considering that impression management relies

Measuring Impressions: Explicit or Implicit?įirst impressions are manifested not only in perceivers’ explicit reactions but also in their spontaneous inferences. However, when a person takes an elevator up one flight only on a specific occasion, people may believe he wants to be quick in this specific situation. Considering the elevator example, having observed the same person taking an elevator up one flight on several occasions, people become more confident in their assessment of this person as lazy. Recent research from our lab has demonstrated the effect of behavior characteristics on first impressions when initially observed behaviors of others are known or believed to be consistent over time, formation of trait inferences has been observed to be more likely (Olcaysoy Okten & Moskowitz, 2017). The goals, values, and beliefs of others also have been shown to influence first impressions (Moskowitz & Olcaysoy Okten, 2016). They do this from others’ facial appearances (e.g., Willis & Todorov, 2006) and simple behaviors - for example, having observed a person taking an elevator up one flight, people may infer that she is lazy (Uleman, Blader, & Todorov, 2005). The most studied form of impression in social cognition is traits people tend to form split-second impressions with regard to others’ presumably stable characteristics, such as trustworthiness and competence.

What are our first impressions about? Social cognition literature conceptualizes impressions via a number of constructs. This article will briefly discuss some critical aspects of first impressions based on existing social psychological research, including my own. First impressions have been shown to last for months (Gunaydin, Selcuk, & Zayas, 2017) and affect personal judgments even in the presence of contradictory evidence about the individual (e.g., Rydell & McConnell, 2006). Any information about a person, from her physical properties to her nonverbal and verbal behaviors, and even the environment she inhabits, influences our impressions and judgments about her (e.g., Ambady & Rosenthal, 1993 Gosling, Ko, Mannarell, & Morris, 2002). This familiar phrase indicates one of the many reasons that studying people’s first impressions is critical for social psychologists.

Considering that impression management relies