Do you ever judge people before getting to know them?

Question

In other words do you ever inadvertently judge people based on race, gender, national origin, sexual preference, social status, etc? Or something else?

For example: I find myself assuming things about people based on how wealthy I perceive them to be.

Answer 1

Everyone does, whether they want to admit it or not. Yeah it's bad, but I also tend to prejudge people based upon their economic status -- a lot of my clients are lower-income people with poor credit who tend to SCREW themselves financially and then proceed to blame it on anyone BUT themselves. They are usually loud, coarse, rude, uneducated, have poor taste, have lots of kids and dirty dogs, eat lots of McDonalds, and generally act like people on the Jerry Springer Show. There's no point in categorizing them into racially indicative categories like "trailer trash", "illegal immigrants", or "ghetto", because they come from all ethnic backgrounds; the one thing that unites them all is their trashiness.

I'm not saying that ALL lower income people are like this, but I've worked with enough who have matched these traits to where I do tend to stereotype them. By the way, I know plenty of people (friends and family included) who started out in life underprivileged, but took control of their own lives by wokring hard and refusing to settle into less than favorable circumstances. The one thing I can't stand is lazy people who blame others for their problems.

Answer 2

No I never judge a person just by looking at them. Same goes for a book. You can't judge a book, by it's cover. No matter who or what you are, nobody can judge exactly what that person is going through or been through. Weather he/she be rich or poor. Some of the richest people are so wonderful and kind hearted and then some are not. Same goes for the poor. Depends on what you hold in your Heart. I have heard, that it is harder for a Rich person to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven then it is to pass through the eye of a needle. I don't know about the Poor, excepts they struggle. I assume they will be pricked with the sharp end of the needle.

Answer 3

Not on race, gender, national origin, sexual preference, social status, but on other things for example i went to the mall and I passed by this guy who had on dirty old clothes and smelled like pot so I assumed he smokes weed and uses his money poorly for drugs instead of getting help.

Answer 4

I think everyone does it based on their past experiences. For instance...The area I live in, most of the hispanics are poor, so I inadvertently think that when I meet a hispanic who might look poor....I mean, I hate to admit it, and I don't think it makes me racist or anything....but we all do it. But, the real test of character is whether or not you act upon what you automatically think or what pops into your head about a person.

Answer 5

Yes, everyone comes into any relationship with established prejudices and conceptions of others based on their appearence. Many will say that I am wrong about this, let em. They simply do not want to admit that they have any type of prejudice. It is what we are taught to do all throughout life in all areas of our lives. NO one, I repeat no one is completely free of predjudice. The true test is can you put your preconceived ideas aside long enough to get to know someone else for who they are and not who you expect them to be.

Answer 6

It has been proven by psychologists that everyone does this whether intentional or not. We simply don't possess the brainpower to analyze every new thing we encounter so we lump them together with stereotypes (no negative connotation meant) in order to process information faster. It's just a fact of how humans are.

Answer 7

i guess if ppl r honest enough then all would say yes, it's kind of human behaviour. we tend 2 statisfy something within ourselves by assuming something in others & waiting 2 see if it was there or not. 4 some ppl all muslims r terrorists till they see one & really get 2 test him. same goes 4 other judgments we pass but what's really hard is try lose that behaviour ( i mean judging ) b4 we know 4 sure.

Answer 8

Guilty

Answer 9

Yes, unfortunately I do. I find myself judging people based on their speech and their hygiene. Not fair, but I'm being honest

Answer 10

everyone judges. people judge people within the first five seconds of meeting someone. quick huh? i judge on facial exspression more than anything within the first few seconds but as time goes on i judge them on how they treat other people. that is the only sure way of knowing what kinda person they really are. people think you can't judge but that is the only way you can is by their actions.