We’re constantly taking in information about our social world, and this can involve judging people.
These judgments can be super quick and automatic. Some research has even shown that we can form pretty accurate impressions of people in just a few seconds.
You might think that there a trillion ways to judge a person (but only 50 ways to leave your lover). For a while, though, psychologists have been pretty convinced that these judgments boil down to just a few key ones.
The 3 Key Judgments
Morality: when we judge someone’s morality, we judge them based on how well they treat other people. Specifically, though, this judgment is about whether they treat others in “correct” and “principled” ways. Honesty, trustworthiness, and sincerity, for example, are morality judgments.
Sociability: when we judge someone’s sociability, we judge them based on how much they treat other people in ways to promote affectionate relationships. Examples of this type of judgment would be how friendly, likable, and kind, the person seems.
Competence: when we judge someone’s competence, we judge them based on how capable we think the person is at accomplishing his or her goals. Whenever you judge someone’s intelligence, skillfulness, and confidence, you’re making a competence judgment.
Morality Matters Most in Judging People
Even though we form impressions of people based on all three of these key judgments, research shows that the morality judgment is the most important.
These judgments can be super quick and automatic. Some research has even shown that we can form pretty accurate impressions of people in just a few seconds.
You might think that there a trillion ways to judge a person (but only 50 ways to leave your lover). For a while, though, psychologists have been pretty convinced that these judgments boil down to just a few key ones.
The 3 Key Judgments
Morality: when we judge someone’s morality, we judge them based on how well they treat other people. Specifically, though, this judgment is about whether they treat others in “correct” and “principled” ways. Honesty, trustworthiness, and sincerity, for example, are morality judgments.
Sociability: when we judge someone’s sociability, we judge them based on how much they treat other people in ways to promote affectionate relationships. Examples of this type of judgment would be how friendly, likable, and kind, the person seems.
Competence: when we judge someone’s competence, we judge them based on how capable we think the person is at accomplishing his or her goals. Whenever you judge someone’s intelligence, skillfulness, and confidence, you’re making a competence judgment.
Morality Matters Most in Judging People
Even though we form impressions of people based on all three of these key judgments, research shows that the morality judgment is the most important.
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