One or Two Social Speed-Dating Events from Dinner With Friends Social Club (50% Off)
Registration required. Subject to availability. Online redemption only. Limit 1 per person, may buy 1 additional as gift(s). May be repurchased every 30 days. Valid only for option purchased. Must be 21 or older. Merchant's standard cancellation policy applies (any fees not to exceed voucher price).
Groups of eight meet at local bars and restaurants for an evening of dining, cocktails, and getting to know each other
Giving this as a gift? Send it instantly with one of our loving e-cards, or print a handy gift envelope and card.Choose Between Two Options
- $99 for one social event ($199 value)
- $199 for two social events ($398 value)
Groups composed of four women and four men meet in a safe and friendly environment at social events. Events are designed to bring like-minded professionals together for networking, friendship, or even romance. One entree and one beverage is included with each event.
The Science of First Impressions: What’s It to You?
When meeting someone new, it only takes your brain a few seconds to construct a first impression. Read on to learn what happens during that brief but crucial moment.
First impressions are immediate and instinctual—a gut reaction that tells us whom to trust and whom to send down the trapdoor under their feet. But as the brain shows, when we meet someone for the first time, we assign value to that person based on our own preferences and experiences, making for a unique, intimate connection that might explain the eternal mystery of “love at first sight.”
As it happens in the brain, formulating a first impression is a joint effort carried out by the amygdala and posterior cingulate cortex. The amygdala receives and processes information from all the senses, and the posterior cingulate cortex houses autobiographical memory, regulating how we act based on what think of ourselves and how we fit into the world. Together, the regions read sensory information and filter it through our own subjective lens.
Does Confidence Matter?
In social terms, the science of first impressions is less clear. Popular opinion holds that confidence is the most important way to give off a good impression. But as Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist at Harvard Business School, told Wired, the two things we evaluate first are trustworthiness and competence. In other words, coming across as honest and capable is far more important than simply exuding confidence—which is why, for instance, letting others speak first tends to work better than steamrollering a conversation.
Either way, the importance of a first impression can’t be understated. As relationships develop, we seek out information—what a person says, does, and wears—to revise our initial opinion, but in fact, we often gloss over evidence that could overturn that all-important first impression. This phenomenon, called confirmation bias, is what inspires the old saying: you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
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