Category: First Impression

INTRODUCTION

Impression is a long-lasting image of a person created in our minds which can last long for years. There are lot of research done by Soloman Asch (1946), Bruner & Taiguri (1954), Rosenberg, Nelson & Vivekanathan (1968) to understand Impression Formation.

According to Soloman Asch (1946) at a glance of any person an impression of his personality can instantly form. Even by looking or talking with that person a whole story about his entire character can be told. These impressions can be formed quickly and easily which can enhance or distress our opinion on a person (Bartleby research, 2017).

This essay may explain you how do impressions form and the causes of their behavior on viewing people. Some of the day to day examples have been mentioned below along with the strengths and limitations also provided.

How do people form impressions on others and the causes of their behavior?

“Social Perception is defined as the mental processes through which people interpret information about others, draw inferences about them, and develop mental representations of them (Bernstein, 2006).” In the context of social anxiety, perceiving others as judgmental, critical can lead to lack of self-disclosure (Eva Gilboa-Schechtman, 2014)

It is part of human nature that we tend to form impressions of people, things, and objects. We tend to classify people as good, bad, strong, weak, helpful, unhelpful and in fact into so many other categories. People form impression on certain things and objects, example known as ‘brand loyalty.’ People buy products like soap, fragrance in superior and good brands than others using (D).

People are very skilled at person perception- the process of learning about other people- and our brains are designed to help us judge others efficiently. It is not surprising that you had these emotions- these initial affective reactions are an essential and highly adaptive part of person perception. One of the things that we need to determine when we first perceive someone is whether that person poses any threat to our well-being. We may dislike or experience negative emotions about people because we feel that they are likely to harm us, just as we may like and feel positively about them if we feel that they can help us (Tarry, n.d.).

When forming first impressions, people typically have to rely on limited and potentially misleading information about others (Okten, 2018). The perception of others is governed by the laws of perception of objects, which is that information is interpreted using schemas. Individuals develop self-schemas through the formation of a social identity and comparison. These are mental representation of their beliefs and views about themselves. Schemas have a significant influence in perception, they determine what information is attended to or ignored and what information is remembered. As a result, we tent to process information about a person more quickly if it confirms our beliefs. The findings of several studies indicate that individuals focus on information concerning the traits of others (Essays,UK, 2018).

Person perception can be very subjective process that can be impacted by a number of variables. Factors that can influence the impressions you form of other people include the characteristics of the person you are observing, the context of the situation, your own personal traits and your past experiences. People often form impressions of others very quickly with only minimal information. We frequently base our impressions on the roles and social norms we expect from people. For example, you might form an impression of a city bus driver based on how you would anticipate that a person in that role to behave, considering individual personality characteristics only after you have formed this initial impression. Physical cues can also play an important role. If you see a woman dressed in a professional looking suit, you might immediately assume that she works in a formal setting, perhaps at a law firm or bank. The salience of the information we perceive is important. Generally, we tend to focus on the most obvious points rather than noting background information. The more novel or obvious a factor is, the more likely we are to focus on it. If you see a woman dressed in a tailored suit and her hair styled in a bright pink mohawk, you are likely to pay more attention to her unusual hairstyle than her sensible business attire.

One of the mental shortcuts that we use in person perception is known as ‘social categorization’. In this process, we mentally categorize people into different groups based on common characteristics. Sometimes this process occurs consciously, but for the most part, social categorizations happen automatically and unconsciously. Some of the most common grouping people use include age, gender, occupation and race. As with mental shortcuts, social categorization has both positive and negative aspects (Cherry, 2019).

Persuasion can be enhanced by messages that arouse strong emotions in the audience. Particularly when the message provides specific recommendations about how a change in attitudes or behavior will prevent the negative consequences described in the fill provoking message (Leventhal, 1965).

There have been different studies that shows that skills of impression management work effectively. It even helps in creating optimistic first impression of a person but it also cannot be true always. For example, it’s not always necessary that good first impression of a student (intelligent) on the first day of school would be same, it can vary or change according to his performance in the class. The question is why there is always different character in a person. And even when they have same character what make them different from each other. According to Soloman Asch (1946) every individual has different characteristics. For example, a person can have different characteristics like he/she is intelligent, energetic, have great sense of humor, is very fast in his work, courageous, punctual and humble with his fellows. This can create an impression of that person in our mind. A combination of a person character makes an impression of him/her on others (Bartleby research, 2017)

Examples of Impression Formation in Day-To-Day Life

• “You’re at a party. You see a guy walking into the room. You scan him from top to bottom. You take in his appearance- tattooed arms, pierced eyebrow, colored hair. He comes and stand next to you- you think he smells of smoke. You immediately tag him as being someone who enjoys partying, smokes up a lot, has no regard for authority, and is really careless at his job. This is the tendency of the human mind to form impressions about others based on our expectations, on certain events from the past and our learned behavior, that is why so much stress has been laid on the power of the first impression.
• According to Sri Lanka, it’s so impressive and shocking to see a young woman driving a long heavy truck carrying load. Because of the Sri Lankan culture, girls do not want to become a half masculine which is different from western cultures where girls do men’s work too.
• People who speak rapidly are more persuasive than person who speak more slowly (Miller et al, 1976) , this causes an attraction on the audience/people toward listening. E.g.: – politicians & sales person. Most abundant people are more engaged to attend MP Sajith Premadasa’s meeting.
• In my lifetime for the first time I’ve experienced seeing the coastal affected areas in SL due to tsunami. It’s so stunning to view the affected areas and people with no homes, no foods, suffering and struggling with starvation and in want of medicines too. I felt really indisposed to see the victims in reality.

