Shyness and physical attractiveness in mixed-sex dyads.

Male and female strangers' shyness and physical attractiveness strongly affected their own and their partners' behavior during initial, unstructured interactions. First, dyad-level measures of behavioral involvement and perceived interaction quality were independently predicted by the men's shyness and the women's physical attractiveness. Second, shy men exerted avoidant control over mutual gazing by denying their female partners (but not themselves) opportunities to initiate and terminate mutual gazes. Third, as physical attractiveness of the men increased, conversations included fewer references to 3rd-party individuals, with the women appearing to be primarily responsible for setting the exclusive tone of these conversations. Fourth, as physical attractiveness of the women increased, the men reported an increasing percentage of metaperspective thoughts and feelings that reflected the symbolic adoption of their female partners' perspective. First impressions matter. In some instances (e.g., during job interviews and blind dates), the images created during initial encounters govern one's access to significant social and material rewards as well as to subsequent interactions. Even when continued encounters are ensured (e.g., when first meeting a new neighbor or co-worker), these same images color one's subsequent perceptions of the other person's friendliness, desirability, and competence. The enduring impact of first impressions seems exaggerated relative to the limited amount of information available in any single encounter. Certain personal characteristics influence initial impressions more than others. Characteristics that are readily observable should have the greatest initial impact. For example, race and gender are conspicuous features that have been shown to exert considerable influence on interpersonal behavior and perceptions (e.g., Ickes, 1984; Ickes Ickes, Schermer, & Steeno, 1979). In this study, we examined the impact of two other dispositional variables that are salient early in an interaction: physical attractiveness and shyness. Both of these characteristics are readily discerned. Evidence of their observability was reported by Funder and Dobroth