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Is it possible to perceive others without in some way judging or categorizing them? Is so, how? If not, how can we make judgments we do make more fair?
For me, the answer is no. At times, I have a hard time not judging or categorizing a person. Sarah Trenholm argues, “Constructs that are important to us and that we frequently use, regardless of circumstances are called chronically accessible constructs, and the constructs are likely to color and bias our interpretation of others and their messages. Psychologist John Bargh tells us that there are wide personal differences in construct accessibility and that this accessibility does not often overlap between individuals. Thus two people may ‘pick up very different information about the third person, and interpret the same information in very different ways” (Trenholm 2008, p. 52). For instance, I worked in a department with two other ladies, Mary and Jill (not there real names). Mary and Jill both White and I am Asian. Mary got along with both Jill and I. Her personality was friendly, bubbly and a real people person. Consequently, Jill was an angry person and would fly off the handle in a split second. People stayed away from her because she would actually yell and scream at them. Therefore, my first impression of Jill was she has some major psychological/neurological issues. Furthermore, I did not want to be around someone who was a walking time bomb who could explode anytime. Since she born and raised in Chicago, I also thought to myself, she may be prejudice. I just kept to myself and my friends where all the 125 engineers, technicians, and the 10 managers/advisors that I supported for two years. The ironic thing was, when I transferred to another department, Jill gave a present. I was shocked and nearly fell on the floor.
Further, in my case, in order for me to make fair judgment(s) about a person, I like what Trenholm states, “Cognitive complexity occurs when an individual has a large, rich, and varied set of personal constructs. The
cognitive complexity person is willing to combine seemingly contradictory characteristics in creative ways, realizing that people are not all good or all bad” (Trenholm 2008, pp. 52-53). Thus, in order for me to make a fair judgment about people, I will require deep understanding and patience with every individual I interact with, since I really do not have
any idea what is going on in their life at this specific time.
Hi Paris--
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say it is impossible to perceive others without judging them. The reason for this is because I think it is our natural instinct to judge however it is up to us whether or not we judge positively or negatively. There are times when a speaker just says a few words and our first impressions are already made by just a few words. I enjoyed your example on Mary and Jill solely because I experienced something along those lines at work. A fellow co-worker of mine did not seem nice because she was always pouting and in a bad mood. I just thought it was in her nature to act in such a way. So I did everything in my power to avoid her without being rude or inconsiderate to her feelings. However, on my last day at work, she was the saddest person there and she said it was because I reminded her of herself. WEIRD i know!