BIO

My Hometown is Miami, Fl transferred to FSU in the Fall of 2023. Currently, I am a 3rd-year student at Flordia State University pursuing a degree in psychology with a minor in social work. Upon completion of my education, I intend to pursue a career in family law after earning my law degree. Through UROP I was able to sharpen my research and communication skills which will be beneficial in both my education and career.

Examining Morality Dominance in Spontaneous Impressions via a Trait Generation Task

Abstract

Previous research suggests that morality-related information we gather about other people dominates our global impressions of them. This study sought to examine this morality dominance perspective on impressions via a spontaneous trait generation task.  In an online Qualtrics survey, we asked participants (N=151) to generate three positive and three negative traits that make them want to or not want to know someone. Our analysis was guided by coding the different traits that participants listed in the survey, then composed them into three subcategories (morality/warmth, competence, and emotion). The results confirmed the findings of previous research, that people tend to consider morality-related information (both positive and negative) more than competency and emotionality when formulating first impressions. Positive traits of competence were listed more frequently than negative traits of competence, also confirming past findings on the higher perceived diagnosticity of the former. This pattern was independent of participants’ general trust in their first impressions. Further research can examine whether people rely on their morality perceptions when they act toward other people and explore the boundary conditions of morality dominance in first impressions such as potential gender differences. 

Keywords: Psychology, Cognition, First impression