Within the first three seconds of a new encounter, you are evaluated… even if it is just a glance.
People appraise your visual and behavioral appearance from head to toe. They observe your demeanor, mannerisms, and body language and even assess your grooming and accessories – watch, handbag, briefcase. Within only three seconds, you make an indelible impression. You may intrigue some and disenchant others.
This first impression process occurs in every new situation. Within the first few seconds, people pass judgment on you – looking for common surface clues. Once the first impression is made, it is virtually irreversible. Interesting huh? Lets think about what we did in class and reflect about it a bit.
In class you met all of the students and spent only 1 to 3 minutes with them. How quickly did you know if you wanted to be in a group with them or not? How did you make this decision? Was it a feeling or a thought? Was it hard for you to go back after you meet everyone and select 5 people out of 22 that you would want to be in a group with? Was this harder than when you had to decided immediately after meeting them?
Have you heard of snap decisions and thin slicing? These are speaking about one's adaptive unconscious. These are decisions that we do not ponder over, but may make as quickly as a blink of an eye. I want you to think about how these decisions may be every bit as good as cautionously deliberated decsions. Second, I want you to think of some examples of when you thin slice and make snap decisions.
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That is very interesting. It was much easier to choose the first time than it was to choose five. I think it is usually a feeling that guides the decision. Snap decisions are funny things. If someone asks me how I'm doing, 99% of the time I say "alright" or "not too bad". I never even think about it and yet it's usually as good of an answer as thinking it out.
ReplyDelete-David C
When i think about snap decisons it makes me think of the old saying follow your gut instinct. I believe that it is true first impressions do last. Evverybody always judges whether they say they do or not. Most, but not all of the time they work out well for you. Like in sports. On the field or court you don't have time to carefully plot out a plan of action. You have to know in that instance what you are going to do. And it usually works out for the best.
ReplyDelete-Joe V
The whole concept of snap decisions is sort of scary to me actually. The fact that the first 3 seconds of meeting someone can determine your relationship with them forever is intimidating. I always think about if you are having a rough day so you are acting different than you normally do or something like that.
ReplyDeleteI found it surprisingly easy to choose who I wanted to be in a group with actually, but if I were to be asked to write down what drew me to those people I couldn't do it. It must have been subconscious use of snap decisions.
~Katie M
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading this it made me think how fast I judge people when I first meet them. Everyone who I decided to pick for my group was basically a "snap decision." I couldnt even tell you why I chose the people I chose, if I had waited to rank them after I met them I wouldnt even know who to pick. Its like the first week of college... you meet so many new people, but you know right away if you would ever hang out with them again.
ReplyDelete>Kristy
It's crazy how much first impressions really matter. It's kind of scary but no one can help much make them. Also, snap decision are happening all the time. They can be simple or complex. Picking our groups at the end was definitely a snap decision, because we didn't have much time and didn't even get to meet with all the people. Deciding who i wanted to be with was kinda hard, but I had a few people I knew I would work well with.
ReplyDelete-Cassandra A.
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ReplyDeleteI think that first impressions are very important. It's sad, however, how quick everyone is to judge. We tend to overlook the good in people and just look for everything negative. Snap decisions are really difficult when it comes to people. I think it's really hard to get to know who someone truly is just in the first couple minutes of meeting them. During our speed meetings, I based my decision on whether I liked that person's personality or not. However, when it came down to choosing the final five, it became extremely difficult. Like I said before, three minutes is not enough time to get to know someone. It was also hard to remember who was who. We all make snap decisions all the time, especially in sports. Most of the time, you don't have time to think about what the next move is, you just have to do what you think is right at that exact moment.
ReplyDeleteBekah N.
