Impression formation is practically a part of our everyday life through which we endeavor to depict ourselves as worthy of other people's attention. This term paper explains in full detail what impression formation means and how this psychological process contributes to someone's sociability or social perception accuracy. The paper maintains that with the aid of several factors such as information from various sources and the emotional congeniality, we can form an impression of others – whether good or bad. There are some decisive issues such as social status, customs, gender, age, profession, personal attractiveness and attributes which determine the course of one's impression formation process and why those trying to impress should be attentive to some invisible but yet compelling forces that can either ruin or build up their impression before others. Quoting different authors in the field of psychology, the paper also highlights existing scholarly studies into impression formation which are necessary to understand the justified circumstances through which impression formation takes place. The two major theories of impression formation - Asch's theory of impression formation and the information integration theory are applied to explain the sharply contrasting scholarly views held about impression formation but one noteworthy concern is that they both offer accurate explanations of how both the externalities and internalities affect our impression before others. Furthermore, the paper explores the different ways through which impression formation contributes towards the sociability of someone or a group. Like the common saying ‘what you sow is what you reap', impression formation is a daunting task in which you have to portray the best version of you in order to yield the much-desired social perception accuracy. Also included are the practical recommendations for a positive impression formation which can prepare you appropriately for that critical moment when you all you have to do is putting up the most phenomenal impression to the job interview panel, product marketing or political debate. What needs to be acknowledged is that the kind of impression we create has the power to make us either socially acceptable or not and therefore, a well- planned impression formation will always contribute to a positive sociability while an unconvincing impression formation will definitely lead to a devastating sociability and its painstaking after effects.

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Abstract
Impression formation is practically a part of our everyday life through which we endeavour to
depict ourselves as worthy of other people's attention. This term paper explains in full detail what
impression formation means and how this psychological process contributes to someone's
sociability or social perception accuracy. The paper maintains that with the aid of several factors
such as information from various sources and the emotional congeniality, we can form an
impression of others – whether good or bad. There are some decisive issues such as social status,
customs, gender, age, profession, personal attractiveness and attributes which determines the
course of one's impression formation process and why those trying to impress should be attentive
to some invisible but yet compelling forces that can either ruin or build up their impression before
others. Quoting different authors in the field of psychology, the paper also highlights existing
scholarly studies into impression formation which are necessary to understand the justified
circumstances through which impression formation takes place. The two major theories of
impression formation - Asch's theory of impression formation and the information integration
theory are applied to explain the sharply contrasting scholarly views held about impression
formation but one noteworthy concern is that they both offer accurate explanations of how both
the externalities and internalities affect our impression before others. Furthermore, the paper
explores the different ways through which impression formation contributes towards the
sociability of someone or a group. Like the common saying ‘what you sow is what you reap',
impression formation is a daunting task in which you have to portray the best version of you in
order to yield the much-desired social perception accuracy. Also included are the practical
recommendations for a positive impression formation which can prepare you appropriately for that
critical moment when you all you have to do is putting up the most phenomenal impression to the
job interview panel, product marketing or political debate. What needs to be acknowledged is that
the kind of impression we create has the power to make us either socially acceptable or not and
therefore, a well- planned impression formation will always contribute to a positive sociability
while an unconvincing impression formation will definitely lead to a devastating sociability and
its painstaking aftereffects.

2. 1
Introduction
This term paper presents impression formation in its breadth and how it contributes to sociability.
The facts presented here have been well researched and therefore proved to be a great scholarly
addition towards understanding impression formation. Issues covered include the definition and
applicability of impression formation, the two major theories of impression formation, the
contribution of impression formation, the suitable habits for a successful first impression, the
summary and then the conclusion.
The definition and meaning of impression formation
The Oxford Dictionary of Psychology (2011), refers to impression formation as the "rapid creation
of a unified perception or understanding of the character or personality of another person based on
many diverse characteristics". From the above explanation, we understand that the process of
impression formation takes place when we behave or act in certain (typically unusual) ways to
portray a kind of lifestyle or personality aimed at inducing other people's or group's positive
perception of ourselves. On the receiving end, impression formation is the process through which
our beliefs and evaluations of other people are developed (Taylor, Peplau, & Sears, 2000).
Meanwhile, Cherry (2016) asserts that impression formation allows us to make spontaneous
judgements and conclusions about others but also adds that these "can also lead to biased or
stereotyped perceptions of other people" especially since we might know less about them.
Why should we be concerned with impression formation?
There is a common proverb that ‘the first impression matters a lot' and this supposes that any
individual or organisation will naturally do what is required to look their finest when interacting
with a significant person or audience for the first time. According to Morgan (2014), one's moods
or emotions partly determines the outcome of their first impression to others in what he calls the
literal emotional leakage, for example, if a stranger appears to be nervous, then I will also become
nervous towards him or her but if he puts on a look of confidence and at ease, then probabilities
are that I will also maintain a poised and satisfied perception about him. Simply put, you mirror
yourself to me and the state of your well-being will determine what kind of impression you will
have on me.

