Today i assessed a lady for a RAF (road accident fund) claim that has really got me thinking about first impressions...
When i saw the name of the person i was assessing i assumed white person.
When i saw the address of the person i was assessing i assumed indian person.
When she was over an hour late (i am ashamed to admit this but i will) i assumed black person.
When i actually met her- coloured person!
[And this is why preconceived ideas about people are so nonsensical!]
When i met her she was defensive and passive aggressive... maybe because she was an hour late and i took a deep breath and expected the worst of the assessment. But as i learned later it was because she had driven from Mpumalanga and had just worked a night shift and was actually exhausted. And by the end of the assessment we were joking together and comfortable with each other. Must be my sparkling, engaging personality?!
This lady also made a comment in the assessment " If i was a white person i would call it..." which again tells me she came into the assessment with her own preconceived ideas about me and my whiteness. And i guess i am very white, even albino(ish) a colleague used to tell me.
i wonder if her first impression of me would have been different if she had seen a family photo before arriving!
i wonder if my first impression of her would have been different if i had seen a photo of her before arriving!
At the end of the day it shouldn't make a difference should it?
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