Don't be so quick to judge

For one of my psychology classes I had to write up a thought/change paper on a situation I’d like to see change in either with myself, another person, or in my surrounding environment. It took me quite some time to come up with something to write about that I believe would be a good situation or idea to change. There are so many things in my environment, the world, and within myself that I would like to see a change in.  I finally settled on the one issue that does bother me the most- how easily people judge one another without really knowing each other or a group of people. I’m guilty of this, we are ALL guilty of this, even the people who swear up and down that they aren’t quick to judge someone. Please!

So many people, including myself, are guilty of being quick to judge a person or group of people either based on what they’ve been told, have heard or what they’ve seen. In turn, it can cause many individuals and groups to dislike each other, to act unkindly and rude towards each other. I’ve experienced this myself with people who were quick to judge me based off of how they perceived me or what they had heard. This is one of the situations that I would like to change in myself because I catch myself doing it from time to time. I’d also love to see this change our world and within societies, but that is something that is going to take a long time to implement. I do believe that it would cut back on so much hate and disdain in our world, but alas it’s not something that is going to change overnight or anytime soon for that matter. So I will start with myself and hopefully it will rub off on the people around me.

Here's where the psychology terms come into play: I believe one of the big reasons why individuals tend to judge others is based off of what they hear or have been told.  To me this is a form of informational and normative influence.  Also, it’s another type of influence that’s called the Majority influence. It’s informational in the sense that the individual accepts the evidence about reality or the situation (in this case the person or group being judged) that is being presented or provided by the other person. The individual is seeing things the same way because they believe that the other person has more information and that it’s more authentic. Also, when people judge others, it’s a normative influence being that the individual is conforming or a better term, “fitting in”, in order to gain acceptance and to avoid rejection. They are in a sense “going along with the crowd” in order to gain some sort of approval. What majority influence is, in a sense, the way majorities influence human behavior in a heuristic way. An individual, without much thought, applies the “everyone can’t be wrong” and accepts the information that is provided by the group or person. With these three influences, informational, normative, and majority, I believe it depends on the individual on which influence takes place.

For me, at times, I believe it’s more of an informational influence, rather than a normative influence. I hear what’s been said, either about an individual or group, and accepts it as true and valid because I believe that the other person has more information and has more legitimate information. I don’t always necessarily stop and think, “Maybe this person’s information isn’t as valid as I believe it to be.”  In order to implement a change in being quick to judge I believe I am going to have to first realize that this is an issue that I need to change, which I have done here. Secondly, to stop and think about what’s being told to me and to not suddenly assume it to be true. I believe that’s where people go wrong. Lastly, to take what has been told to me into consideration and to find out for myself whether or not what has been said is valid or not.

Judgment is all around us and it’s definitely not something that will change overnight, or even within the next 5-10 years.  It’s definitely, without a doubt, something that’s going to take quite some time to change. BUT it can start with one person. One person to implement that change of not being so quick to judge, to pass along that behavior on to others, and hoping that it will spread throughout.

xo Jen