Impression Formation Research Articles

Co-present mobile phone use as an expectancy violation: revisiting ‘phubbing’ in two lab-based experiments

ABSTRACT Two lab-based experiments (N = 81 and N = 74) examined effects of co-present mobile phone use (frequently conceptualized as ‘phubbing’) on how individuals experience social interactions. The first experiment was modeled after the original Expectancy Violation Theory experiment by Burgoon and Le Poire (1993). Results showed that phubbing predicted perceptions of expectancy violation. These perceptions mediated the association between phubbing and several indicators of both impression formation as well as interpersonal attraction. The second experiment showed that more intensive phubbing led to poorer ratings of the confederate’s attentiveness, conversation quality, and perceived relationship quality than less intensive phubbing. Together, the two experiments support that phubbing, especially when it is more intensive, can harm relational outcomes.

Understanding and Influencing Responsibility Attribution when Experiencing Technical Issues in Video Conferencing

During video conferencing, technical issues such as network impairments can unexpectedly hinder remote collaboration for distributed teams. However, it remains unclear how such issues affect the impression formation process between unacquainted interlocutors in situations like job interviews or kick-off meetings. Having first encounters online without prior in-person interaction has become prevalent nowadays. Therefore, examining the impact of technical issues on remote unacquainted interlocutors and exploring design solutions to reduce the negative impact of technical issues on the impression is essential in informing the design of future communication systems. With three controlled experiments simulating an online job interview, we discovered that technical issues made people give low credibility ratings to remote job applicants (Study 1). We further examined two intervention approaches to reduce the negative impact of technical issues in video conferencing, including a virtual agent represented in a human-like avatar to actively take responsibility for the technical issues (Study 2), and forewarning messages to inform people about the technical issues in video conferencing (Study 3). Results demonstrated that introducing an agent that represents a communication system to take responsibility for technical issues actively could reduce the responsibility people assign to remote job applicants, but without increasing their positive credibility rating for remote job applicants. Furthermore, showing forewarning messages, which explicitly made people aware the cause of technical issues was unidentifiable and its potential negative impacts on impression formation, enabled people to rate the credibility of the remote counterpart without being influenced by technical issues. We discussed how interventions can be designed to mitigate negative attribution outcomes when encountering uncontrollable technical issues in computer-mediated communication.

Study on Eyebrow Shape and Image Suitable for Men’s Social Image -Focusing on South Korean and Chinese Men in their 20’s and 30’s-

This paper aimed to run a comparative analysis of preferred eyebrow shapes among South Korean and Chinese men in their 20’s and 30’s, to present their desirable eyebrow shape effective for giving an impression. Furthermore, the renewed recognition of the social function of eyebrow shapes, an important factor which determines their impression formation depending upon desirable images, could help ramp up the related cosmetics industry. For this purpose, we carried out a survey and did statistical analysis. The findings of this paper were as follows. First, as for preferred eyebrow shape, there turned out a common predominant preference for ‘standard type’ among South Korean and Chinese men. However, South Korean men had the least preference for ‘angled type’, while Chinese men had the least preference for ‘straight type’. This means Chinese men go after a ‘masculine’ image, compared with South Korean men. Second, among both South Korean and Chinese men, a ‘natural’ image was commonly the most popular, with ‘cute’ image the least popular. However, ‘simple’, ‘tender’, ‘refined’, and ‘urbane’ images ranked high in popularity among South Korean men; on the other hand, Chinese men had a preference for ‘masculine’, ‘simple’, ‘decent’, ‘dynamic’, and ‘tough’ images. Third, among men with sales/service or self-employed jobs which entail face to face contact with people, a ‘natural’ image without revealing their personality was commonly most popular; on the other hand, there was a tendency to raise their energy through ‘dynamic’ images among men with office/administrative jobs which need human resource management through work concentration and hierarchy. And men with production/engineering jobs which entail lots of movements tended to seek toughness through a ‘masculine’ image. There was a preference for bright and affirmative energy through ‘lively’ image among students who was building relationships with friends with no occupational image. Finally, as regards socially desirable eyebrow shapes of those surveyed by job, ‘standard type’ or ‘straight type’ is suitable for men with sales/service or self-employed jobs requiring a ‘natural image’. On the other hand, ‘upward type’ is suitable for men with production/engineering job in need of a ‘masculine image’. And also, ‘angled type’ goes well with a ‘dynamic image’ which men with office/administrative job need.

