Are first impressions hard-wired?

It’s important to understand that our study doesn’t tell us very much about where these snap judgements originated – they may have their roots in evolution, but it’s equally possible that individual experiences and culture play a part.

Because we find that one simple model accounts for a lot of the variation in average judgements, it’s hard to believe they are determined by individual experiences alone (since these would be highly varied), but common experiences (e.g., cultural influences) could play a big role.

This is something we’re looking at in current work, by comparing first impressions formed by people from different cultures. However, there is already some evidence from social psychology that the dimensions we tap into in understanding other people are universal, which might suggest an evolutionary influence.

For a social species like humans, getting along with others is a key part of survival, and so being able to identify potential allies and aggressors, potential mates and those most and least able to carry out their intentions may plausibly have been an advantage to our ancestors.

The trouble with first impressions

We’re not normally aware of how we arrive at our first impressions. They affect our future behaviour and can be hard to overturn.

So it’s useful to know how we’re being judged on our appearance, especially since these judgements might not be accurate – think of effects on court cases or democratic elections, for example.

Should we really trust a smiling face? Some previous research suggests that there may be a “kernel of truth” in some of our first impressions but that we overgeneralize so that, for instance, someone with a young-looking face (i.e., features resembling those of a young child) is judged to have other immature characteristics.

However, often “judging a book by its cover” will be just plain wrong! It’s not hard to imagine that unconscious bias resulting from appearance-based first impressions might contribute to less overt forms of discrimination.