1. Acknowledgement
First, we would like to express my sincere gratitude to Miss Pang Chia Yee for her
exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of
this thesis and who gave us the precious opportunity to do this project. This project had
led us to do a lot of research and we could learn more about the topic that we were
doing, which is first impression. We felt really grateful to Miss. Pang about this.
Furthermore, we would like to thank all the participants and models involved in this
study. Their time and willingness was very much appreciated in order to complete the
survey forms. We would also like to thank all those who cooperated and filled up the
survey forms. In the other hand, we also needed to preserve the anonymity of the
surveyors. This survey would not be done without their help. At last, we would like to
thank all of our group members for their cooperation, hardworking attitude and making
an all-out effort to complete this project.
1

2. Table of Contents
Acknowledgement………………...…………………………………….……………..…1
Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………2
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………....3
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………......……....4
METHOD…………………………………………………………………...……..…..5-8
Participants……………………………………………………………………….5
Materials /Apparatus……………………………………………………………..6
Procedure…………………………………………………………………........7-8
RESULTS…………………………………………………………………………….9-13
DISCUSSION……………………………………………………………………….14-15
REFERENCES……………………………………………………...………………….16
APPENDICES………………………………………………………..…………......17-23
Appendix A: Questionnaire……………………………………..…………18-21
Appendix B : The answers……..……………………………..……………22-23
2

3. Abstract
The first impression towards a stranger is variable and the purpose of this experiment is to
determine the accuracy of first impression on a stranger. This experiment is very important
because people nowadays always judge a person based on their first impression, which is
always wrong. An experiment was conducted with 120 survey forms in order to prove that
our hypothesis is correct. The questionnaire contains of 4 male and 4 female models in
different appearances and surveyors have to note down their first impression towards them
and tick the answers accordingly. There are two groups of participant; both male and female
participants will answer the survey forms with few options related to the personality and
family background of the models. The results are then analyzed and the results showed that
there are 46.67% of people thinking that the first impression is accurate while the other
53.33% thinks that it is inaccurate. However, the average results for the people, who thinks
that first impression is accurate is just 40.27%, slightly higher than the others who does not,
which gets a result of 37.59%, the difference is very small and no matter what, these results
are below 50%. Therefore, it is concluded that the first impression on females‟ and males
appearances is inaccurate.
3

4. Introduction
In this Social Psychology research project, the main objective is to conduct a simple social
psychology research experiment. This experiment is about the undertaking of relationships
based on first impressions. This project is divided into two parts. Part one is about conducting
the research by creating a hypothesis, research method, execute, collect and analyze data.
Then write a research report from all the data that has been collected. Then, the other part is a
group presentation about our research and data collected. The theme of our project is first
impression. Our title of this research is the first impression that you give on female and male.
In my opinion, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so I believe that
first impression on the appearance is considerably inaccurate. The above-mentioned opinion
does not apply to every people, some of them believe that first impression is correct. Now,
we take action to make sure that first impression is inaccurate. We try to conduct an
experiment to ascertain effect. Researches have shown that men and women are able to judge
based on their first impressions whether their potential mate is a sinner man or hopelessly
depend on their feelings. As we knew that a picture is worth a thousand words, so choosing
different types of „picture‟ will affect people to make their first impression. On the other way,
social measured impressions on a variety of traits, including attractiveness, aggressiveness,
like ability, and trustworthiness, the trait inference that predicted the election outcomes was
ability. So, we are trying to do a survey proving that the first impression based on a person‟s
appearance is inaccurate.
4

5. Methods: Participants
All the participants who took part in our survey are from Taylor‟s University while all the
volunteered models were not the students from Taylor‟s University. This was to prevent the
participants from knowing the models because it might affect the final results.
There were a total number of 120 participants and 60 of them are males and the other 60 are
females (Shown in Figure 1). This helped to see whether was there any difference in the
accuracy of first impression between males and females. Their ages are from 15-26 year-old
and most of the participants are in 19-22 year-old. (Shown in Figure 2)
Number of Participants
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Male
Female
Figure 1
5

6. Ages of Participants
45
40
35
30
MALE
25
FEMALE
20
15
10
5
0
15-18
19-22
23-26
Figure 2
Materials and Apparatus
Firstly, photos of 8 models were captured for the questionnaire. The photos of the
models consist of 4 males and 4 females, which were then attached on the questionnaire
together with the questions (Shown in Appendix A).120 sets of questionnaire were
printed out after getting approval from the tutor. Then, the questionnaires were
distributed around Taylor’s University to be filled in by volunteered participants in
order to obtain their gender, age, estimation about model age and also the first
impression towards the models. Answers for the ages and characteristics about the
models were also prepared for comparing and matching with the data gathered from
participants (Shown in Appendix B).
6

