Preconceived Notions

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the judgment of others and how that plays into our everyday lives – both personally and professionally.  Do you write people off because of the way they act or look?  Perhaps it’s not consciously done, but are we predisposed to it?  I watched a TED talk on the existence of prejudice and bias and how it can help us categorize our lives.  In the video Paul Bloom shares stories from research on prejudice including one study that illustrated young children showing  an affinity for certain stuffed animal characters over other stuffed animals based on the stuffed animals’ “preference” for foods like green beans vs. graham crackers.  Are we wired to like people -and even stuffed animals – based on some subconscious cues that may not make a lot of rational sense?  Acknowledging that is a part of being human and may be the first step toward reducing the impact prejudice has on the way we think and act.  Take a look if you have a moment.