Your opinion about a person. Description of people's character: individual qualities and examples. Formation of personality character

This term was coined in 1992 by psychologists Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal. They used it to study the phenomenon of first impression and social intuition.

According to the hypothesis, a person's nonverbal behavior can tell a lot about him. To test this assumption, the scientists recorded 10-second silent videos of Harvard professors giving lectures. The video was shown to people unfamiliar with the teachers and they were asked to rate the speakers using 15 parameters (“thin slices”). Volunteers judged how active the lecturers were, confident, sincere, and so on.

Then the experiment was repeated, but 5-second videos were shown to another group of viewers. Surprisingly, the thin sections in both cases were almost identical. The scientists went further: the timing was reduced to 2 seconds, and the participants in the experiment were again updated. The result was repeated.

After this, the researchers asked students to characterize teachers who attend their lectures and have known them for more than one semester. And here lay the main surprise.

Thin sections among students and outside observers who evaluated teachers only on short “silent” videos were almost identical. This allowed us to summarize:

People make conclusions about those they see for the first time very quickly, literally within the first 2 seconds of communication. Moreover, their judgment has nothing to do with what the person says.

Let's find out what thin slices people make about us in the first seconds of meeting us.

Confidence

Alexander Todorov and Janine Willis from Princeton University found that people judge someone's trustworthiness within 100 milliseconds.

One group was shown photographs of people they didn't know and asked to rate their attractiveness, competence, and trustworthiness. Each picture was shown for 0.1 seconds. The other group was given the same pictures, but there was no time limit. As a result, the assessments of the experiment participants who looked at the photographs for only 100 milliseconds coincided with the assessments of those who looked at the photos as much as they wanted. The correlation was especially strong when assessing the level of trust in a person.

Social status

A study by Dutch scientists showed that people use clothing as a social marker that determines an individual's position in society and income level. When a person wears Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste or other famous brands, others think that he has a high position.

In one experiment, participants were shown videos of interviews of applicants for a laboratory assistant position at a university. Some applicants wore simple white shirts, while others wore shirts with a clearly marked brand. But everyone's actions and speech were identical. Each volunteer was shown only one video, after watching which he had to rate on a seven-point scale how worthy this or that applicant is of the position and what his social status is. The social status of applicants wearing designer clothes was rated higher, as were their chances of getting a job.

Sexual orientation

Nalini Ambady and Nicholas Rule conducted a study and found that a man's sexual orientation can be determined in 50 milliseconds.

Volunteers were shown photographs of men (hetero and homo) from dating sites in random order for different time intervals. With 50 milliseconds of visual contact with a photo, the accuracy of sexual orientation judgments was 62%.

Approximately the same results were obtained in a study of the likelihood of identifying women's sexual identity based on their faces (Rule, Ambady, & Hallett, 2009). Moreover, this required even less time - 0.04 seconds.

Intelligence

Loyola University Los Angeles psychology professor Nora A. Murphy suggests that the ability to make eye contact is considered a sign of intelligence. Those who do not look away when they meet give the impression of being more intellectually developed people.

Murphy tried to determine by what criteria people evaluate mental abilities. To do this, the subjects were divided into two groups: the first were asked to clearly demonstrate erudition during a conversation recorded on video; the others were not given such instructions. All participants passed an IQ test. Those “playing” behaved approximately the same: they maintained their posture, made a serious face and certainly looked into the eyes of their interlocutor. And it was in this group that viewers most often reliably determined the level of intelligence of the participants, including low ones.

Eye contact during conversation is key to behavior. This is interconnected with the assessment of intelligence, which can be manipulated if you do not hide your eyes.

In addition to this, there are other stereotypes that shape the idea of ​​a person’s mind. For example, wearing solid glasses.

If you want to be, and not seem, read the articles “” and “”.

Promiscuity

British scientists have found that women with tattoos on prominent parts of the body are perceived as more promiscuous (who sometimes like to drink heavily and are promiscuous).

