What Are the Different Ways in Which We Evaluate People

What are the different ways in which we evaluate people?

We often times evaluate people at our first glance; this is when we first form our impressions of another individual. We base these first impressions on different aspects of the person. Things such as clothing, gestures, manner of speaking, body build and facial features (Morris & Maisto, 2010) are all things we take into consideration when forming our first impressions. Our own set of beliefs are what cause us to form this first impression, this is called schema. As we get to know others on a more personal basis we add new information about that person and add it to our original first impression about the individual. This is called the primary effect.

Unfortunately we also tend to stereotype others. This is when we base our perception of an individual solely by classifying then with other similar appearing individuals, social classes, races, or sex. By doing this we are overlooking the individual characteristics and personalities of a person. We may miss out on a relationship with a wonderful person based on stereotyping.

Cultural influences also play a role in how we evaluate others. We make assumptions of others based on cultural influences. For example, we may see a woman wearing a hijab and assume that she is Muslim. We may associate this with terrorist attacks and turn our backs to this woman. In reality she may wear a hijab for a completely different reason, and we may be missing out on knowing a wonderful person based on incorrect cultural beliefs.

How do these factors play a role in our expectations of other people?

These factors can influence what we expect from others by overlooking their unique individuality. By stereotyping and having these preconceived notions of others we are missing out on what they have to teach us. We tend to expect people to behave and think the way we do. Often times we take our first impressions of an individual and never take the relationship any further. We may expect someone who comes from a wealthy family to not have any problems at all, when in fact they could be a very troubled individual who based on outside appearances is the pillar of society, but in fact is a psycho path. This is an extreme example, but is there to make the point of never judge a book by its cover. The poor person with holes in their shoes, who you look away from, could possibly be the better person to know.

What are the disadvantages of these expectations?

By relying solely on our first impression of someone, we are putting ourselves at a disadvantage by not allowing a person into our lives that could bring us many great things. It is important that we actually take the time to get to know a person before forming a true opinion. Expectations can have us setting limits, therefore limiting our relationships with