Welcome to episode 1 of Psychobabble!

Wherein Rohan, Jess, Morgan and Nerisa discuss the art of first impressions. The discussion meanders from why snoring is bad when first meeting someone (no, really), why an attractive voice might be more important than an attractive face, how to change someone’s first impression, why blue eyed men like blue eyed girls, discerning status on first contact, and how (and why) we’re actually pretty good at knowing someone’s personality with just a quick glance.


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Papers read and general reading:

Eye color predicts but does not directly influence perceived dominance in men Personality and Individual Differences, 49 (1), 59-64 DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2010.03.011

Laeng, B., Mathisen, R., & Johnsen, J. (2006). Why do blue-eyed men prefer women with the same eye color? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 61 (3), 371-384 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-006-0266-1

Watkins, C., Fraccaro, P., Smith, F., Vukovic, J., Feinberg, D., DeBruine, L., & Jones, B. (2010). Taller men are less sensitive to cues of dominance in other men Behavioral Ecology, 21 (5), 943-947 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq091
Callison, C., Karrh, J., & Zillmann, D. (2002). The Aura of Tobacco Smoke: Cigars and Cigarettes as Image Makers Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32 (7), 1329-1343 DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb01439.x
Surawski, M., & Ossoff, E. (2006). The effects of physical and vocal attractiveness on impression formation of politicians Current Psychology, 25 (1), 15-27 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-006-1013-5
Mast, M., & Hall, J. (2004). Who Is the Boss and Who Is Not? Accuracy of Judging Status Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 28 (3), 145-165 DOI: 10.1023/B:JONB.0000039647.94190.21
Wyer, N. (2010). You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First (Implicit) Impression: The Role of Elaboration in the Formation and Revision of Implicit Impressions Social Cognition, 28 (1), 1-19 DOI: 10.1521/soco.2010.28.1.1


And the paper discussed in detail:

Naumann, L., Vazire, S., Rentfrow, P., & Gosling, S. (2009). Personality Judgments Based on Physical Appearance Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35 (12), 1661-1671 DOI: 10.1177/0146167209346309


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