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Impression formation occurs in many different ways and accordingly can be affected by even some
unanticipated circumstances. A recent psychological research discovered that the first impression
of someone we get from their photos can still influence our perception towards them even one
month later after physically interacting with them (Gunaydin, Selcuk, & Zayas, 2016). Based on
their findings and in the assertion that the first impression really matters, the above researchers
reached a commonly held "view that even after having "read a book," one still, to some extent,
judges it by its "cover."
But then again, there exists a common ground among psychologists that an individual on an
impression formation mission expects consistency even in others' personalities and according to
Asch (1946), it's because of this, that a person's impression about others never changes. He goes
on to say that interpreting one trait should at least vary with the context of other traits' but this
implies that additive personality traits won't be independently valid. He then observed that "the
order of listing of traits influences the impression created from the given set of traits, and
inconsistent traits produce different impressions on different judges."
From an ethical viewpoint, making a lasting positive impression requires the combination of the
following aspects; appearance, expressions, behaviour, and personal morals. You will be judged
by how you interplay them, for example, those trying to impress others may have to dress suitably
and in a decent way because how you dress portrays a lot about the other unseen side of you.
Besides, impression formation also requires one to exhibit decent behaviours and courtesy that are
generally acceptable. The way you talk, walk and even your body posture counts a lot on your
impression formation scale. Then finally, personal morals also exceedingly influence what kind of
perception you will have about someone and this goes down to how you treat yourself and others,
the mannerism and self-control, whether you are short tempered or not, etc.
There are critical situations where impression formation matters most and these may include
formal meetings such as job interviews, political debates, sponsorship or business proposal
conferences, courtship, marketing, etc. The main goal of impression formation is to portray the
better part of you and be able to convince others of your competence and dependability. For
example, during political campaigns, a less known aspirant will insist on dressing modestly,
speaking with a high level of confidence while being articulate with the main issues at hand. In

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such a scenario, his impression formation is more likely to win him voters over the other
candidates.
Theories of impression formation
To better appreciate how impression formation contributes to sociability or social perception
accuracy, we need to know the phenomenal ideologies behind this process. There are two major
theoretical approaches towards understanding impression formation and these include; Asch's
theory of impressions (Gestalt approach) and the information integration theory.
Asch's Theory of impressions
This theory was advanced by Asch (1946) who pioneered social psychology. Using the Gestalt
model, he demonstrated that the process of impression formation is a self-motivated procedure that
brings together all the diverse information sources from which we make our perceptions about
someone. This, therefore means that the way we perceive one's traits will be similar to how we
perceive another person's traits. Asch further divided these attributes into two because not all of
them could influence our perception of others. These included the central and peripheral traits
where the central traits affect our understanding of other traits which results in the 'Halo' effect
when the positive traits stimulate positive impressions whereas the peripheral traits don't elicit our
interpretation of other traits.
Information integration theory
In contrast to Asch's theory, this one believes that personal perceptions are not influenced by
anything else meaning that they act independently to make consistent impressions of someone
(Himmelfarb, 1972). This theory was developed by Norman Anderson who described how we
integrate information from various sources which we consolidate to come up with a general
perception. According to Norman's theory, impression formation occurs in two stages whereby
during the first stage we assign (either positive or negative) numeric values to each attribute we
observe in a person but in the second stage, the weight average of the observed attribute values
above determines the person's overall likability and hence our overall impression about them.