I find it very interesting how quick it takes us to define a human-being without verbally communicating with them and defining a human-being in a bias perspective. Some examples that I and people often make snap decisions and thin slicing are when you are at the mall and some person wearing gothic style clothes and you unconsciously think that they are socialy depressed and that they are wierd without even getting to know them. It is sad that people are like this way and they do tend more to look on the negative side on things instead of the positive side. It was very hard to choose five people since we did not have much time to get to truly know them and instead we used snap decisions to choose and we might not even really work efficiently with them after we made that decision.
ReplyDeletejon countess
I realize now how critical it is to always be yourself. You don't know everyone so when you are walking say around campus and you are being yourself there is someone you don't know watching you and that first impression they get of you can determine if they come over and talk to you or not. Thats what I get out of the first impression anyway. When we did our speed meeting I chose the people I did by how friendly they looked, and when everyone was friendly it made it even harder. So I tried to go by what I knew of there personality from that short amount of time.
ReplyDeleteSnap decisions are interesting, most the time you don't even know you are making them. One thing that really comes to my mind when I think about a snap decision is when you are driving. Like if you are almost to the intersection and the light turns yellow do you speed up or slam on your brakes. That is a snap decision I think of.
-Sara M
I think that under some circumstances it can be hard to judge people on your first impressions because some people are really shy and not themselves in some cases. But once they warm up i think its easy to start to see how they are. Three minutes was the perfect amount of time to be able to judge if you wanted to be in a group with them. I think it was easier for me to pick when we first met on just my first impression. I think the snap decision is that you would pick the person to work with that you want to know more about. So you will say yes when you first meet them, just because you want to get to know more about them. They intrigued something in you that makes you want to meet them.
ReplyDeletejtsnyder -
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you said, because I am one of those people who is shy at first but then once you get to know me, you'll know how I really am. Also what you said about snap decisions makes a lot of sense. You do usually pick someone to be in your group that you want to get to know better if you've never met them before. And, since people judge so fast, three minutes is a perfect amount of time to decide if you want someone in your group or not.
>Kristy
When I think about snap dicisions it reminds me of trust to your first instinct.I found the speed meeting very interesting and simple. For me, three minuts was planty of time to find out if I could work with this person or not. But the hardest thing was to choose those 5 people from whole list. There was no time to think so I just trust my firts istinct. But it was very interesting how you get to know the person and would like to know more about them but there is no time to ask. The snap dicision is like you are coming to the cafeteria and have display of different types of food that you never had before. Some look much better than other but those other may smell better. And you have to choose fast because there is line of people waiting behind you. You have to dicide besed on what you see and smell.
ReplyDeleteI agree that first impressions are the main basis for a persons opinion on a person, but not everybody is how they are first seen, just like the saying "never judge a book by its cover". I liked the speed meeting that we did in class. I felt like that was a very good idea to meet people fast and without the subtle awkwardness that always seems to occur. It started out slow but everyone began to get into it more and more and show more of who they really are. It was really hard for me to choose the five people I wanted to be in a group with. There is a lot of people in our class that i feel i could work really well with so choosing only five was tough.I also agree with snap decisions and how they work, but i think they are also unfair because some people are judged by how they acted at a certain point in time, and I think that is misleading. I think that the three minutes we were given is the perfect amount of time to choose are group people but i still would like to get to know people more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katie M and what she said about someone having a rough day and acting different so u dont get to see how the person really is. because of that reason I try to keep in open mind about people until i know them better. i try my best to not be judgmental.
ReplyDeleteI think first impressions are important and quick snap decisions are based on feelings and short termed thoughts. Many people are sterotypical and seeing a particular group, people automatically assume what that person is like. 1-3 minutes was easy to decide if I wanted to work with the person or not but to narrow it down to 5 was absoltely impossible. Worst part about thin slicing or snap decisions is you may subconsiously judge this person before you know it and subconsiouly you will think of this person as being someone you think but after awhile realize that your snap decision was completely wrong. These are not always accurate but also good because they can be right.
