Implicit personality theory and impression management in social judgment

Implicit personality theory first came into modern psychology through Lee Cronbach\'s notion of what he called \'the generalized other\'. This was in the 1950\'s and centered on the \'other\' containing an individual\'s beliefs about the abilities and attributes and abilities exhibited by the typical person. The definition of implicit personality theory states specific biases and patterns a person uses when developing impressions are based on an incomplete quantity of initial information concerning a stranger or unfamiliar person. To put it simply, it is the tendency of an individual to form conclusions of a stranger based on impression and identification of a \'typical person\'.

Impression management otherwise known as self-presentation, is how people aim to present themselves in a specific way. Effective impression management consists of using the appropriate nonverbal cues, showing appreciation, confirming to situational norms, and matching other\'s behaviors. Putting impression management into the lens of implicit personality theory, it is how people (through use of strategic behaviors) can control how others view them. Through halo effect for example, people attempting to make a good first impression may be grouped with people exhibiting a number of positive attributes due to showing a few good ones. Thus, lending to a more effective impression management.

Physical attractiveness is a big part of implicit personality theory in that people perceive attractive people as being warm, friendly, and more intelligent. Also, playing the role of an innocent clean-cut person can illicit positive feelings from an audience. Celebrities like the Beatles were seen as that sort of group that were good people who would not engage in illegal or \'bad\' activities like drug abuse. However, as Lennon and McCartney later confessed, the public perception of them changed. \"Despite this, after his death, the band experienced major difficulties in public impression management. Confessions of drug use by Lennon and McCartney were greeted with consternation by many fans, and the Magical Mystery Tour (1968)\" (Rojek, 2004, p. 134).

This shows that maintaining effective impression management can be a difficult task. While an audience may like the person, the public figure pretends to be, if there is a change in personality through what society may deem, negative actions, then the impression management waivers and the audience will react negatively in return. Celebrities often maintain their physical appearance or keep themselves from being presented in a negative light in order to maintain effective impression management. This is a common occurrence.