The Underlying Cognitive Processes of Thin Slices Judgments on Teaching Quality

Thin slices ratings (i.e., ratings based on first impressions) have yielded intriguingly accurate results in various domains. Among other, researcher have applied the thin slices technique to assess instructional quality, showing that teacher-student interactions can be reliably inferred by just very short snippets of classroom instruction. The accuracy of thin slices ratings is often explained by dual process theories of social cognition, whereby System 1 refers to an intuitive and fast way of processing, while System 2 denotes a more reflective and analytical way of processing. System 1 is considered the cognitive foundation of thin slices ratings. The central aim of the present study was to understand the underlying cognitive processes shaping the impression formation of thin slices raters of teaching quality. Therefore, an unconventional and innovative research design was required to gain insights into the cognitive “black box” of thin slices raters by examining their verbal data. In an exploratory mixed method research design, we set up Cognitive Laboratories with two different rating situations. In a thin slices rating situation, participants rated instructional quality based on short classroom videos (30 seconds). Participants in a long-video rating situation rated instructional quality based on longer classroom videos (10 minutes). We collected, coded and statistically analyzed participants’ verbal reports regarding their rating processes. The findings suggest that thin slices ratings evolve primarily based on typical processes of System 1 and not on those of System 2. For instance, thin slices ratings are associative and tend to be rather negative than positive. Moreover, an initially formed impression tends to remain stable and is resistant to alteration. Ratings of instructional quality based on longer videos rely on both cognitive systems, with System 2 possibly modifying an initial judgment. Thus, our study does not only explain the cognitive processes under-lying the thin slices ratings, but additionally provides valuable insights into the processes occurring in conventional rating settings.

Noble metal-free tandem catalysis enables efficient upcycling plastic waste into liquid fuel components

The lack of effective approaches for upcycling waste plastic has led to severe environmental pollution and squandering of carbon resources. While hydrocracking macromolecular polyolefins over typical metal-zeolite catalyst produces high quality liquid fuel components, the limited activity of base metal and restricted accessibility of acid sites within microporous zeolite renders this process still not in practical scale. A tandem catalyst comprising Ni-WO3/Al2O3 and Beta zeolite was developed for consecutive hydrocracking polyolefins, achieving a yield of 86.2 % of primarily gasoline-jet ranged hydrocarbons (mainly C5-C16 and minor C16+) at 280 °C. The incorporation of tungsten species onto Ni/Al2O3 largely enhances the surface acidity and accelerates the primary cracking process that converts polyethylene (PE) into medium-sized intermediates, which would readily diffuse into the pore networks of Beta and undergo further cracking to yield desired liquid hydrocarbons. In addition, this tandem catalyst also promotes facile hydrocracking of consumer-grade plastic waste and maintains excellent stability over 5 recycling tests. The noble-metal-free catalyst achieves an impressive liquid formation rate of 5.74 g·gcat.−1·h−1, rivaling the noble metal-based catalyst and demonstrating high application prospects.

Navigating the Social Environment: Linking Motivations, Impressions, and Behaviors Via a Sampling Approach to Trustworthiness.

Our understanding of impression formation comes from experiments constraining participants' control over information sampling. This limits our understanding of how people sample information when forming impressions as well as the effects of self-generated samples on impressions. Our paradigm allows participants to actively collect information samples. This work investigates how people explore the social environment and how sampled information informs resulting impressions. Four experiments tested theoretically-driven predictions regarding information sampling patterns under interested and disinterested information search. Under interested search, participants truncated the sampling of social targets showing early untrustworthy behavior. Under disinterested search, participants sampled extensively and systematically, avoiding small-sample biases. The sampled information, once obtained, accurately determines final impressions. Moreover, we documented a direct link between sampled information and subsequent behaviors (partner selection in trust games, trustworthiness expectations). By investigating sampling-based trustworthiness impressions, the present research informs the origins of trustworthiness and sampling accounts of judgment and decision-making.

