Why we label people and what it leads to

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Thinking in stereotypes is convenient, but it leads to intolerance, hostility, and missed opportunities.

This article is part of the One-on-One Project. In it we talk about relationships with ourselves and others. If the topic is close to you, share your story or opinion in the comments. Will wait!

If a believer, then a blinkered conservative. If he has a higher education and a decent profession, then he is a reasonable person who is worth listening to. If the artist is obviously a slacker and a drunkard. If a mother with many children, then a beggar beggar. If a vegetarian - how to drink to give, a sectarian.

As soon as we get at least a little information about a person, we immediately draw conclusions - most often more than superficial. We attach a piece of paper with a verdict to this person and mentally put it on the shelf according to the received article.

We figure out why people do this, where it can lead and how to abandon templates.

Why We Judge People By Cover

It's part of human nature

The division of people, things and phenomena into categories is a natural and, according to scientists, an automatic process that we begin to master in childhood. That's what it's called: categorization. This property of human thinking helps us navigate a complex, confusing and unpredictable world, makes it a little more understandable, saves time and effort.

You see a mushroom with specks - it means that it is poisonous, do not eat it. You see a migrant from some southern republic - it means that he is an uneducated savage, go around him by the tenth road and grumble that "come in large numbers." The label implies that we do not need to think for a long time, build complex logical chains, doubt, look for solutions, try to get to know a person and evaluate him objectively.

Anastasia Bakhtina Psychologist, PhD in Psychology, Researcher and Lecturer at the Higher School of Economics, author of scientific articles and a textbook on psychology, founder of the EdTech project InMind.

Stereotyping allows the brain to make quick decisions based on patterns, labels, and past experiences. When we see a woman with blonde hair, the conclusion about her intellectual abilities suggests itself on the basis of a stereotype. At the same time, the brain does not want to understand that a stranger may have a scientific degree, and find out other subtleties. This approach significantly narrows our horizons and communication abilities.

This is a cognitive error

For example, a distortion in favor of our group, due to which we divide people into ours and strangers, and ours seem to us smarter, more beautiful and generally better. The illusion of homogeneity of our group may also arise - when we believe that everyone who is with us on the same wavelength is arranged approximately the same.

If I am a conservative, then other conservatives are reasonable people who say the right things. And the liberals are just clowns who want to destroy the country. If I am a careerist, then working women are responsible, strong, slender and literate, and housewives with children are stupid fat bugs.

This is the influence of the majority

Scientists have conducted research and found out a curious thing. If it seems to us that others do not treat a person very well, we also begin to think negatively about him and unconsciously avoid him. And it's not just rumors or an openly negative opinion that hasn't been expressed. Sometimes, just sidelong glances, lowered corners of the lips and other elements of facial expressions that signal disapproval are enough - and that's all: it already seems to us that something is wrong with the person, we put the stigma of an enemy on him and treat him worse.

This is the result of parenting

If it is customary in a family to clearly divide people into groups, ascribe stereotypical qualities to them and build relationships with them, relying on a certain label, then the child is likely to learn this habit. And in adulthood it will act the same way and consider it something natural.

What shortcuts lead to

We support stereotypes

And some of them are far from harmless. The most striking and classic example is racial prejudice. For hundreds of years, white people have liked to argue that representatives of other races, in particular people of African descent, are somehow different. Say, more stupid than the Europeans.

Or take gender stereotypes. Many people still believe that women are inferior to men in intelligence, professionalism, determination - and therefore cannot, for example, hold the presidency.

This is the tip of the iceberg: there are a myriad of lesser-known stereotypes that poison people's lives. Thick means lazy. He dyed his hair and pierced his ear, which means he is gay. And since he is gay, then he is a marginal and generally a bad person. Lives in the village - uneducated. He dresses in second-hand clothes - he earns little, which means that he is stupid and lacking in initiative. And so on and so forth. Their name is legion.

Such judgments make it harder for people to find a job, they are forced to endure ridicule, bullying and even violence.

We are at enmity

About 30% of the Russians surveyed believe that people of other ethnic origins should not be allowed into the country at all. That is, they do not want to see them even as tourists.

Dozens of military conflicts still rage in the world, based on interracial or interethnic hostility. Even in a completely civilized country, a person can be beaten or maimed for how he looks and whom he loves. And how many copies break on the Internet just because the opponent belongs to a different camp, which means that a priori is full of vices and deserves rudeness and insults!

Social categorization and stereotyping has always been the root from which mutual hatred grows. People not only treat strangers worse - they often dehumanize those who are not like them. That is, they treat someone who is different, not as a person and admit that they need to be treated accordingly.

We run the risk of making a big mistake

Not hiring someone just because of their skin color, gender, age, or political views - and missing out on a great employee and valuable specialist. Refusing to associate with someone because of their hobby, which you think is stupid - and losing a good friend. Well, in general, drawing premature conclusions, we are deprived of the opportunity to get to know someone better, learn new things, and acquire interesting connections.

How to disaccustom to judge superficially

Learning a thoughtful, calm and impartial attitude towards people - not rushing to conclusions, trying to get to know the interlocutor better and evaluate him more comprehensively - can be difficult and unusual. But this will definitely open the way to interesting acquaintances and important discoveries. To make it easier to get rid of prejudices, take note of a few recommendations from a psychologist.

Anastasia Bakhtina

Flexible skills are now valuing more in society. The days when people were judged solely by their professional qualities or social status are over. Now you still need to “be human”: attentive, impartial, able to listen and give advice, empathize and much more. This is why you can achieve greater success by ditching templates.

Patterns most often arise in our head unconsciously. We must strive to notice the moments of laziness of the brain and superficial thinking. At first, just keep track, then switch yourself to analytical and rational perception, force yourself to think. This ability and skill of changing the thinking strategy will come in handy in developing awareness. Don't make premature conclusions, let people surprise you, give yourself the opportunity to find good things and learn something interesting without resorting to stereotypes, and you will see that the quality of interaction with others and the world in general will noticeably improve.