Strengths and Limitations of Impression Formation

Strengths

• Social Categorization allows people to make judgements very quickly.
• We move very quickly from observable information to personality trait inferences. Trait are more economical to remember. Trait inferences occur automatically.
• Immoral, hostile (social likeability) behavior are more informative than moral, friendly behavior.
• First impression formation is more selective among people.

Limitations

• The problem with social categorization technique includes the fact that it can lead to errors and as well as stereotyping or even prejudice.
• You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
• First impression formations, on people in a social environment, are not always true and accurate.
• Forming impressions on people, some types of information carry more weight than others, widely documented negative effect implies that unfavorable information has more impact on impressions than favorable information.

References

1. (2017, November 8). Retrieved from Bartleby research: BartlebyResearch.com
2. (2018, November). Retrieved from Essays,UK: www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/impression-formation-using central traits-descriptive-categories-psychology-essay.php?vref=1
3. Bernstein, P. C. (2006). Psychology book.
4. Cherry, K. (2019, October 10). Retrieved from verywellmind.com
5. D, S. (n.d.). Psychology Discussion.
6. Eva Gilboa-Schechtman, .. H. (2014). Retrieved from sciencedirect.com
7. Leventhal, S. &. (1965). Psychology Book.
8. Miller et al. (1976). General Psychology.
9. Okten, I. O. (2018, January 31). Retrieved from Association for Psychological Science: Psychologicalscience.org
10. Tarry, D. R. (n.d.). Initial Impression Formation. Retrieved from opentextbc.ca

It is very important that you dress correctly and you match your date’s elegance. It is important for her to see that you gave sufficient thought to the way you’ll look for the date. A good outfit for a perfect first date (for perfect dates try the video chat) must be washed, ironed, neat-looking and properly matched with the socks and tie. Check yourself in the mirror from head to toe and spot any flaw if you don’t want your date to spot them. If you just bought a new suit and plan to wear it on the date, be sure to have all the tags removed.

Hey – don’t forget about body odors. Women will run for the door in an instant. Before putting on your nice new clothes, wash your body and remove all dirt and sweat. If you don’t have time, at least change your underwear. If this is not an option either and you’re going straight from work, pick up some tissues or baby wipes and clean the bad-smelling areas of your body in the restaurant’s toilet. Also, don’t exaggerate with the cologne, you’re having dinner for God’s sake. Check all your extremities like ears, nails or shoes for dirt or impurities, you must look perfect for your first date.

The last aspect to consider is the face, but this has to go way before your first date. You should always follow a men’s anti-aging face care treatment if you want to have a successful date. The perfect face should be clean, fresh and look inviting for others. Your partner must feel the temptation of getting near your face and touch it. Also, if a goodnight kiss is part of your plans, then moreover should you consider the appearance of your face skin.

If water and soap are the only things you use for cleaning your face, you’re in big trouble. Not only they don’t help you clean the face and protect the natural moisture, but it leaves the dead cells on your face, spread the grease all over it and leave your pores filled with environmental debris you collect every day.

If you follow a steady routine with the proper men’s anti-aging face care products, then you are able to fight the signs of premature aging and to maintain the collagen and balance of your skin. The first step is cleansing with a product that doesn’t contain additives and chemicals that usually damage the tissues and destroy the surface layer of skin, leaving it dry and itchy. The products you can find in drugstores are often inefficient and will do more harm than good, so be careful what you spend your money on and, especially, what you put on your face.

The second step is about hydrating and moisturizing your skin while protecting it against natural elements and premature aging. You need to get rid of those wrinkles and fine lines you get from sitting in the sun, wind and other natural elements that affect the appearance and overall balance of your skin. You can stop that and solve these problems with proper men’s anti-aging face care products that are both efficient and gentle with your sensitive skin.

The final step is all about protection and for that, you need to use a quality men’s anti-aging face care protector that seals in the natural moisture of the skin and fights against dirt and residues. Your face will look clean and fresh all day long and removed from all dirt and debris. Exactly like the cleanser and moisturizer, you need a quality protector, one that contains only natural ingredients and essential oils beneficial for your skin. A quality protector removes grease and the damaging free radicals and maintains the level of collagen and elasticity.

You can see the first date exactly like a job interview, because the same criteria goes for both situations. You need to look confident about yourself if you want to convince your partner you are really a catch; you need to be optimistic and in a good mood, if you want to see her happy and enjoying your company. That’s why you need to rest or preserve your energy before the actual date so take a nap or drink some coffee before showing up.

A gentleman would offer to pick the lady up. If you get a refusal, that’s that, but at least see saw your manners, so don’t take it personally. Don’t you dare to be late! You can also bring her some flowers or some exquisite candy, these two options never fail to impress a romantic lady. If you’re a smoker and she’s not, it’s best to abstain yourself from doing it on your way to the restaurant.

A compliment is always a good way to start a conversation with a new person. Tell her how beautiful is her dress or how exquisite is her hairdo, but no comments whatsoever about certain parts of her body, if you don’t want to get slapped in the face on the first date. She knows already you’re going to check her out at a certain moment, but she expects at least discretion on your behalf. Keep things decent and neutral on your part.

Did you know how great first impression can help you get the job you want easily? Sometimes just a first impression can be enough to win a loved one. You must have met a friend who made a great first impression on you. So, what’s the secret of a great first impression?

According to Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author of the book “Executive Presence”, says a great first impression is not about your body shape or clothes, but polish, grooming and being well put together. Her book is a research-based on 4,000 professionals from the US, including 250 senior execs. The top five answers on what makes a good first impression in business were:

1. Looking polished and groomed.
2. Being physically attractive.
3. Dressing in simple clothes.
4. Standing Tall.
5. Looking youthful.