5. 4
From the above two theories, we can understand that the impression formation process takes on
different forms depending on the situation at hand. Asch's theory suggests something that is very
common amongst us whereby through prior experiences and from various sources we can develop
perceptions about people but Norman's theory believes that our perceptions are independent and
never influenced by any externalities.
How impression formation contributes to sociability or social perception accuracy.
Sociability is the quality of being sociable which involves one's willingness to talk and engage in
social activities with others such as meeting new people and being friendly to them, participating
in discussions, excursions, or just simply exchanging ideas either in an individual or group setting.
In addition, sociability requires that a person maintains cordial and warm relations with others
while spending a considerable time with them as a way of getting accustomed to each other.
Naturally, people socialize because of mutually shared interests. Thus, when someone meets others
who share similar interests, he or she will be inclined to get to know them further and this is where
impression formation comes into play.
Impression formation is affected by several factors of which include; customs, race, profession,
religion, age, gender and whether one is popular or not. Some people won't just correlate or be
sociable with others because of their differences in the above factors and if such differences exist
amongst them, such will mean that no mutually shared interests exist between that person and the
other and it is because of this that there is a likely failure in impression formation. For example,
age differences might be the reason as to why adults attempt impression formation among fellow
grownups, men among fellow males, Christians among fellow believers, or practicing
professionals seeking networking connections among fellow experts undertaking a similar
profession though in fewer occurrences some individuals tend to ignore the above factors and
freely socialize with people from different backgrounds.
Social perception factors like attractiveness, clothing styles, the way you talk, behaviours or
mannerism and social status or popularity do determine the success or failure of impression
formation. Your grooming habits and the way you dress will judge you before others whether you
are an easy-going or a serious-minded person and hence if you are on the mission to create a lasting
impression no matter the occasion whether it's a late-night date or a business conference, you

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should always dress up decently because this will not only make you look smart outwards but will
also reveal your personal formalness, courtesy and humble disposition, after all, we all know that
our inner-man is recognized by our external appearances. If you show up dressed modestly, you
will surely win the confidence of your target audience and from a distance, your impression will
illuminate to your audience even before you physically meet them.
From my own personal experience, attractiveness as a social factor also matters a lot during
impression formation. Many times, I have tried countless dating skills to lure girls to fall in love
with me but since I am an unattractive guy, my impression formation tactics towards girls (my
target audience) haven't been productive, so in this case, the contribution of my impression towards
my attempts at socializing with girls is always negative. I regularly dress up decently, I don't smoke
or drink and am extremely religious but due to my ugliness, I am not attractive to girls. I hope this
experience makes some sense towards the topic.
The above example brings us to a rather sad reality that impression formation contributes after
one's denial and rejection from the society. When one's impression formation strategies fail to yield
the desired outcome, this might lead to negative socialisation as the affected person tends to retreat
from the society and into seclusion because he or she believes that they are not socially acceptable.
We have heard stories of many socially rejected persons resorting to awkward actions such as
plotting revenge or committing suicide just because their impression formation efforts only yielded
unpleasant results that are too bitter to swallow. This is among the well-known negative
contributions of impression formation on someone's sociability but maybe we should blame one
for expecting too much? Because there are sayings that "Too many disappointments are a usually
a sign of too many expectations" and "Don't blame people for disappointing you. Blame yourself
for expecting too much" (Pinterest, 2012).
Recommendations for nurturing positive impression formation.
Sociability is a major end-result of impression formation process and of course, no one would want
to attempt an impression creation process that will likely end in total devastation and that is why
some considerations need to be observed to improve one's prospects at successful sociability. Zenn
(2017) says that to put your best foot forward and make a killer first impression you need to

7. 6
critically consider at least ten important tips upon which I am offering the following detailed
guidelines:
 Being heedful of your body language and posture. Anyone on an impression formation
mission should avoid self-conscious body positions while either sitting or standing. Sitting
bossfully shows your arrogance while leaning against the wall shows unsteadiness. It's
better to sit upright and maintain a candid body language.
 Modulating your pitch and tone of voice. Speaking in a lowly but clearly audible voice can
draw you closer to the person you are trying to impress and it makes your words much
more understandable to the target audience.
 Wisely choosing your words. Choosing the right words for the occasion is important
because it helps you filter out what is necessary and what's not needed to say. This also
helps you to avoid blunders or misconstrued words.
 Dressing modestly is very important as it sends out a compelling message from a distance
even before you meet someone. Most people who are trying to impress others dress in
formal wear while meeting an important person as a sign of dignity and respect for the
encounter.
 Maintaining eye contact is crucial for showing seriousness and trustworthiness to your
target audience. It also depicts you as someone who is never shy of taking on serious tasks
and that you are confident of yourself.
 Knowing your audience well in advance is beneficial for having the right expectations of
who you are going to meet and treat them respectively. This is important so that you are
aware of their behaviours, emotions, upbringing, etc. Many tools like the internet or close
associates can be helpful in this.
 Making good preparations so that you don't appear stranded during the long-awaited
moment. This involves setting the proper paperwork, machinery and everything else you
will use during your encounter. It would be very embarrassing if you later realise that you
forgot something very important and therefore would give a bad impression.
 Being authentic and not trying to pretend to be something you aren't. It's better to portray
the real you in a clean and plain way so that the audience can judge you according to the
real you. False pretence can horribly backfire if the truth about you is later exposed or
unmasked.