Analyzing Interaction Patterns on Dating Sites: A Generic Structure Potential Approach

Online dating has become a popular stage to find a romantic partner. In such context, interlocutors must employ language carefully to reveal their intentions, attract attention and as well sustain intimacy with their potential partners. While previous studies have explored aspects such as self-disclosure and linguistic strategies in impression formation, there remains a gap in understanding the structured interactions that occur between potential partners on dating sites. This study, therefore, investigated the linguistic elements and interactional structures characterizing online dating discourse, focusing on two popular platforms, Tinder and Tagged. Adopting Halliday and Hasan’s Generic Structure Potential framework, the study examined conversations of thirty participants (potential partners) whose relationship ranges between two weeks to three months. Findings revealed seven key stages: Discourse Initiation (DI), Introduction (INTR), Question and Response (QAR), Request (RQ), Admiration (AD), Declaration of Dating Intention (DDI), and Topic Formation for Conversation (TF). Each stage is marked by specific linguistic features and serves unique functions within the communication process. DI involves friendly greetings and endearments to initiate conversation and signal interest. INTR often includes declarative statements that provide personal information, establishing familiarity and a good first impression. QAR facilitates information exchange through questions and responses. RQ, predominantly by males, involves polite modal verb constructions to move the conversation to more personal platforms or obtain further information. AD includes compliments and positive affirmations to express appreciation and create a positive interaction tone. DDI features direct and indirect questions about relationship status to clarify the intent behind the interaction and define the nature of the potential relationship. Finally, TF sustains conversation with statements and questions about daily activities and interests. This study contributes to the broader understanding of professional discourse by analyzing the structured linguistic strategies and interactional patterns employed in online dating, demonstrating how individuals strategically use language to manage impressions, negotiate intentions, and build relationships – skills also crucial in professional communication.

Emotional Expressions and First Impression Formation in Social Media Profiles

ABSTRACT This study conducted an online experiment with 384 participants to explore the mechanisms through which viewers form initial impressions of strangers based on their emotional self-disclosure in social media profiles. The findings revealed that positive emotional expressions fostered a higher degree of interpersonal liking and trust than negative emotional expressions. The relationship between emotional valence and interpersonal liking was partially mediated by perceived appropriateness and perceived similarity. Judgments of interpersonal trust were fully mediated by the perceived appropriateness and perceived similarity of emotional expressions. The study further discovered an interaction between emotional valence and intensity, such that the effect of emotional valence on perceived similarity became more pronounced when emotional intensity was high. The findings underscored the significant influence of emotional expressions on the development of interpersonal liking and trust on social media. The study also specified two inferential processes (perceived appropriateness and perceived similarity) underlying these effects and highlighted the moderating role of emotional intensity. The theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.

The effects of footstep sounds on impression formation and persuasion

Although walking is ubiquitous and regularly produces footstep sounds, little is known about how such sounds impact (1) observer impressions of walkers, and (2) walker influence over observers. The current research addresses these issues in three retailing scenario-based experiments. The presence of service employees' footstep sounds is found to increase their perceived status in the eyes of the shoppers, which increases the service employees' persuasiveness. Moreover, we rule-out several potential alternative explanations (niceness, attractiveness, and honesty) while identifying a boundary condition of both theoretical and practical significance, shoppers' political ideology: service employees’ footstep sounds affect conservative shoppers far more than liberal shoppers.

Is Doing Good Good Enough? A Motivation, Action, Sacrifice, and Temptation (MAST) View of Moral Praiseworthiness.

We present the Motivation, Action, Sacrifice, and Temptation (MAST) view of moral praiseworthiness and evaluate four components shaping judgments of an actor's morality: (a) How did the person act? (b) Why did the person act? (c) Did the person sacrifice something when acting? and (d) Was the person tempted to avoid the sacrifice? Across multiple moral domains, we evaluate moral impressions of hypothetical actors who acted ostensibly morally under different motivational, sacrificial, and temptational conditions. Across four studies (total N > 1,200) and 150 morally relevant scenarios, all components shaped moral impressions, with motivational purity having the strongest impact. Exploring motivation more deeply via Self-Determination Theory, we found effects of internalized (vs. externalized) motivations. Broadly speaking, judges prefer actors to act automatically and in an idealized manner rather than with deliberation and effort. This work address questions that have fascinated philosophers, psychologists, and laypeople, advancing understanding of moral impression formation.

