A particularly interesting consequence of the processes of sharpening and leveling concerns our impressions of people we only know about secondhand.12 Everyday experience seems to tell us that we often develop exaggerated or extreme impressions of people we have heard or read about but never met. The most telling evidence in this regard is that when we finally meet someone we have been led to believe is, say, unusually charismatic and compelling, or uncommonly wicked and detestable, we are often “disappointed.” The person often seems less worthy of positive or negative regard than we had been
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