Fairness and Property Shape First Impressions ^{CEFR B1}

The research, published in PLOS One, comes from the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois. The team ran three studies with hundreds of US adults. Participants read brief descriptions of everyday behaviors by fictional people, including helping or refusing help for a family member, following or breaking authority rules, and treating people equally or showing favoritism. For each behavior, participants judged whether it reflected the person's character or the situation and whether they would trust that person.

In the final study, participants made these judgments while doing a mental distraction task—memorizing long strings of numbers—to test whether less attention changed impressions. The judgments remained strong under this pressure, suggesting impressions form quickly and reliably.

The main result showed that fairness (equal treatment) and respect for property produced the strongest reactions. When people acted fairly or respected property, observers viewed them as moral, attributed the behavior to their character, and were more willing to trust and cooperate. Violations of these norms led to harsher judgments and reduced willingness to engage. Other moral behaviors mattered too but had weaker effects.