Social Behavior and Personality, 2001 29 (2), 159-168

Estimates of Impressions Based on Frequency of Blinking*

Yasuko Omori and Yo Miyata (Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan and Kwansai University of Social Welfare Sciences, Japan)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of frequency of blinking on creating a personal impression. The subjects were 88 Japanese university students, 35 males and 53 females, who rated stimulus persons on a seven-point semantic differential scale. The stimulus persons, two males and two females, were presented on a 20-second video simulating various blink rates, i.e. 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24,36,48,72 and 96 blinks/min. A factor analysis of the ratings yielded three factors, interpreted as Nervousness, Unfriendliness, and Carelessness. As the frequency of the stimulus person's blinking increases, so did the tendency to rate them as more nervous and more careless. As for Unfriendliness, there was a U-shaped relation between frequency of blinking and the impressions formed. Present results provide evidence that frequency of blinking plays an important role in impression formation. Further implications of the findings are discussed.

* Reproduced with permission of Robert A. C. Stewart Editor of Social Behav and Personality