Written By Utkarsh Chawra (Grade 10)
Judgment is the ability of us to draw conclusions based on the presented facts and it is completely natural for us humans to indulge in drawing constant judgments about things.
Often while making judgments, we get clouded by different unrelated opinions and sometimes make them under the influence of the halo effect (letting one or two traits of a person influence the overall judgment of the person). We also forget to consider a main aspect which is the process and the events that influence and result in the outcome, on which one should base their judgment.
In layman’s terms, the outcome here means the current state of anything or anyone which is the result and the consequence of preceding actions and events that had occurred.
The theory proposed by me, states that most of our judgments, mainly the negative ones, are based on an assumption and not clear knowledge of the events preceding the outcome based on which we make comparisons and conclusions.
Comparisons we make daily among people are mostly drawn based on the outcome and the current state of the person. While doing so, we neglect the circumstances that the person has been through and the hurdles/ hassles they went by. For example, let us take a student who did not do well in their exams, and another student who topped the class. What is constant in both cases is the syllabus and the time given for studying. But the environment, family conditions, pressure, and circumstances, all play a huge factor in everything and this case too. The first student, let’s say, did not have a calm environment to study in because there was a lot of construction going on near his house and his parents did not allow him to go to his friend’s house because they did not trust him. We all try to make the best out of the circumstances that are encountered by us. We cannot compare him with the latter child who did rather well because he was in a better environment and atmosphere than the first child. Likewise, a comparison cannot be made between an actor who came from the slums and another, who is a product of nepotism. Their destination and anticipation of the outcome might have been similar but their struggles and circumstances differ extremely which further influences their outcome.
Thus, this theory states that one must look at the antecedents of the outcome before making a judgment and a further comparison.
Featured Image Courtesy – Stacey Barr
