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Are First Impressions Misleading Impressions?

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First impressions: Misleading impressions? First impressions can be surprisingly 'sticky' in the observer's mind. When reading the stories about 'John,' it is perfectly plausible that some days John could be very gregarious, while on another day, feeling tired and less confident, he could be more introverted. The character attributes that are observed to draw the conclusion that John is an introvert or an extrovert are relatively superficial and arbitrary. In one scenario John talks to a girl he had met the previous night; in another he crosses the street to avoid a pretty girl. In one scenario: "John talked with an acquaintance while he waited for the clerk to catch his eye," which leads John to seem extroverted (Clark 2012). In another, "The bar was crowded with people, and he noticed a few familiar faces. John waited quietly until the bartender caught his eye and then gave his order" (Clark 2012). This gives the impression of introversion. But these are based on underlying assumptions of the reader. In both scenarios, John waits until he can 'catch' the service person's eye, rather than confronts him. Perhaps he was not attracted to that particular pretty girl in the second scenario. The reader's mindset has just as much of a role in shaping how John is perceived than John's exterior actions. The reader's first impression of John leads John to seem 'either/or' either extroverted or introverted. Many personality tests reinforce the notion of trait-based behavior as
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