My coach asked me for permission to use the following phrase in his next book, so you get it first. Your brain lies to you. Constantly. It is filling in the blanks and taking in new information as fast as those brain chemicals can juice, and in its desired for simplicity, it gets things wrong constantly. And most of us just believe our own brains. How could OUR brain be the wrong one?

Recently, Trish and I sat, and I showed her how to find the blind spot in her (and everyone’s) field of view, caused by the point where the optic nerve connects to the retina. Once she found it, she giggled in delight, because she could hold her hand out at arm’s length and move her thumb, yet it did not appear to be moving visually. That blind spot is always there, in both eyes filling in information where it is guessing. But our blindspots aren’t all visual.

When our brains guess, they are being lazy. It takes fewer calories (literally less work) than finding all the accurate information. It is shorthand. Mental shorthand is sloppy and lazy, yet if our brains weren’t doing it constantly, we would be overstimulated neurotic messes.

Mental Shorthand

Imagine a person walks into a job interview, and the hiring manager immediately notes that bit of spinach left over from lunch in their smile. It’s a tiny detail, but in their mind, it shapes their entire perception of the candidate. Their attention to detail to be sure, and though would be fair, but it also impacts how capable and trustworthy they deem the candidate.

Now consider this: later in the interview, your candidate delivers a flawless answer about the company’s strategic direction and the best necessary steps. Does that erase their initial impression? Maybe. But most likely, no, it’s too late, they have a first impression. It is more work to stop and re-examine initial impressions and most of us rarely do it.

This phenomenon, where initial information disproportionately shapes our beliefs and perceptions, is the result of three powerful psychological effects: the Primacy Effect, Belief Perseverance, and First Impression Bias. In many ways, they are related to anchoring and framing which we have discussed previously. Together, they create a cognitive cocktail that makes first impressions unreasonably “sticky,” which also isn’t to say they are incorrect. A first impression can still be dead on, yet the chances for that are realistically slim.

The Primacy Effect

The Primacy Effect explains why we tend to remember and give greater importance to the first piece of information we receive. Whether it’s in a speech, a sales pitch, or even a political debate, the first argument often carries the most weight. Even if better evidence comes later.

This is why seasoned negotiators make the first offer and why advertisers strategically position their most persuasive points at the beginning of a commercial. The mind latches onto early information like a hook, making it difficult for later details to shift our thinking.

A classic study by Solomon Asch (from 1946) demonstrated this effect beautifully. He presented participants with descriptions of fictional people, listing adjectives either in descending order of positivity (e.g., intelligent, industrious, stubborn, envious) or in the opposite order (e.g., envious, stubborn, industrious, intelligent). Despite both lists containing the exact same words, people who saw the positive traits first rated the person far more favorably.

We have done this same test with candidate traits on a slide and asked students to compare, and 80 years later, it still holds true.

Conveniently, this one can be mentally “overridden” if you know about it. If your mom says a new restaurant in town is bad, and you believe her opinion, then your friend says it is good, when you feel the urge to disagree, consider why you think the restaurant is bad. Do you know that, or are you going with a first impression?

In Candidate Presentations, we begin with a summary of why we think the candidate will be a fit for the role, then the very first section after that is why they may not be. It may seem like the opposite direction, but since the summary already tells them the person is great, that is the true first impression.

It looks like this: I found you the perfect dog walker. They can handle big dogs, will arrive at the time you want every day, and would be a great hire. One thing to consider is… (the biggest negative) You may notice the same pattern used by Solomon Asch. When they get to the negative, they are already starting to ignore it, before we even explain why it is irrelevant.

Belief Perseverance

If the Primacy Effect sets the stage, Belief Perseverance makes sure we don’t leave it. The evidence says we ignore the evidence.

Belief Perseverance occurs when we cling to our original beliefs even when confronted with clear, contradictory evidence. This is particularly dangerous in areas like politics, science, and personal relationships, where false first impressions can solidify into deeply held convictions.

For example, if someone initially believes that a coworker is lazy, they will subconsciously dismiss instances of that person working late or producing excellent results. Instead, they’ll focus on minor slip-ups which conveniently confirm their original belief. This cognitive trap is the reason debunking misinformation is so difficult. Once a false belief takes root, logic alone often can’t uproot it. This can be particularly difficult when combined with the Illusory Truth Effect. I won’t go into detail about that one, but can be summarized by the quote “a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth.”