Well, you may agree with this research, but you, like others, have a personal preference when it comes to the first impression. Still, there are proven ways you can make a great first impression whether you are going to a job interview or a first date. Take a look at our tips and see how to make a great first impression.

Keep your face neat.

There is no doubt. When we meet someone we first look in his face. Logically, the face is part of the first impression. But only a neat face is part of a great first impression. To stay clear, you don’t have to be extraordinary beautiful, you just need to keep your face in its best form. This is easy if you take care of yourself. Whether you have a full-grown beard or short facial hair, ladies like neat and polished look. This requires grooming habits. If you like clean-shaven look, use the right lotion, cleanser or other skincare products to make sure there will be no post-shave bumps or red marks on your face. Willing to try the best gadgets and unique products? Check our lifestyle subscription boxes, get the best customer service and enjoy gadgets every month!

Show your style.

Your style is a great part of a first impression. Not the most luxurious clothes can help you make a good impression if you don’t know how to wear it. Don’t risk being ridiculous. Think about your style. Does it reflect who you are? Does your style show how confident, classy and creative you are? You are what you wear and how you wear it. Be unique but also show who you are. Sounds hard? It’s not. The secret is in details. You can wear the simplest clothes ever, but a woman will always notice a nice hairstyle, eyewear, watches, jewelry, and clean shoes. Findhigh-quality products and items in our subscription boxes.

Wear clean shoes.

No matter how handsome you are, dirty shoes will say a lot about you. Style, condition, but most importantly, cleanliness of your shoes is something other people will include in a great impression of you. Wearing a new suit with shoes that you forgot to clean can only indicate that you aren’t taking care of yourself. Be sure to remove dust because there are no excuses for dirty shoes. So, make sure you have shoes in the best condition for your first date with unique products from our fall subscription box! You’ll get amazing Lave classic shoe kit, to make your shoes shine. This premium shoe cleaning kit includes a 4 oz. bottle of our Premium Shoe Cleaning solution and Classic Premium Brush. The kit is provided with a classic nice scent and it’s safe on all colors and materials. Besides, this kit is 98.9% natural and effectively cleans all conditions when used with handcrafted, 100% Maplewood handle, with horsehair bristle.

Keep an eye on your attitude and behavior.

Let’s see what science says. According to the British Psychological Society, the greater the eye-contact, the greater the perception of intelligence is. If you add a smile, you’ll show how confident and friendly you are. Real confidence wears a smile. Statistics have shown that your target for the meeting is 80-85% eye-contact. More than that can appear aggressive. After eye contact and smile, comes the handshake. Whether you’re handshaking with a male or female, make it last from 3 to 6 seconds. More than 6 seconds or too strong and watery handshaking is unpleasant. While you’re doing this, introduce yourself.

Have a pleasant smell.

Honestly, women can smell good perfume for miles away. But it’s not everything about good perfume. To achieve a great first impression, make sure you are fresh and not sweating too much. Once you’re clean and fresh, you can put some nice perfume, but don’t overdo it. Try to smell neutral, fresh or splash a perfume only 2-3 times. Studies showed that women rate a male’s scent as the #1 factor when finding a potential partner, so make sure you get a good cologne to impress your lady.

Pay attention to voice and vocabulary.

You don’t need to have a deep voice and to be Shakespeare to make a great first impression. But, yes, women will pay attention to your voice and vocabulary. Good accent, the tone of your voice and expanded vocabulary will improve your impression on others. Remember how British accent is adorable to many Americans? Besides, great vocabulary means you need to read good books. And don’t forget, swearing in front of the people you just met is a huge – NO!

Abstract

In the modelling industry, various factors influence first impressions of models and actors that gives us positive and negative impressions. Aisch (1946)“A trait is realised in its particular quality. The next trait is similarly realised. Each trait produces its particular impression. The total impression of the person is the sum of the several independent impressions”. Research suggests that if the model/ actor is wearing nice clothes, this makes people think that they are successful. The objective of this study was to investigate what factors of a person’s appearance affect people’s first impressions of someone and why. Four first year participants were selected from a University in the North East of England. All participants were within the age of 18-21. Each participant was taken into a quiet room with the researchers who were all first-year students aged 18-20. The participant was shown 4 different images (one showing a man with a nice suit, another showing a man with tattoos, the third picture of a man with facial hair, and lastly a man with facial piercings) and were asked what they thought about each image and why in a semi-structured interview. A thematic analysis revealed similar themes suggesting that the ways in which each model differentiated with different aspects of their appearance for example a man with tattoos means that the person is “Tattoos show that they are creative”, and a man with “piercings means that the person is cool”, “Nice suit means that they are successful”. The findings we gathered were all from students from the same university, which means that our findings cannot be generalised outside of the north-East. Our findings. May also be ethnocentric as people from different parts of the country may have different views on what is deemed positive and negative on a person’s appearance.

