When I first meet someone I form an oppion, is that wrong?
2007-01-12 18:44:16 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Psychology
Sure it's "possible" and I've certainly known people in my life that treat everyone the same all the time regardless of who they are, so some people have that natural gift ... and ... I try to learn from them to be a better person myself. However, to answer your second question, it's also not necessarily "wrong" to be judgmental provided you aren't using it as a reason to treat people differently while convincing yourself you're right.
Many people have come to interpret the word prejudice as something negative ... like to be racist or to judge someone unfairly, but originally the word meant to have any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable about a person or subject. Most dictionaries will focus on the negative definition because that has become the popular meaning, but most will also usually at least mention that prejudice can be favorable or unfavorable. So when is it favorable? When is prejudice and being judgmental OK? Simple ... when it serves to protect you and allow you to learn from your mistakes.
So let's look at an example: You're walking down the street and you just cashed your paycheck and you have $1,000 in cash in your pocket. Walking down the street toward you is a big, rough, mean looking guy in a beat-up leather jacket and chains and a knife jangling in his pocket. You cross to the other side of the street just to be a little more safe. Were you being judgmental and prejudice? Certainly ... but was it prudent and smart? Absolutely! Experience has taught you that big, mean looking guys in beat-up leather jackets and chains MAY be more likely to beat you up and steal your money than a guy walking down the street wearing a pastor's clothes.
So being judgmental and exercising prejudice helped to keep you safe and alive. You certainly had no first hand knowledge that the big mean guy was going to beat you up and steal your money ... he may have been the nicest, most honest guy in the world and wouldn't hurt a butterfly, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong to take precautions.
So ... when is it wrong? Equally simple ... when you routinely judge everyone and everything based on some characteristic they can't change. Assuming that every person in a given minority group is a gangster, or a bad person, or cheap, or poor, or whatever ALL the time with no regard to how they present themselves ... well that is wrong.
It's human nature to judge people and things ... we do it thousands of times a day ... just make sure that when you're making your judgments you're judging the action or the circumstances and not some minor physical characteristic and you'll be fine.
Take care.
2007-01-12 19:17:31 · answer #1 · answered by Informed1 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everyone is judge mental and everyone forms an opinion of someone else when meeting that someone for the first time. Is it possible not to be overly critical in judgement? Yes. Is it wrong to be overly critical when none of us is perfect? Yep!
2007-01-12 18:50:14 · answer #2 · answered by kicking_back 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well it really depends. It's not good to stereotype someone when you first meet them but, it's hard not to form an opinion when you see someone. As long as you aren't judging them by their looks or race or something like that then it's normal human behavior.
2007-01-12 18:49:28 · answer #3 · answered by Usibaku 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's human but, the only cure is patience and truth. We have to form opinions on things at some point to have a stance on them. When it comes to survival we have quick whits they may not be accurate.
2007-01-12 22:10:36 · answer #4 · answered by obscure 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is okay. They form an opinion of you when they first meet you.
2007-01-12 18:47:27 · answer #5 · answered by Sparkles 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its impossible to be completely non judgemental...its human nature...just keep an open mind and realize that the kinds of things you start to think about someone may actually be a reflection of who you are....you learn more about yourself this way too.
2007-01-12 18:57:53 · answer #6 · answered by kowalley 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's normal. However, it is good to allow time to develop an opinion, because more times than not we develop them based on whom the new person reminds us. It's much more fair to give them time to reveal their real selves to us over time.
2007-01-12 18:55:26 · answer #7 · answered by Dino 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No because first impressions make a big difference in people.
2007-01-12 18:50:40 · answer #8 · answered by justcurious 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
'judgemental' or "judged mental'?
2007-01-12 19:11:14 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