Study authors Viren Swami and Adrian Furham showed participants photographs of women in swimsuits. Some of them had tattoos on their stomachs, others - on their arms, others had both here and there, and others did not have them. Volunteers were asked to rate women on three parameters:

• moral stability;
• alcohol consumption;
• physical attractiveness.

The more tattooed a woman was, the less attractive and chaste she was considered. “A girl with a tattoo in the eyes of the public is a tomboy who loves alcohol, cool cars and the attention of men,” the scientists concluded.

Leadership

Albert E. Mannes from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania found that bald men are considered dominant and are perceived as leaders who can successfully lead a team.

The scientist conducted a series of experiments. During one of them, he showed photographs of men with and without hair. The people in the photo were the same age and wearing the same clothes. Volunteers had to look at the pictures and say which of the men was stronger morally and physically. The palm went to the bald ones.

Success

A team of British-Turkish researchers found that people wearing tailored suits appear to be more successful in their careers.

Researchers also came to this conclusion during experiments with photographs. Volunteers only had 5 seconds to make a conclusion.

If you want to improve your image and look more successful in the eyes of others, wear clothes that are custom-made by a good tailor.

The study also says that women wearing sexy skirts and low-cut blouses are perceived as lower status workers than women who adhere to a strict dress code. Scientists attribute this to the fact that a closed body is a sign of power. From time immemorial, representatives of law enforcement agencies wore closed robes.

Potential

In 2011, Canadian researchers came to the following conclusion: in the eyes of others, men who prefer a classic business suit achieve fame, money and success faster than adherents of a casual style.

Participants in the experiment were shown photographs of models. Some of them were in elegant suits, while others were in simple everyday clothes. Volunteers were asked to predict who the people in the photo would work as and what fate awaited them. As a result, men in jeans and sweaters were assigned lower wages and positions, even if they sat in leather chairs in posh offices. On the contrary, people in formal suits were judged as “kings of life”: they will have a lot of money, they will quickly achieve success.

Adventurism

Researchers at Durham University have discovered a link between gait and a sense of adventure. In their opinion, a free and relaxed gait speaks of extroversion and a penchant for adventure. While a jerky gait is characteristic of neurotic individuals.

The conclusions were drawn from an experiment where students watched videos of people walking.

As you can see, the folk wisdom “one meets people by their clothes...” has scientific justification. At the same time, the first impression made by a person often remains final.

What do you pay attention to when meeting people and why? Tell us in the comments.

We will devote several articles to how to make our communication with other people pleasant and useful.
And let's start from the very beginning - with acquaintance.
Has it ever happened that you were refused a job at the first meeting, although this meeting was scheduled? Did a meeting with a person important for business or personal relationships end in nothing? Did your relationship with your mother-in-law or mother-in-law not work out because you didn’t like each other at first sight?
Now I have mentioned those situations that are really important for us and our lives largely depend on the impression we make in them. It has been established, for example, that when applying for a job, no matter how long the conversation lasts, a positive or negative opinion about the candidate develops within the first 3-4 minutes of the conversation. After this, questions are asked depending on the prevailing opinion: if positive, they allow the person to reveal his best side, if negative, “for filling up.” I think that not all specialists involved in the study of communication problems will agree with 3-4 minutes. Some believe and prove this experimentally that the first impression is formed within 10 seconds of interaction.

First impressions are always wrong

Probably, many of us, if we have not taken part in such a dispute, have at least thought about the question of how deceptive or correct the first impression can be. I wonder what conclusions you came to? I am convinced that there is no definite answer to this question - it can be true, it can be completely wrong, it can be partially true. It all depends on who is perceived, who perceives and the conditions of perception.
Sorry for the banality, but people are different. Some are open to perception and easy to form a first impression of. Others are closed, it is often difficult to say anything definite about them. They may be either intellectuals, or narrow-minded, or shy, etc., but it is often not easy to guess this. Still others are constantly on the move, their inner world is hidden behind external bustle and actions. There are people who are good at adapting to circumstances, and there are those who cannot be described in any descriptive way. They disappear into the crowd, leaving no trace of their image in the observer’s memory. It is very difficult to say anything definite about them. Of course, all this affects the first impression.

