Solomon Asch's work on impression formation

Solomon Asch’s work on impression formation examined how people form overall opinions about others based on initial information. He found that when forming impressions, individuals tend to give more weight to certain traits—like kindness or intelligence—especially if these traits are highlighted early on. For example, if someone is described as “warm” first, people are more likely to view them positively overall, while an initial description of “cold” can lead to a negative perception. Asch’s research shows that our judgments are influenced by the way information is presented, highlighting the importance of certain traits in shaping our impressions of others.