Tempus Fugit: Unraveling Temporal Occurrence and Display Order Effects of Online Information on Employer Impressions

ABSTRACT As social media readily enables users to traverse a targets’ posted content across time, the present research explores the effects of two types of temporality – occurrence and display order – on offline perceptions. Using the context of employers’ impression formation of job applicants, N = 200 human resource personnel were exposed to a job posting and an applicant’s resume and supplemental social media posts in a fully crossed 2 (occurrence order: posts becoming either more or less positive over a 4-year period) and display order (most-recent posts presented either first or last), and a one-condition offset in which all posts were made 2 years ago and displayed in a random order. Findings support the main effect of temporal occurrence so that more recently posted information more strongly influenced resultant perceptions of the applicant’s employability, person-organization fit, and starting salary; but neither primacy or recency effects of display order were detected. Findings are discussed with respect to warranting theory, primacy/recency effects, and the hiring process.

Examining How Sex Appeal Cues and Strength Cues Influence Impressions of Female Video Game Characters

Sexualization is a prominently studied dimension of how media content contributes to problematic outcomes for women (e.g., self-objectification). In video game contexts, scholars have debated whether portrayals of powerful characters may disrupt undesirable outcomes of sexual objectification. In two studies, we experimentally manipulated sex appeal cues and strength cues in female characters. Participants reported their impressions in terms of key person perception outcomes and liking of the characters. We also aimed to understand how interactivity shapes impression formation by comparing viewing (Study 1) to playing (Study 2) contexts. Results indicated that sex appeal cues and strength cues interacted to shape character impressions but did so differently depending on the type of interaction participants had with the character. In both studies, sexual appeal cues produced greater disliking of the characters. Our discussion considers the findings with respect to character design in video games and other media entertainment.

Ageism on LinkedIn: Discrimination towards older applicants during LinkedIn screening

Building on impression formation theories and the stereotype content model, this study examined age bias in LinkedIn screening, which is an understudied topic despite the aging workforce. An experimental study among 366 HR professionals considered the effects of LinkedIn recommendations (warmth/competence) and recruiters' age stereotypes on older applicants' job suitability ratings. First, we investigated and found that LinkedIn screening is prone to bias against older applicants. Furthermore, although having a recommendation on LinkedIn stressing competence or warmth is beneficial for both younger and older applicants, younger applicants benefited more from a recommendation reflecting their competence compared to older applicants. Second, recruiters' positive stereotypes regarding older workers' competence positively influenced job suitability ratings of older job applicants. This positive effect of recruiters' stereotypes was not affected by counter-stereotypical information emphasized through a recommendation. Understanding how applicants' LinkedIn profile affect recruiters’ hiring outcomes might help organizations to develop policies for fair selection procedures.

Enhancing organizational attractiveness through CSR consistency: Examining the impact of corporate hypocrisy, conceptual fluency, and proactive communication in HR recruitment

AbstractIncorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into organizational strategies has become essential, demonstrating a dedication to ethical conduct and sustainable practices. This paper investigates how consistency in CSR practices impacts organizational attractiveness. Drawing upon the theory of the continuum model of impression formation, two separate studies were undertaken to investigate the influence of CSR consistency (both consistent and inconsistent CSR) on the appeal of organizations. Besides, these studies aimed to evaluate the mediating roles of conceptual fluency and perceived corporate hypocrisy in this relationship, as well as the moderating effect of two corporate communication strategies (proactive and passive). The study found that perceptions of corporate hypocrisy played a significant mediating role in the link between inconsistent CSR practices and the appeal of an organization. This mediating effect was diminished by the use of proactive communication strategies. In contrast, conceptual fluency was identified as a key mediator in the relationship between consistent CSR practices and organizational attractiveness, with its mediating effect being enhanced by proactive communication strategies. This study makes a novel contribution by focusing on the temporal stability of CSR initiatives and broadens the understanding of whether sustained engagement in CSR activities over time confers greater organizational attractiveness than occasional or random initiatives. This study extends the theory of the relationship between perceived CSR and job seekers and provides guidance and recommendations for CSR activities and HR recruitment practices for companies in the post‐epidemic era.

