It's not hard to make someone dislike you, whether you're interacting online or in real life.If you share something overly personal too soon or hide your emotions, for example, you may unwittingly repel people.Even the smell of your sweat or a hard-to-pronounce last namethings that are mostly out of your controlcan be a turn-off.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.Generally speaking, you've only got a few seconds to make someone want to spend more time with you.And in those preciousfew seconds, everything mattersfrom your last name to the smell of your sweat (unfair and gross, we know).Making a good first impression is vital when it comes to job interviews, first dates, or important meetings with your bosstherefore, it's really important to know if some of your behaviors are bringing people in, or totally turning them off.Below, you'll find a list of 15 various scientific findings on the traits and behaviors that make people dislike you, both online and in person.SEE ALSO:14 habits of the most likable peopleSharing too many photos on FacebookIf you're the kind of person who shares snapshots of your honeymoon, cousin's graduation, and dog dressed in a Halloween costume all in the same day, you might want to stop.A 2013 discussion paper from researchers at Birmingham Business Schoolsuggestedthat posting too many photos on Facebook could hurt your real-life relationships."This is because people, other than very close friends and relatives, don't seem to relate well to those who constantly share photos of themselves," lead study author David Houghtonsaid in a release.Specifically, friends don't like it when you've got too many photos of family, and relatives don't like it when you've got too many photos of friends.Ben Marder, of the University of Edinburgh, also worked on the studyand warned: "Be cautious when sharing and think how it will be perceived by all the others who may see it. Although sharing is a great way to better relationships, it can also damage them."Having too many or too few Facebook friendsIn a 2008 study, Michigan State University researchers asked college students to look at fictional Facebook profiles and decide how much they liked the profiles' owners.Results showed that the "sweet spot" for likability was about 300 friends. Likability ratings were lowest when a profile owner had only about 100 friends, and almost as low when they had more than 300 friends.As for why 300-plus friends could be a turn-off, the study authors write, "Individuals with too many friends may appear to be focusing too much on Facebook, friending out of desperation rather than popularity."On the other hand, the college students doing the evaluation each had about 300 Facebook friends themselves. So the researchers acknowledge that in a population where the most common number of Facebook friends is 1,000, the sweet spot for likability could be 1,000.Keep in mind, though, thata 2014 survey foundthat the average number of Facebook friends among adult users was 338.Interestingly, the study also suggested that participants weren't consciously aware that they liked people less when they had too many or too few Facebook friends.Disclosing something extremely personal early on in a relationshipIn general, people like each other more after they've traded confidences. Self-disclosure is one of the best ways tomake friends as an adult.But psychologists saythat disclosingsomethingtoointimate say, that your sister is having an extramarital affairwhile you're still getting to know someone can make you seem insecure and decrease your likability.The key is to get just the right amount of personal. A2013 studyled by Susan Sprecher at Illinois State University suggests that simply sharing details about your hobbies and your favorite childhood memories can make you seem warmer and more likable.Asking someone questions without talking about yourself at allThat same 2013 studybySprecherfound an important caveat to the idea that self-disclosure predicts closeness: It has to be mutual. People generally like you less if you don't reciprocate when they disclose something intimate.In the study, unacquainted participants either engaged in back-and-forth self-disclosure or took turns self-disclosing for 12 minutes each while the other listened. Results showed that participants in the back-and-forth group liked each other significantly more.As the authors write, "Although shy or socially anxious people may ask questions of the other to detract attention from themselves, our research shows that this is not a good strategy for relationship initiation. Both participants in an interaction need to disclose to generate mutual closeness and liking."Posting a close-up profile photoIf your LinkedIn profile features an image of your face practically smushed up against the camera, you'd be wise to change it.Research from 2012 suggeststhat faces photographed from just 45 centimetersabout 1.5 feetaway are considered less trustworthy, attractive, and competent than faces photographed from 135 centimeters, about 4.5 feet, away.Hiding your emotionsResearch suggests that letting your real feelings come through is a better strategy for getting people to like you than bottling it all up.In one 2016 study, the University of Oregon researchers videotaped people watching two movie scenes: the fake-orgasm part of the movie "When Harry Met Sally" and a sad scene from "The Champ." In some cases, the movie-watchers were instructed to react naturally; in another, they were instructed to suppress their emotions.College students then watched the four versions of the videos. Researchers measured how much interest the students expressed in befriending the people in the videos, as well as their assessments of the personalities of the people in the clips.Results showed that suppressors were judged less likableas well as less extroverted and agreeablethan people who emoted naturally.The researchers wrote: "Peopledo not pursue close relationships indiscriminatelythey probably look for people who are likely to reciprocate their investments. So when perceivers detect that someone is hiding their emotions, they may interpret that as a disinterest in the things that emotional expression facilitatescloseness, social support, and interpersonal coordination."Acting too niceIt makes logical sense that the nicer and more altruistic you seem, the more people will like you. But some sciencesuggests otherwise.In a 2010 study, researchers at Washington State University and the Desert Research Institute had college students play a computer game with four other players, who were really manipulations by the researchers.Here's how one of the study authors explained the study procedure inThe Harvard Business Review: "Each participant was placed in a five-person group, but did not see its other members. Each was given endowments that they could in their turn choose to keep or return, in whole or in part. There was some incentive to maximize one's holdings, but not an obvious one.""The participants were told that, at the end of the semester, a random drawing of their names would be held and those few who were chosen would have their holdings converted to Dining Services