QUESTION
First Impressions
Post a description of a time when you were certain your first impression of someone you had just met was accurate, only to discover subsequently that you were mistaken. Describe how social psychology theory explains this phenomenon.
First Impressions
Confirmation bias is an interesting phenomenon; it explains people’s misplaced confidence when evaluating someone’s character based on first impressions. If people allow their first impressions to be challenged, there is a chance that subsequent information will compel a revision. However, not everyone is willing to change their first impressions; somehow, their belief in being a good judge of character is threatened if their impression changes.
In this case, there is a resistance to new information that may challenge what they already believe is true. They will likely focus only on details that confirm their first impression while ignoring those that do not. This is why so many insist that, based on “sound” first impressions, they are excellent judges of character. Clearly, this is not necessarily so.
For this Discussion, you will consider a personal experience regarding first impressions and apply social psychology theory to explore how impressions form quickly and persist.
To Prepare
- Review the Learning Resources for this week and consider how downward comparisons and idealized images of physical attractiveness impact the developing self-concept.
- Also, consider whether this impact would be different across race and ethnicity.
Post a description of a time when you were certain your first impression of someone you had just met was accurate, only to discover subsequently that you were mistaken. Describe how social psychology theory explains this phenomenon.
Required Readings
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Sommers, S. R. (Eds.). (2019). Social psychology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Chapter 4, “Social Perception: How We Come to Understand Other People”
Note: Viewing media and interactives embedded in the electronic version of this course text is not required for this course.
| Subject | Psychology | Pages | 5 | Style | APA |
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Answer
First Impressions
The Covid-19 pandemic caused a slow time during the Thanksgiving festival last year. At the time, my father decided that since we would not be inviting family from all over, as it was tradition, we would make it into a neighborhood Thanksgiving. While inviting our neighbors over, I bumped into one of our new neighbors on the block, Henry Gibbins, in the kitchen while he conversed with my mother. As I walked into the kitchen, he went silent with no eye contact, and as soon as I left the kitchen, he got back to the conversation. I overheard part of the conversation where Mr. Gibbins talked about Mrs. Billings’ hospitalization while describing how she looked to be reeling in pain when he visited her. By that snippet of the conversation, I assumed that Mr. Gibbins was a gossip, only to find out later that he, as a doctor in the hospital where Mrs. Billings was, was pleading with us to visit Mrs. Billings and offer blood donations for her upcoming surgery. I was mortified, having learned this later on.
According to the social psychology theory, individuals make first impressions based on traits, beliefs, a non-verbal cues from people one meets. Okten (2018) states that the traits that one is taught to have from birth or through parenting help us interpret social cues. Some of these traits include openness, and being sociable is part of these traits that show individuals to be social. Schab (2018) agrees with this, reiterating that non-verbal behavior adds to first impressions on individuals. Therefore, Mr. Gibbins silence when I walked into the room and continually talking about someone else’s condition without their consent triggered my perception that he was a gossip.
Increasing my reason for the first impression of Mr. Gibbins was his lack of eye contact on top of his silence when I walked into the kitchen (Zebrowitz, 2017). As an adaptive response, Mr. Gibbins went silent because of his confidential status of revealing information to children that would later get conveyed in the right channels.
Conclusively, Mr. Gibbins went silent and did not keep eye contact as a way to remain confidential when I walked into the kitchen. However, my perception of this is that he was a gossip, furthering my first impression that was later in the day debunked when properly explained.
References
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Okten, I. O. (2018). Studying First Impressions: What to Consider? APS Observer, 31(2). https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/studying-first-impressions-what-to-consider Schab, F. (2018, January 18). The Psychology of First Impressions. Six-Degrees.com; Six Degrees. https://www.six-degrees.com/the-psychology-of-first-impressions/ Zebrowitz, L. A. (2017). First Impressions From Faces. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(3), 237–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721416683996
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