How quickly do you judge a person based on thier appearance

[KiaKaha]

One thing I have always noticed about others is how people react to you when they first meet you. Within an instant other people tend to judge based simply on the way you look, making assumptions and assessing what kind of person they think you are. I have always wondered whether or not people are aware of this... or if people actually do this at all (unfortunately I cant read peoples minds, and I cant ask downright....an awkward moment would ensue, I am sure..)

So I have a few questions. First, Do you judge people on the way they look? If you do, are you aware that you are and do you act on those judgments...? Also, can you FEEL when people are assessing you when they meet you for the first time, and how does that make you feel...?

I am really curious about this sort of stuff because I have often felt that how others perceive you (whether or not they are right or not) often determines how successful a person would be...

 

[NathanielWingatePeaslee]

I think you have to fight your instincts not to judge and make assumptions about people when you first meet them. I've gotten a lot slower to come to any conclusions about people at all as I've gotten older.

Do I judge people on the way the look? Um, besides attractiveness? Not really, no.

When I first meet people, I've now decided that what goes through my head isn't reliably rational (about what they think of me). Mostly I'm so nervous I just try to concentrate on getting words out that make some sort of sense.

 

[mrb]

hmmmm quite quickly i soppose , but then a lot of the time i start talking to them and there nothing like you imagine them to be , like there was this bloke massive tattos all over his neck looked about as aproachable as king kong on crack , but wadda know hes a gentle nice guy .... iv been supprised a few times like that .... looks can be deciving ... i mean take me , i look normal dont i but im not ::

 

[KiaKaha]

hmmmm quite quickly i soppose , but then a lot of the time i start talking to them and there nothing like you imagine them to be , like there was this bloke massive tattos all over his neck looked about as aproachable as king kong on crack , but wadda know hes a gentle nice guy .... iv been supprised a few times like that .... looks can be deciving ... i mean take me , i look normal dont i but im not ::

I have noticed that quite often, sometimes the biggest, meanest and ugliest are often quite gentle and kind....although, thats not ALWAYS the case either... I guess there are no hard and fast rules really....

Still I have always found prejudice to be fascinating and frustrating all at the same time...

 

[EscapeArtist]

Good question..
Do I judge people: I either go out of my way to judge them positively, this being any stranger I see on the street. For isntance, oh look, that guy is carrying a pumpkin, I love him! That guy has a long beard, i love him too! That jogging 90 year old has killer running legs, what a great guy! Ha. (in my town it's like only grey haired guys bike and run). In the case of seeing flaws in others, like if somebody is obese, any flaw on a person displays the growth they must have gone through to accept it and go in public, to me. On the other hand if I'm jealous of them it does turn to a feeling of annoyance. I am usually aware of my positive judgements but my 'annoyance' goes kind of hidden from myself.

When people assess me... can I feel it.. it depends on who. A lot of the time it's my own paranoia assuming they are assessing me. It feels like i've betrayed myself, I start to think that I'm trying to hard, whether it's because I used to pinpoint worth of makeup, adjusted my hair some way... And I feel huge, of course, and completely uncomfortable. I try to focus more on them to stray away from the fact that i'm there.

 

[EgoZero]

No I dont really judge people cause of appearance, I just make somekind of impression about them from their appearance. However, when I start talking to a person, usually all impressions change or go away.

 

[EasySkankin]

No I dont really judge people cause of appearance, I just make somekind of impression about them from their appearance. However, when I start talking to a person, usually all impressions change or go away.

I 2nd that ^

OH, nice avatar by the way Ego... love that bunny rabbit! Frank? Right?

 

[EgoZero]

I 2nd that ^

OH, nice avatar by the way Ego... love that bunny rabbit! Frank? Right?

Haha, thx. Yeah it's Frank the rabbit

 

[BlackPuma]

I never judge, I analyze.

Looks can be very deceiving. And so I think it's better to form my opinion on what mentality revealing signals they give me, rather then on what they look/talk like. Forming a profile usually takes a few days, weeks sometimes months. This solely depends on how strong the signals are that they give me. In the literal sense I do ''read'' minds. ;3

And until the profile on said person is complete, I give them the benefit of the doubt, but proceed with great caution.

 

[coyote]

I think it's fair to draw some conclusions about a person based on certain aspects of their outward appearance - not the size, shape, or color of their body - but rather their demeanor, manner of dress, posture, body language, etc. These characteristics are often within the control of the individual and/or tend to reflect something about the person inside.

 

[hippiechild]

I judge people based on appearance the instant the visual information makes it to my brain. "Wearing coat.. maybe they're cold, but it's a hot day.. most unusual.. oh, they're waving around a knife, maybe they're a knife salesman. Unlikely, Let's leave them alone for now."

Everyone judges everyone based on their appearance... to not would be preposterously dysfunctional and would also rob people of the ability of visual expression. There are actual reasons that we rely on visual cues and intuition when we have no former experience with a person, place or other new situation: it keeps you from trying to befriend lions, ask drug overlords for spare change or stick your hand into those weird contraptions that grind up animals into dog food. While you probably don't have experience with those things prior to encountering them, your snap judgments serve you well in helping you to avoid these potentially dangerous situations.

What matters is how malleable that judgment is, whether you can, with further tentative exploration, discover that it's not a mafia overlord, but friendly Alfonzo who has taken a special liking for trench coats and grey, pinstripe fedora caps.