Exploring the first impression of a company: an empirical analysis of IPO prospectuses applying the impression formation model

PurposeThe present study aims to identify how firms positioned their corporate reputation (i.e. impressiveness vs respectability) in their initial public offering (IPO) communication based on the impression formation model. Further, the study examined whether this presentation of corporate reputation was related to IPO success (i.e. stock price and volume of trading).Design/methodology/approachThe present study analyzed 248 IPO prospectuses that were submitted to the major US stock markets. Specifically, various substantive and symbolic information and cues in IPO prospectuses were content analyzed.FindingsThe results suggest that bigger (in terms of revenue) IPO companies featured more “impressiveness” in their IPO prospectus, leading to greater IPO success. Bigger (in terms of both revenue and number of employees) IPO companies featured more “respectability” impressions in the IPO prospectus, although they did not achieve direct IPO success on the first day of IPO. Different types of industry used different information cues to feature “impressiveness” and/or “respectability,” suggesting that different types of firms view different cues to be important to IPO communication.Practical implicationsThe results also suggest some practical guidelines for the strategic use of contents, tables and illustrations. Using more charts, tables and illustrations in IPO prospectus summaries was associated with a higher volume of trading on the first day. The more illustrations included in the IPO prospectus summaries, the less investors were willing to pay for initial stock prices.Originality/valueIPO communication is a generally understudied area in corporate communication and strategic communication scholarship. The results should help to explain which communicative aspects and PR strategies effectively manage the firm’s impression to maximize the chances of an IPO success as well as initially build the financial reputation of a company. By doing so, the findings contribute to the broader advancement of financial communication within the strategic communications domain.

Conflict Detection in Language Processing: Using Affect Control Theory to Predict Neural Correlates of Affective Incongruency in Social Interactions

Affect control theory (ACT) is a sociological theory of meaning processing in social interactions. Meaning, according to ACT, derives from cultural institutions and situational affordances, having denotative (declarative) as well as connotative (affective) properties. Mathematical formalizations of ACT allow predictions of affective incongruency (in the terminology of ACT, deflection), which arises from conflicting institutional and situational meanings in a given interaction context. Although ACT is theoretically consistent, its propositions regarding cognitive and affective processing have rarely been tested. The present study fills this gap by investigating the neural processing of affective incongruency in linguistic descriptions of social interactions. Following a neurosociological paradigm, the study draws on neurocognitive evidence on the effects of words’ affective content on word processing as well as on a previous electroencephalography study that investigated processing of affective incongruency using event-related brain potentials. We hypothesized that affective incongruency is associated with activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a brain area known for conflict processing. To test this hypothesis, we replicated the electroencephalography study using functional magnetic resonance imaging: We visually presented sentences describing social interactions to 23 participants in a silent reading task while measuring differences in the hemodynamic response in two conditions of affective congruency. Results show expected increases in neural activity for affectively incongruent sentences in the left ACC, supporting the assumption that affective language content influences meaning-making at very early semantic processing stages. The results also add to the emerging neuroscientific evidence for ACT’s mathematical model of impression formation.

Negativity bias in intergroup contact: Meta-analytical evidence that bad is stronger than good, especially when people have the opportunity and motivation to opt out of contact.

Seventy years of research on intergroup contact, or face-to-face interactions between members of opposing social groups, demonstrates that positive contact typically reduces prejudice and increases social cohesion. Extant syntheses, however, have not considered the full breadth of contact valence (positive/negative) and have treated self-selection as a threat to validity. This research bridges intergroup contact theory with sequential sampling models of impression formation to assess contact effects across all valences. From the premise that positive versus negative contact instigates differential resampling of outgroup experiences when self-selection is possible, we advance and meta-analytically test new predictions for the moderation of valenced contact effects and negativity bias as a function of people's opportunity and motivation to self-select in and out of contact. Our random-effects synthesis of positive and negative intergroup contact studies (238 independent samples, 936 nested effects; total N = 152,985) found significant valenced contact effects: Positive contact systematically associates with lower prejudice, and negative contact associates with higher prejudice. Critically, the detrimental effect of negative contact is significantly larger than the benefit of positive contact. This negativity bias is particularly pronounced under conditions in which one can self-select, is motivated to avoid contact, among male-dominated and prejudiced samples, in contact with stigmatized, low status, low socioeconomic status outgroups, along nonconcealable stigma, with nonintimate contact partners in informal settings and in collectivistic societies. Considering individuals' motivation and opportunity to self-select, together with contact valence, therefore offers a more nuanced and integrated platform to design contact-based interventions and policies across varied contact ecologies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Unconstrained Descriptions of Facebook Profile Pictures Support High-Dimensional Models of Impression Formation.

