First Impressions

Nalini Ambady, PhD, until her death in 2013, was Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. She was formerly Professor and Neubauer Faculty Fellow at Tufts University. Her research interests focused on the accuracy of social, emotional, and perceptual judgments; how personal and social identities affect cognition and performance; and nonverbal and cross-cultural communication. She examined these phenomena from multiple perspectives, ranging from the biological to the sociocultural. Dr. Ambady was a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science Behavioral Science Research Award, and the American Psychological Association Division 5 (Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics) Dissertation Award.

John J. Skowronski, PhD, is Presidential Research Professor at Northern Illinois University. He has published numerous studies exploring impression formation and social cognition, and has also published extensively in the area of autobiographical memory. Dr. Skowronski has served as Associate Editor of Social Cognition, is currently Associate Editor of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

• Author's website