Social Interaction and Observation

Are you not intrigued by the subtleties of these faces, or at least some of them? In this instance I am approaching this topic from both psychological aspect and as a result of social-personal/emotional observation. When you describe a face does it come alive for you in your mind? Are you surprised by how much you actually remember?

An example of this may be the observation of a freckly-like birth mark on the bottom left of somebody’s chin, an unusual discovery perhaps but intriguing wouldn’t you say? Perhaps this aspect was identified as this person’s individual defining feature (IDF) in comparison to other people known to the observer. Maybe this aspect made an observer smile, eliciting a positive emotional response or maybe the observer was just in such close proximity that this feature became apparent, purely through observation as a proximal identification.

The above example demonstrates proximal identification but what about from a distance? What about abstract identification? Is there a defining feature which can draw the attention from across a room? Perhaps the person is wearing brightly coloured clothes, but then these change so clothes can not be a direct, permanent identifier, although they may lead to a conclusion as to the type of personality the observed possess. So, a permanent feature would seem the best option for identification at distance. A feature that, for the most part, changes gradually over time. Hair styles seem to me the obvious abstract identifier that all people have. A unique hairstyle can draw the attention of an onlooker indefinitely. Not to say that a common hairstyle would not but as human beings we tend to pay more attention to unfamiliar things, a result of our evolution.

To highlight, look at this scenario. You are in a room full of people, a sixth form common room say where perhaps 2% have really interesting/unfamiliar hairstyles in comparison to the social norm. The chance is that you will focus upon one individual within this 2% bracket, the hairstyle that intrigues you most. So, say a group of girls, incorporating a majority of blonde and brunette hairstyles, either a long cut, ponytail, tight curls etc. Within this group is a single individual with dark hair, a comparatively short, choppy cut, in complete contrast to those around her. Now, who is your attention going to fall on? Conformist blonde or choppy, dark style? (completely based up on hairstyles, do not take in to account other imaginary aesthetic features). For the majority, I would guarantee that the individual would stand out substantially, even if your attention was focused on her for only a few seconds more than the others in the group. This is normally more than enough time to assimilate a memory of this person, whether short term or long term. Based upon this memory we decide whether we like this person, a split second, more often than not. Either way, she captured your attention and you have no say in that really, let’s be honest.