Abstract

The present study examined whether the first impressions of a female college instructor are shaped by her being labeled as either “cold” or “warm” in hearsay. It then assessed whether first impressions are linked to students’ cultural orientation (as measured by adherence to individualism versus collectivism). The study specifically focused on an understudied population of female undergraduate students from the Middle East whose cultural orientation includes both individualistic and collectivistic themes. Students were presented with a brief list of adjectives that described a new instructor (target person). For some students, the list contained the adjective “cold.” For the other students, the list contained the adjective “warm.” Students rated the new instructor on pairs of adjectives opposite in meaning. Then, students completed a cultural orientation scale. In this study, the instructor described as warm was rated more positively than the instructor described as cold. Furthermore, in both conditions, ratings became more positive as participants’ endorsement of collectivism increased. These findings not only support the notion that “central traits” mold first impressions but also indicate that impression formation does not occur in a cultural vacuum. On the contrary, it is linked to a cultural preference that matches the information gathered about the target person. The implications of these findings for instruction and classroom management are discussed.