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Valerie Mason - Snap Judgments

I make snap judgments all the time. This typically happens when I navigate the world, at night, alone. While traveling on the subway or walking in less-populated, dimly-lit, unfamiliar areas at night, I am constantly assessing possible physical threats from men. I feel like my head is on a non-stop swivel. If I see a man walking towards me and I'm alone at night in the aforementioned surroundings, I pay close attention to him and I grip my pepper spray in preparation for fight or flight.

In this context, his appearance influences my fear level. If he's dressed in a suit or business casual attire, appears clean and acts normal (I can't really describe what is normal; it's a feeling), I relax a little. Conversely, if he's dressed in casual wear, my mind registers him as potential stranger danger. If he's wearing a hoodie and it slightly covers his face, my anxiety increases. This fear is heightened if he looks disheveled, unclean or his body language seems abnormal. As he walks past me, I don't relax immediately. Instead, I turn my head 90 degrees and use my peripheral vision to make sure he continues to walk away from me and not circle around to attack me from behind. People have made snap judgments about me. The usual assumption is that I'm mean, mad, unapproachable or conceited. Yet, I am kind, compassionate, good-humored and cry easily. Unironically, their initial assessment is precisely what I intended. When I walk around, I maintain a stern face. It is a defense mechanism, a protective shield, used to dissuade strangers from invading my personal space and potentially harming me. I want my scowl to portray that I will not go down without a fight, thus, not worthy of the effort or risk. I don't feel bad that these snap judgments are made about me because their initial assumptions were my intent. What I described in the paragraph above falls into the fundamental attribution error theory which states, "When people explain the behavior of others, they tend to overestimate the role of personal factors and overlook the impact of situations." (Kassin, S. M., et. al., 2021). Snap judgments are made within a second. Therefore, it makes sense that if I'm seen frowning, one may quickly conclude that I'm mean and unapproachable. But, it is the situation (navigating the world at night, alone, as a woman) that makes me frown because I'm trying to hide my fear while simultaneously discouraging engagement. However, when I allow people to get to know me, they never describe me as mean or unapproachable. The time spent getting to know me and my situational motivations changes their minds. Word count without citation and source: 440

Source: Kassin, S. M., Fein, S., Markus, H. R., & Brehm, S. S. (2021). Social Psychology (11th Edition). Cengage Learning.