First Impressions and Subsequent Ratings of Performance

Abstract : The study was concerned with the relationships between first impressions and later ratings. It sought to determine whether the initial impressions newly arrived West Point cadets make on others are related to later ratings of their performance, including the Aptitude for Service Rating (ASR) which is a composite of ratings by peers and superiors. On the basis of brief observations, four officers rated a sample of 117 incoming cadets on a 12-item Appearance Rating Scale. In addition, on separate single items they attempted to predict the cadets' subsequent grades, demerits, and ASR. Agreement among the raters on the Appearance Rating Scale tended to be low (interrater reliabilities from .14 to .58). Nevertheless, combined ratings (means) of the four raters on the Appearance Rating Scale were significantly correlated with later ASR (r = .31) and with early and late ratings of performance during New Cadet Barracks (r = .25 and r = .38). On the single Aptitude Predictor item the pooled judgments of the raters were predictive of ASR (r = .34) only somewhat less than upperclassmen's ratings of New Cadens' duty performance after four weeks of close observation (r = .45). The raters failed to predict demerits or grades with single-item predictors of these criteria. Regardless of the low reliability among raters, this study suggests that appearance, as measured by the initial impressions one makes on others, is related to later peer ratings. (Author)