Factors that influence the first impression

1. Physical attractiveness
Indeed, it has been noted that “what is beautiful is good,” that is, the effect of beauty can attribute to the interlocutor, without any factual basis, exclusively positive character traits and moral qualities.
When assessing attractiveness, special attention is paid to the face. A person with a beautiful face is considered attractive, and this is due not so much to the beauty of the face itself, but to its expressiveness. If the interlocutor’s facial expressions express calmness and goodwill, then in most cases he will be assessed positively by others.
Posture plays a vital role in the formation of physical attractiveness. It is known that good posture is associated with confidence and optimism, as well as inner strength and dignity. Poor posture is perceived as a manifestation of insecurity, and very often - dependence and subordination. All this is very important to consider when establishing contacts with people.

2. In addition to external attractiveness, a person’s non-verbal behavior is of utmost importance.
A person’s gaze occupies a special place. If a person does not look away, does not look “past” another, does not lower his eyes down, then he is perceived as more confident, more friendly, and this is due to the idea that people have in the past that, on the one hand, a strong-willed person By nature, a person is not afraid to look people in the eyes, on the other hand, if a person fixes his gaze on us, it means that he is interested in us in some way.
It turned out that the posture in which a person is during a conversation is also important. People like those who lean their torso forward when speaking more than those who lean their torso back.
It has been established that for every person (who is in a familiar environment) there is a distance that should separate him and a stranger so that this does not cause irritation. The magnitude of this distance depends on the height of people, their gender, neuropsychic state, and intentions towards the person about whom they are trying to form an opinion. For example, women prefer a slightly smaller distance of such communication, men prefer a larger one. They talk to people they like at a closer distance. Based on this feature, you can determine the interlocutor’s attitude towards you. During official communication or a wary attitude, they try to position themselves a little further away.

3. Attitude towards people
A greater effect on the perception of a stranger will be his positive attitude towards people. Thanks to this effect, a general overestimation of a stranger can occur. In order for the interlocutor to feel good about himself, you need to show attention and interest in him. Here it is important not to go too far, so as not to give the impression of either a flatterer or a manipulator.

4. Speech and voice
We unconsciously associate the sound of our voice with certain personality characteristics. Therefore, even when we do not see a person, but only hear him, we still have an idea about the interlocutor and some opinion about his character. An unbalanced or hysterical person is strongly associated with a shrill voice. Rapid but slightly halting speech will convey uncertainty. The languid voice reveals a sensual but cautious nature. And a person who speaks sluggishly and drawls his words can give the impression of a klutz. A sonorous voice, most often, indicates a cheerful disposition.
When perceiving a person, attention is also paid to verbal turns, frequently used words and expressions, intonation, firmness of sound, rate of speech and articulation. Thoughts are reflected in the voice. If we think about something harsh or unpleasant, our voice becomes stronger. If we think about a loved one, then softness appears in our voice. In addition, style and content matter - by analyzing them, it is not difficult to understand the cultural level of a person. After just a few minutes of conversation, the interlocutor will form an idea of ​​how friendly and reliable you are, and what degree of trust can be discussed with you. Scientists have established an interesting pattern - they believe that emotions of anger and fear make the voice sound older, while emotions of joy “reduce” age.

5. Features of the design of a person’s appearance, such as clothing, hairstyle, cosmetics also have an impact on the overall impression. The general rule in choosing clothes is: “Choose a style of clothing that is acceptable where you are going.” In some circumstances, style works as a “friend or foe” identification system. If the styles fundamentally coincide, then you are accepted as “one of their own,” and this makes communication with strangers easier. A dress or suit forces one to attribute certain qualities to a person. For example, a person in military uniform was credited with such qualities as discipline, accuracy, and perseverance. In general, you need to be very careful when choosing clothes, taking into account your color type and figure proportions (You can read about this on the Internet, but we’ll also talk about this on the website pages).

People form opinions about a person based on how they feel about what they see. Numerous psychological studies have confirmed that this method is correct in the vast majority of cases.

