We Think, Therefore... Truth?

The other day my friend and I went grocery shopping. We had a misunderstanding that had to be handled at the customer service counter, and while we were waiting in line she was approached by an older guy who clearly wanted to go on a date with her. Her first impression of him was that he was a cool person and that he seemed nice.

After we got everything taken care of, we went out to the car to load the groceries, and the guy appeared to actually ask her out for coffee. She politely declined and he went on his way.

Shortly after, she recalled a fact she thought she read. If your first impression of a person is that they are creepy, anything they do for you that might be considered "nice" will probably be perceived as confirming how creepy they are. If your first impression of a person is that they are nice, anything they do that might be considered "creepy" will probably be perceived as confirming how nice they are.

If I'd said I was at the store the other day and we got followed to our car by a guy we didn't know, that would probably seem creepy, right?

Aside from politics, which this is always seen in--as shown in the red vs. blue feeds--it made me think about how often it can change our views on things outside of the political sphere.