Introduction

Impression formation towards models and actors in marketing campaigns is one of the most important components of advertising, it is heavily reliant on the visual appearance of these models. (Aisch, 1946) Studied impression formation which is when we take the first characteristic of a person and base that one characteristic on their whole personality by globalising it, which may explain why certain people are used for marketing campaigns as aspects of that actor/ model may be for a specific audience. In a series of relevant literature. This topic has been heavily researched in past literature. For example, N.H, K.P, I.O, B.F (2013) The influence of clothing on first impressions “Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management” Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 38-48. The aim of this study was to investigate the minor changes in clothing on the perception of the male model. They used a repeated measures design and an online study by asking each participant to look at each models and ask what they thought of them based on their clothes I.e. a normal suit vs the tailored suit and are asked to answer in 5 seconds. A key finding of their study was that the tailored suit was rated positively on all attributes, i.e. confidence, success, trustworthiness, salary and flexibility. These findings relate to the study of impression formations on models and actors in marketing campaigns as clothing is related to the visual appearance of a person, these findings suggest that people with nice clothing will be suitable for a marketing campaign as the people viewing it form a positive impression. Repeated measures design comes with order effects, so this may affect the way the participant rates the male model reducing the validity of the findings. Conducting a qualitative study such as a semi structured interview provides the researcher freedom to explore the participants thoughts, rather than asking them the same question continuously which adds more depth into the findings making it more credible to the research. S. Mark Pancer, James R. Meindl (1978) Length of Hair and Beardedness as Determinants of Personality Impressions. In this research article, S. Mark and James.R M aimed to investigate the influence of hair and beardedness on first impressions of personality. Participants were asked what their impression was by putting check marks on a bipolar scale when they look first glance at a man with long hair or short hair and a beard or no beard. A key finding of this study was that by having long hair this created a negative impression in comparison to short hair. This key finding suggests that models/ actors with long hair are less likely to be picked for marketing campaigns due to negative impressions being formed of them. Quantitative data collected by a bi-polar scale could be misinterpreted by participants, therefore effecting the validity and reliability of the data as it is not accurate and may be incorrect. By using qualitative research methods i.e. a semi structured interview, participants can expand on their answers and not just put what they think on a scale without being able to explain themselves so this cannot be mis-interpreted. The participant understands the question so correct data can be gathered. Although there is some relevant literature towards this topic there is still a large gap in impression formation. The research study in this investigation “what are the factors that influence attitudes towards models/ actors in the marketing campaigns?”. The aim of the study was to find how components such as facial hair, tattoos, piercings and clothing has an effect on first impressions. A semi-structured interview was put in place to ask participants what they thought of the model based on these 4 aspects, these answers where then put together and athematic analysis was carried out. A key finding was that facial hair had a negative impact on first impressions. These findings suggest that models and actors with facial hair may not be chosen for marketing campaigns as the audience may create a negative first impression of them. An issue with the semi-structured interviews that were taken place was that all of the participants were from the same area so there is ethnocentric bias, as all participants are part of the same area so this is not representative.

Tattoos

Participants interpreted tattoos to be a way of self-expression, how their personality is portrayed. “He also has many different tattoos in his hands that they may express something about himself’. This is supported by Marika Tiggemann Louise A.Hopkins (2011) Tattoos and piercings: Bodily expressions of uniqueness? “it was predicted that tattoos would be more motivated by self-expression and identity”. This proves that tattoos are a form of identification, so for a model/ actor to have tattoos this would interest a creative audience. Tattoos are a way of self- expression and personality. “I think he’s quite a relaxed person, who doesn’t care what other people think”. This is supported by M Kang, K Jones (2007) Why do people get tattoos? “The popularity of tattoos attests to their power as vehicles for self-expression, commemo- ration, community building, and social commentary.” Another interpretation gained from participants from tattoos is that the person is laidback, and don’t care what people think. “I think he’s quite a relaxed person, who doesn’t care what other people think”. This is supported by Gordon B. Forbes (2001) College Students with Tattoos and Piercings: Motives, Family Experiences, Personality Factors, and Perception by Others “tattoos and piercings in college students are associated with significantly more risk-taking behaviour, greater use of alcohol and marijuana, and less social conformity”. This suggests that people with tattoos do not conform to societal norms, therefore they don’t care what people think. A continuation of this interpretation found in the transcripts “they make him look like a bit of a bad boy. He looks rough and ready, calm and cool”. This is supported by BA Martin, CS Dula (2010) More than Skin Deep: Perceptions of, and Stigma against, Tattoos. “Males usually get tattoos to appear tough… Females usually get tattoos to appear cool”. This supports that tattoos are related to looking tough and cool on first impressions, as the participants picked up on these characteristics based on an image shown on a piece of paper, so if marketing campaigns used models that had tattoos, this is what the audience would think of them.

Piercings

Participants gained a first impression of people with piercings as being fashionable. In the transcripts, it was stated “he’s involved/more interested in with the up keep of fashion trends…” This is supported by R Ebrahim, S Naidoo (2008) Oral and perioral piercings in Tshwane: scientific “Being fashionable was the most com- mon reason for piercings”. However, this is disputed by A.Agarwal (2015) Attitudes Towards Tattoos and Piercings and Their Link with body Image and Self-Esteem “They are also rated as being less fashionable, attractive, caring, and intelligent”, this is a person’s view on somebody with piercings, that it makes them less fashionable. Also, in the transcripts, piercings deem people as being cool, up to date with fashion. “He has a lot of piercings, they look very cool”. This is supported by Christa de Cuyper, Maria Luisa Cotapos (2009) Piercings: Techniques and Complications “It is trendy and looks cool, and is considered as an aesthetic form of adornment and a fashion statement”. This translates from the study’s findings and with relevant past literature that piercings are deemed as cool and fashionable, so marketing campaigns for up to date trendy clothing will benefit from using models/ actors with body piercings, similarly to tattoos.