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 Avoiding distractions is also crucial because it keeps you focused on the goal which is to
form a positive impression. Since this is a very critical moment, nothing should distract
your attention and it's better to put away all potential distractions like gadgets or flashy
jewellery.
 Forging connections is recommended because you need to maintain contacts with the
people you have just met so that you follow-up and build up what you initiated. Failing to
forge connections with the person you are trying to impress only makes you appear
ignorant and unserious.
These simple tips are extremely important during the impression formation process and when
observed accordingly, your efforts to impress will greatly contribute to the much-desired
sociability which happens when people start becoming friendly to you and are willing to talk with
you and engage in various activities with you. When such happens, then you are confident that
your impression formation efforts have contributed to a positive sociability. It really takes a lot of
time and efforts to impress someone or a group so your sociability largely depends on the nature
of your first move which will determine how the end shall be. So, start the journey wisely.
Summary
As it has been observed in this term paper, impression formation is a rigorous process that can't
just happen in a single occurrence. Right from the definition, we understand that making an
impression requires a unified ground upon which feelings, emotions, behaviours and life patterns
can synchronize to match the expectations. The two theories of impression view the process in
contrasting terms whereby Asch's theory asserts that there are some external factors that can
influence the perception of someone, i.e. past experiences, stories and photographs about them
plus our personal expectations while the information integration theory believes that we integrate
information from various sources to form an overall opinion of someone based on the average
weight of numerical values we attach to each of their traits. It has also been established that
impression formation greatly contributes to one's sociability either negatively or positively
depending on how he or she handled the encounter. Factors like gender, race, profession, religion,
etc all determine which direction the impression formation will take. However, useful habits are

9. 8
in handy for strict observation during one's impression formation process and should result into
positive sociability for anyone applying them.
Conclusion
The process of impression formation isn't a one-time affair and not everyone is able to put up a
positive impression, that is why responsible individuals and groups spend a lot of time and
resources through both individual and corporate social responsibility to set an enduring foothold
within their target audience. Fortunately, the useful habits for a positive impression formation
given in this term paper are practical to anyone yearning to overcome the ordeals of how to put up
the most convincing impression. Sociability is a result of impression formation, how you undertake
the latter greatly determines whether the former will be a positive one or not but the fact is always
that good impression formation will lead to a positive sociability while an unconvincing
impression formation will definitely lead to a devastating sociability and its painstaking
aftereffects.

10. 9
References
Asch, S. E. (1946). Forming impressions of personality. The Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology, 41(3), 258. Retrieved June 09, 2017 from
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/abn/41/3/258/
Cherry, K. (2016, March 19). What Is Person Perception? - How Do We Form Impressions of
Other People? VeryWell. Retrieved June 09, 2017 from https://www.verywell.com/person-
perception-2795900
Gunaydin, G., Selcuk, E., & Zayas, V. (2016). Impressions Based on a Portrait Predict, 1-Month
Later, Impressions Following a Live Interaction. Social Psychological and Personality Science,
8(1), 36-44.
Himmelfarb, S. (1972). Integration and attribution theories in personality impression formation.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 23(3), 309.
"impression formation". (2011). In Oxford Dictionary of Psychology. Retrieved June 07, 2017
from http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095959325
Morgan, N. (2014). Power cues: the subtle science of leading groups, persuading others, and
maximizing your personal impact. Harvard Business Press.
Pinterest. (n.d.). High expectations quotes. Retrieved June 11, 2017 from
https://www.pinterest.com/explore/high-expectations-quotes/?lp=true
Taylor, S. E., Peplau, L. A., & Sears, D. O. (2000). Person perception: Forming impressions of
others. Social psychology, 62-97. Retrieved June 12, 2017 from
http://www.radford.edu/~jaspelme/social/Impression_Formation_part_1_s06.pdf
Zenn, J. (April 18, 2017). How to Make a Good First Impression: 11 Tips to Try. HubSpot.
Retrieved June 13, 2017 from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/first-impression-tips