Chris Malone [Archive.org URL]

Social psychologists have determined that primitive humans, in their struggle for existence, developed the ability to judge other people almost instantly along two categories of perception, which are known as warmth and competence. In fact, all humans have a primal, unconscious ability to make these two crucial judgments with a high degree of speed and accuracy: What are the intentions of this person toward me? And how capable are they of carrying out those intentions?

Research conducted in nearly 40 countries around the world has shown that these perceptions account for over 80 percent of our judgments and behaviors toward others. When we perceive people as being both warm and competent, we tend to admire them and feel attracted to them. But when we perceive people to be cold and incompetent, we feel contempt, disgust and a desire to reject and avoid them. Cold competence from others is likely to make us envious and ambivalent, while warmth and incompetence leaves us feeling sympathy, pity and indifference.

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