Are humans born to be superficial?

Question

A lot of us heard the phrase "You cannot judge a book by its cover" but a lot of us still allow the first impressions to last. We still give more attention to the most attractive person before we even know their character. Why do this happen when we should know better?

Answer 1

I agree that our superficial tendencies do in many cases override our rational faculties. I think the simple answer to why our shallow appraisal of people tends to trump our assessment of their substance, is because this proclivity to measure someone on how they look is deeply engrained into our biology. We are more than just mere animals, and our ability to reason, our sense of justice, our appreciation of altruism, all testify to the fact that we are more than just merely like other animals. Yet, we still do have a certain baseness about us that causes us to take people at their face value – literally.

If we look at it from an evolutionary standpoint, we can speculate as to why this is the case. Before man developed the ability to communicate verbally, or acquired any other of the social conventions and intellectual skills distinctive to the human condition, we behaved much like our animal counterparts. We would assess the suitability of another person; say a mate, or hunting partner, on the basis of their physical strengths and weaknesses, in the same manner that all animals select their mating partners on the basis of physical criteria. This only seemed natural, during a time that preceded language, unique human skills, culture, and civilization. The physicality of the individual, constituted his or her entire worth. It was a good litmus test to decide whether such and such person could produce healthy and resilient offspring, whether such and such friend could defend his tribe.

As time progressed the standards for what comprises a suitable mate, friend, or ally, changed and went beyond the physical. Slowly, as we moved from our humble beginnings, and started to acquire characteristics that we would today define as uniquely human. We started to assess people on things like their moral character, their sense of humor, their intelligence, their eloquence, their loyalty, etc. However, biological compulsions, that were necessary for the survival of our pre homo sapien predecessors, and early homo sapien ancestry, are hard to shake. So, though the circumstances of the modern world have rendered the need to find the most physically fit woman and man virtually obsolete, the inclination to do so still lingers.

I am as guilty as any man of being shallow. I regret this very much, and I am ashamed to admit this, but I have given attractive women, who were devoid of good character, more attention than those who were more deserving of my time, but were not as attractive. It’s odd, how this occurs, but it undoubtedly does. No matter how educated one is; and no matter how self-aware and self-critical one is, one is immediately enchanted when one finds a physically alluring person, and all reason tends go out the window. All we can do to mitigate this phenomenon is to constantly remind ourselves that such predilections are wrong, and ultimately counterproductive. Candidly, as a man who adores beautiful women, to the point where it can be called an obsession, this struggle to keep ones superficial judgments in check, is a perennial one. Any man, who is truly frank with himself, will confess this to be true.

Answer 2

Instinct is a very powerful force. Over the millions of years of human evolution, our brains have developed a number of systems for evaluating the world around us quickly and easily, in order to keep us safe even in unfamiliar situations. These instincts serve us well most of the time, but not always.

For example, if you know that lions are dangerous, but have never encountered a tiger, you could have any number of different reactions upon meeting one for the first time. You could say to yourself, "well, I shouldn't judge a book by its cover," and decide to hang around for a while to see whether tigers are also dangerous. You could also follow your likely instinctual reaction, which would be to leave as quickly as possible, because that tiger looks a lot like a lion, and might just try to eat you.

In the modern world, our social encounters are rarely so simple, and we often meet people that look nice, but really are not. It is simply the case that our instinctual reaction upon meeting new people is not always the right one, and we have to learn to balance instinct against intelligence. As you have found, this is a difficult thing to do, and it will almost certainly be something people struggle with as long as they live.

Answer 3

Sometimes an "attractive" person attracts hate, not just admiration! First impressions may linger, but they may change as the person becomes better known. It's happened to me since last year - someone who seemed thoroughly unpleasant has turned out to be helpful and friendly! The opposite can happen, too.

Answer 4

Education gives the mind something to do - the more educated the person, the less superficial. Superficial people are sometimes just to lazy to see beyond the surface, they don't want to waste time, or they think the person (victim?) is not worth the time.

Education trains us to think before we judge.

Answer 5

Western culture stereotyping has lead humans into judgments based on first appearances. Depths of thought, feeling and character are respected at more of the personal level.

Answer 6

No, this is a conditioned response to a superficial society. It is taught.

Answer 7

we are primates. We have not evloved to be completely practical and logical in all instances. if that was absoltuely necessary for our survival, perhaps we would have, perhaps we would not have made it.

Answer 8

If we are not "within" we are "without"!