Reminders for Responses
- Responses should be at least 5-7 sentences
- Do not simply say "I agree with Susie" or "I hadn't thought of it that way"-- include examples from your own experience and/or hyperlink us to other articles or websites that also pertain to these questions
- Respond to this question before midnight on Tues 10/2/12
- All late posts will be deducted 1 point per day late
(#3) I feel that everyone thin-slices everything and anyone without even knowing they do. We thin-slice everyday with our judgments and reactions towards people or situations. I believe though, that we shouldn’t thin-slice towards doctors of a certain specialty. As Alice Burkin, a leading medical malpractice lawyer said, “We’ve had people come in saying they want to sue some specialist, and we’ll say, ‘We don’t think that doctor was negligent. We think it’s your primary care doctor who was at fault.” The reason why most specialty doctors ultimately get sued is because of their demeanor and how much time they give their patients. The doctors with more powerful and stronger demeanors that don’t give much attention but make a mistake in any procedure get sued. The doctors with a better demeanor who are kind, caring, and put time and effort into their procedures even with mistakes in the end will most likely never get sued. The problem I believe is the relationship between the doctor and patient. People pass judgments on everything all the time whether it’s an inanimate object or not. With that said the way a doctor interacts with their patient has a lot to reflect on how the patient thinks or feels in that initial moment. First impressions are key and within a blink of an eye we are well aware whether we like the person or not.
ReplyDeleteI think that developing trust with others does not lend itself to thin slicing. In order to trust someone we must use observations made over a long period of time, not within a small time frame. Thin-slicing is based it off of our first impression, but that can not be a tool in learning to trust another individual. Trust is built over an extensive time period in which we use a person's behavior/actions to fully understand what their motives are. It could take months or even years of experience with someone to make the decision to trust them or not. So i guess that would require 'thick-slicing' haha.
ReplyDeleteI believe you should not thin-slice a person in any situation that has serious consequences. For example, if you are interviewing someone for a job, you should not thin-slice them because they may be perfect for the job regardless of how they look. Another example would be that if there was a criminal on the loose and you saw his picture on the news, you should not turn a random person over to the police just because they look like the criminal. Honestly, I find that all these pictures are very vague and look the same making the criminal seem generic. Although these examples would require one not to thin-slice, we usually thin-slice in every instance in our every-day lives.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if its really difficult to not thin slice people or things in many different situations. Thin-slicing occurs to me when making really quick decisions with a limited amount of information. You can avoid thin- slicing by going into certain situations with more of an open mind. People also tend to not thin slice people right away when they have known them for so long. Thin-slicing can be both a good, and bad thing, but we should really always have an open mind!
ReplyDeleteThin-slicing deals with the initial reaction one has to someone or something. This is not exactly a good determiner of whether or not we can grow in a relationship with that person. Like Maddie said, trust is very important and cannot be given unless we are able to have time to understand that person. In the past I have put too much trust in a person right off the bat, and been disappointed when that trust was broken. So, I think that trust is also one phenomena that doesn't lend itself to "thin-slicing". Sometimes, it seems easy to make a quick judgement on someone, but that doesn't always allow us to judge the person as a whole- their needs, wants, and maybe even what they have in common with us.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to thin slicing, I feel like we always do it. It is such a subconscious reaction that we do not even know that we are doing it half of the time. As much as we try not to be judgmental, or get preconceived notions about people, we are always formulating opinions and such in our head. Whether we try to or not, it is the nature of our brain to analyze situations and people as soon as we are presented with them. When it comes to opinions of people, each time you have an experience with them, your interpretation and opinion of them can always change.
ReplyDeleteA person once said "you should never judge a book by it's cover." Thin slicing, however, completely go against this idea. In reality, it's very hard not to thin slice anyone. The way someone presents themselves usually depicts the kind of person they are. It may sound very judgmental, but we are all guilty of it. A phenomena that goes against thin slicing, in my opinion, is true love. When a person truly falls in love with a significant other, all their ideas and beliefs about that person are hidden by their love. People who fall in love with another don't thin slice, but instead see past their appearance and get to know the kind of person they really are.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone thin slices. People draw conclusions about a person or thing, without knowing them for who they are. We do not give people the chance to prove themselves and jump to our initial reaction because of their appearance and personality. Like Alyssa said, people have preconceived notions and do not give people a chance to change them. Thin slicing is very popular within school and dealing with friends. I believe that people judge each other right away and decide whether you want to be friends with someone or classify them as "weird". I think people need to give time before they make a conclusion about others.
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ReplyDeleteEveryone has encountered people in their lives who always seem to be happy. These people always have a smile on their face and have an optimistic attitude. What we do not always realize is that behind that smile, is the truth. The truth that everyone is fighting a hard battle and we must try our best to be kind to one another and not judge. As human beings, this is not always the case because we have something called thin slicing. Thin slicing is defined as making quick judgement on someone or something based on an uninformed opinion. Hence why I believe that having an informed opinion goes against thin slicing. An example would be the media publishing articles or blog entries about celebrities. As the reader, our initial reaction when reading the headlines is to assume that everything is true. We start making assumptions and passing judgement on people we do not know on a personal level and without fully researching the matter to get a better understanding of the situation. Therefore, informed opinions have nothing to do with thin slicing because our judgement is NOT based on facts. Instead we make an uninformed opinion based on face value.
