First Impressions Are Not Last Impressions

First Impressions are Not Lasting Impressions

When you see a person in a wheelchair, a person with no legs, or a person with physical abnormalities what is you reaction? Do you stare with curiosity? Do you pretend to be indifferent and walk by like there is no person there at all? Are you disgusted or stricken with pity? Or do you see them as a person, just like you, living their life the best they know how? Our perception of people are largely based on their physical appearance and often the thoughts that enter our minds when we see an individual that has a visual disability are negative and cause us to formulate a disapproving impression about their person as a whole. The question lies in what happens with the initial impression. Do we even move past that negative perception to get to know the person or do we make the decision not to even bother? Or if we do pursue a relationship with a person that has a disability, do those first impressions still affect how we view them? All of these questions are probed deeper by Wright in his book: Physical Disability- A Psychological Approach.

Wright studies found that the tendency for humans to make judgments based simply on exterior appearances and first impressions has immense implications one those who posses visible disabilities. The conclusions that we many make about these individuals have attributed to their further isolation from society and have robbed them from being able to having meaningful relationships. Wright, however, learns some interesting facts about the relationship of two people after the preliminary meeting. For those who are willing to look past their initial bias of the disabled person and invest themselves into their life will then find that they are just like everyone else and have a lot to offer this world that we live in. "A visible disability is more apt to dominate the relationship between strangers than between people who know each other."(Chapter 4, pg. 74)

Wrights conclusions about a disability being central or peripheral in a relationship were demonstrated in the movie "Skin Horse". A scene in particular that demonstrated his finding was one that depicted a woman with cerebral palsy and a man with some other disability speaking and getting to know each other at the dance. They both desired a romantic relationship in which they could share their innermost thoughts, feelings and lives. Ones first reaction might be shock at the fact that theses two people were interested in intimate relationships with each other despite their obvious differences from the "normal" person. Not wanting to admit it, many vulgar questions may go through our minds about this situation. How might these individuals possibly be interested in someone that looks like that? How is it possible to get past what is on the outside when the outside looks that different? How is it possible that you can disregard the outside when your perception of a person begins at their physical appearance? Sadly most have this train of thought and as a result, we contribute to the segregation of people that have disabilities and have in some ways played a role in their feelings of inferiority and shame. What, then, are the implications of thinking this way?

According to Wright, "A visible disability can be expected to play an unduly precipitous role on at least two counts. First of all, a person's physique is an immediately apprehensible characteristic in face-to-face contact and thereby readily conditions subsequent impressions. Second, physique is a relatively stable characteristic, as stable, in fact, that a person's identification largely rests on the physical appearance." (Chapter 4, pg. 61) From the individuals appearance we draw conclusions about what is on the inside. It is our tendency to believe that there is some sort of unity between the superficial attributes of a person and the true unseen internal person. If a person is unable to control their body so that their limbs are flopping in every direction, we automatically assume that the state of their mind and thoughts closely resemble that as well. Or if a person is missing a limb, in our minds they are an incomplete person. We may think that they don't have the same things to offer society that a person with that has all four limbs intact has. In the same light, if an individual were to be unable to speak a word or sentence with fluidity due to some dysfunctional neurological function, we assume that they are somehow stupid and they don't have the capacity to formulate a meaningful and intelligent thought, when in reality they may intellectually far surpass the average person.

Due to this initial perception that is drawn, a broader conclusion is made about the person as an entire entity that mirrors that initial perception. In essence, a "halo effect" occurs and the person's positive or negative traits seem to "spill over" from one area of their personality to another in others' perceptions of them. "Bodily appearance assumes a major role because the visible appearance of an individual, not the invisible personality, constitutes the main basis of identification." (Chapter 4, Pg 61) But if these initial conclusions remain throughout the relationship, then how might a relationship between two people flourish into greater intimacy, similar to that of the relationships between the woman with cerebral palsy and the man at the party in "Skin Horse"? They answer is that they don't; the initial perceptions of people do not remain once one has gotten to know the person better. "With a stranger there is little to overshadow the disability, and the disability becomes central." (Chapter