# What snap judgements do you make about people? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 29, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099 "2012-01-29T18:22:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/41 "2012-01-31T02:48:57Z")
I’ve had three very bad male bosses who treated me like crap. They all had the same sly grin on their face when they met me. “Hah! She’s so timid I’ll be able to do anything! This is gonna be great!” I hate hate HATE men who give me the once over. Making eye contact is NOT permission for you to immediately undress me with your eyes. I’M UP HERE. Decent men don’t do this. Anyone who does will immediately be filed under the ‘asshole’ and ‘watch your back’ categories. A couple years of commuting via public transit has given me a slightly hyperactive personal safety radar. When someone gets on the bus, you get a single glance to size them up. Any longer and you’re staring. So you have to learn to identify crazy/drunk/possible threat at a glance. I assume it’s a false alarm 90% of the time or more, but I still listen to it. Hilarity ensued when I accidentally ended up walking along Seattle’s waterfront during Hempfest - every other person was setting off my alarm! It was a bizarre feeling, but good to confirm that it more or less works. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/42 "2012-01-31T03:48:16Z")
Obese people lack the self esteem to look after themselves or maybe they’re sickly. Chances are they’ll die young-ish. I used to think fatties were likely to be funny but I’ve lost that one. If I hear a man has praised me to my partner that man is not to be trusted. If a person is decently groomed but has bad breath I presume that they may be bad at listening or noticing the reactions of others. Well groomed + runner’s physique = ambitious. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/43 "2012-01-31T04:11:33Z")
If I hear someone rip on another person over their appearance, that tips me off that they’re an asshole. Tattoos on face or neck = personality disorder. Bluetooth device in ear = insecure. Guys named Jason = 75% chance he’s a dick. If someone’s into toilet humor, they’re not particularly bright. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/44 "2012-01-31T04:15:12Z")
Talk slowly = think slowly Bluetooth phone while out running errands = self-important > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Someone recommended a book to me. > > But as soon as I saw that its title was just one word—one _uncapitalized_ word—I instantly knew the book wasn’t for me. I was probably right. If the book in question is about werewolves, you’re missing out. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/45 "2012-01-31T04:15:55Z")
If I see someone smoking, my first thought is that he must be pretty stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/46 "2012-01-31T04:40:17Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > > > Someone recommended a book to me. > > > > But as soon as I saw that its title was just one word—one _uncapitalized_ word—I instantly knew the book wasn’t for me. I was probably right. > > If the book in question is about werewolves, you’re missing out. Oh man :smack: did _anyone_ know what I was talking about or am I really that lost in my own little world? [blink](http://www.amazon.com/Blink-Power-Thinking-Without/dp/0316010669/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327984539&sr=8-1) ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/47 "2012-01-31T06:23:11Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Oh man :smack: did _anyone_ know what I was talking about or am I really that lost in my own little world? > > [blink](http://www.amazon.com/Blink-Power-Thinking-Without/dp/0316010669/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327984539&sr=8-1) I didn’t realize you were talking about that one in particular, but I agree with the sentiment. And you were right about that one. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/48 "2012-01-31T15:47:51Z")
> [@FlyByNight512](#): > > I’ve had three very bad male bosses who treated me like crap. They all had the same sly grin on their face when they met me. “Hah! She’s so timid I’ll be able to do anything! This is gonna be great!” > > I hate hate HATE men who give me the once over. Making eye contact is NOT permission for you to immediately undress me with your eyes. I’M UP HERE. Decent men don’t do this. Anyone who does will immediately be filed under the ‘asshole’ and ‘watch your back’ categories. > > A couple years of commuting via public transit has given me a slightly hyperactive personal safety radar. When someone gets on the bus, you get a single glance to size them up. Any longer and you’re staring. So you have to learn to identify crazy/drunk/possible threat at a glance. I assume it’s a false alarm 90% of the time or more, but I still listen to it. Hilarity ensued when I accidentally ended up walking along Seattle’s waterfront during Hempfest - every other person was setting off my alarm! It was a bizarre feeling, but good to confirm that it more or less works. Uh, what? Sorry, I was looking at your tits. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/49 "2012-01-31T15:48:52Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > If I hear someone rip on another person over their appearance, that tips me off that they’re an asshole. > > Tattoos on face or neck = personality disorder. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/50 "2012-01-31T16:03:56Z")
