Classic small talk topics are usually completely irrelevant. Usually it is about the weather, the past weekend or the past vacation. Nevertheless, one should not underestimate the influence of the first impression that is created. “Subjects who engage in brief small-talk interactions with strangers develop an idea of their personality, particularly in relation to their extraversion,” write Neha Bose and Daniel Sgroi of the University of Warwick in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. This influences their subsequent behavior in strategic games.
A number of studies in the past have already examined the influence of one’s own personality on strategic decisions. However, less is known about how the impression people have of the personality of others can influence such interactions.
For their study, Bose and Sgroi asked 168 of a total of 338 subjects to chat with another participant for four minutes using chat software. In this way, the two economists wanted to exclude disturbing effects such as facial expressions and gestures as well as the influence of external appearance. The subjects were then asked to write down what impression they had of the personality of their interlocutor. The focus was on the two characteristics of extraversion and neuroticism. The participants were then asked to play two strategic games with their interlocutor. The 170 subjects in the comparison group did not talk to their partner before the games.
Extraverted people stand out
The researchers found that, depending on the game, there was some variation in how the impressions of personality gained in small talk affected later game behavior. In a game that included both competitive and cooperative elements, participants behaved more cooperatively when they perceived their partner to be an extrovert. Extraverts are characterized by sociability and sociability; Extraversion is therefore usually the most recognizable trait in a short conversation. In a competitive game involving predicting opponent behavior, participants had more difficulty outsmarting their opponents when they felt they were similar.