How much prejudice is needed within social relationships?

Question

Prejudgement is done instantaneously on everything that our eyes lay upon, everything we hear, smell or touch. We judge people's skin colour, facial symmetry, hair colour, attitude etc. It is an instinctual defense mechanism but in certain cases it's limiting our perspective. What is your best advice in managing the amount of prejudice within relationships? Thank you for your answers.

Answer 1

You seem to be talking about first impressions and the judgments we make initially. I have found that while doing so is necessary, that most of my first impressions prove false. The key is to be willing to gradually set first impressions aside, and open your mind to the real person before you and let that individual's actions do the talking.

Answer 2

Prejudice is a social mechanism and is in no case instinctual. A new born will have no prejudice because he has no opinion. Experience determines opinions, other opinions participate in forming our opinions, we follow behaviors, attitudes and principles based on a simple concept: social desirability. We are social beings, and want to get socially integrated, whether in our family or in the neighborhood gang, this social interaction will cause some of our opinions to change (or form) towards a certain direction (be it according to the group, if we consider that group as an example to us, or opposite to the group's actions, if we disagree with their actions).

As it is inoculated into our minds from early childhood, prejudice is difficult to manage and even less, to neutralize. Even if sometimes we would like to be different, and not have a certain prejudice, this opinion may still exist deep within us, whether we admit it or not.

If a prejudice affects your relationships, and you cannot counterbalance this with qualities people have, then you should review your priorities and aim towards a different type of interaction, or with different individuals.

Answer 3

Everyone has a right to have opinions. Hopefully they are based on sound information. Generalizations based on here say, fad, or thoughtless bigotry is a negative endeavor and will not serve you well. If you judged Steven Hawking by his appearance you would say he is a crippled retarded pathetic individual. But, after some observation you would find that he is the preeminent physicist professor at Cambridge University who writes Incredible books and gives lectures to packed halls. Opinionated thinking should always be a put through your adult thinking process to determine if what you are thinking is True or fiction.

Answer 4

It's not totally unconcious and with a little self training can be overcome.
Prejudice works off the assumption that you are some how psychic and know everything about everybody.
It's a weakness, and a big sign of mental laziness.

Answer 5

none of it is needed at all... it is an unconscious thing that is practiced regardless of if we try to or not to do it in the first place...