By ABEL KHOR JU YI
From a young age we are taught that first impressions are important, but also to ‘not judge a book by its cover’.
This means for better for worse, we subconsciously present ourselves as favourably as we can when meeting strangers. We have been raised to make good first impressions, but does this mean that who we portray is actually fake? How reliable are first impressions after all?
My appearance is unorthodox. Your parents might have warned you about someone who looks like me. I have been told that I look like a playboy, gangster, and worst of all a DVD seller, what with my once half-blond Mohawk and multiple piercings, including one on my lip.
I have been stared at constantly, more so when I am out with my heavily tattooed friends. It does not take a genius to read their thoughts from their facial expressions. People look at me or my friends and immediately think we are trouble, and being a person who uses vulgarities fairly often does not help much either.
Yet this first impression I give off does not represent me. I am not a playboy, I am not in a gang and I do not sell DVDs. So let us take two aspects of the first impression I give and evaluate them.
Firstly, I swear. While the words are harsh, the merit is how it is unfiltered. Observational research by the Association for Psychological Sciences conducted by psychological scientists Timothy Jay and Kristin Janschewitz found out that people who swear tend to be more honest and upfront.
People who swear are essentially more truthful and expressive, something that I agree with. When I swear, it is simply the first thought that comes to my mind and I let it out without thinking further. In other words, it is just the blunt truth.
By comparison, people with bad intentions have no qualms about falsifying innocence and veiling themselves with politeness. How many serial murderers have been found to be the quiet and unassuming person?
This leads to the second aspect, my physical appearance. Society puts so much importance into physical appearances, and label people based on the car they drive, the watch they wear and the suit they put on. In reality, all of this can be an act, and the impression is easily manipulated. We all know that scam artists may seem to be the most trustworthy people.
There are no hard rules to follow. Clean shaven and suited up or covered in tattoos and piercings, it is all only on the surface. Although first impressions may be valuable to some extent, we should prioritise getting to know that person in depth first and not judging them by their physical appearance.
Get to know people a little better before jumping to any conclusions. You could be surprised to find out that the person is the total opposite of what your first impression of him or her was.
This means for better for worse, we subconsciously present ourselves as favourably as we can when meeting strangers. We have been raised to make good first impressions, but does this mean that who we portray is actually fake? How reliable are first impressions after all?
My appearance is unorthodox. Your parents might have warned you about someone who looks like me. I have been told that I look like a playboy, gangster, and worst of all a DVD seller, what with my once half-blond Mohawk and multiple piercings, including one on my lip.
I have been stared at constantly, more so when I am out with my heavily tattooed friends. It does not take a genius to read their thoughts from their facial expressions. People look at me or my friends and immediately think we are trouble, and being a person who uses vulgarities fairly often does not help much either.
Yet this first impression I give off does not represent me. I am not a playboy, I am not in a gang and I do not sell DVDs. So let us take two aspects of the first impression I give and evaluate them.
Firstly, I swear. While the words are harsh, the merit is how it is unfiltered. Observational research by the Association for Psychological Sciences conducted by psychological scientists Timothy Jay and Kristin Janschewitz found out that people who swear tend to be more honest and upfront.
People who swear are essentially more truthful and expressive, something that I agree with. When I swear, it is simply the first thought that comes to my mind and I let it out without thinking further. In other words, it is just the blunt truth.
By comparison, people with bad intentions have no qualms about falsifying innocence and veiling themselves with politeness. How many serial murderers have been found to be the quiet and unassuming person?
This leads to the second aspect, my physical appearance. Society puts so much importance into physical appearances, and label people based on the car they drive, the watch they wear and the suit they put on. In reality, all of this can be an act, and the impression is easily manipulated. We all know that scam artists may seem to be the most trustworthy people.
There are no hard rules to follow. Clean shaven and suited up or covered in tattoos and piercings, it is all only on the surface. Although first impressions may be valuable to some extent, we should prioritise getting to know that person in depth first and not judging them by their physical appearance.
Get to know people a little better before jumping to any conclusions. You could be surprised to find out that the person is the total opposite of what your first impression of him or her was.