coupons redeemable at campus eateries."Some of the fakeparticipants would give up lots of points and only take a few vouchersa rather altruisticbehavior. As it turns out, most participants said they wouldn't want to work with their unselfish teammate again.In a similar, follow-up experiment in the same study, some said the unselfish teammate made them look bad; others suspected they had ulterior motives.HumblebraggingIn an effort to impress friends and potential employers, some people disguise braggingas self-criticism. This behavior, otherwise known as "humblebragging,"could be a turn-off, according to aworking paperfrom Harvard Business School.The authors of that paper asked college students to write down how they'd answer a question about their biggest weakness in a job interview. The results suggested that more than three-quarters of participants humblebragged, usually about being a perfectionist or working too hard.Yet independent research assistants said they'd be more likely to hire the participants who were honest, and found them significantly more likable. Those students said things like, "I'm not always the best at staying organized" and "sometimes I overreact to situations."Another alternative in a job-interview situation istotalk about weaknessesthat don't directly relate to the positionfor example, a fear of public speaking if you're applying for a writing role.Getting too nervousNever let 'em seeor smellyou sweat. Research suggests that the odor of your nervous sweat may subconsciously influence people's judgments of your personality.In 2013,researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Centerhad participants watch videos of women in everyday situations, like working in an office and taking care of a child. While watching the videos, they sniffed three kinds of sweat: sweat that someone had produced while exercising, sweat produced during a stressful situation, and sweat produced during a stressful situation that had been covered up with antiperspirant.Participants were then asked to rate the women on how competent, confident, and trustworthy they seemed.Results showed that participants rated the women lower on all measures when they smelled the stress-induced sweat. When they smelled the stress sweat that had been covered up with antiperspirant, they rated the women more positively.Not smilingWhen you're at a networking event and meeting lotsof new people, it can be hard to keep a smile plastered on your face.Try anyway.In 2016, researchers at Stanford University and the University of Duisburg-Essenfound thatstudents who interacted with each other through avatars felt more positively about the interaction when the avatar displayed a bigger smile.Bonus:A 2015 studyfound thatsmiling when you first meet someonehelps ensure that they'll remember you later.Including a smiling emoticon in an emailHere's where things get confusing. Even though smilingin personcan make you more likeable, research suggests smiling virtuallycan work to your detriment especially in more formal settings.A2017 articlepublished by researchers in Israel and the Netherlands found that including smiling emoticons in an email makes you seem less competentand doesn't make you seem warmer.In the first of a series of studies, participants read an email that included either just text or text plus a smiley. The email was written by a hypothetical project teammate. Results showed that the hypothetical teammate was perceived as only slightly warmer and as significantly less competent when the person included a smiley.Having a hard-to-pronounce nameWe know: This one'sreallynot fair.But here's the science: A2012 studyby researchers at the University of Melbourne, the University of Leuven, and New York University found that people with more complicated last names are judged more negatively.In one experiment included in the study, undergraduate participants read a mock newspaper article about a man running for an upcoming local council election. Some participants read about a man with a relatively easy-to-pronounce last name (Lazaridis or Paradowska); others read about a man with a harder-to-pronounce name (Vougiouklakis and Leszczynska).As it turns out, participants who'd read about the man with the simpler name said that candidate was a better fit for the government position than participants who'd read about the man with the more complicated name.Name-droppingIt can be tempting to mention that famous author who graduated from your alma mater or that time you met Kylie Jenner in order to impress your conversation partner. But the tactic can backfire.That's according to researchers at the University of Zurich. In 2009, theypublished a studysuggesting that name-dropping makes people seem both less likable and less competent.For the study, University of Zurich students interacted with "partners"via email (the emails had really been generated by the researchers).In some emails, the partner mentioned that Roger Federer was his friend and that they'd worked out together. In other emails, the partner only mentioned that Federer was a friend. In another set of emails, the partner mentioned that he or she was a fan of Federer. And in some emails, the partner didn't mention Federer at all.Results showed that the stronger the supposed association between the partner and Federer, the fewer participants liked their partner. The researchers found that was largely because participants felt their partners were manipulative.Offering a weak handshakeExtend a limp noodle to a new acquaintance and you could undermine the positive impression you're trying to make, according to an article by psychologist John D. Mayer published inPsychology Today.A2000 University of Alabama studyfound that people could predict the personalities of undergraduates they shook hands with. Specifically, the handshake raters intuited that the students with firm handshakes were more positive, more outgoing, and less socially anxious.Meanwhile, a2008 studypublished in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that, in mock interviews, students who had a firmer handshake at the beginning of the interview were ultimately perceived as more hireable.Acting like you don't like someonePsychologists have known for a while about a phenomenon called "reciprocity of liking": When we think someone likes us, we tend to like them as well.In 2009, researchers at the University of Waterloo and the University of Manitobafound thatwhen we expect people to accept us, we act warmer toward themthereby increasing the chances that they really will likeus.So even if you're not sure how aperson you're interacting with feels about you, act like you like them and they'll probably like you back.If, on the other hand, you don't express fondness for the person you're meeting, you could potentially turn them off.Read more:17 psychological tricks to make people like you immediately8 signs you have more influence at work than you think4 telltale signs a coworker secretly dislikes you, according to career expertsThe subtle body language signs someone doesn't like you, according to a former FBI agent and body language expert
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