Whenever we meet new people, our brain automatically and immediately begins to categorize them in some way – male or female, same or different, friend or foe.
We make judgements about people in the first few seconds of meeting them. We are always evaluating others just as they are evaluating us.
This judgement is based on body language, clothing, posture, stance, eye contact, facial expressions, hand gestures and tone of voice.
Biases that influence our judgements are:
Facial Features Bias. We classify people to be trustworthy or not based on the facial features like Chin (wide or thin), eyebrows (high inner or low inner) and cheek bones (shallow or pronounced). Of course, eyebrow shapes and cheekbone prominence have no relationship to someone’s character or honesty, but unconsciously we override our rational minds and make an instinctive judgment.
Attractiveness Bias. Unfair though it may be, and even if we proclaim otherwise, we judge people by their appearance. And we automatically assign favourable traits to good-looking people, judging them to be more likeable, competent, and honest than unattractive people.
Gender Bias. Same thing being said by or similar behaviour displayed by a male or a female has different impression on us.
Appropriate Behaviour Bias. We all have a tendency to make judgments about another person based on our ideas of appropriate behaviour. In reality, there is no universal behaviour that signals good or bad. People are individuals with their own unique set of verbal and nonverbal signals.
Bias by Stereotype. Our past experiences with others or how we have seen them represented (in the news, movies, etc.), lead us to stereotype people. Based on this we instantly and unconsciously assign them a category.
In-group/Out-group Bias. It is far easier to trust and believe someone who comes from the same background or have similar interests. Even relatively small similarities, can create a bond. Similarities make us feel comfortable. Psychologically we classify people in terms of social groups. Any group that we feel part of is an “in-group” and any group that excludes us is an “out-group.” We think differently about members in each group and behave differently toward them.
Confirmation Bias. We judge people based on the first impression. Once we’ve made these evaluations, confirmation bias comes into play. Looking for evidence that confirms our instantaneous and unconscious judgements, and discount evidence (even if true) that is contrary.
Do not fall into this trap of judging people instantaneously based on these inputs and biases. You may put your money on the wrong person. To avoid it:
- Be aware of these biases.
- Do not jump to conclusions.
- Give Time.
- Assimilate various inputs.
- Check background.
- Maybe consult others.
- Be open to a rethink.
Bottom Line
Put yourselves in other’s shoes – Do not jump to conclusion about others the way you do not want others to think and conclude about you.
Question
Have you experienced this phenomenon?
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Very aptly put. Never jump to conclusions. Take time and more importantly listen to the other guy.
True sir
In the last MNC that I worked for “unconscious biases” was something that we were asked to work on by the HR learning team. We tend to think ourselves as being fair and objective but under skilled steps and guidance, there is a lot that can be improved upon.
Please share more about what you learned.
Nice share.
It was 2014, I was participating in Inter-College Chess Tournament, representing my college in a group of 4. One or two persons are extra. In between a match, I took a break, went to washroom and met one of the extra person of our group. She told ” Oh, don’t worry, you will win easily!”. And that’s the end of the story, later when I rejoined the match, I made silly mistakes and it lead to my opponent’s win. We should never pre-assume about the other person and conclude too early. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your experience. Never underestimate your opponent.