“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
I can’t keep count on how many times this saying has been said. Despite this, it has always been human nature to have a predetermined notion on someone. I believe that it is because it is instinct that drives this judgmental behavior. This instinct is actually convenient for us humans.
I can’t keep count on how many times this saying has been said. Despite this, it has always been human nature to have a predetermined notion on someone. I believe that it is because it is instinct that drives this judgmental behavior. This instinct is actually convenient for us humans.
I remember when I was with my girlfriend, it was late at night and we were walking and across us was another man walking and then she held my hand tightly. It was more of her instinct telling her that the man was sketchy, dangerous and the like. At that moment I realized that though she might have been wrong, it was out of convenience that she quickly came up with a conclusion. This leads me to my discussion on mental models.
Mental models were discussed in my MPO class as ideas that we consciously or unconsciously form from our experiences. The mental models guide thoughts and actions guiding us to behave in a certain way. Let me go back to my example. My girlfriend used her experience as a foundation to think that a man walking late at night is someone sketchy. That by itself is her instinct telling her to avoid that person. I think it was her experience from watching television shows, movies, and news that gave her that idea.
Relating this to my own experience with the Indians in our batch, I am also guilty on creating predetermined notion about the Indians in our batch. Talking from previous alumnus, they gave me an impression that most Indians were rude in general and that they smelled differently.
But class started and then I had firsthand experience with the Indians and suddenly, it all changed. Upon talking to them it wasn’t all that bad. They were pretty nice and easy to talk to, despite what my previous mental model on them was.
Going back to mental models, I was able to understand that people have mental models on one another. And it’s quite useful to know that they do since it is with knowing that we are able understand one another more without reacting too much.
Relating this to my own experience with the Indians in our batch, I am also guilty on creating predetermined notion about the Indians in our batch. Talking from previous alumnus, they gave me an impression that most Indians were rude in general and that they smelled differently.
But class started and then I had firsthand experience with the Indians and suddenly, it all changed. Upon talking to them it wasn’t all that bad. They were pretty nice and easy to talk to, despite what my previous mental model on them was.
Going back to mental models, I was able to understand that people have mental models on one another. And it’s quite useful to know that they do since it is with knowing that we are able understand one another more without reacting too much.
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