In one study, participants were given false feedback on their ability to detect real vs. fake notes, where the person was implying self-harm. Some were falsely told they were excellent at detecting them, while others were told they performed poorly. Even after being informed that the feedback was entirely fabricated, people continued to believe they had good or bad empathic abilities based on the false feedback they had received earlier. Their initial belief persevered, even knowing they were in a study and knew they were lied to.

Your brain will lie like this. Let’s say you love KFC, but not Popeye’s. You order KFC and they give you old food. A week later you drive past Popeye’s and your brain will tell you they gave you old chicken. They never did, yet it is easier for your brain to misremember one detail than to select a group of memories (your fondness for the bucket) and think those memories may be leading you astray.

First Impression Bias

The First Impression Bias is the unfortunate consequence of the Primacy Effect and Belief Perseverance. You’re a recruiter, so you understand the tendency to judge everything about a person, situation, or company brand based on the first few seconds of exposure.

Step one Primacy: you put more emphasis on the first thing you learn about any new person/situation/place/noun! Step two is you believing your own brain must be correct. The result is many of us believe we can accurately judge a person even when we simultaneously know we are wrong sometimes.

The science behind it is staggering. Studies show that people form an impression of someone within the first 7 seconds of meeting them. My guess is you have seen a similar one done by The Ladders which showed recruiters typically spend that long on an initial resume review.

This is why halo effects and horn effects exist. If someone’s first impression of you is positive, they’ll unconsciously assume you’re competent, kind, and intelligent. If it’s negative, they’ll find flaws in everything you do, no matter how skilled or qualified you are. And if they manage to “break” a halo, the person is now irredeemable. It’s because we need to blame someone when OUR first impression is terribly mistaken. I trusted you, I believed in you. In 1986, Bill Cosby could sell you a pudding pop. Today, you wisely wouldn’t take a free drink from him.

Consider a courtroom scenario: if a defendant appears well-groomed, calm, and articulate, a jury is more likely to assume they are innocent, even if the evidence suggests otherwise. Conversely, someone who appears nervous or unkempt might be perceived as guilty just for showing up. And we’re never wrong, right?

Escaping the Trap: Can We Overcome These Biases?

Clearly, first impressions are so powerful and humanity is doomed to be controlled by them. Not necessarily. While these biases are hardwired into human cognition, even yours, there are ways to counteract them:

1.   Slow Down Initial Judgments: Before making up your mind about a person or situation, actively remind yourself your first impression might be wrong. Challenge yourself to continue exploring. To geek out, I can recommend the movie Enemy Mine and a number of Star Trek episodes about doing this.
2.   Expose Yourself to Contradictory Information: The best way to combat belief perseverance is to force yourself to engage with opposing viewpoints. Read arguments from the other side, consider alternative explanations, and actively test your assumptions. You may feel anger rising up in yourself;  try to combat it with empathy. What is their viewpoint and motivation? Is it so different from your own?
3.   Train Yourself to Weigh New Information More Evenly: When making decisions, try to break free from the weight of early impressions by consciously evaluating all available data before making a conclusion. Thing of first impressions as a good survival instinct, yet sometimes we aren’t in survival mode, but civilized thinking mode.
4.   Be Aware of the Role of Presentation: Knowing that first impressions are disproportionately powerful, you can strategically use them in business, negotiations, and relationships, as we do in candidate presentations. Presenting yourself well in the first few seconds can significantly shape how people perceive you long-term. (I literally walk around trying to smile more.)

The human brain is an efficiency machine. It takes shortcuts to save time, energy, and make quick decisions. The last thing the human race needed when we were still surviving saber-tooth tigers was an energy-hungry operating system with lag. These inherent mental shortcuts often lead to incomplete data being trusted by us over the objective truth in front of our eyes. On an exaggerated scale, think of opening the front door to see a TIGER! Scary, and you would probably slam the door. If you looked again and it is a trick-or-treater, you can override the first impression. Just take the time to look again.