Which Forms a Better Impression: Self-Introduction or Introduction by a Third-party?

Abstract

Numerous studies have explored factors contributing to the formation of first impressions but have not investigated these factors in virtual contexts. The proposed research aims to explore the most effective type of introduction across different sociocultural contexts in a virtual setting. The research compared three types of introduction (self-introduction, peer-introduction, and authority-introduction) in participants from China and the U.S. to assess which type was the most effective in each country. Participants were students recruited from universities in China and the U.S. respectively. An individual was introduced to the participants in three groups virtually by different parties: the individual herself, a student, and a professor. Based on the introduction, participants were asked to evaluate the first impression with two dimensions (Competency and Trustworthiness). The descriptive results showed that in China, professor-introduction led to the highest average first impression score while self- introduction led to the lowest. However, in the US, peer-introduction led to the highest average score while professor-introduction led to the lowest. In addition, in China, the score from the professor-introduction was statistically higher than the one from self-introduction, while the difference was insignificant in the US. The findings of the study can be meaningful in various fields, such as building rapport in a therapeutic relationship, accelerating transfer student’s adaptation to a new environment, and supporting a new employee’s assimilation into an organization.