As the common adage goes “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” ~ Will Rogers. Indeed, social psychology research confirms that the snapshot judgments that people make are often surprisingly accurate and unlikely to change. Studies have found that first impressions are formed in less than seven seconds, with some suggesting even lower thresholds of time such as one-tenth of a second. These “thin slices” of judgment are broad conclusions drawn from rapidly processed details including physical appearance, voice, and motions. These initial judgments occur implicitly, or below conscious awareness, and because the beliefs are subconscious they are hard to change. As a result, the importance of forming a good first impression cannot be overstated. For instance, research has consistently shown that an interviewer’s first impression of a candidate heavily affects the final decision and outcome. 

            Thin slices of judgment are based on a limited and banal set of cues. A person’s physical appearance plays a large role, including their clothing, upkeep, and facial features. At first glance, someone who happens to be wearing a baseball cap may come across as unserious, while someone in a collared shirt may be perceived as uptight. In general, physically attractive people are unfairly perceived to be more intelligent and likable, and, interestingly, people with baby faces are deemed more trustworthy. In addition to physical appearances, verbal and nonverbal actions can have a potent effect. Snapshot judgments are based on a person’s voice, posture, eye contact, handshake, and many other facets of observable behavior. Without realizing it, someone may implicitly assume that a person is authoritative if they have a deep voice, or aloof if they turn away in the elevator. 

            The human ability to make rapid assessments of a person’s competence, intentions, and so forth, most likely stems from evolution. Being able to identify signs of threat in a matter of seconds carries practical benefits for survival. However, the inherent problems in such uninformed judgments warrant attention. Thin-slices of judgment can perpetrate unfair biases and stereotypes. After making an initial assessment of a person, the Confirmation Bias states that people are likely to seek out information that confirms their judgment and ignore information that does not. As such, if an interviewer judges a candidate to be incompetent from the start, then they will be on the lookout for examples that solidify their preliminary assessment and are more likely to brush off non-supporting details.

            How we view ourselves and how others perceive us can alter our self-esteem, self-image, and behaviors. The first impressions a person forms of others may be uniquely based on reflections of their own experiences and needs. If someone is told that others perceive them to be funny and outgoing, then they are more likely to exhibit those traits. A person told they come across as shy may become more painfully aware of their introvertedness. Since first impressions often guide behavior, they can take on the effect of a self-fulfilling prophecy. For instance, someone who perceives their neighbor to be outgoing will most likely act friendly towards their neighbor, which will cause the neighbor to be warm in response and thus confirm the initial belief. A manager who judges their employee as untrustworthy may treat the employee with suspicion, causing the employee to act guarded and reciprocate this lack of trust. 

            What’s most remarkable about snapshot judgments is their astonishing accuracy despite the brief exposure. For instance, a 2007 study by Ballew & Todorov found that after viewing two faces of political candidates for 100 milliseconds, the participants could accurately predict which candidate won about 70% of the time, based on how competent their face appeared. Interestingly, allotting the participants additional or unlimited time to make their judgments did not increase the accuracy, and decreased it in some cases. Another example comes from a 1993 study by Nalini & Robert, which found that after viewing just 10 seconds of video footage of a professor teaching, participants were able to predict the professor’s end-of-semester evaluation with astonishing accuracy. Psychologists suggest that high accuracy in first impressions may have been evolutionarily important for survival, and thus hardwired into the brain. In fact, the fast processing speed of first impressions may preserve their accuracy by minimizing the interference of higher cognition and overthinking. 

            Ultimately, the capacity to quickly absorb stimuli and form snapshot judgments underscores the brain’s extraordinary wiring and predictive ability. While initial judgments can be helpful, think “go with your gut”, they can also be harmful and lead to many cognitive biases. In the end, identifying the power of these snapshot judgments is the first step in addressing them and channeling them for good.

References

Ambady, N., & Rosenthal, R. (1993). Half a Minute: Predicting Teacher Evaluations From Thin Slices of Nonverbal Behavior and Physical Attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(3), 431-441.

Ballew, C. C., & Todorov, A. (2007). Predicting political elections from rapid and unreflective face judgments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(46), 17948-17953.

Okten, I. O. (2018, January 31). Studying first impressions: What to consider?. Association for Psychological Science – APS. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/studying-first-impressions-what-to-consider 

Plous, S. (n.d.). Lecture 1.7: Thin Slices: Social Judgments in the Blink of an Eye. Social Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.coursera.org/learn/social-psychology/lecture/F4lxG/lecture-1-7-thin-slices-social-judgments-in-the-blink-of-an-eye. 

Sussex Publishers. (n.d.-b). First Impressions. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/first-impressions#:~:text=Human%20beings%20are%20built%20to,attractiveness%2C%20and%20general%20emotional%20state 

Wargo, E. (2006, July 1). How many seconds to a first impression?. Association for Psychological Science – APS. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/how-many-seconds-to-a-first-impression 

Winerman, L. (2005, March). “Thin slices” of life. Monitor on Psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/mar05/slices