by Mark Murphy

Created on: March 23, 2009

I believe to a certain extent that people can be judged by their appearance. There are certain characteristics of appearance that can give you some insight if one knows what to look for. I am not advocating racism or sexism by any means, judging simply by race or gender is both ignorant and dangerous. The facets of appearance I speak of are more a matter of choice or circumstance than genetics, although those play a small role at times.

Let's use body language as our first example. When you speak to someone and their arms are crossed, that's normally a defensive or doubting position. Think of those arms as a sort of doorway. Crossed arms are blocking you from entering, while arms hanging loosely are more inviting. Those crossed arms could also be a sign of self-restraint, especially if that person is angry. On the other hand, in some cultures crossed arms could be a sign that that person is focusing all their efforts on paying attention to you. There are a multitude of signals a person's body gives off and not all of them will match up to what their actual words are saying. Judging folks by their body language can be useful, but only if that person is from a similar culture as yours.

Hygiene can be another example of judging by appearance. A person with a dirty or unkempt look, especially in a work environment is probably someone who cares little about the quality of their work. Then again, if you work in a salvage yard, everyone there will be dirty! Keeping these kinds of observations in context is very important.

Personal adornment and dress can also indicate certain things. Someone who likes to dress flamboyantly is probably an outgoing person. Do they have the Goth look? This person is probably broody and introspective, with tendencies toward a persecution complex. Again, these are generalities and not every person will fit these molds. Perhaps that woman who always wears the colorful floral prints is actually a wallflower herself. Maybe the guy dressed in all black just likes the color.

What about actual physical aspects? Can a person really be judged by their looks? Like our examples above, the answer is both yes and no. It can be done to a certain extent but circumstances will affect the accuracy of your judgment. Generally speaking, a high forehead denotes a higher intellect, but this isn't always true.

My point is this: judging by appearance can be done to a certain extent. It may work to give you a starting point, but can you ever really know what someone is all about by just a cursory glance? I've had some friends for well over 20 years and I still don't know them.

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