impressions are based of familiarity whether they be from past experiences, what we have been
taught, and medias role in portraying character traits.
All in all to conclude When we meet a person, we immediately and often unconsciously
asses him or her (Krakovsky 1). First impressions do not ultimately or permanently defining of
a person. There are numerous elements that come together in order to make an impression. First
impressions are made up of things that are not really relevant in some cases causing them to be
inaccurate in others an initial impressions is spot on. It all depends on the circumstances in which
the inferences are made. Some elements of impression forming are more significant than others.
For instance, when recalling encounters Macro traits (which are character traits) that are made up

of Micro traits (which is body language) are what is going to be remembered. There is not a
precise mathematical formula that lays out how to properly analyze someone; and how long to
evaluate each aspect when making an impression. Each and every scenario is very different.

Brea Talley

Work cited page

6 October 2015
UWRT 1103

Citations
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