If you feel ignorance, intolerance, bigotry are worth boasting of, ( in any small measure, privately or publicly ), then you deserve to know I am harshly judging you, though my continence and attitude may not reflect it. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/51 "2012-01-31T16:06:38Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Uh, what? Sorry, I was looking at your tits. > [@corkboard](#): > > Heh. I have just made the snap judgement that corkboard thinks the same way I do based on those two replies. I am getting a lot of negative snap judgements. I understand that negative snap judgements are useful. But I’d like to hear more about the positive ones, the ones that indicate to you that someone would be worth getting to know. ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/52 "2012-01-31T16:23:58Z")
> [@FlyByNight512](#): > > I’ve had three very bad male bosses who treated me like crap. They all had the same sly grin on their face when they met me. “Hah! She’s so timid I’ll be able to do anything! This is gonna be great!” > > I hate hate HATE men who give me the once over. Making eye contact is NOT permission for you to immediately undress me with your eyes. I’M UP HERE. This is really nothing to do with anything except your own low self-esteem and the assumptions you are making about what other people are thinking about you. Sorry, but not really relevant to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/53 "2012-01-31T16:40:50Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > This is really nothing to do with anything except your own low self-esteem and the assumptions you are making about what other people are thinking about you. Sorry, but not really relevant to this thread. Well, it is a snap judgement. Whether or not one agrees with others’ snap judgements is a can of worms that would likely derail the thread. The reason I started this thread is because snap judgements can be very useful in interacting with people. Yet one should be careful not to infer too much. It is the art of interfering some information but not other information about people that I’m curious about. I’m hoping we can share snap judgements and see what makes a useful snap judgement or an over-inference. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/54 "2012-01-31T16:42:14Z")
People who cannot spell are stupid. Which I \*know \*is not always true, but it is hard to get it out of my head that people who type “alot” or mix up “your” and “you’re,” or “to” and “too,” are pretty much idiots and I need never pay them attention. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/55 "2012-01-31T16:44:11Z")
I highly recommend you seek out a book called ‘Blink’ by Malcolm Gladwell, then ‘The Social Animal’ by David Brooks. Both contain lots of research results that reference what you’re getting at. Both easy and enjoyable reads. Both will cause you to reconsider what you thought you knew, about snap judgments and rational choices. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/56 "2012-01-31T17:35:26Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Both will cause you to reconsider what you thought you knew, about snap judgments and rational choices. But I don’t \*want \*to reconsider what I think I know. I am perfectly satisfied with what I think I know. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/57 "2012-01-31T18:10:21Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Weak lips on a grown man or woman. To me it indicates a lack of verve, intelligence and resolve. > > A firm, full-on handshake makes me appreciate their sense of self. What the fuck are “weak lips”? And why would a physiological feature indicate anything about someone’s personality? ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/58 "2012-01-31T18:37:35Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > People who cannot spell are stupid. > > Which I \*know \*is not always true, but it is hard to get it out of my head that people who type “alot” or mix up “your” and “you’re,” or “to” and “too,” are pretty much idiots and I need never pay them attention. Oh great, another sanctimonious and judgmental holier-than-thou person. I could care less about people like you! ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/59 "2012-01-31T18:47:02Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > I could care less about people like you! See Eve, Neuroman cares about you at least a little. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099/60 "2012-01-31T19:22:26Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > See Eve, Neuroman cares about you at least a little. I am assuming he has whooshed you, as only someone who had not read or understood my post would say something like that, and I am sure Neuroman is \*much \*more attentive than _that_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-snap-judgements-do-you-make-about-people/611099.md?page=4)