When we first meet someone we take a snapshot in our mind of this person, one that helps us understand how this person will affect our lives. We judge the characteristics of the person as soon as we meet them. Studies show the first 20-30 seconds of meeting someone what we believe the person is all about (sly, enjoyable, independent etc,) and we are mostly right. In one study, the subjects were shown 20-30 seconds of an interview, what they perceived that person to be was the same as what the interviewer thought after spending twenty minutes with them. No one can be absolutely right about a person if the person is not completely genuine. Any hidden emotions can alter our views of a person because we only judge what we see. If someone were to smile at us we would notice from a distance and before we can smile back that photo had already been taken and we already have our perception of that person. First impressions are filled with emotions that can overwhelm us, for example sometimes we can be convinced the room is spinning. First impressions are like new experiences to us because each person is different and of the people we met from the past we use their characteristics to determine what we feel about this new experience. Nalini Ambady, professor of psychology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, believes that " first impressions carved from brief exposure to another person's behaviour, are 'thin slices' of experience." These thin slices are part of the brain which feelings are processed. We interpret these slices to defend our selves from the good people and from the bad people. The thin slices were necessary for survival in the ancient times because if you associate with the wrong person it can mean your life. Now we need them to protect our state of mind and emotion, rarely will meeting the wrong people lead to your death.
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