ReplyDeleteI understand what dan is saying and I agree with him that snap decisions can be misleading by judging people at a particular time. It could be that its been a bad day for the person or that they're extremely tired and don't seem interested when actually they really are. I also agree with dan and Katie M that I try to keep open minded and try not to judge people too much before i really get to know them. Overally there are a lot of fun people that will be fun to work with just by the experience in class and I think its going to be a fun class. :)
ReplyDeletethe first quote means that there are many different things in school ad the classroom you learn and then in the outer world and in society you learn values and from other people also.
ReplyDeletethe second quote means you should always show your dignity to others and if you see others not you can try to fix it
everyday i will hold open the door if someone else is right behind me. its just the nice thing to do instead of letting it go in their face. people do the same to me.
-Theresa Maglian
oops i posted that on the wrong post but i am going off cassandras because my account wasnt working for some reason..
ReplyDeleteits really scary to think that people make a judgement about you in just only 3 seconds. it makes me think that i've probably done it before too. First impressions are always important but someone could catch you on a bad day and that judgement could be stuck with them on how they thought of you. when we did the speed meeting i didnt think 3 minutes was that long to get to know someone but than it was still kind of hard to keep talking because it took time to think of what to ask. i didnt really have a huge thought on who my 5 people should be because there was really no one that wold be bad to work with but at the end i just ended up circling 5 people and i think it will work out just fine. something that came to mind about when i had to make a snap decision is in soccer. You dont have time to think about what your next move will be because its a fast past game. sometimes my decisions arent always the best ones in soccer but you learn from it.
-Theresa Magliano
Bekah-
ReplyDeletei agree with what you said about usually seeing negative in people, and it is really sad. i also found it difficult to narrow it down to five people for my group. sports is a huge place for snap decisions, in any sports snap decisions are made all the time.
-Cassandra
I agree with jtsnyder and Kristy. I too am very shy most of the time so on a first impression I probably would seem very different than the person that I really am. I also liked the part about wanting people in your group that you would like to get to know better. Without even realizing it that's what I did, I chose people that I might consider being friends with at some point.
ReplyDelete~Katie M
It was hard to decide if i wanted to be in a group with a person because i didn't know them at all, a three minuet conversation can't tell you everything about someone. Due to this fact making the decision was mostly based on a feeling. One of the hardest parts was to pick only 5 people out of all the ones i thought i would work well with.
ReplyDeleteMatt J
I agree with David C. It was much easier to decide just after talking with the person than at the end. We relied on feeling rather than thought.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dan and Katie M because not everyone is themselves everyday, it is normal to have a bad day once and a while. So it is better to keep an open mind and give people more then just 3 seconds to see the real person.
ReplyDelete-Sara
I agree with jtsnyder on who first impressions are hard because alot of people can be shy so you dont know what to think of them. I'm a shy person most of the time when meeting people but if you seen me around my friends i can be totally different.
ReplyDelete-Theresa
I agree with what Jon wrote above. It's kind of ridiculous how easy it is for us to judge a person in a negative way before we even interact. We don't even know what they talk like, how they think, or what their past is.
ReplyDeleteDavid C
I agree with what Jon wrote. You see somebody and automatically assume how they are by the way they dress or act. We alomst never want to get to know somebody if we don't like the way they dress or something else about them. It's a very sad but true reality.
ReplyDelete-Joe V
Bekah is right. When we are first meeting people, we do as humans tend to look for the bad in people before the good. If there is even one thing we don't like, we won't even give them a chance. I think that is a bad habbit that needs to be changed, sooner than later.
ReplyDeleteJake
Sarah M.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that it is critical to be ourselves. If we try to be someone we're not and try to fit in, then we will fit in, but I don't think that we would ever be happy.
Bekah N.
I totally agree with what Bekah said. It is hard to pick 5 people with only 3 minutes to get to know the person and their personality. Like she that it was hard to know and remember who was who. Jon
ReplyDeleteWhile talking to my classmates it was nerve racking. Everything that came out of my mouth was something I don’t even remember. All I remember is thinking, “Oh my – I hope they like me.”