When you evaluate a person, the first thing you do is check his personality traits intuitively. You analyze how well it corresponds to your own attitudes and “standards.”

But how is it possible to understand something in the first minutes or even seconds of communication? Oddly enough, the reason is that the other person evaluates you in the same way, and it is your reaction to each other that allows you both to form the right opinion.

It all happens like this. When you meet, you seem to exchange some signals, and some ancient parts of your brain decide whether you can be a little more open to this person. If the decision is positive, this is always noticeable through micro-gestures and small changes in facial expressions. The other person does the same. This is a multi-step process during which you either admit that you like him, or something about him alarms you and you close down. In this case, most likely, the person will also close himself off from you.

Exceptions are indeed extremely rare. If a person cannot adequately “exchange” mutual opinions about each other, this may even indicate some mental abnormalities.

No matter how highly organized beings people become, the conscious part of the brain is still just a tiny island in the ocean of unconscious processes. Most of the things your brain does cannot be captured by thoughts. However, consciousness sets a vector that allows you to control some things. For example, you yourself can try to work on the impression you make.

How to make the best impression in the first minutes

It is known that people tend to sympathize with their own kind. Therefore, a similar style of clothing and some “identifying” signs, for example, logos of any brands or musical groups, can do half the work for you. But if you're meeting someone you don't know anything about, like going for a job interview, then try the following steps.

Prepare your clothes very carefully. It should reflect the message that you carry. When you get a job as a manager in a large company, you should never allow yourself to be careless in your clothing. But if you are a representative of a creative profession, then the ideal business suit may even alarm the interviewer. In any case, clothing should be very neat.

Be open and smile. Don't cross your arms or cross your legs. Keep calm. Don’t fiddle with your clothes, don’t be shy to look your interlocutor in the eyes. Openness expressed through gestures always works in your favor. The main thing is that it should be natural. If it’s difficult for you and you’re nervous, then it’s better to behave a little more closed, but not tense.

In the social life of society and in relationships.

Each person has special qualities and individual character traits. It is impossible to find two absolutely identical men or women. Descriptions of people's character are built from their actions, which affect their entire lives.

Character and dependence on body type

E. Kretschmer, a famous German psychologist, determined that a person’s behavior directly depends on his physique. He compiled a description of examples that fit into three main groups.

1. Asthenics are people with undeveloped muscles, quite thin with a small chest. They have an elongated face and long limbs. The psychologist united all such people into the group of schizothymics. These are often very stubborn people; it is difficult for them to adapt to changing environmental conditions. They are very withdrawn and prone to suffer from schizophrenia with severe mental disorders.
2. Picnics are people who tend to be overweight. They are characterized by a round face, short neck and small These people fall into the typological group of cyclothymic character. These are sociable people, very emotional and prone to quickly adapting to unfamiliar conditions. With psychological disorders they become depressed.
3. Athletics - have an athletic build, large chest and tall stature. Kretschmer classified athletes as ixothymics - unemotional individuals, domineering and not liking change. Severe psychological distress can easily lead to epilepsy.

This is the description given by a German psychologist. Now boldly approach the mirror and draw conclusions whether this theory applies to you or not.

The influence of temperament on character

Temperament is the characteristic vital energy of a person, which establishes one’s attitude towards life. It is often difficult to find a person who has only one temperamental indicator clearly expressed. As a rule, people have mixed temperaments, but knowing them, you can easily create a description of a person’s character, examples are given below:

• A sanguine person is an active person, characterized by regular mood changes. He reacts very quickly to all events that happen in his life. Failures and negative moments are perceived easily, without depression or frustration. Such a person has developed facial expressions, and he also completely devotes himself to work if it interests him.
• A choleric person is a very bright and excited person who reacts vividly to life events. He can quickly become angry and at the same time feel a loss of strength. Such a person quickly lights up with new ideas, but just as easily loses interest.
• A melancholic person is a person who takes everything to heart. At the same time, he is very impressionable and is easily brought to tears.
• Phlegmatic is a person who is stingy with emotions. The whole life of such a person is balanced and full of stability. Such people are valued in many companies, as they are distinguished by perseverance and high ability to work.

