Introduction
It has been established that the first impression created on an individual depends on the verbal descriptions given about that particular individual. It is for this reason that first impressions are considered very significant (DeLamater and Myers, 2011).
It goes without saying that the principal of creating a positive first impression have been emphasized. This is because the first interaction with a person gives a general idea of what that person will turn out to be. This is regardless of whether the interaction is on a personal or public level.
It has also been argued that verbal description of a character has greater effect on the kind of impression formed on an individual. This influence is considered a primary effect.
The effect is as a result of recurring set of words in the mind of an individual. How then does one form a personality impression? Further, do impressions created at first instance have greater influence than subsequent impressions?
Previous studies have been conducted to ascertain the concept of first impression and the effect of first words used to describe a person. This expressed interest dates way back in 1946 when an American Psychologist Solomon Asch decided to experiment the formations of first impression.
In his study, Asch required the subjects to create an impression of a person unknown to them by basing their judgment on a list of adjectives (Asch, 1946). The descriptive words were the same though the word ‘cold’ was included in one list and the word ‘warm’ placed in the other list.
Asch claimed that the list that included the word ‘cold’ in the description elicited a negative impression effect on the subjects describing the person as compared to those who examined the list that included the word ‘warm’.
He supported his findings by arguing that the first words used created a great impact when rating a particular individual. The present study therefore aims at measuring the outcome of order on impression created when described as cold and warm.
Method
The subjects were given a list of adjectives to describe a hypothetical person, Dr. Orton. The subjects were required to use the set of adjectives to describe Dr. Orton one at a time. They were asked to use the description to visualize Dr. Orton and to subsequently create an overall impression of how they viewed him.
The descriptions given varied in that the first description described him as warm while the second one described him as cold. To differentiate the data, initials were included in Dr. Orton’s name.
The first description which described Dr. Orton as warm included the initial ‘W’ while the other one that described him as cold included the initial ‘C’ in his name. Using a rating scale, the subjects were required to rate his likeability by examining the list of adjectives given.
Subjects
Six subjects were used to conduct this experiment. Three subjects were placed in Group 1 and the other three placed in Group 2. The subjects in group 1 were assigned to read and examine the description of Dr. W. Orton while Group 2 was assigned that of Dr. C. Orton.
Materials
The subjects were given a questionnaire to fill that was made up of two set of words. The first sets of words used to describe Dr. W. Orton were warm, industrious, critical, practical and determined. The other set of words describing Dr. C. Orton were cold, industrious, critical, practical and determined.
The study adopted the factorial design in which the two set of words were only differentiated by the words warm and cold. The two set of words were designed in a way to create a favorable or unfavorable impression using two contradictory words.
Procedure
The subjects were given were given a set of adjectives describing the subject matter. The subjects were then asked to visualize Dr. Orton based on the description given and to further form an impression of him and to rate how he appealed to them.
After viewing each set, the subjects were asked to give their rating of how they visualized Dr. Orton. The target person was rated on a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 having the most positive aspects and 4 being rated as the least favored.
Results
The ratings for Dr. W. Orton had greater influence as compared to those of Dr. C. Orton. As shown in Table 1, when ‘warm’ and ‘cold’ words were both included in the description, the impression of the subjects was automatically affected.
It is important to note that the similarity of other words played very little effect in forming the impression. This is attributed to the fact that the subjects are guided by the first word that comes across them hence disregarding the other words that follow.
The subjects who rated Dr. W. Orton perceived him as being more intelligent, considerate, sociable, good-natured, generous, popular and more humane. Dr. C. Orton was rated lower by the subjects describing him.
Table 1
Mean Rating Given To Dr. Orton Designated Warm or Cold
Discussion
The primary source of the study was to measure the different perceptions derived when a particular person is perceived as either warm or cold. The results strongly support the earlier findings of Asch confirming that the first sequence of words create a greater impact on first impression formulated.
Thus in this research, as well as that of Asch, a person who was considered as being warm created an impression of one who was social, considerate, humane and other positive character traits as opposed to one who was perceived as being cold.
This is not withstanding that this study was used to give a description of one person. Despite Dr. C. Orton being given positive descriptions such as industrious, practical and determined, the first word that was used to describe him became embedded in the mind of the subjects hence foreshadowing the great character that he might have been. The subjects were therefore guided by the word ‘cold’ to evaluate him hence dismissing other character traits.
It is therefore evident that the effects of warm and cold variables had a considerably greater influence to form first impression of a person and his ability to relate with other people (Baron, Branscombe and Byrne, 2009).
It can therefore be argued that the existence of one character trait in the description often gives an implication of the existence of other subsequent traits. It can further be argued from this study that certain traits can be categorized as central traits.
The presence of this traits yield a greater influence on the final impression of a person. The study also indicates that the warm and cold variables play a very big role in identifying social identity issues. For example, Dr. W. Orton was viewed as being considerate of others, sociable and popular as opposed to Dr. C. Orton. How then can a single defining trait have such significance impact on the impression created?
Numerous theories have been advanced as an attempt to explain the findings of Asch study and other related findings with the most plausible explanation attributed to the use of a mental map by the people judging the principle person.
The central trail is thereby embedded in the mental map of that person hence swaying their judgment on a particular person. It is further argued that most people tend to rely more on the first words used to describe a person to come up with the primary effect to form an impression.
Most researchers have argued that most of the impressions formed seemed to influence the way people behaved towards them. For instance, the subjects who viewed Dr. C. Orton as cold tended to steer away from him as they believed him to be anti-social and self-centered as opposed to those who described Dr. W. Orton.
It is also important to note that this study has its flaws. One of the most outstanding weaknesses of this study is that it is difficult to generalize it in the real life scenario. It actually lacks external validity. Real life situations are mostly judged differently and first impressions are bound to be swayed from time to time.
For example an employer can have a negative impression of a job applicant based on his resume but immediately change his impression upon interacting with the candidate in person. Furthermore, the stimuli person used in this study is a fictitious character hence affecting the first impressions made. It is more probable that a different impression would have been formed if the stimulus person was a real human being.
Conclusion
First impression is therefore very important in our daily life and it is upon every person to create a positive impression. This is helpful as it determines people’s behavior based on the impression created. This study was significant to reiterate the findings of Asch on the importance of first words to form an impression.
However, it would be important if future studies put more focus on the impressions and judgment formed in real life situations. This will be important as it will enhance the validity of this study by backing the significance of words used to describe a person and the role it plays to form a first impression.
Reference List
Asch, S. (1946). First Impressions of Personality. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 41 (3), 258-290. Doi: 10.1037/h0055756.
Baron, R., Branscombe, N., and Byrne, D. (2009). Social Psychology. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
DeLamater, J., and Myers, D. (2011). Social Psychology. New York: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.