Dominant models of impression formation focus on two fundamental dimensions: a horizontal dimension of warmth/communion/trustworthiness and a vertical dimension of competence/agency/dominance. However, these models have typically been studied using theory-driven methods and stimuli of restricted complexity. We used a data-driven approach and naturalistic stimuli to explore the latent dimensions underlying >300,000 unconstrained linguistic descriptions of 1,000 Facebook profile pictures from 2,188 participants. Via traditional (Exploratory Factor Analysis) and modern (natural language dictionaries, semantic sentence embeddings) approaches, we observed impressions to form with regard to the horizontal and vertical dimensions and their respective facets of sociability/morality and ability/assertiveness, plus the key demographic variables of gender, age, and race. However, we also observed impressions to form along numerous further dimensions, including adventurousness, conservatism, fitness, non-conformity, and stylishness. These results serve to emphasize the importance of high-dimensional models of impression formation and help to clarify the content dimensions underlying unconstrained descriptions of individuals.

A second chance for first impressions: evidence for altered impression updating in borderline personality disorder

BackgroundIndividuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently alter between idealizing and devaluing other persons, which has been linked to an increased tendency to update self-relevant beliefs and impressions. We hypothesized that increased impression updating could stem from reduced attitude contextualization, i.e., a process in which impression-disconfirming information is linked to contextual cues.MethodsIndividuals diagnosed with BPD and controls (recruited online, with unknown diagnostic status) completed an impression formation paradigm. They first learned about the positive or negative behaviors of others in one Context A (e.g., Person 1 is helpful), followed by learning about behaviors of the opposite valence in a second Context B (Person 1 is rude). We also manipulated between participants whether the observed behaviors were directed toward the study participants (self-relevant) or, more generally, at other people (other-relevant). The contexts were marked by differently-colored backgrounds (e.g., yellow vs. blue), to avoid influences of prior knowledge or experiences. After exposure to information in both contexts, participants rated their impressions of the persons in Context A, Context B, and, crucially, a previously unknown Context C (white background). We examined whether the initial or an updated impression (re-)emerged in Context C.ResultsInitial impressions remained stable and dominated the ratings of controls across contexts A, B, and C for both self-relevant and other-relevant behaviors, consistent with contextualizing impression-disconfirming information. As expected, however, individuals with BPD only showed updated impression ratings in Context C for self-relevant behaviors, consistent with the assumed reduced tendency to contextualize impression-disconfirming self-relevant information. Further exploratory analyses suggest that more severe BPD symptoms predicted more pronounced impression updating in the self-relevant condition.ConclusionsThe findings help to illuminate the mechanisms underlying interpersonal problems in individuals with BPD. People with BPD are not just more inclined to discard positive first impressions but to re-evaluate disliked others when they behave positively, contributing to the volatility of interactions with others. Contextualization has known and modifiable antecedents, and the study may thus provide potential targets for therapeutic intervention. Future studies will need to replicate the findings with specified controls.

Effects of residential mobility on impression formation across different social contexts

AbstractResearch on residential mobility is burgeoning; however, only a few studies have examined this topic in the context of impression formation. In Study 1, we first examined the hypothesis that high residential mobility increases sensitivity to friendliness, whereas low residential mobility increases sensitivity to hostility. In the word completion task, no effects of residential mobility were observed; however, in the impression formation task, participants with high residential mobility perceived friendly new acquaintances with higher amicability than those with low residential mobility (Studies 1a and 1c). Meanwhile, no effect was observed with the hostile new acquaintances (Study 1b). The results suggest that the effects of residential mobility, with a focus on friendliness and hostility, may be highly context dependent. Study 2 partially confirmed this idea, showing that participants with low residential mobility perceived hostile old acquaintances as less friendly than those with high residential mobility, and there was no effect of residential mobility in the case of friendly old acquaintances (Study 3). The role of residential mobility on impression formation was discussed.