After corresponding back and forth for a few days, it became apparent I would need to take my search elsewhere because this professor knew of faculty members who “follow the psychological literature more closely than [he did].” In my search for the omniscient “impression expert,” I reflected on a theme discussed in my previous column.

The subject of first impressions and their multiple facets continues to baffle the masses. The only way to truly gain an understanding of them is to meet people for the first time. To experience the phenomenon first hand, I devised an experiment that would teach me the importance of those first few instances.

First, I needed to find two groups of people; both groups needed one person I already knew and at least three other people I did not. I set out to see if first impressions could be overcome during the second meeting.

At the house of Group A, I decided to show up in a slight panic, displaying elements of introversion and slight awkwardness in social interactions. At Group B’s apartment, I arrived with a smile, throwing jokes left and right and displaying comfort in a social setting and slight dominance over the conversation. I remained in communication with a few members of both settings, and we collectively decided to meet up again a week later.

Although it was difficult to gather the same group from Group A, it eventually came to fruition. I switched personas at both houses, displaying awkward tendencies with Group B while displaying dominance and (a great deal of) humor at Group A.

Overall, it was more difficult to erase the negative characteristics I displayed than the positive. The group in Group A regarded me as a quiet background spirit, while Group B thought I was an attention-grabbing comedian. The unknowing participants of Group A continued to disregard my humor — sometimes ignoring me altogether — while Group B laughed at the awkward statements I was making, even if I wasn’t trying to make them laugh.

It took multiple encounters over the next few days to break the view these people had of me. Had I attempted a more thorough study, I think I would have altogether broken the stereotypes placed on me, but during the week-and-a-half-long experiment, I managed to change the initial inferences made by my participants.

A few members of Group A began to laugh at my jokes. Students from Group B grew increasingly weary of my introverted behavior. In both instances, it took more than a second meeting to break these stereotypes, but in Group A, where I flipped from negatively viewed traits to positive (and hilarious) personality traits, the labels stuck longer and harder than in Group B.

This is a topic of great mystery and intrigue in the psychological world. From what I can tell, there is no true aficionado on the subject at MSU. That being said, I would love to hear back about your first impressions of my columns.

There are so many sides to adapting and impressing new information in our complex computers that I cannot fathom them all.

Josh Cohen is a State News guest columnist. Reach him at cohenjo8@msu.edu.