Harsh Judgments People Make Within Seconds Of Meeting You

Here's what people really think of you.

By Caithlin Pena — Last updated on May 09, 2023

Photo: Vadim Vexler / Shutterstock

Have you ever wondered what someone's first impression of you is? Do you look like someone they can trust, or do you appear like an obnoxious individual before you even open your mouth? Do your clothes give a positive or negative impression?

While it's superficial to judge someone based solely on the way they look, it's unfortunately also just in our human nature to do so. Even though we as a society are slowly breaking away from that, first impressions sometimes just tend to stick, even if they stray from the far, real truth of who another person is.

And while you may think that someone only gets one or two things from you on a first impression, there's research that has found that a person can actually make seven impressions right after just meeting you for the first time.

Crazy! Who would have thought that you could make that many impressions from not even knowing someone?

In 2015, Business Insider produced a video that summarizes 7 first impressions that people usually perceive after meeting someone new.

Here are 7 harsh judgments people make within seconds of meeting you:

1. Your trustworthiness

In a study, participants were given just 100 milliseconds to rate someone's trustworthiness based on their face.

Their ratings turned out to be the same as those who were given unlimited time for the same task.

2. Your economic status

Wearing brand-name clothing apparently implies that someone is rich, as opposed to someone who doesn't wear brand-name clothes.

3. Your sexual orientation

A study found that people read into men's sexual orientation within 1/20th of a second after meeting them.

That's also the minimum amount of time it takes to recognize a face.

4. Your intellect

Researchers found that those who make eye contact while speaking to another person are perceived to be smart since the act is correlated to higher-perceived intelligence.

Wearing glasses gives the same impression.

5. How promiscuous you are

A study in Britain found that women with visible tattoos are perceived to be promiscuous, as opposed to women who don't have them.

6. Your dominant nature

Bald men are apparently seen as more dominant than men who have hair.

7. How successful you are

Participants in a study were given 5 seconds to look at and rate the success of men in two sets of photos.

In one set were men in tailored suits, and the other was men in non-tailored suits. The men in the tailored suits were rated to be much more successful.

7 Harsh Judgments People Make Within Seconds Of Meeting You