Allowing Instantaneous Judgments

According to a study conducted by Alexander Todorov, who works in the Department of Psychology at Princeton University, people form an opinion about you based on facial structure.

Other studies from body language experts show body language contributes significantly to the first impression of a person.

People often ask, “What do you do?” and decide whether they want to get to know you further based on your profession and salary. Often times, they are only considering themselves.

In high school, the main question is “What sports do you play?” and this alone will determine someone’s perception of who you are as a person.

Cate Wiza, Arrowhead sophomore, says, “When I claim I’m in forensics [people] lose interest. When I tell them I play field hockey they want to hear more because I am considered [athletic].”

Judgments protect people from harm and are often common sense. But should we allow people to prove us wrong before making snap judgments after a 30 second or less first impression. Do first impressions and snap judgements protect us from possible danger? Are they often fair and accurate assumptions?

Most people like to believe they are  reasonable and honest, yet we teach younger generations to stay away from strangers based on their appearance alone. Arrowhead sophomore, Annalise Scaffiti says judgments are wrong because people aren’t taking time to find who someone is before jumping to the most obvious conclusions.

If you possess a quality and meet someone with the exact opposite personality or attribute, you might form an aversion to them. Instead you should attempt to converse and search for a likeable, possibly unexpected trait. Open mindedness is vital.

Although Scaffiti says, “I don’t really care how people perceive me.”

This method can be beneficial because you are accepting yourself and allowing others to form their own opinions.