Why do people stereotype and judge others?

Evolutionary Psycho-Sociological

Basic perceptual/ behavioral patterns are hardwired into the brain; based on those that offered the greatest chance of survival throughout the evolution of life, then the evolution of primates, and then our evolution.

Steoreotyping and prejudicing offer a simple energy-efficient form of behavior, especially in challenging tribal situations. If a bunch of people are green, while some are purple, and there is limited food, the people must form groups, stereotype outsiders, and most efficiently fight over limited resources.

Of course, in a world where resources could be plentiful for all, stereotyping and prejudicing often lead to unnecessary problems, and cause unneccessary negative elements.

Stereotyping Others

Ignorance and lack of education. I had to go to Kuwait in 2000, and my initial reaction was that there would be an "Arab" around every corner with an AK-47. As it turns out, I only had problems with one of the Kuwaiti's I met...out of maybe 100. What I found out about Kuwait doesn't make me want to go to Iraq though!

Instilling fear and control

It starts from the time a child goes to school and it's always been called "dealing with their peers and the pecking order." There are the rich kids, the poor kids, the nerds, the weird ones, different races, etc. It's ignorance and usually the person or people that start Stereotyping others are actually the weaker ones because they aren't happy if they can't instill fear or bully other people to control the environment around them. Especially children can be cruel about such things and especially teens.

When you are an adult you will come across some people like this but hopefully through the years the adult has learned a few wise things and can hold their own against such people.

It's what you don't know what you end up fearing the most

The thing is that people tend to accept their behaviour as "normal", meaning as the norm or as most people do. But alas, this is usually farthest from the truth. But this kind of attitude comes with a sense that whatever it is that others do that deviates from their behaviour is not "normal" and should be either corrected or pointed out as "deviant".
If we, all of us, took the time to understand why some people behave like "this" or like "that" and why their responses are as valid to them as ours are valid to us then we would start grasping the concept of tolerance. It's not that what you say is wrong, it simply a matter of perspective.

In my experience, those quick to point others as deviants to the norm tend to have their own skeletons on their closets, and that's most likely the reason to start this judging and stereotyping, to make others look away from them.

Some people ...

Some people judge others nonstop - often out loud about things of no importance at all, and others just don't know how to behave. I'll never forget one social event where one of the guests carried on and on about just how awful the hosts' curtains were! Why on earth she felt that itch to comment on the curtains, of all things, is beyond me. The complainer couldn't 'plead' lack of education for her rudeness- after all, she had a PhD.

Answer

Some people are insecure.

I suspect that many people find that judging others distracts from their own weaknesses.

People view others as they view themselves...this leads to judgement. Don't worry, their is a mirror on both sides.

I think it starts because of other people doing it to you when you're a child and then a person starts doing it to others (this is atleast partly true). I recommend that you read the book called "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health," by L. Ron Hubbard, it has more information about this. I don't have time to discuss it right now, but if you have any questions, feel free to message me (Enagee).

First answer by Wolf5ky. Last edit by Kurt123. Contributor trust: 1 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 62 [recommend question]