Questioning First Impressions
Notice when your first reading of a social situation might be wrong — your assumptions about why someone acted a certain way are not always facts
What a learner can do afterwards
- Pause before reacting to a classmate's behaviour and consider an alternative explanation — e.g. 'Maybe they bumped me by accident, not on purpose'
- Describe a time they assumed the worst about someone's intention and later found out they were wrong
- When told about an ambiguous social situation, suggest at least two possible reasons for the other person's behaviour instead of jumping to one conclusion
The lesson
When something happens, like a friend not waving back, your mind jumps to a quick guess about why. That guess can feel true right away, but it is only one idea, not a fact.
Sam waves at his friend across the yard, but she doesn't wave back. His first guess is, 'She's mad at me.' Then Sam pauses and thinks of another reason: maybe she didn't see him, or she was thinking about something else.
Before you decide why someone did something, ask yourself: what is another reason this could have happened? A first guess is a starting point, not the truth.
A first guess is not a fact. Pause and think of another reason before you react.
Watch it
Where it sits
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.