Facial Hair

Facial hair on a man has seemingly made negative interpretations from participants’ opinions and experiences as looking scruffy or untidy. Within the transcripts, it was said that “He doesn’t look very well groomed, makes him look a bit greasy and dirty”. This is supported by AD Arndt, K Karande, M Glassman (2016) How context interferes with similarity-attraction between customers and service providers “he facial hair on the dentist, commenting for example, “I do not like the facial hair—just a personal thing for someone that will be close to my wide-open mouth,” “I think I would not choose one that had a beard just for sanitary reasons,” and “the beard is just unhygienic””. This provides evidence that people relate facial hair to poor hygiene levels. Another interpretation was that it made the man look lazy “he looks young, hardworking but lazy as well the way he doesn’t maintain his grooming maybe a bit unorganised”. This is supported by B Cutts, T Hooley, J Yates (2015) Graduate dress code: How undergraduates are planning to use hair, clothes and make-up to smooth their transition to the workplace “because stubble gives the impression of laziness and lack of effort regarding personal appearance”. This concludes that in this study, they found that if people didn’t keep up with their shaving routines, it gave them an instant characteristic of being lazy. This related to the research topic as people will view models/ actors in marketing campaigns as sluggish or lazy due to having a lot of facial hair, however this could be used in shaving campaigns to promote cleanliness after shaving, As the impression formation took place that certain aspects of body image is a serious factor of first impressions.

Strengths and weaknesses

In a semi structured interview, we receive Qualitative data which is detailed, rich and in- depth data. This makes our findings more credible as more information is gained about impression formations, especially to do with tattoos, piercings, facial hair and nice clothing. This is due to being allowed to ask follow up questions. For example, the interviewee may think facial hair is “scruffy” so we are allowed to ask why as it makes them look “lazy”. Another strength of the study was that all participants were debriefed and given the right to withdraw, therefore the study was ethical. However, there were drawbacks to the method. As an opportunity sample was used, the findings cannot be generalised outside of the North East as all participants study there. Also, participants knew that they were being recorded so this may make their answers bias as they may have acted in a socially desirable way making the findings less valid. Qualitative data lacks objectivity- makes findings less scientific.

A suggestion for further research concluding findings is to look into why people on first impressions stereotype people with piercings and tattoos to have anti-social behaviours and why they are deemed as “bad boys”. Due to common themes of “bad boy”, “they don’t care about what others think” etc. The aims of the study were to investigate what factors of a person’s appearance affect people’s first impressions of someone and why, how impression formation is formed by visual appearance especially for models/ actors in marketing campaigns. The 4 themes that were explored were nice clothes, facial piercings, facial hair and tattoos. An implication of the findings would have been transcribing the interviews with words being mis-heard or being mis-interpreted.

A first impression is born in a few moments. And if she does not decide on your success at a job interview, she sets the scene. How to make a good impression or correct the blow after a bad feeling; the recruiters tell us everything. ‘Managers decide in the first seconds of a job interview,’ says Cyril Capel, Associate Director of CCLD Recruitment. This first impression is thus forged very quickly, whether during a physical meeting or by telephone . Yohanna Daoudi, senior consultant at Fed Office, says it is reassuring: ‘A first impression is a first impression.

The evaluation of personal and professional skills is happily performed on the entire interview. ”If he has shaken hands with the recruiter or has been very shy, he can explain that he is always reserved at first and he needs a few minutes to get in touch with his interlocutor.’ The habit does not make the monk … But a little anyway In this very short time, several elements will trigger the first perception. In a recruitment interview, ‘it’s a set of verbal and nonverbal elements, like the professional attire of the candidate,’ says Yohanna Daoudi. If judging a candidate on his appearance is discriminatory, an inappropriate look can be detrimental and create a bad impression. ‘You have to come with a neat appearance and work on your presentation. It is important to align with the company’s dress code, recommends Cyril Capel. And since nonverbal communication takes precedence over content in the first few minutes, you need to pay particular attention to your actions and attitude. Body language can interfere in the way the recruiter perceives the candidate. ‘A soft or firm handshake, a straight or fleeing look, sitting or getting up when the recruiter enters the room … are dozens of information sent in seconds that build this first impression,’ adds Fabrice Coudray, Director at Robert Half.

Fortunately, everything is working upstream by preparing his presentation speech, training with a close, filming himself. The phone counts! The first impression can be formed even before the real meeting, when the recruiter calls you to set an appointment. It is then at the tone of the voice and its words that the candidate will be judged. ‘Repetitive twitches of language like’ uh ‘, using the same words, or difficulty answering questions can annoy the recruiter,’ says Cyril Capel. ‘To make a good impression, the candidate must not hesitate to talk with his entourage so that the first minute positively engages the telephone contact,’ said Yohanna Daoudi. To speak too loud, to whisper, to be in a noisy environment are all elements that will generate a first bad impression. ‘ You must immediately be in the conversation and understand the objectives of the call. If this is not the case, the candidate must not hesitate to take the contact information of the recruiter and ask him if he can recall it later , says Cyril Capel. It will be much more professional. ‘ Turning the Corner blows of facts and figures

A bad start sharing can however be corrected. ‘Candidates do not always know how to proceed, especially since you have to show emotional intelligence and be able to gain height. Some will tend to exaggerate their success to rectify the shot, ‘notes Cyril Capel. While ‘ to make up for a first bad impression, you simply have to play down the exercise to better bounce back.; try to relax gradually and be attentive to the questions of the interlocutor, ‘advises Yohanna Daoudi. Precise, quantified, factual answers will end up erasing a bad feeling of departure.

You slept badly? Say it, we will forgive you! A question about the candidate’s flaws will allow him to address this first impression and turn the tide if necessary. ‘If he has shaken hands with the recruiter or has been very shy, he can explain that he is always reserved at first and he needs a few minutes to be in tune with his interlocutor. ‘Suggests Cyril Capel. Being open and sincere can also pay off. ‘If he is a young dad and has had a bad night, he can talk about it at the end of the interview to explain why he was not on top right from the start of the interview; this will create a real climate of trust with the recruiter, ‘concludes Fabrice Coudray.

