Judgement Compiled by M_nabi

The Paradox of First Impressions

“First impressions are generally accurate. But once they’re set, they’re are extremely hard to change.”(Eric Barker ) Do not judge a book by its cover, we say. But we do it all the time. Many times, our first impressions are correct. Making a good first impression is essential because it is sticky. We rarely change our first impressions, especially the negative ones we get about others. Even if we think we have changed them in the light of new evidence, our feelings about the person remain the same. Confirmation bias makes it difficult for us to change our first impressions. We can resist the pull of confirmation bias by making ourselves accountable for our decisions, maintaining an emotional distance and exploring opposite views. We need to make our first impressions as fair and reliable as possible.