UROP Project

Group Impressions: The Role of Members’ Characteristics in First Impressions

Group Perception, Impression formation, Social Psychology, Cognitive Psychology,

Research Mentor: Ayanna Brewton,
Department, College, Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: brewton@psy.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Psychology, Sociology
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8-10 Hours , During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:

• Day: Thursday, September 4
  Start Time: 1:00
  End Time: 1:30
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/99994056815

Project Description

When’s the last time you walked past a group of people? How were they behaving? Did you recognize the individual characteristics that made up the group or consider their similarities and differences from yourself? According to research, we as perceivers form first impressions of groups based on many of the observations listed above. This project aims to explore first impressions of groups, particularly we aim to examine the role that group characteristics play in formation of spontaneous trait inferences (STIs). STIs are the trait implications that we spontaneously and unintentionally make while observing others' behaviors, and these trait inferences tend to be strongly related to the initial impressions that we form and maintain about others. Our research project will address spontaneous trait inferences of groups (STIGs) by assessing participants' perception of groups as a single, cohesive entity when the racial categories and group membership characteristics of the target groups are present. Participation in this project will enhance your knowledge of perceiving others, how stereotypes form, and entitativity in social psychology, which refers to the degree to which a group of individuals are perceived as a collective whole. If you are interested in identifying and learning psychological concepts that relate to forming impressions about others, this is the perfect project for you!

Research Tasks: Literature review, scientific writing, analyzing data

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Research assistant(s) must be willing and have an interest in collaborating with others, engaging in scientific writing, and conducting literature reviews. Although it is not necessary, it would be helpful to have prior experience with scientific literature review and APA-style writing skills.