Have you ever judged a book by its cover? We all have. The background of this phrase implies that one shouldn’t prejudge the value or benefit of something by its outward appearance alone.They should not form an opinion on someone or something based solely on what is seen on the ground, because the person or thing may be very different from what was predicted after looking deeper. Although I believed Patrick Roczkowski was a regular privileged teenage boy as a first impression, I was completely wrong and judged his book by his cover; as I interviewed him, I quickly learned how much potential he has because Patrick’s dominant impression comes down to being adventurous, selfless, and motivated.

First experiences of your daily life are very significant. They are the foundation of how relationships begin and how other people see you. People form opinions based on first impressions. Opinions may start many things and lead to success, or these opinions may be misleading and have a negative impact on how people relate to you and view you. The explanation on why first experiences are significant is that they are centered on the social life, education and employment of people. Initial experiences are from your friends, parents, and even new people entering into your life in your social life. It’s all about blending in so to speak, as we are social creatures as human beings. The setting you are in is usually associated with the types of people you can meet in that area. The first impression styles you make will be kept throughout the relationship with the people you make with. That’s where the importance of the first impression lies if you want to have a successful relationship with people who make a first impression is crucial to the development of the relationship. To fix a bad first impression, it takes exceptional skills. Which brings this topic down to Patrick. The fact that I am a judgy person and Patrick fixed the bad impression I had on him shows what kind of person he is and how his individualism stood out to me.

The first question I asked Patrick was, “If you were to describe yourself in one word what would it be?” Patrick stated, “definitely adventurous because I like the idea of new ideas, concepts, and taking risks”(Roczkowski). Automatically I learned that he is an outgoing person and likes the idea of having new challenges to accomplish each day. After I asked Patrick what he did after school during his childhood he replied, “Me and my brother would come back from school and go straight to the park, we were more outside than inside” (Roczkowski). This is a set example on how Patrick was more than just outgoing. Kids nowadays stay at home on electronics while Patrick didn’t come home until curfew. Another example of how Patrick is adventurous; when I asked, “What would you do if you woke up one day alone on an island”? Normally, the typical answer would be to either give up or go to sea. However Patrick responded with, “Find anyway to make it back, and if not dig a hole and build a shelter” (Roczkowski). One of the many takeaways I had during this interview with Patrick was how he described himself as adventurous. I was automatically intrigued because Patrick is usually quiet in class and to himself, but the ways he answered my questions without hesitation also makes a valid point on how I judged his cover.

Selflessness is a path to family, marriages and friendships. It is a key to happiness and fulfillment as well. But often missed, sadly. Selflessness is often ignored as a key to happiness because it seems to go against the very idea on the surface. If I had to choose one word to describe Patrick it would definitely come down to being selfless. When I asked, “would you rather kill yourself or a person you love”? He replied quickly without hesitating, “I would rather kill myself because I wouldn’t want to put anybody through that pain and I cant handle the guilt I would have” (Roczkowski). Another question I asked was how we would spend one million dollars. He then responded with, “first I would pay off all my parents bills and debts and make sure they’re comfortable” (Roczkwoksi). The term selfless behavior would then simply imply the lack from serving one’s own desires to benefit others. There’s no selfless support measurement. Anyone involved, no matter what the situation or what is involved, profits from selfless acts.

Motivation is a very powerful tool that we can use to accomplish our dreams and goals in life. Setting goals for ourselves is something that Patrick finds to be very necessary, he believes in always improving himself in life, not just physically but mentally as well. We all have different things or devices that we can use to drive us towards our ultimate goals. In order for him to stay motivated he must have a target and be guided by achieving that goal in order for him to be inspired. For Patrick, self-motivation is empowering. When I asked Patrick on what he would like to do after school he stated, “Finish school then get accepted into a good job and at least buy a house within 3 years after saving up” (Roczkowski). Following along with, “I want to be my own boss, I love the idea of new concepts and being my own boss. Im self-driven, if I see something I want, I will go for it and have it” (Roczkowski). This is a set example on how motivation is a key in Patrick’s life and how it makes up a whole component of himself. A quote that I came across reminded me of Patrick because of the way he describes how he would put his loved ones over himself, ‘what i would give to make it easier for you” (Voyager).

Everyone has heard the saying, ‘Never judge a book by its cover.’ Well, if applied to everyday life, that is certainly true. Most of us tend to look at the external appearance of each other and draw a short conclusion about their character when we first look at them. This always happens when you are in school. Whether a person has the sweetest personality, whether his or her appearance is not good people will judge them on that fact alone. I have encountered many circumstances when someone judges another person.Many factors are judged by people, their outward appearance, color, religion, and points of view. Looking at these aspects and evaluating an individual on them alone, we can have an impact on future generations. With many harmful effects, such stereotypes can be passed on to our children. Kids also conform others around them to their values. Therefore, as adults, it is important for us to be careful about what we say or do before children. Judgmentalism has a lot of negative effects.

To conclude my essay, Patrick has taught me to at least see that all of us are different. Everyone has a different life, story, and background. We all go through hardships, some worse than others. After talking to Patrick I felt as if I discovered there was a whole other person inside of him. Because of Patrick, I am challenging myself to stop judging a person immediately based on how the look, act, or talk. My first impression of Patrick Roczkowski was; a regular privileged teenage boy. I was completely wrong and judged his book by his cover; as I interviewed him, I quickly learned how much potential he has because Patrick’s dominant impression comes down to being adventurous, selfless, and motivated.

