"Do not judge individuals," is the first principle of Social Etiquette that society seeks to instil in us. And, of course, we've all heard the hackneyed age-old saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover." We've always been told to be polite and non-judgmental, but have you ever considered the possibility that judging is encoded into our brains and is an innate trait? Is it truly just part of being human to be judgmental?
Others now desire the skills that
allowed Homo sapiens to survive 200,000 years ago, according to evolutionary
psychology, and one of those traits is making decisions and judgments about
people and their surroundings. In other words, we are hardwired. Evolutionary
psychologists argue that you can take a person out of the Stone Age, but you
can't take the Stone Age out of the person. Back then, these judgements helped
humans live by evaluating stimuli to make assessments of risks or danger, and
now, we make judgements to decide what is best for us and to better understand
others and our surroundings.
When making
decisions, one of our reflexes is an individual's look. Our brains are equipped
with a supporting element for analyzing faces. This has been proved in trials
in which it was discovered that even quickly after birth, newborns prefer to
stare at a human face above anything else. Furthermore, it has been shown that
even in their first year, youngsters grow more discriminating and are more
inclined to crawl towards friendly-looking faces rather than those who appear
suspicious to them. By the time we reach adulthood, we are experts at making
snap judgments, rushing to conclusions after seeing someone's face for only a
tenth of a second.
When we meet a new person, we first use those criteria to appraise them in various ways
based on their appearance, demeanour, and other variables. This is an activity
that we perform without even thinking about it; it practically comes to us
spontaneously, and when asked to explain our decisions, the elements on which
we make these decisions are things we have never been taught; they are
frequently based on our instincts. Another example of how we make snap
judgments based on looks is how we often regard a baby-faced person as more
trustworthy, correlate a chiselled jaw with dominance, and see individuals with
spectacles as intellectual.
Is there a verdict on judging?
We all judge; it nearly comes to
us instantly.
We are biologically programmed to
this tendency; it is part of our character. But why do we pass judgment?
"Thinking is tough, which is why most people judge," Carl Jung
famously stated. In some ways, this sentence encapsulates everything. One
theory is that judgment is simple because we depend on past knowledge and heuristics
and don't need to think or reason much.
Our brains are programmed to make
instinctive judgements about the behaviour of others so that we may move
through the world without spending a lot of time or energy trying to understand
what we encounter. According to neurobiologists, personal judgement is a
natural inclination that may be viewed as a defence mechanism used by the
brain. A judgment can be defined as an evaluation of evidence or facts to
assist us in making a decision. It's the tiny voice inside our brains telling
us to ask that lovely lady for directions instead of that young adolescent
since you assumed he wouldn't know. Or when you opt not to queue with the talkative young girl because you believe she will be too lethargic. We analyze or
evaluate life events, circumstances, objects, views, thoughts, and people based
on the values, emotions, and reasoning that we were taught - sometimes
consciously, sometimes unconsciously. We have touch, speech, hearing, taste, smell,
& intuition as human beings. These senses assist us in evaluating and
judging people and situations.
Perhaps asking people to
"Stop judging others" would not be productive since our efforts will
go against our innate human nature and inbuilt impulses. Instead, being more
self-aware when we judge can absolutely help. We may utilize that understanding
to be more grateful and sympathetic to the environment around us. The reality
is that we will judge others and our surroundings, consciously or
subconsciously. However, whether we believe judgement to be a natural
inclination or not, we should endeavour to be more accepting of others and our
individual characteristics because none of us are flawless.
Rab Rakha!!!!!
