34 Subtle Red Flags That Indicate Someone Is A Bad Person

In many ways, Helen argues, our minds are structured to categorize, often into opposites. “For example, by seeing something as good or bad. This is one way to reduce complexity and manage the amount of diverse stimulation that comes our way. An ‘either-or’ stance can be easier to process, cognitively, than a ‘both-and’ mindset that requires more critical examination,” she explained.

Moreover, categorizing into good or bad also helps with managing anxiety. “If I define good and bad in clear terms then I don’t have to grapple with the gray or the overlap. I don’t have to acknowledge or understand the interplay of both the good and the bad. Acknowledging they can both co-exist in myself or another person or thing can arouse strong feelings of confusion, anxiety, shame, defensiveness, or fear, for example,” Helen explained.

That means that having defined categories is a passive process so it is less cognitively and psychologically taxing for our minds. “We can apply a kind of formula which reduces the stress of applying critical thinking, imagination, or analysis to whatever we are categorizing.”

Interestingly, when we have a category, our minds can become lazy, Helen warns, and fail to see the exceptions or things that fall outside the category.

We also wondered why people frequently are judgmental, and this may come down to a variety of reasons. For example, judging replaces experiencing, being, and/or feeling, which can feel more threatening, Helen said. “It is easier, quicker and less cognitively taxing—they don’t have to apply thoughtful or critical analysis to a situation.”

In some cases, judging is people’s preferred cognitive style. Other times, people judge because they lack understanding and do not critically examine things. Helen quoted Jung: “Never do human beings speculate more, or have more opinions, than about things which they do not understand” (Jung 1955–56/1970, CW 14, ¶737).

Others may be more judgmental because they lack empathy and have few figures in life who model empathy. Some reasons for this, Helen added, may be “psychological factors including being raised with either a lot of judgment or very little judgment; being raised in a home with strong, absolute values or no values.”