Works Cited

1. Roczkowski, Patrick. Personal Interview. 8 Nov. 2019.
2. Atlas, Voyager. “He Smiled.” Hello Poetry, Sept. 2018.

When a man is wearing dirty old clothes most people assume that this man is homeless. In today’s 21st century society it is common to judge people by their appearance and most of the time it is done unconsciously. Social responses and first impressions are influenced through clothing choices because clothing communicates extensive and complex information, people who dress similar to one another have more effect on each other than those who do not and those who wear formal clothing elicit a different response than those who dress more casually.

Clothing communicates extensive and complex information like social status, culture and gender. A large number of studies suggest that clothing carries cultural meanings that is passed through fashion. McCracken and Roth (as cited in Neil Howlett, 2013) said: “The potency of clothing communication relies on a ‘code’. The more people understand the code, the more potent the clothing will be at communicating information.” For example, in a working environment when a man ¬is formally dressed, he will receive more positive judgements in contrast to a man who is casually dressed. The formally dressed man will receive judgements such as attractive, intelligent and popular; whilst the other man creates a less favorable impression being judged more often as unattractive, unintelligent and unpopular. This is a prime example of how clothing communicates extensive and complex information without using verbal or non-verbal communication.

One of the great things about fashion is that people can identify each other through style. According to Michinov and Michinoc (2011) people who dress similar to one another have more effect on each other than those who dress differently from them. This is because there is a certain common ground that allows for easier social interaction. Before, clothing served one purpose: to keep us warm and protect us. As time passed by more and more people started using clothing as a way to express and distinguish themselves from others. This is prevalent today because we can now recognize the police, firefighters, students, teachers along with many other professions.

Those who wear formal clothing elicit a different response than those who dress more casually. Columbia University and California State University did research on this subject and have shown that dressing formally serves to obtain respect, signalling professionalism and maintenance of social distance. According to Peluchette and Karl (2002): “People who wear formal clothes describe themselves as more competent and rational, whereas people who wear casual clothes describe themselves as more friendly and laid-back.”

This means that when people are dressed formally there is more social distance, related to psychological formality, whereas people who dress casual are engaged with more intimacy and familiarity.

In conclusion, clothing definitely influences first impressions. Style communicates a great deal about a person, helping people to recognize social status, culture and gender of others when first meeting them. It helps them to identify like-minded individuals and dressing formally or casually can greatly influence the way people interact with each other.

Reference list:

1. Dibert, A., Laird, A., & Wu, D. (16AD, April 20). The Effects of Styles of Dress on First Impressions. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/research_scholarship_symposium/2016/poster_presentations/34/?utm_source=digitalcommons.cedarville.edu%2Fresearch_scholarship_symposium%2F2016%2Fposter_presentations%2F34&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
2. Michinov, E., & Michinov, N. (2011). Social Comparison Orientation Moderates the Effects of Group Membership on the Similarity-Attraction Relationship. The Journal of Social Psychology, 151(6), 754–766. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2010.522619
3. Howlett, N., Pine, K., Orakçıoğlu, I., & Fletcher, B. (2013). The influence of clothing on first impressions. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 17(1), 38–48. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612021311305128
4. Slepian, M. L., Ferber, S. N., Gold, J. M., & Rutchick, A. M. (2015). The Cognitive Consequences of Formal Clothing. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(6), 661–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615579462

Introduction

Princess Diana was born on 1st July 1961 in Norfolk. Her name at birth was Diana Frances Spencer. She was the first wife to Prince Charles of Wales and is the mother to Prince William, the second heir in line to the British throne and Prince Harry. During the 1980’s and 1990’s , Princess Diana was referred to as the “People’s Princess as she bonded with civilians in any normal way and brought the royal family closer to the “common public”. Despite her beauty and charisma, Princess Diana became an object of worldwide media scrutiny after her marriage to Prince Charles ended in divorce on 28th August 1996. Princess Diana passed away on Sunday August 31st 1997 at the age of 36.

My first impression of Princess Diana is that she is an organizer and a manager. She is the bedrock of a society and her approach to life and problems is methodical and systematic. She is a builder and a doer who turns dreams into reality. She enjoys seeing a project through from start to finish, but can become too narrowly focused often. Spencer has a key eye for detail. She has great stamina and can work consistently and persistently towards her goals. This can eventually bring her success and standing in her community.

In relationships, Spencer seems to be somehow moralistic. She is extremely honest and sincere. She can portray integrity and trustworthy, but can also be stubborn and very rigid. She is one who should be more understanding of other people’s surroundings than hers and be able to comprehend their shortcomings. In her conservative and careful way, Diana is good with money. She is conscious of the balance between income and expenditures and can be able to limit her expenditures as saving money is more important to her.

Princess Diana’s personality gives me an impression of a strong and self-independent woman. Her Intelligence and wisdom are quickly noticeable. Diana seems like one who is hard to get to know, and is often withdrawn. Princess Diana seems t might have difficulty expressing her deeper feelings and important personal thoughts. She prefers to stay silent, and entertain people with her wit. Princess Diana needs discipline to make full use of her abilities and too often, she can scatter her energy into many directions, starting projects that are never completed and failure to really succeed in them.

Princess Diana posses a highly developed sense of structure and enjoys management systems and can carry out her well laid plans. She is the type to not embark on a road trip without a map. She is driven by the contempt for all that is unstable, unpredictable and insecure. She distrusts the unconventional, instead preferring the tried and the true, though this can make her endeavors move slowly and cause her much frustration, especially with the apparent limited number of her resources. At the same time, concern for the limitations of her resources causes her to be careful and cautious, shutting her from possible shortcuts and creative solutions that can be provided by more daring people around her.

Princess Diana is a good parent, and loves to be involved with her children and carry out activities with them. She is one who relates a little more than others to the innocence of children, maybe seeing a good deal of herself in them. Diana is idealistic and respects the simplicity of children. Diana takes obligations of her family quite seriously, and as a result she is reliable and responsible.

