Don’t Judge Too Quickly

Why do people judge too quickly before knowing them?

This is probably an artifact of the history of our species. It’s part of our hardwiring and a survival strategy. Our brains make snap judgments about people because it’s in our best interest to do so from a survival perspective. Not only does it help us eliminate or identify potential mates without wasting a lot of time, perhaps more importantly it helps us assess an individual’s threat level. When a stranger approaches you, you have but seconds to assess if the individual is a potential threat to your safety or health. Judge incorrectly and it could be game over for you.

Since humans have been tribal throughout most of our history, we have an unconscious tendency to divide people into two groups in our mind -- Us (people who exhibit many of the same characteristics that we ourselves do) and Them (people who don't exhibit all or most of the same characteristics that we ourselves do). The scarcity mentality which dominated our lives throughout most of our history unconsciously leads most people to favor others whom they perceive (rightly or wrongly) as like themselves because they identify these people as being part of their tribe — and by favoring these people, they help their tribe survive. By contrast, most people unconsciously tend to be less tolerant of people whom they perceive for whatever reason as different from them because they identify these people as not being part of their tribe — which makes them potential competitors for resources, implying that they might make it more difficult for the person's own tribe to survive.

It's human nature to go with a first impression. But intelligent people will hold back judgement until they get to know you.

But you do it yourself if you want to notice. If a big guy with tattoos and chains walks in you Will make an assumption. As opposed to a little guy with a nice suit on. And you will assume you are safer with the little guy. But you couldn't be more wrong.

We shouldn't judge too quickly because it often leads to misunderstandings and unfair assumptions. People's actions or situations are usually influenced by factors we can't immediately see, such as personal struggles, cultural differences, or unique perspectives.