Formation of personality character

Many psychologists have written descriptions of people's character. But when is this character formed and is it possible to change it? Character manifests itself at a very early age. By the age of five, a child has established characteristics that are almost impossible to change.

In the early grades, the priority remains the opinion of parents and teachers, but after 14 years a whole psychological explosion occurs. The teenager clearly demonstrates his opinion about life, shaping his character. Obviously, the formation is influenced by the media. During this period, it is easy to impose incorrect political views and grow a supporter of some movement. By the age of 20, the human personality is formed, the turning point begins at the age of 50. There is a rearrangement of priorities, and so-called wisdom appears.

Appearance and character of a person

And human character is an important stylistic device for writers. This gives us a complete picture of the hero. We see his positive and negative traits, a negative or positive character develops.

Describing the character of people is very important for solving serial crimes - specialists start from the repeated actions characteristic of a maniac. This creates an accurate portrait of the individual and even makes it possible to predict the actions of the criminal.

If it is important to make a detailed description of a person, character traits are a significant indicator. Especially in areas such as politics and journalism. You need to be able to characterize a person’s abilities by appearance, because real character does not always appear immediately.

There are many versions about first impressions. Is it important, can it be changed? This is discussed in the article.

• The way we evaluate people, our subjective opinion about them, depends on what we ourselves are like. As a rule, we see in people the character traits that we have in ourselves. At the same time, these are usually some negative qualities: envy, anger, laziness, pretense. That is, if a person has, for example, a lot of anger, then he will also consider other people to be evil, cruel, aggressive
• If a person often deceives other people, or dreams of deceiving, then it will seem to him that all the people around him want to “cheat” him in turn. If a person is honest with himself and those around him, then it will not even occur to him that he could be fooled somewhere. This is not a matter of naivety. Very often, such people are not at all good-natured and do not live with rose-colored glasses, but they cannot foresee cases when they are taken advantage of or deceived
• This is because we interpret a person's behavior in relation to our own behavior. In other words, our subconscious (or unconscious) always asks itself: “What would I do?” And we expect from other people the same actions that we could do ourselves.

What criteria are used to evaluate a person first?

People evaluate each other according to the following parameters:

• appearance
• level of education, diplomas, certificates
• mental capacity
• financial condition
• social behavior and social circle
• character (strengths/weaknesses)

This is a short list. It shows the main factors in how a person evaluates a person. Of course, it is now customary to say that appearance is not the most important thing, but it has been scientifically proven that the first impression on a person is made by the appearance of the interlocutor.

Some people first of all pay attention to some individual features. It could be hair, nose shape, shoes, lipstick color, even the shape of eyebrows plays a role. Other people perceive the whole image at once.

• First, in order to understand whether they like a person or not, just a second glance at what is paramount for them (hair, nails, shoes, jacket) is enough. After this, it usually becomes clear to them how further communication will take place, and whether it will happen at all.
• It is much easier for people who can perceive the entire image. For example, a person may have an imperfect nose shape, but have clean, ironed clothes from the latest collection of a fashion designer. Most likely, such a person will make an extremely positive impression.
• There is a small percentage of people who do not have a definite impression until they interact with a person in person. They don’t care what a person looks like, what color his hair is, what he wears. For him, his intellectual abilities or character are important. But for people of this type it is enough to talk with a person for 5 minutes to understand who is in front of him
• A person tends to judge other people based on the opinions of others. Someone said something to someone, and here comes a new opinion. Therefore, it turns out that without knowing a person, we already hate or adore him
• Many people judge a person by their voice. In their opinion, a person’s voice contains his entire life path and character.

Are people judged by their appearance?

