Why we Judge

Do you ever wonder why you secretly judge people? Yes, you know you do. You judge them on their appearance first! And you are not alone, we all do it. Our cave-brain promotes prejudice, racism, nationalism and all sorts of tribalism. Read about how this trait "happened" to humans. It all started with one caveman slacker.

We humans are, at our core, social creatures. Our evolutionary success comes from our ability to cooperate within groups. By banding together, early humans could achieve far more than any single individual. Cooperation allowed us to hunt large game, raise families, and ultimately build the complex societies we live in today.

Fundamental to this cooperation is trust. When these ancient humans trusted each other, they were willing to make personal sacrifices that benefit the whole. One member shared the little food he had so that the others can eat.

This altruism payed off by strengthening the bonds of reciprocity.

I help you today, trusting that you will help me tomorrow. Mutual trust and goodwill builds bonds between people.

That One Cheater!

Let's imagine a cave-dwelling troublemaker named Grunk. While others labored to haul mammoth meat for the group, Grunk would disappear behind a bush, only to reappear when the feast was ready. (Didn't we all have that one friend in school just like him?) Grunk became a master of the disappearing act, but his cheating didn't fool the watchful eyes of his fellow cave friends.

Back then, group harmony was not just for show; it was a question of surviving together against the harsh elements. But people like Grunk posed a challenge. How could the clan trust each other and work together while guarding against those who'd rather exploit the system?

Solution to Cheaters was Judging

The tribe's collective wisdom kicked in, realizing that keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior was a must. They might not have had smartphones, but they had something just as effective: storytelling.

Around the fire, beneath the starlit skies, they'd swap tales of Grunk's cheating ways. Information spread like wildfire, creating a sort of prehistoric gossip column.

And let's not forget the power of social consequence. It wasn't a simple "naughty corner" – no, these were the days of trial by clan. The collective judgement would rain down upon him.

The roots of our modern understanding of stigma were planted in these primal interactions.

Early humans navigated the delicate balance between trust and skepticism, utilizing their social radar and the ancient art of campfire conversation.

Stigma and Stereotyping

Another cognitive adaptation was wariness towards strangers. Early humans automatically mistrusted an unfamiliar individual from outside their tribe. With no shared history, outsiders represented an unknown quantity. Were they friend or foe?

The safer bet was to assume they might be cheaters and restrict access until they proved trustworthy. Only once strangers displayed enough acts of good faith could they earn acceptance into the group.

And what was the first thing those caveman could react to? Someone's strange appearance.

We see remnants of this wariness towards strangers today. Research shows humans can accurately distinguish faces from their own race versus other races in a fraction of a second, thanks to our automatic in-group/out-group distinctions.

Categorical Thinking Sucks for Culture

Beneath the layers of this caveman stereotyping, we stumble upon categorical thinking. Back in the day, this mental acrobatics routine was like sorting your fridge and grouping together similar-looking items and giving them the same treatment.

Whether it was telling the difference between spiky plants and cuddly ones or figuring out which bugs gave you an itch, our brains were on a roll, learning and categorising nature around them.

Turns out, this survival trick is not so good when it comes to decoding the cryptic play of human relationships and interactions. So, while categorical thinking shines in nature's game of mix-and-match, it really slowed the ball of social cognition.

Judge Others

The human tendency to judge individuals based on appearance and group membership evolved for good reason – to help uphold cooperation in the face of treachery. But in modern diverse societies, applying these primal thought patterns can fuel negative stereotypes, stigma, and intergroup conflict.

Does this mean we are doomed to our caveman brain sabotaging our efforts to reduce stigma? I hope not! Though in some cases of political persuasion we can see this categorical thinking at play.

In the modern societies, the people who are democratic and inclusive are purposefully cultivating empathy and critical thinking, to override these ancient instincts and open their minds. It takes work to be highly evolved and civilised.

Caveman Politics

Enter the world of right-wing xenophobic parties. These parties exhibit behavior reminiscent of early tribes that were cautious or even hostile toward outsiders. Much like the cavemen who were wary of strangers who might threaten their harmony, these political groups are hostile and stigmatise those who they perceive as different.

Our caveman brains evolved to be highly attuned to visual and behavioural differences in strangers as a survival mechanism: skin color, dress or language.

In the complex world we live in today this instinctive behavior has given rise to negative social phenomena like racism, sexism, and closed societies. We can see certain politicians pulling these innate biological strings and igniting the caveman mistrust in their audiences.

It is all Grunk's fault. If only he didn't start abusing the collective system, humans wouldn't have evolved mistrust, and with that start grouping anything and anyone who looked different from them.

Stop the Grunk Judge in you!

Research shows intergroup contact, especially starting in childhood, reliably reduces prejudice by humanizing the stereotyped "other." Exposure to counter-stereotypical examples also lessens bias. And imaginative exercises like "walking in someone else's shoes" build understanding and compassion. By flexing our neural plasticity, we can sculpt more inclusive cognitive habits over time.

Our brains may retain primitive traces of xenophobia, but we need not be prisoners of this programming. While suspicion of strangers may have served our ancestors, stigmatization only divides modern society.

By intentionally reshaping our mental processes, we can override the primitive instinct to ostracize and instead embrace the stranger as an opportunity to evolve.

After all, unfamiliarity is not intrinsically dangerous; it simply represents the first step toward new discovery, progress, and growth – for both individuals and groups.