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Abstract

First impressions are a crucial element of social interactions and relationships, influencing decisions ranging from whom to befriend, date, and hire. While there is an extensive body of research examining first impressions, it remains unclear how the degree to which a perceiver is actively engaged with someone, rather than passively observing them, impacts key components of first impressions, including positivity (how positively perceivers view a target’s personality), distinctive accuracy (how well perceivers’ perceptions of a target align with that target’s unique characteristics), normative accuracy (how well perceivers’ perceptions of a target align with the average personality profile), and assumed similarity (how much perceivers’ perceptions of a target correspond with the perceivers’ own self-perceptions). In this experimental, within-person, round-robin design, unacquainted participants (n = 66) came to the lab in groups of 5-11, had short interactions with each other, and rated each other’s personalities. For each interaction, participants were split into groups of four, with two participants randomly assigned to actively engage in conversation with each other (“conversers”) and the other two participants randomly assigned to passively observe the interaction (“observers”). Conversers formed impressions higher in positivity and lower in distinctive accuracy compared with observers; no significant differences were found for assumed similarity and normative accuracy between conditions. In sum, actively engaging with others during initial interactions promotes more positive but less accurate impressions of personality, which has important implications for those who wish to improve and increase the likelihood of establishing, maintaining, and enhancing different types of relationships.