It is the intent of this study to investigate an aspect of the accuracy of first impressions and the stability of attitudes formed on the basis of these impressions. The study of first impressions and their influence on behavior is one aspect of the general topic of person perception.

Depression has a high prevalence among college students. Because it is a highly private (i.e. experiential) and socially stigmatized mental illness, it often goes undetected in daily life. The basic research question behind this line of research is how students' postings on their social networking websites can be used for the early detection of depression. The current research investigates how well depression can be gauged from MySpace profiles (Study 1) and Facebook profiles (Study 2 & Study 3). Across studies, the results reveal that depression can be assessed with a moderate degree of accuracy. In addition, Study 3 presents evidence that viewing "mini-blogs" allows for similar levels of accuracy compared to viewing an entire profile and the degree to which a person is Extraverted or censors information about themselves (e.g. Impression Management, Public Self-Consciousness) influences the degree of accuracy. Overall, the results speak to the idea that social networking sites can be a cost effective and clinically relevant tool to detecting depression.

Yes / The link between autistic people having a mind that is difficult to read (by neurotypical participants) and being perceived unfavorably was investigated. Videoed Autistic and neurotypical targets from Sheppard et al. (PLOS ONE 7(11):e49859, 2016) were scored for how readable they were when reacting to a distinctive greeting from the experimenter. These videos were presented to new groups of perceivers (neurotypical adults) who rated neurotypical targets more socially favorably than autistic targets irrespective of whether details of the experimenter’s greeting were concealed (Study 1) or disclosed (Study 2). Target readability correlated with ratings of target favorability (r = .58 and r = .63), independent of target diagnosis. Perceivers might rate targets unfavorably because they experience difficulty reading them, though other interpretations of the correlation are also possible. / Saudi Government Scholarship from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau (SACB).

Enterprises utilize information and communication technology, including websites, to market themselves and expand their businesses. However, employing this technology is not always a guarantee of success, especially for small enterprises. This is often due to limited resources and to the extent of having web skills present within the enterprise. Deciding who will design the website for a small enterprise is therefore of importance since a well designed website is a requirement to attract interest in visitors. The design of a website is also a main factor for the first impression to a visitor, a website that is visually appealing tends to give a greater confidence at first glance. This thesis is based on the interest of small enterprises considerations about what website design development characteristics and objective characteristics is generating more positive first impressions. To find this out, interviews together with subjective and objective measures of visual aesthetics were conducted to immerse in the aesthetics of small enterprise websites. The methods implemented gave variables to test in a correlation analysis. This correlation analysis showed that two web development characteristics had strong correlations with users' perception of visual aesthetics. None of the objective aesthetic attributes based on previous theories gave any strong correlations. These characteristics were therefore supplemented with other objective characteristics, which gave two strong correlations. / Företag använder sig informations- och kommunikationsteknik, inklusive hemsidor, för att marknadsföra sig själva och för att växa som företag. Användandet av denna teknik är dock inte alltid en garanti för framgång, särskilt inte för småföretag. Detta beror ofta på begränsade resurser och i den utsträckning att det finns kompetens inom webbprogrammering i företaget. Beslutet att bestämma vem som ska design hemsidan för ett litet företag är därför av stor betydelse, eftersom en väl designad hemsida är ett krav för att locka intresse för besökare på hemsidan. En hemsidas design är också en viktig faktor för det första intrycket hos en besökare av en hemsida. Hemsidor som är visuellt tilltalande tenderar att ge större förtroende vid första anblicken. Denna masteruppsats bygger på intresset hos småföretags överväganden om vilka webutvecklingsegenskaper och objektiva estetiska egenskaper i en webbdesign som genererar mer positiva första intryck. För att ta reda på detta, genomfördes intervjuer samt subjektiva och objektiva mätningar av visuell estetik för att fördjupa sig i estetiken hos småföretags hemsidor. De genomförda metoderna gav variabler att testa i en korrelationsanalys. Denna korrelationsanalys visade att två utvecklingsegenskaper hade starka korrelationer med användares perception av visuell estetik. Ingen av de objektiva estetiska egenskaperna baserade på tidigare teorier gav starka korrelationer. Därför kompletterades dessa med andra objektiva egenskaper där två av dem gav starka korrelationer.

