Never Judge A Person By Their Profile

As We Should avoid Judging a Book by Its Cover, We Must Reckon People For Who They Are As Individuals; Not what Profile They Share With The Rest Of Us!

Illumination initially published this article on Medium!

Profiling is a behavior all of us have and deal with daily. That is because the feat of profiling makes life convenient and often renders intricate tasks manageable.

We continually judge how much we should trust another individual when meeting them for the first time.

Profiling is not a conscious phenomenon. We all use that tool daily because it is how our minds function. Nevertheless, we base our acts or procedure on the information we gather about a person based on known traits or tendencies. Yet, profiling comes with sundry obstacles, disadvantages, and discontent.

“ We, the people- tend to enjoy the company of those who are like us. And based on that notion, we select communities to breathe, reject the original, and celebrate those who want to be like us, under the bombastic ‘Melting-Pot-Unity.’ Then we still dare to call ourselves ‘Pro Liberty’.” — Adam Tabriz, MD

We are finding a formula to tackle everyday chores and avoid repetitive activities while staying efficient. For instance, we avoid impoverished neighborhoods altogether simply because many crimes happen in those neighborhoods. Not uncommonly, we unconsciously avoid people wearing ripped clothing simply because we profile them as residents of those neighborhoods. Ultimately, we treat every poor person as a criminal.

Indeed, profiling is the prelude to potential discrimination.

Why Do We Always Profile Other People?

People continually judge us based on a brief scan of our clothes and general appearances.

Our success in the eye of the beholder is the reflection of how we dress up and the way we interact. Some psychologists call this phenomenon "Thin slicing."

It only takes a few seconds for people to judge everything about us based on their "First and Fast impression." That is precisely why we always strive to adjust our profile to match the expectations of those we intend to impress—for example, wearing a suit and tie to interviews and wearing brand clothes to a party.

Placing our point of reference for our judgment based on preset profiles, be it physical appearance or a set of behaviors, is wrong. It will always carry negative consequences. Rest assured, even if that action proves efficient, fast, or convenient.

According to research, any split-second judgments based on an individual's profile or stereotyping are frequently inaccurate. Because when we make quick judgments, we profile the subject by shortcutting using our primitive unconscious mind.

As Kervyn, a researcher at Princeton University stated once:

“Your gain on one [trait] can be your loss on the other”

Why Should We Judge A Person As An Individual, Not their Stereotype?

Although there is nothing wrong with making an unconscious judgment in our daily lives, we must still acknowledge that some decisions need conscious determination. For instance, we all know the danger of stepping in front of a high-speed train. Because we unconsciously understand that the train on the fast track does not have emergency stop capability. But only because traveling on a train is lethal does not make all train operators criminals.

We, as individuals, are who we are, like the train operators, even though we may share specific profiles. Some of us are White, Asian, and Black, speak English and live in middle-class neighborhoods.

When we make judgments based on our conscious mind, it is also essential to detach from the inherent unconscious skills that utilize profiling. Unfortunately, we frequently forget to do that and continue resorting to the convenience of stereotyping.

Let us imagine the individual we are trying to evaluate in our minds is honest, reliable, and competent in what we expect from them, modest and humble. Can we focus solely on how this person fits our list of criteria?

Profiling and stereotyping are the essence of all bias and prejudice. To evade default on profiling, we must identify and adhere to a set of protocols and values that enforces healthy decision-making.

There are a variety of norms and principles out there, from religious beliefs to pure Golden rule. But what matters at the end of the day is how we see others.

“When we start grouping and profiling an entity, object, idea, action, person or culture by placing a suffix at the end, then we have an obligation to the people around us to define our true intention” — Adam Tabriz, MD

The ultimate mending of the implicit issues of bias and prejudice boils down to one thing. We are individuals, then part of the collective system. Furthermore, the profiles we relate to are only the byproduct of features we share within a commune. Hence, we must avoid discriminatory behaviors, be it racism, prejudice, or fascism. Last but not least, we should prevent reckoning peoples' collective attributes and start thinking of them as individual entities.