ReplyDeleteThin slicing occurs when people make judgments based on small pieces of knowledge they have. I feel that it is human nature to thin slice one another. For example, when I was about ten, I had met a girl on my soccer team and made the quick judgment that she was quiet, tomboyish, and it did not seem like we would be friends. After a few years, we began to attend the same middle school and my judgment of her completely changed. After seeing her in a school environment and around her other friends, her true personality came out. All of a sudden we went from being friends to best friends. This example proves that people are not always what they seem. Therefore, it takes more time than a quick judgment to get to know a person. A phenomena to avoid this type of thin slicing emphasizes a person ability to be unbiased and get to know people for who they are.
ReplyDeleteI feel that we all thin slice without even knowing it. Until reading it I was never able to put a name to what it means to make a quick decision without much information. I feel the only way to help prevent yourself from thin slicing is by just being more patient with the decisions you make. If it is a decision that you need to make right away with something that you don't know much about, try to think about what you can do when you are put in that situation or position. I would say to just try to leave your options open more and to not have a set decision.
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ReplyDeleteThin-slicing initially appears as a helpful way to determine a situation at hand, or a person's personality in general. However, thin-slicing can also be very ineffective. It is unlikely that by thin-slicing a person you can determine their values and moral stance on different issues. Such ideas will not be relayed through a thirty second conversation, nor a tour of their bedroom. One learns a person's true values and morals through daily interaction. Though thin-slicing may be helpful in determining more obvious traits, other important factors in a person's being simply seem to be left for interpretation.
ReplyDeleteI think that we all as human beings thin-slice people without even realizing it. We may not want to thin slice people but we always do. We draw conclusions about a certain people and certain things. Until reading this chapter I didn't know what thin slicing was I thought it was quick judgment of a person. I think the only way to not thin slice people is to get to know them and understand maybe why they are the way they are. We need to keep an open mind when meeting new people and try not to make a quick judgment about them.
ReplyDeleteBy thin-slicing a person you are making a rash judgment about them with little to no knowledge. You can’t always judge a book by its cover. We need to open our minds to accepting people in order to get to know them for who they really are. With think-slicing, a person usually judges by what they immediately see or how the other comes across as. I feel like many of us thin-slice people without even thinking about it. We just assume things without really trying to make that effort to get to know the person. I remember freshman year this girl in my guidance group class was talking about how she was a “triple threat” and how she had a recording contract and a recorded song. My immediate judgment of her was that she was so full of herself and I was totally not interested in being her friend. One day on the lunch line I had forgotten money and she pitched in to pay for my lunch. My judgment of her had completely changed even just because of that nice gesture. We got to know each other and realized that we had a lot of things in common. Now, she and I are inseparable and we laugh about our first impressions of each other freshman year all the time.
ReplyDeleteI believe thin-slicing can occur not just with our own experiences but with others experiences as well. As human beings, and teenage girls, we all have the tendency to gossip. If your best friend tells you that another person is a jerk, you are going to believe them. We believe things based on what we hear, not just on what we have experienced. We take the information given to us about a person and build our opinions on them through those words. There was a girl in one of my classes last year who everyone said was annoying and obnoxiously weird. I immediately assumed the worst but as time went on I realized she wasn't annoying at all, and she wasn't weird, she was just herself. I feel it's impossible to avoid thin-slicing a person, it's almost an initial reaction to judge a person, and while it's wrong it's a difficult habit to break.
ReplyDeleteThin-slicing happens all the time in our daily lives, whether we realize it or not. It is a sudden rash decision that can impact one's thoughts and feelings about a person without really getting to know them. I believe that this tendency is simply human nature; we as humans have always immediately judged people based on appearance or personality, because it is an indicator of how we should act around them. I know that I especially do this in school, when I meet my teachers. My entire opinion and feelings towards a class usually relies on the first day of school. If the teacher comes off as nice and welcoming, I will generally have a positive attitude towards the class and extra motivation to do well. If I do not like the teacher, I find myself less motivated to participate, with less enthusiasm towards the class altogether. This kind of thin-slicing is one that I need to work on, though I know it isn't really completely in my control. The factors I never take into consideration are actually getting to know the teachers and growing a liking for the class over time. For all I know, a teacher could appear harsh and cold on the first day of class, and then let their guard down for the rest of the year. That is why thin-slicing can be so deceiving.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, thin slicing is inevitable. We all judge people too quickly, however it is our obligation to then get to know the person and perhaps give them the benefit of the doubt. When dealing with new people, if I feel like someone comes in with an attitude like they are superior, I immediately peg them as arrogant. However, being in new situations is difficult and hard to adapt. Several years ago, a new girl joined a former soccer team of mine. She had a cocky swagger and thought she owned the place. She turned out to be a nice girl but it took me a while to realize that because I misjudged her and did so too quickly. About a year ago, I was the 'new girl' on the team and it was not until then, that i truly understood feeling like I was thin-sliced.
ReplyDeleteI think thin slicing happens everyday to everyone. Most of the time people don't even realize there thin slicing. People thin slice other people even when they don't know them and I think that's just part of being human. Our society today will just look at someone and judge them by what they wear, what they have, and who there friends with and we many not even know where doing it. People need to try there best to stop thin slicing others and just wait and get to know the person.
ReplyDeleteI think that thin slicing happens to everyone even if they do not notice. For example when we meet someone your first reactions is the physical appearance and the way they act around someone. It is like the saying do not judge a book by it's cover. We, society need to stop our busy lives and put down the electronics and stop judging people and talk and get the l know what a person likes, they may even turn out to be your best friend one day.
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