7. Procedures:
1. Conforming the topic
Several meetings were conducted to confirm the topic. The topic “first impression” was
finally been chosen as the topic of this research assignment. This was because people
nowadays always judge people by only looking at their appearances.
2. Planning the experiment
The experiment was then planned accordingly to our research topic. Some researches
about the topic were also being done before conducting the experiment. A hypothesis
was formed in order to have a basic idea about the predicted outcomes. And,
questionnaire was set to complete the research.
3. Finding models for the research
4 males and 4 females were chose to be the models of the research. Then, their photos
would be taken and attached on the questionnaires. Aim and procedures of the research
assignment should be explained to the models. And, permissions were also needed from
all the human models to show that they were fully volunteered. All the models chosen
are not from Taylor‟s University in order to minimize the chances for participants to
recognize the models.
4. Setting the questionnaire
The questionnaire was constructed and aimed to test the accuracy of the first impression
on males‟ and females‟ appearances. 19 questions were set for each questionnaire and
attached with the pictures of all the models. After setting the questions, 120 sets of
questionnaire were printed out and distributed to students around Taylor‟s University.
(Please refer to Appendix 1 for the Survey Questionnaire)
5. Distributing the questionnaires
All the questionnaires were distributed around the university such as classrooms, student
life center, library and restaurants. Since there were 5 members, so around 25 sets of
questionnaire were gave to each member in order to reduce the work done and save up
the time taken.
7

8. 6. Analyzing the data
The questionnaires were then collected. And, all the data were calculated, interpreted
and analyzed. The data gathered should be private and confidential and would not be
showed to anyone other than the group member and lecturer.
7. Discussing the results
The final results would then be compared with the hypothesis to see whether the
outcomes are match with the hypothesis or not. After that, discussion would be made
based on the results gathered.
8

9. Results
The results were presented in Table 1 below with the number of participants of each gender
and the percentages of accuracy for the first impression based on appearances. Besides,
Figure 4 showed the number of participants in different genders and thinking about first
impression.
The way of reading the data was showed in Figure 3 below. From the top, the gender of the
participants came first and followed by whether they think first impression is accurate or not.
Then, the second row was the number of participants and the last row was the average
percentages of their accuracy about the first impression.
Sex
Yes =People who think
Male (Yes)
99
99%
Number of
participants
the 1st impressions is
accurate
No = People who think
the 1st impression is
inaccurate
Average percentage
of the accuracy
Figure 3
Male (Yes)
Male (No)
27
33
38.36%
38.41%
Female (Yes)
Female (No)
29
31
42.17%
36.76%
Table 1
9

10. Number of Participants
Male (think first impression is
accurate)
Male (think first impression is
inaccurate)
Female (think first impression
is accurate)
Female (think first impression
is inaccurate)
Figure 4
All the data were then converted into bar chart, which the colored bars represented the male
and female participants and the y-axis represented the accuracy of first impression in
percentages (%). (Shown in Figure 5)
Accuracy of First Impression, (%)
45
40
35
30
25
Male
20
Female
15
10
5
0
Think that 1st
impression is
accurate
Think that 1st
impression is
inaccurate
Figure 5
10

11. Without missing any data,male participants who think that first impression is accurate
only got 38.36% out of 100% correct in the survey while 38.41% for those male
participants who think the first impression is inaccurate. Whereas, the female
participants who believed that first impression is accurate had scored the highest
percentage, which is 42.17%. This also meant that females are more accurate in judging
people by just referring to their appearances. On the other hand, female participants
who not believed in first impression got 36.76%. As a result, there are only few
participants out of 120 participants managed to past the survey, which is above 50%.
Most of the participants got the percentage of below 50% and the overall percentages
for both male and female also fell below 50%. This had proven that the hypothesis
stated at the beginning of this research is acceptable.
Figures 6-9 showed the percentages of each model got by 4 groups of participants and
Figure 10 showed the average percentages got by all the participants.
Male Participants (First Impression is accurate) in %
60
50
MODEL A
MODEL B
40
MODEL C
30
MODEL D
MODEL E
20
MODEL F
MODEL G
10
MODEL H
0
MODEL A MODEL B MODEL C MODEL D MODEL E MODEL F MODEL G MODEL H
Figure 6
11

12. Male Participants (First Impression is inaccurate) in %
60
50
MODEL A
MODEL B
40
MODEL C
30
MODEL D
MODEL E
20
MODEL F
MODEL G
10
MODEL H
0
MODEL A MODEL B MODEL C MODEL D MODEL E MODEL F MODEL G MODEL H
Figure 7
Female Participants (First Impression is accurate) in %
60
50
MODEL A
MODEL B
40
MODEL C
30
MODEL D
MODEL E
20
MODEL F
MODEL G
10
MODEL H
0
MODEL A MODEL B MODEL C MODEL D MODEL E MODEL F MODEL G MODEL H
Figure 8
12