Princess Diana loves a good time. She is generally happy, outgoing and friendly. She is witty, creative and player full. She inspires and entertains people, and is considered by many as a great companion. She gives the impression as one to have a good mental and emotional balance and there is little that gets her down. Diana has a gift of self expression and is drawn to verbal arts such as writing, singing and acting. Because Diana is gifted with such a personality, she may be tempted to stay on the surface and play with life. Her confidence and love for attention may lead to her vanity and self absorption. Princess Diana has the potential to live a very full and successful life thanks to her talent for artistic self expression. The key to her success is a balance between the creative forces and self-disclose.

Pictures attached to the applications can impact Bitty University’s hiring decision due to many reasons: provided information’s content and order, the effect of negative information, the two dimensions of social cognition and attractiveness. First impressions could impact Bitty University’s hiring decision because the use of pictures results in the judgement of the candidate’s warmth and those candidates that are perceived to be warmer are seen to be more trustworthy. Additionally, attractive candidates are often given an interview or even hired. The use of pictures is argued to be accurate in forming a correct impression, but it could also be susceptible to the formation of a negative impression.

One impact on Bitty University’s hiring decision is the first impression formed from the provided information’s content. Central traits, meaningful attributes to a candidate’s personality, such as warm, positively influence impression formation rather than peripheral traits, which are insignificant qualities to a candidate’s personality (Asch, 1946). Naturalistic replication of Asch’s study also shows that the critical word ‘warm’ resulted in 56% of the students participating in the lecture, whereas the word ‘cold’ resulted in 32% of students participating (Kelley, 1950). Application of these studies proves that Bitty University’s hiring decision is susceptible to influence if candidates use words like ‘warm’ in their application. This word will generate a more positive impression of the candidate than if they use words like ‘polite’. Therefore, the use of the critical word ‘warm’ will impact Bitty University’s hiring decision and resulting in hiring the candidate.

A second impact on Bitty University’s hiring decision is the order of the provided information that results in a lasting final impression. Primacy effect, the words at the front have more influence on social cognition, shows the importance of order when giving information about the candidate. In addition to this, words presented at the end of the list, recency effect, have little to no influence on social cognition; this refers to cognitive processes influenced by social behaviour. When presenting positive words at the front of the list, a more favourable final impression is formed compared to when negative words were present at the front of the list (Asch, 1946). However, this may be due to the nature of negative information being more lasting since it attracts our attention, making it biased to form a negative impression (Fiske, 1980). Hence, these findings show that the words at the back of the list often have no impact on the formation of a final impression and if candidates use this to their advantage, they could write about their strengths before their weaknesses, which will result in a lasting positive impression. Thus, the order the given information has an impact on Bitty University’s hiring decision.

The third impact on Bitty University’s hiring decision is negative information that can affect the first impression of the candidate. The nature of negative information is attractive as it is very extreme, different and unusual (Skowronski & Carlston, 1989). Due to this nature, there is a sensitivity towards negative information, and often a negative impression formed on negative information is difficult to change even if positive information about the person is gained. In addition to this, a positive impression could easily change in light of negative information about the person (Hamilton & Zanna, 1974). Hence, those candidates that successfully formed a positive impression can easily damage that impression with any negative information. Therefore, Bitty University’s hiring decision is highly susceptible to negative information which can result in uncertainty when hiring candidates.

The fourth impact on Bitty University’s hiring decision is the two dimensions of social perception, which refer to two factors that affect how we form impressions about people. Undergraduates sorted out 64 traits into categories on a multi-dimensional scale. This research shows that we categorise people into two dimensions: good or bad social and good or bad intellectual (Rosenberg et al., 1968). In a further study, these two dimensions are said to be the same as the warmth and competence dimensions for social cognition. This study shows that people seen to be warm and competent result in positive emotions while people seen as cold and incompetent elicit a negative impression. It has also proven that we are less sensitive to information about competence than warmth (Fiske et al., 2007). On the grounds of this, candidates that are seen to be unsocial or unreliable are seen to have less warmth and resulting in the possibility of losing the opportunity at Bitty University even if they are highly competent as we are attracted to information about warmth first. Hence, this shows that Bitty University may be more influenced candidate’s warmth seen in the picture than their experiences.

The final impact on Bitty University’s hiring decision is the influence of the picture attached and attractiveness. After 100ms of seeing a computer-generated face, we form our first impression. Generally, those who smile in the photo are perceived to be more trustworthy than those who do not (Willis & Todorov, 2006). Often the attractiveness of the face attached to the application has more influence than the quality of the application. This study also points out that an average resume with an attractive face implied a higher quality than a resume with no picture attached. In addition to this, attractive candidates are more likely to be offered an interview (Watkins & Johnston, 2000) as result candidates who have a trustworthy and attractive face are likely to be hired than candidates with an unreliable face as it could result in the formation of a negative impression. Consequently, the picture on the application allows Bitty University to see how trustworthy a candidate is as generally impression based on appearance is correct (Zebrowitz & Collins, 1997) which provides reliability for pictures forming an impression.

To conclude, the use of pictures in applications does have a significant impact on Bitty University’s hiring decision, but information about the candidate also has equal significance in influencing first impressions and the hiring decision. From the research conducted, it is seen that pictures, along with other factors, are reliable as some studies like Asch’s are consistent with replications. It could, therefore, be recommended to removing the pictures from applications to allow each candidate to have a fair judgement of their application than looking at whether they have a trustworthy face as the pictures could cloud Bitty University’s judgement and hiring decision.