With the propagation of individuals' presence in various online environments from social networks (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and dating websites (e.g., Match.com, eHarmony.com) to personal blogs (e.g., WordPress.com) and employment websites (e.g., linkedIn.com), the need to understand online social dynamics has grown. In many cases, people are experiencing introductions online rather than in-person. In the absence of non-verbal information, one potentially important source of information available in virtual environments and communication is in the way people use language. With the development of computerized word count tools, it has become increasingly feasible to analyze large samples of text-based stimuli (e.g., Ireland, et al., 2011; Mehl, Gosling, & Pennebaker, 2006; Pennebaker, Mehl, & Niederhoffer, 2003; Tausczik & Pennebaker, 2010). These analyses have been able to reliably reveal a number of traits (e.g., Big Five, gender) and states (e.g., depression) about the authors of the texts. In a study of approximately 500 dyads, participants were asked to spend 10 minutes in an online chat room getting to know an individual for whom they were unacquainted. Participants then rated one another on a number of personality and individual difference traits. Analyses focused on sample-level, pair-level, and trait-level self-other agreement within the sample. Additionally, linguistic mediators of the self-other agreement were investigated. A Brunswick Lens Model was employed in order to interpret the relationship between linguistic cues and overall judgmental accuracy. Results revealed that self-other agreement in the online chat environment was achieved slightly above chance. Traits that were perceived accurately included Extraversion, Political Liberalism, and Tradition. Results also revealed that there were a number of valid linguistic markers to predicting accurate personality judgment. These cues, however, were rarely utilized to achieve accuracy. Also, counter to hypotheses, linguistic style matching (or the degree to which individuals were mimicking each other linguistically) was not predictive of self-other agreement. It was, however, significantly related to interaction quality. Taken together, the findings revealed that computer-mediated environments are a valid context for forming impressions. However, valid cues are either not available or not detected by perceivers. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as areas for future research. / text

abstract: This dissertation examines the first impressions that occur between Deaf consumers and American Sign Language (ASL)/English interpreters prior to a healthcare appointment. Negative first impressions can lead to a disconnect or loss of trust between Deaf consumers and interpreters and increase the risk for Deaf consumers to receive inadequate healthcare. The recognition of this risk led to an action research study to look at barriers to successful interactions between ASL/English interpreters and Deaf consumers. The mixed methods research design and associated research questions discovered factors and perceptions that contributed to the disconnect and subsequently informed a 10-week intervention with a small group of ASL/English interpreters and Deaf consumers. The factors that influence connection are system related and a lack of a standardized approach to using name badges, missing or incorrect appointment details, and an inconsistent protocol for interpreter behavior when a healthcare provider leaves the room. The intervention allowed the interpreter participants to generate solutions to mitigate these barriers to connection and apply them during the 10 weeks. Deaf consumer feedback was gathered during the intervention period and was used to modify the generated solutions. The generated solutions included re-design of an interpreter referral agency’s name badge, using small talk as a way to learn information about the nature of the healthcare appointment and proactively discuss procedures when a healthcare provider leaves the exam room. These solutions resulted in a positive influence for both interpreters and Deaf consumers and an increase of trust and connection. The findings of this study show new approaches that create a connection between interpreters and Deaf consumers and may lead to more satisfactory healthcare interactions for Deaf consumers. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2019

I en värld där information delas på internet i en rasande takt har det blivit av allt större vikt att kunna avgöra om en webbsida är tillförlitlig eller inte. Vi gör ständigt bedömningar av webbsidor utifrån hur de ser ut, men vad är det som gör att vi väljer att lita på eller fördöma en webbsida efter bara några sekunder? Hur påverkar specifika designval upplevelsen av trovärdighet? Denna studie undersökte hur upplevelsen av trovärdighet påverkas av visuella egenskaper i en webbsidas grafiska design. Detta genom att utforma 12 versioner av en informativ webbsida, där egenskaperna kontrast, balans, grafik och text manipulerades. Varje egenskap manipulerades på tre olika sätt med hjälp av en parameter för vardera egenskap - färger för kontrast, placering av element för balans, mängd reklam för grafik och typsnitt för text. 21 deltagare blev presenterade för var och en av dessa 12 versioner under 10 sekunder. Deltagarnas uppgift var att bedöma hur trovärdig respektive version var på en skala från ett till nio. Resultatet visade att viss grad av kontrast, grafik och text påverkar upplevelsen av trovärdighet. Däremot hittades inget signifikant stöd för att varierande grad av balans påverkar upplevelsen av trovärdighet. Mer specifikt implicerar resultaten från denna studie att det är bättre att utforma en webbsida med för lite färger, för liten mängd reklam och ett för strikt typsnitt än tvärtom för att designa för trovärdighet. / In a world where information is spread rapidly on the Internet it is more important than ever to be able to determine if a website is trustworthy or not. We are constantly evaluating websites based on their appearance, but what makes us trust or condemn a website after only a few seconds? How do specific design choices affect the perception of trustworthiness? The present study investigated how the perception of trustworthiness on a website can be formed by visual properties in its graphical design. This was achieved by developing 12 versions of an informative website, where the properties contrast, balance, graphics and text were manipulated. Each property was manipulated in three different ways through one parameter  - color for contrast, position of elements for balance, amount of advertisement for graphics and typefaces for text. 21 participants were presented for each of the 12 versions during 10 seconds. Their task was to evaluate the trustworthiness of each version on a scale ranging from one to nine. The results showed that a certain degree of contrast, graphics and text have an impact on the perception of trustworthiness. Besides that, varying degrees of balance was not found to significantly affect the perception of trustworthiness. More specifically, the results suggest that it is preferable to design a website with few colors, a low amount of advertisement and a strict typeface rather than the opposite to design for trustworthiness.