Warmth or competence?

It’s Friday, let’s keep it short.

In 2007 Susan Frisk, Amy Cuddy, and Peter Glick conducted a study of how “the two universal dimensions of human cognition” interact. 

Those dimensions are warmth and competence. 

How do you think these two dimensions of our thinking affect our relationships?

It turns out that people assess warmth before competence. 

We first assess people’s intentions before their abilities. 

Makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Humans had to quickly determine first if someone is a threat before we could determine if they could help us.

The takeaway? 

If you want to connect with people, demonstrate your warmth first, then your competence. 

Have a good weekend.