Introduction
The first impression of a person may be right or wrong, depending on the specific personal experiences and feelings we had previously. Even when it has appeared that people were wrong in their judgments about a person, it does not prevent them from making future assessments and hanging labels on people. This paper will discuss the first impressions and stereotypes that influence first interactions with other people and why these concepts are essential in the career.
Main text
Every time you meet a new person, it is hard to avoid evaluating this person from your perspective. Once, I met a girl with who I was supposed to create and develop a project, which, initially, appeared to be extremely arrogant to my mind. When we met the first time with other peers as well, she looked at everyone from head to foot with a critical look. I noticed that and thought that she might be quite mean, and I should be more cautious while working with her.
During our work on a project, however, I changed my mind about this girl. We worked together for several months, and I understood that she is a friendly and hard-working person, and we enjoyed spending time developing ideas. She also told me that she tried to look differently when meeting new people because it also helped her to assess their initial behavior. Thus, my current thoughts and about this person do not match my initial impressions. I think that my first impression about this girl was wrong because, in my stereotype, people were trying to be welcoming and to make an excellent first impression to establish relationships. I also think that in the same situation, I would not do anything to be perceived as an arrogant person at first sight. Therefore, my experience was opposite to what this girl had, and that is why I had the wrong first impression.
Stereotypes influence first impressions of someone in various ways, depending on the situation. One of the studies found that people can judge a person’s competence and intentions by the first impression from a photo of a person (Berger, 2018). Researchers, who investigated this issue, stated that social stereotypes, such as stereotypes about a female nurse or a mature male attorney, help us decide about a first impression (Berger, 2018). Another research found that we form first impressions from a face of a person, which are based on race, gender, and other stereotypes (Zebrowitz, 2017). It was revealed that the level of familiarity with other races and emotional resemblance affect first impressions people have (Zebrowitz, 2017). For instance, White people’s opinions of Black faces as more hostile vary due to interactions with Black people. Thus, various stereotypes affect our initial judgments about people both positively and negatively.
Understanding that people may judge a person by stereotypes that they have is crucial for my future career in administration. For instance, it is essential to be aware that certain stereotypes influence the decisions of people during a job interview, such as being late might suggest that a person will neglect deadlines. A career in administration also involves interactions with a lot of people in the long-term perspective. Therefore, it is crucial to be aware that stereotypes might influence first impressions and perceptions of others and avoid immediate evaluation of people and work with them impartially.
Conclusion
To conclude, one might say that various factors influence the first impressions of a person. However, it might be the case that the first impression might be right or wrong, depending on internal stereotypes, experience, and ideas a person has. Therefore, it is essential to make an effort to change the opinion about a person and avoid initial feelings that can be based on non-objective features of the situation.
References
Berger, M. W. (2018). How do stereotypes affect what people think is fair? Penn Today. Web.
Zebrowitz, L.A. (2017). First impressions from faces. Current directions in psychological science, 26(3), 237–242. Web.