Estimates of impressions based on frequency of blinking

The influence of frequency of blinking on creating a personal impression was examined. Participants were 88 Japanese university students, who rated stimulus persons on a 7-point semantic differential scale. The stimulus persons, two males and two females, were presented on a 20-second video simulating various blink rates. A factor analysis yielded 3 factors, interpreted as nervousness, unfriendliness, and carelessness. As the frequency of the stimulus persons’ blinking increased, so did the tendency to rate them as more nervous and more careless. The results indicate that frequency of blinking plays an important role in impression formation.