Admit it, we like to judge people or situations instantly.Why? Because going by appearances means we don’t have to go to all the bother of ‘looking deeper’.
But there is a price to pay for failing to look beyond skin deep.
Appearances are a trap
A pretty or handsome face and a charming personality are certainly attractive and may be compelling - but what if they are a disguise? Did you know that good looking people are less likely to be convicted in a court of law? (1).
We live in a youth and looks obsessed world that idolizes surface personality. Buying into this world of surface glitter compromises our sense of reality – our own reality included.
When we meet someone new or a new situation it’s easy to assume that the little bit we see can really tell us something about the whole of that person or situation. A moment’s thought tells us this must be nonsense – but we still do it. Sometimes first impression or appearances can give us clues, of course, but if we rely solely on appearances were are unlikely to be able to understand situations properly, or really get to know people.
The new hypnosisdownloads.com session is called Stop judging by appearances – and I will be fascinated to hear how people get on with it.
Will they judge it by appearance, or will they get in deeper?
Mark
Note
(1) The researchers at Bath Spa University came to their conclusions after asking 96 volunteers to read a transcript of a fictitious mugging case.
Half of the participants were given a picture of an attractive suspect, the others one of a supposedly ugly defendant. The script was the same in either case. The volunteer ‘jurors’ were then asked to decide whether the suspect was innocent or guilty. In the latter case they also had to decide on a sentence.
Analysis of the results revealed that attractive suspects were more likely to be acquitted, despite there being no extra evidence in their favor.
Sandie Taylor, the psychologist who conducted the study, said: “We set out to consider the influence of physical attractiveness and ethnicity of a defendant depicted in a photograph on mock jurors’ decisions of verdict, extent of guilt and sentencing.
“Our findings confirm previous research on the effects of defendant characteristics - such as physical attractiveness - on the deliberations of jurors.
“Attractive defendants are, it seems, rated less harshly than homely defendants, so perhaps justice isn’t blind after all.
“People who are physically attractive are assumed to be clever, successful and have more friends - it is tragic in a way.”
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