Impression Formation & Management

We automatically attribute traits to new people we meet solely based on their face. Our first impression of others is based on features such as facial expression and attractiveness. We make spontaneous assumptions about people based on their facial features, and these assumptions about a person’s personal traits affect our behaviour/choices (Over & Cook, 2018). These first impressions include judgements about: “trustworthiness, honesty, competence, intelligence, dominance, and likability” (Over & Cook, 2018).

One study found that judgments are made after a 100-millisecond exposure to a new persons face (Willis & Todorov, 2006). According to Willis & Todorov (2006), a 100-millisecond look at someone’s face results in the same first impression as a longer look does. This suggests that limited exposure time is sufficient to form an impression.

Even infants form impressions from faces. Several studies have found that infants will spend more time looking at attractive faces when these are shown paired with faces judged by adults to be unattractive (Slater et al., 1998). According to these findings can be interpreted either in terms of “an innate perceptual mechanism that detects and responds specifically to faces, or in terms of rapid learning about faces soon after birth” (Slater et al., 1998, p. 345).

The existing theory about first impressions is called “trait inference mapping”, which explains that first impressions are a product of relation between ‘face space’ and ‘trait space’ (Over & Cook, 2018). This means that when we see someone’s face for the first time we automatically associate their face with certain character/personal traits.

However, Over and Cook (2018) provide an alternative account of the origins behind judging a person based on their face. The authors propose that innate, automatic responses to someone’s face only plays a limited role. Over & Cook (2018) explains how we make first impressions through the ideas of “cultural learning” and our psychological responses that facilitate “face-trait mapping”. This suggests that our experiences are a part of the unconscious impressions we form of people based on their face.

Managing what impression you give to others is another story. Impressions management was first conceptualized by Erving Goffman in 1959 in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Goffman (1959) describes self-presentation (also called impression management) as behaviour in which individuals act out and present a managed “face” to others in social settings. This suggests that we have many faces that we present ourselves to external world.

Cunningham (2013, p. 5) explains that the motivations behind impressions management, that is managing the impressions of others, include: identity development, self-enhancement, influencing others, and obtaining credit and avoiding blame”. Since social advantage is gained through pleasing the audience, people are more likely to present themselves positively. Cunningham (2013) argues that the most effective impression management strategies entails maintaining authenticity consistency. So that once the first impression begins to fade, you represent the truest version of yourself.

References

Cunningham, C. 2013, Social networking and impression management: self-presentation in the digital age, Lexington Books, Maryland.

Goffman, E. 1959, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Over, H. & Cook, R. 2018, ‘Where do spontaneous first impressions of faces come from?’, Cognition, Vol. 170, pp. 190-200.

Slater, A., Von der Schulennurg, C., Brown, E., Badenoch, M., Butterworth, G., Parsons, S., & Samuels, C. 1998, ‘Newborn infants prefer attractive faces’, Infant Behavior & Development, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 345-354.

Willis, J. & Todorov, A. 2006, First impressions: Making up your mind after 100 ms exposure to a face’, Psychological Science, Vol. 17, No. 7, pp. 592–598.