First Impressions

As the saying goes, you get only one chance to make a good first impression. There is no
shortage of advice on how to accomplish this, from picking the right clothes to polishing your
conversational skills. Have you ever noticed that no one talks about the importance of making a good
second impression? What is so special about first impressions?
According to a principle called the primacy effect, first impressions are critical. First impressions
set the tone for all future interactions. Our first impressions of someone seem to stick in our mind more
than our second, third, or fourth impressions do. Solomon Asch did an early study of the primacy effect.
He found that a person described as “intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical, stubborn, and envious”
was evaluated more favorably than one described as “envious, stubborn, critical, impulsive, industrious,
and intelligent.” Notice that most of those adjectives are negative. However, when the description
begins with a positive one (intelligent), the effects of the more negative ones that follow it are reduced.
Asch’s study illustrates a principle. The first information we learn about someone tends to have
a stronger effect on how we perceive that person than information we receive later on. That is why we
work so hard to make a good first impression in a job interview, on a date, or in other important social
situations. When people evaluate us favorably at first, they are more likely to perceive us in a positive
light from then on.
After Reading. Reflect on what you have read by thinking about these questions.

1. How important is the information in this reading to your own life?
2. What is the primacy effect? Explain it in your own words.
   Check Your Knowledge. Choose the correct answers to check your comprehension of the reading.
3. People responded more favorably to the list of adjectives that
   a. contained the word intelligent
   b. started with the word envious
   c. started with the word intelligent
   d. none of these
4. According to the reading, if the first impression you make on someone is a bad impression,
   a. you can make up for the bad impression by creating a good second impression,
   b. the primacy effect does not apply to you
   c. the impression is probably wrong
   d. the negative impression will remain, even if you try to make a better second impression
5. Find the word perceive in the text. Using context clues, determine which of the following
   definitions fits the word perceive.
   a. know
   b. think of
   c. conclude
   d. use
   YOUR ASSIGNNMENT: Respond to what you have read by writing a paragraph. In your paragraph,
   present proof that first impressions are powerful. You can use an example from your own or someone
   else’s life, or you can create a hypothetical example (an example that is fictional but is believable) to
   support your point. Be sure to include at least five sentences in your paragraph. The first sentence
   should express the main point you are trying to make.
   Before Writing. Answer each of these questions to help organize your information.
6. What is the main point you want to make?
7. What example will you use to help readers understand your main point?
8. Ian Jackson, a student in an English class, wrote a paragraph on first impressions, shown below.
   Notice his first sentence: “An experience I had with my father-in-law illustrates how important
   first impressions can be.” Write a similar sentence to express the main point of the paragraph
   you are writing.
9. Next, study Ian’s paragraph, which follows, to see how he completed the assignment. Note: Use
   the basic MLA format: left header, center title, last name + page number top right. MLA is the
   Modern Language Association accepted format; follow this format for the rest of the course.
   Model Student Paper: “Paragraph Assignment” by Ian Jackson
   Jackson 1
   Ian Jackson
   Professor Kittrell
   English 0111
   2 June 2017
   Paragraph Assignment
   An experience I had with my father-in-law illustrates how important first impressions can be. I had
   been dating my fiancée for six months before I met her father. One day, I was at my fiancée’s
   apartment. I was very frustrated with my old computer because it kept freezing as I tried to do my
   homework. In a fit of rage, I threw my computer at the wall. At that moment, my fiancée’s father
   walked in. He saw what I had done and thought I was immature and hot-headed. Even though I
   eventually married his daughter and never did anything like that again, it took my father-in-law years
   before he saw me as the even-tempered guy I really am.
   Practice Revising and Editing: Using different colored pens, read over your paragraph and make
   changes. Specifically, look at each sentence and follow these instructions.
   • Underline any sentence fragments (incomplete sentences).
   • Underline sentences that contain too many ideas.
   • Underline sentences that are too wordy.
   • Underline sentences that contain unnecessary additions.
   • Underline sentences with verbs that tell rather than show.
   • Underline sentences with generic rather than specific nouns.
   • Underline sentences that are written in inflated language.