13. Female Participants (First Impression is inaccurate) in %
60
50
MODEL A
MODEL B
40
MODEL C
30
MODEL D
MODEL E
20
MODEL F
MODEL G
10
MODEL H
0
MODEL A MODEL B MODEL C MODEL D MODEL E MODEL F MODEL G MODEL H
Figure 9
Averages percentages got by all the participants (%)
60
50
MODEL A
MODEL B
40
MODEL C
30
MODEL D
MODEL E
20
MODEL F
MODEL G
10
MODEL H
0
MODEL A MODEL B MODEL C MODEL D MODEL E MODEL F MODEL G MODEL H
Figure 10
13

14. Discussion
Our questionnaires were designed to measure the accuracy of first impression on females‟
and males‟ appearances among the students in Taylor‟s University. So, we stated a
hypothesis at the beginning of this research assignment to give a basic idea of our predicted
results. The hypothesis we formed is the first impression on females‟ and males‟ appearances
is inaccurate and it has been accepted based on our results obtained.
As what we can see from the results, there were 46.67% of participants think that the first
impression is accurate. This group of people thought that they could interpret people via only
the appearances correctly. But, unfortunately they only got an average of 40.27% in the test.
Although they got a higher percentage in the test compared to those people who said first
impression is inaccurate, which is 37.59%. But, they still not exceeding the percentage of
50%, which stands for at least half of the models‟ characteristics were guessed correctly. In
addition, the percentages of the survey had proven that their thought of first impression is
always correct was wrong. This showed that first impression based on appearances is
inaccurate. Therefore, people should not interpret others by just looking at their appearances.
Other than that, some ethical issues should be taken into consideration while doing this
research assignment. First and the most important one, all the participants must be
volunteered to take part in our research. For instance, we must explain to the models about
the reason of taking their personal photos and information. And, they have to be informed
about the procedures as well. Besides, participants should be ensured that they are avoided
from physical and mental discomforts. They should be protected from being embarrassed,
offended or frightened during our survey. Furthermore, all the participants would have the
right to withdraw anytime without having any penalty.
Moreover, the data collected during the survey should be kept privately. For example, the
characteristics that the participants felt about the models should not be leaked out. This will
eventually hurt the feeling of the models. So, all the privacies of participants and data
gathered should be in private and confidential. As many as eight models were included in the
survey for a more accurate result. However, this has lead to a problem for the surveyors as
there are too many questions to answer and would take up a lot of their time.
14

15. Not only that, the result analyzed also creates a practical implication in real life. People living
in this tangible world always judge one person based on his or her appearance without
knowing him or her in depth. Therefore appearance tells everything and is very important as
this might lead to prejudice. The best example relating to the experiment would be job
employing. Most of the time, the employer and job applicant would be totally stranger and
therefore the first impression of the job applicant towards the employer is very important
because the employer might despise based on the appearance. This should not happen as the
result analyzed in this experiment has shown that the first impression on one‟s appearance is
inaccurate.
Last but not least, first impression is something that occurs every single day when you meet
with strangers around you. You will always have a thought in your mind on the person you
saw and judging them immediately, which the thought is called first impression. However,
based on the experiment we conducted, it is proved that the first impression is always wrong.
A person should not be judged based on the appearance only but should also include the
personality, attitude and others.
15

16. Reference Lists
OWL (1995-2014) Purdue Online Writing Lab: Welcome to Purdue OWL. Retrieved
from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Mickey S. Schafer(1992-2013) Writing in Psychology/Writing the Results Section
Retrieved from http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/msscha/psych/report_results.html
Hoss, S. (2009, July 10). First impression and your appearance: Common myths and
misconceptions.
Retrieved
from
http://voices.yahoo.com/first-impressions-
appearance-common-myths-3719868.html
Hogg, M.A. & Vaughan, G.M. (2005). Social Psychology. (4th Ed.). England: Pearson
Education Limited.
Myers, D.G. (2007). Exploring Social Psychology. (4th Ed.). NewYork: McGraw Hill
Companies Inc.
Myers, D.G. (2008). Social Psychology. (9th Ed.). McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.
16

17. Appendix A
17

18. 18

19. 19

20. 20

21. 21

22. Appendix B
Answers:
Model A:
19-22
Lazy
Nerdy
Joker
From rich family
Model B:
23-26
Hard-Working
Friendly
Playful
From rich family
Model C:
19-22
Friendly
Nerdy
Joker
From average family
Model D:
19-22
Friendly
Sporty
Playful
From average family
Model E:
19-22
Hard-working
Friendly
Playful
From average family
22

23. Model F:
19-22
Lazy
Friendly
Playful
From average family
Model G:
19-22
Hard-working
Sporty
Playful
From average family
Model H:
19-22
Hard-working
Friendly
Boring
From rich family
23