• As mentioned above, some people tend to evaluate other people solely by their appearance, without delving into their problems and intellectual capabilities.
• Unfortunately for such people, a person's image can change greatly throughout the day. For example, in the morning a woman walks around the house disheveled, with a mug of coffee and an elongated T-shirt. If a neighbor sees her at this moment, he will consider this woman a slob and will be disgusted with her
• But after an hour, the woman gets herself in order, puts on beautiful shoes, an office suit consisting of a fitted jacket and pencil skirt, puts her hair in a neat hairstyle, and puts on strict makeup. The same neighbor, seeing such a woman, will think that she is a real bitch with a snake-like disposition, cold and calculating
• In the evening, a woman returns from work, puts on a luxurious short dress, loosens her curls, puts on bright makeup and goes to the club. This time the neighbor will think that his neighbor is too vulgar and superficial
• And if, instead of going to a club, a woman goes on a date and puts on a more closed dress, puts her hair in a less voluminous hairstyle, and puts on less bright makeup, then the neighbor will say that she flaunts her wealth to the whole world or is looking for a rich companion, that she is usually sloppy and calculating bitch, and now she's dressed up for the occasion

From this example it is very easy to conclude that a person is judged by his appearance very, very often. However, this hardly has anything to do with the truth.

First impression of a person

• There is an opinion that the first impression of a person is the most correct. But is it
• From the examples given earlier in the article, it is clear that people do not always judge each other objectively. Therefore, there is no point in being upset if, in the first minute of meeting a person, he didn’t like you.
• A certain part of people can easily change their impression within a few hours, or even days, of meeting

Appearance and first impression

• Don't miss the opportunity to make a good first impression with your appearance. It is clear that each person has his own tastes and preferences. It's basically impossible to please everyone
• Nevertheless, in order to form a good opinion about yourself when you first meet, it is enough to “join” the team if the acquaintance occurs with a group of people at once. It is useful to know what these people are interested in to show them that you are interested in their activities. Your appearance should also correspond to the general style
• If you meet a person 1 on 1, you should not put pressure on him and show your “I”. Yes, even your appearance can scream, “Look at me! I’m in charge here!” There's nothing better than naturalness

A man's first impression

Making a positive first impression on a man is quite easy, despite public opinion.

First of all, men pay attention to:

1. figure, especially in the “back view”
2. manner of communication
3. posture
4. hair
5. nails. Very long or dirty nails turn men off
6. clothes

To make a good impression on a man, you don’t have to jump around him for hours. It is enough to be direct and natural in communicating with him. Don't be vulgar or too rude. For men, it is useful to forgive help in some situations, even if you don’t really need it. But you shouldn’t ask them to calculate the cost of products for you, for example. You'll make yourself look stupid.

Many men do not like very bright colors in clothes and makeup. This causes corresponding associations for them. But the vast majority of men like grooming and femininity.

Changing a man's first impression of himself is very difficult. Unlike women, men are more logical and consistent. But they cannot think as flexibly as a woman. Therefore, it is very difficult for them to change their first impression.

How to create a positive first impression?

There are certain rules that will help you leave a good impression of yourself after almost every acquaintance:

In fact, you can change your impression of yourself. But this will already be the second, third or fourth impression. But the first impression leaves a mark on all further communication. Especially in its early stages.

Of course, people tend to change, but when hiring, the employer will judge you at a given moment in time, he doesn’t care much about what you will be like in 5 or 10 years. He chooses an employee now, which means he judges you in the present tense. Therefore, it is always important to look good, because there is no second chance to make a first impression.

First impression mistakes

It's worth remembering that what we see depends on how we look. It’s worth looking at a person a little differently, and from an arrogant, arrogant type, he turns into a sweet, smiling young man, always ready to help.

Due to a lack of life experience or knowledge, a person very often judges incorrectly. The article previously gave an example with a neighbor and a girl. Such a neighbor is precisely an example of a narrow-minded and petty person. Of course, you shouldn’t rely on the opinions of such people. If you recognize yourself in your neighbor’s face, immediately change your views on the world. First of all, evaluate your mistakes.

First impressions are deceiving

The first impression is deceiving for people who are accustomed to not changing their opinion about people. Those who have a flexible mind are able to evaluate a person correctly and see him for who he really is.

You can dress however you like. Dye your hair any color. The person will not change because of this. He won't become dumber or smarter. But the opinion about him with each of his transformations will change in the diametrically opposite direction.

Video: How to make the right first impression