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We say more about ourselves without speaking than we do in words. In fact, more than 90% of the initial message we communicate to others (that first impression) comes through the channels of sight, sound, touch, and smell. In general, words count for less than 10% of the meaning we communicate to others when we first meet them or they meet us.

Five studies investigated gender differences in the accurate recall of the appearance of others. The greater interpersonal orientation and interpersonal sensitivity of women were predicted to give women an advantage over men in appearance accuracy. Under both directed- and incidental-learning conditions, women more accurately recalled information concerning the appearance of their social targets than did men, participants' memory for the appearance of female targets was more accurate than it was for male targets, and neither gender was found to be a relative advantage in recalling the appearance of same-gender targets. The motivational and knowledge-based factors that might underlie a gender difference in appearance accuracy are discussed.

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