Impressions+and+Descriptions

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 * Everyone makes first impressions of others upon meeting them. We look at other persons physical appearance and decide whether or not we like person. We hold on to this information throughout the relationship. Many studies show that we #|form impressions in just a few seconds. When we tend to be nice about it and say nice things to them, third parties tell us about someone who we just met. **
 * [[image:http://urfashions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Awesome-Face-Tattoo-Design-for-Teenager-Girls.jpg width="215" height="380" align="left"]] The impression formation theory states that we form impressions through physical qualities and behaviors, information others tell us, and information people tell us about themselves. First impressions are hard to erase, especially when they are tattooed on. There is a lot of evidence that we pay more attention to our first impressions than any of our other impressions. The primary effect is the of giving our attention to the first pieces of information that we see about another individual. We also give a of attention to our most recent impressions and experiences. The recency effect is the tendency to put a lot of attention on the last thing that we observed. Whether it's negative or positive, tattoo's leave lasting first and last impressions. Since the first thing we use to form an impression is physical qualities, it's hard to get past that when talking to new people. People that already have negative #|opinions about tattoos may make a first impression of a tattooed individual that is negative and wrong. For example, if you walked up to someone that had tears tattooed on the side of his face, and you were told before that tear tattoos were related to him murdering someone, before you talked to this man, what would you assume about him? You would probably assume that he was a murderer because of his visible tattoos. On the other hand, people that have positive or indifferent feelings toward tattoos might think positive things about the individual or feel indifferent about them. **

 **to a person without knowing for sure if those qualities really exist in the person. When we dislike a person, the horn effect is often created. The horn effect is when we attribute negative qualities to a person without knowing if those qualities really exist in the person. This is extremely relevant in how we describe people with tattoos. The way someone feels about tattoos is usually how they will describe the person that has the tattoos. If someone has negative feelings toward tattoos, they will usually use the horn effect to describe the person with the tattoos, even if they haven't had a conversation with the person in the past. They may say that the tattoo person is dirty, goth, #|jobless,bad-tempered, aggressive, a gang member, a biker, or that they just do not like the person. If someone has positive feeling toward tattoos, they will often us the halo effect to describe the tattooed individual, even if they have not had a conversation with the individual. They may say that the tattooed individual is sexy, attractive, passionate, artistic, or even faithful. **
 * Even when we do not know a person very well, we make assumptions about their personalities. Many of us have developed what is called the implicit personality theory. The implicit theory is a pattern of qualities that we group with certain people. We use the implicit theory in order to better understand and to organize the array of we have about people's personalities. We develop constructs to help us classify people. We put people in two different categories: people we do not like, and people we do like. When we like someone, the halo effect is often created. The halo effect is when we attribute positive qualities **