There is no doubt that the so-called "first impression" is very complex, which is affected by things we can't control, incomprehensible neural processes and not necessarily accurate stereotypes. However, if we can better understand the "first impression", it may be easier to find the "right person" who belongs to us. The following is a collection of reasons I collected for you. Let's have a look!
Why do people believe in "first impression"?
Text / Yee Jun
We can judge a person's attractiveness in the blink of an eye, but that doesn't mean these assessments must be accurate. Perhaps it is this inadvertent blink of an eye that will make you miss your good fortune.
The environment, our character and the emotions of others may be the reasons why we hit it off with others. So what happens when we succeed in making a romantic first impression on each other? How do apps change modern dating?
In less than a tenth of a second, we can judge a person. These first impressions Herald all important features, not just attractiveness. For example, people make quick judgments about politicians' abilities based on their appearance alone and predict that they will succeed - even if the audience doesn't know who the politicians are. These impressions we make in an instant are not random. Most people often have the same feelings, but they are not necessarily correct.
"First impressions can be misleading," said Professor Alexander Todorov, a Princeton University scholar and author of face value: the influence of first impression. "It's absurd to try to understand a person through rough observation. We usually have only a first impression of strangers, so it's naturally superficial."
Whether our prediction is accurate or not, we will make a quick judgment and adhere to the first impression. Even if you spend more time observing, it is difficult to draw different conclusions from a stranger after that.
"We can't tell the difference from the first line of conversation - most people use fairly harmless words, such as' Hey ', but their choice doesn't affect the end result," said lissel sharabi, an assistant professor at the University of West Virginia "People's response rate is very low. Therefore, if your message may not get a response, you may not continue to send messages, which makes sense.
However, it's likely that just because your picture appears with someone will make your efforts to get a perfect picture futile - this is called sequence effect. In dating applications, when people are asked to evaluate the attractiveness of different faces in dating applications, if the previous face is attractive, people are more likely to evaluate the attractiveness of the next face to them, and vice versa. Therefore, we may underestimate the attractiveness of the next person because the first person is not good-looking, or if both are equally attractive, we may overestimate the attractiveness of the second person because of the order effect.
In some photos, we evaluated many different features. Three universal traits can be inferred from a face: attractiveness, trustworthiness and dominance. From an evolutionary point of view, this makes sense. Attractiveness is a mating cue, and credibility means useful social characteristics, such as being able to take care of children, and assessing dominance helps avoid conflict.
"Qualities like dominance are closely related to masculinity," Professor Todorov said In these first impressions, people do not evaluate men and women equally. Women who show masculinity tend to get negative reviews, while men tend to get positive reviews. This applies to both men and women, so both men and women have a negative attitude towards masculine women. "
First impressions of faces are superficial, general, and may not be accurate. If we consider this issue in the context of dating applications, we must consider the impact of the way photos are taken. Many studies on human faces use synthetic photos that mix the characteristics of many real faces, in the same form as passport photos, but not the kind we see when browsing other people's dating materials.
Real person photos are greatly influenced by the composition. For example, a portrait taken from a low angle is more likely to be seen as a strong character, which is good for men and bad for women. The counterexample is a portrait taken from a high angle.
In most cases, the photos we post on our dating profile are carefully selected, and everyone expects to show themselves in the best way. Not just for attractiveness, they also reflect personality and social cues, such as adventure or generosity. For example, people often use photos of themselves doing charity work.
"The only way to judge whether two people are really attracted to each other is to talk. People can't predict compatibility well without talking," Professor Todorov said.
In a study of the language we use when talking to potential dates online, researchers classified all the languages we might use in conversation to assess which would successfully lead to a second date. From the opening remarks to the time they plan their first date, they are collecting information, and then continue to follow up the couples to see if they are willing to date again.
"We can't tell the difference from the first line of conversation - most people use fairly harmless words, such as' Hey ', but their choice doesn't affect the end result," said lissel sharabi, an assistant professor at the University of West Virginia "People's response rate is very low. Therefore, if your message may not get a response, you may not continue to send messages, which makes sense.
"Traditional dating is mostly when men approach women, and to a large extent we find that online, men also approach women," sharabi said. "But the most interesting thing is that there are so few gender differences in the types of strategies used. Men and women are more similar than different."
The study also found that traits such as kindness often make Speed Dating successful. However, for both men and women, the most important factor is still the attractiveness of appearance.
With this in mind, it is a miracle that we can successfully find a mutually attractive partner. Your potential partner's pre meeting conversation with you, their overall mood, their cultural background, the way they see you, and whether they think they are more popular than you - all these factors will affect whether you get along with your partner, and these factors seem endless.
Nevertheless, these speed dating studies have also succeeded in promoting several marriages, so there must be some logic. The researchers said: "now some participants have had children, which is a good result."