BIO

One of the main reasons I came to Florida State University was the chance to partake in the undergraduate research program. I have always been interested in research and wanted to determine if it was something I would continue pursuing. Being able to participate in Dr. Okten’s Impressions lab and getting the opportunity to receive a background in research have given me the opportunity to gain knowledge in the field of research. I worked in the Impression Lab due to my interest in the topic and would like to continue my research within that realm. I would also want to do research in the area of meta-cognition and psychopathology due to the career path I am interested in. I am currently pursuing my goal of going to graduate school for my Ph.D. in clinical psychology. I would like to continue doing research while pursuing my future career of working in the social justice system as a clinical psychologist.

Stability of First Impressions and the Role of Openness to Others' Perspectives

Abstract

People form first impressions of others without much thought on how they actually do so. Still, based on their past experiences, they may evaluate their first impressions as relatively stable or changeable. This research focuses on how stable people view their first impressions of others and how much these views are associated with their tendency to be affected by outside information. How do people's perceptions of how stable their first impressions are relate to the extent to which they change their impressions based on a third party’s perspective of the target person? We tested this question through a survey distributed on an online survey platform called Prolific. Three hundred participants answered questions on their overall perceptions of the stability of their first impressions and how much their impressions would be affected by acquaintances and trusted others. The results showed significant associations between overall perceptions of stability and the tendency to change impressions based on information from others. Those who construed their first impressions as stable tended to ignore new information even from trusted sources. Considering these findings, we encourage further research targeting stable first impressions, and their potentially biasing consequences in interpersonal relations.

Keywords: impressions, openness, opinion, meta-cognition, scale development