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we all had to make a snap decision makes me wonder what people are thinking about me. We were all put in the same situation. I hate being judged on first impressions. One wrong move will change their mind and you won’t have time to change it.
-Kara
i agree with what bekah N had to say that its sad how we judge people so quickly, and that it was really hard to pick only five people fo our groups
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with cozstero9 on subconsious judgement. Very often you can think of the people as being someone you think they are but later you realize they are very opposite of what you thought or saw in them. Indeed, narrow it down to 5 was very, very hard.
ReplyDeleteMaria V.
It’s sad to say but I agree with Kristy. Society now, a days, are so judgmental. We don’t give people the chance to prove themselves that they are the type of person you want to know more about. Kristy is right about college and it stinks. You do meet so many new people in college – one thing that they say or do you don’t like will make your decision in an instant.
ReplyDeleteI'm really bad at making snap decisions particulary at work. I work as a bagger at Super One and sometimes when I want to entertain myself I will judge the customers. I'm not proud of myself.
ReplyDeleteNate
Well its kinda hard to meet people in like one minute because you do not know what to talk about them with. Its also hard meeting new people for the first time because you don't know what to say. Also it was hard making a decision based on just meeting them. It was like you had to decided if they were good enough based on what they said and did't say. I have never heard of snap decision.
ReplyDeleteSammi K
I agree with Kara that it was like Oh my I hope these people like me. Also about the snap decision how if we make one wrong move or say one wrong thing how people won't like us.
ReplyDeleteSammi K
It was hard to decide if I wanted to be in a group with some people because not everyone is comfortable with talking to people that they don't really know. However, I thought picking the five people that I wanted to be in a group with was a lot easier because I knew who I would work well with. Snap decisions can be good because you don't have time to second guess yourself, but they can also be bad because you aren't taking the time to think about the decision that is to be made.
ReplyDelete-Travis K
I agree with Jake because some people aren't as outgoing and need time to warm up to others. Also, three minutes is a good amount of time to base a judgement off of because in that amount of time you can find out a lot about someone.
ReplyDeleteI think that first impressions can be good and bad. I found it still hard to know if I wanted to be in a group with each person. I tried to make a decision on how much people were willing to share with me. It was hard to make a snap decision because we have been taught to not judge a book by its cover. It was also hard to go back and pick just five people. It would have been easier to just allow myself to just pick five people out of a snap decision.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Kara. It was within our first and second weeks of school and we had been doing this so much and it is so nerve racking to know that we judge others and they are judging us within the first three seconds!
ReplyDeleteI think its sad that people judge one another when they 1st meet, by their apperance. Holister clothes or wal-mart clothes, and pretty or "ugly", does it really matter? Clothes/appearance dont tell us what their personality is really like, but people do it all the time. When we did the three minute date thing, we only had enough to tell them where we live and some intesting facts about us. It wasnt enough for me to get to really know them or what they are like. Narrowing it down to 5 people was SO hard for me! I got along with everybody in our class, so making a snap decision was hard for me. I literally just circled five people and handed it in, because i knew i would get along with any of them.
ReplyDeleteAn example of snap decisions is when we first came up here for college, we all did it.
Connie A :)
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ReplyDeleteLike what Maria said, trusting your first intstinct is always the best decision. And I really liked Marias example of snap decisions. Describing it as a cafeteria makes so much since. (plus, i love food!)
ReplyDeleteConnie A :)
I think that everyone makes snap decisions without even thinking about it. I know that I made snap decisions when we were doing the first introductioins. I honestly couldnt tell you why I picked the people I did, I just circled 5 names. Its sad that we make decisions without even getting to know the person first.
ReplyDeleteSarah A
I agree with Travis when he says its hard to get to know someone who is not comfortable talking to new people. But I also think its strange how you knew who you wanted to be in a group with, unless you knew people before you had the class.
ReplyDeleteSarah A