First impressions are often formed or influenced by the physical appearances of the individuals being perceived. Zebrowitz and Montepare (2005) concluded from their social perception studies of the human face that having a baby-face, or less mature features, can have a significant effect on the perceptions individuals. In addition, individuals with less mature features are perceived as being kind, naive, and weak than individuals with mature features (Berry & Zebrowitz-McArthur, 1986). Normally, people guess that I am still in high school and are surprised to find that I am in fact old enough to attend college. As an example, one of my friends (who also happens to have a baby-face) and I decided to drive to Florida last summer to visit my grandparents and go to Disney World. We stopped at a hotel after our first day of driving and as soon as the mid-thirties desk clerk took a look at me when I told her we would like to check-in, she called me honey and asked me where my parents were. Apparently it is against hotel policies to have individuals under 16 stay without parental supervision. Kind of annoyed after an eight-hour drive, I told her that I didn't know where my parents were and asked her where hers were. Once she confirmed from my driver's license that I was 20 and not 13 like she originally thought, she gave us our room key. Still not entirely over the fact that my friend and I are able to take care of ourselves, she continued to exclaim how young and innocent we looked and kept offering to give us tips on how to care for ourselves while traveling.
Having individuals form impressions of me based on the way that I look and the age that they think I am is nothing new for me. I am constantly called honey or sweetie by stewardesses and waitresses, I often receive unnecessary help at airports when traveling alone (I was once told by an older gentleman on a plane that I was just too young and fragile to be traveling alone), and I am consistently asked to work as a babysitter for church activities rather than running an event. After reading our textbook and articles I plan to be more aware of the self-fulfilling prophecy. That is, I plan to be more aware of the way that I react to the expectations that people have of me (in my case being naive and weak) so that I do not confirm their impressions and make their expectations a reality (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1986).
Berry, D. S., & Zebrowitz-McArthur, L. (1986). Perceiving character in faces: The impact of age- related craniofacial changes in social perception. Psychological Bulletin, 100, 3-18.
Rosenthal, R. & Lenore, J. F. (1968). Teacher expectation for the disadvantaged. Scientific American, 218, 3-9.
Zebrowitz, L. A., & Montepare, J. M. (2005). Appearance DOES Matter. Science, 308, 1565- 1566.
1 comment:
I've got the exact same problem Stacy. I can't buy spray paint without having my ID scrutinized. I got carded for R-rated movie tickets on my first date with Patrick. I'm sure when I turn 21 next month people will think I'm using a fake ID.
I think your plan to be more aware of the self-fulfilling prophecy is a great one. People see us baby-facers and expect us to be naive, so they treat us as if we are, and - if we fall into the trap - we in turn adjust our behaviors and confirm that we are, in fact, naive or weak.
In your hotel story you didn't confirm their expectations, mostly because you wouldn't have been able to sleep anywhere if you had. Now that I think about it though, lots of times I have completed the cycle and acted like a kid rather than an adult.
Go Stacy for not giving in to the self-fulfilling prophecy!
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