A clinical psychologist has stated that it takes just seven seconds for us to judge another person when we first meet them.
Linda Blair, clinical psychologist and author of Straight Talking, said that we subconsciously do it, as it is a part of our survival instinct. “It takes only seven seconds for us to judge another person when we first meet them,” the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.
“It’s not a conscious process, so we don’t even realise we’re doing it - but it goes back to our primitive roots when we couldn’t afford to make wrong decisions,” she said.
Judi James, author of The Body Language Bible, agrees that it comes naturally and that even though we know it is not an accurate way we still do it. “Judging other people in the first few seconds is part of our survival response. So, although we might understand that it’s a flawed and prejudiced way of evaluation, we can’t stop ourselves doing it,” she explained. —ANI