FIRST IMPRESSIONS

 Importance of Impressions - need for accurate impressions

 Discretionary lives, change and choices in jobs and relationships

 Problems:

 Employment:

job turnover - 20% leave jobs each year

relocation costs companies over $30,000

new hires cost $13,000

1/3 switch jobs during life time

1/3 really like jobs

80% report work is unsuited to their skills

1/4 feel they are working to their potential

 Relationships:

150,000 divorces each year

 Society:

250,000 children abused each year

 Role of Impressions in Communication

 Reading people, presenting ourselves, reducing uncertainty

 Uncertainty reduction hypothesis - verbal redundant with nonverbal  

When strangers meet, their primary concern is to reduce uncertainty about the other person and their relationship.  As communication and non-verbal cues are provided, uncertainty goes down and vice versa.  Information-seeking and reciprocity are positively correlated with uncertainty. High levels of uncertainty cause increases in information-seeking behavior. Similarities between persons reduce uncertainty.

 We communicate with our impression, not the other person

Strategies to Cope with Certain Uncertainty

• Linking uncertainty reduction theory to message production

  • how we cope

• Seeking information

  • common questions

• Choosing plan complexity – contingency plans and level of detail

  • what do you do?

• Hedging – provides ways for both parties to ‘save face’

  • how do you do this?

• Hierarchy hypothesis – when person is thwarted in attempt to achieve goals, their first tendency is to alter lower-level elements in message

  • what is your starting point and where do you fall back to
    

Stranger in the Classroom

Overall principles

1.formed quickly (4 minutes, 30 seconds in bars)

2. based on limited information

lazy processors - use heuristics, stereotypes and simple rules (easily manipulated)

more involved leads to more systematic processing

largely nonverbal (physical appearance)

3.short term - but not replaced, elaborated

4.can be accurate, especially for demographics, etc.

5.unaware of our impressions (what is your impression of the teacher in your next class?) and what causes us to have a particular impression (why do you have that impression?)

6.look for similarities and differences, group and rule conformity and violation, consistency/inconsistency