Why Is It So Important To Understand Other People?

Humans are the only species that are able to make an effort to understand other individuals. Understanding others is a task that facilitates the processes of socialization. As a result, it improves the chances of survival in individuals in different contexts, through mutual help.

As social beings, understanding other people opens up the possibility of seeing and understanding situations from different perspectives. In that sense, it favors the processes involved in creating empathy and the value systems people have. Although understanding other people is an extraordinary skill, it does not mean that it is an easy goal.

Social behavior in humans

Understanding others is influenced by several factors. Among other things, moods, emotions, fatigue and illness. They all affect the way any given person is willing to do services or provide assistance.

This means that if a person is in a good mood, they will be more willing to do other people a favor or show empathy and understanding. On the other hand, if the same person feels irritable, they are less likely to understand other people.

There are cases where one can easily recognize a person’s emotional state by expression, appearance and demeanor. But on other occasions , it is quite difficult to deal with these non-verbal signals. Thus, the only solution left is to ask the individual what the problem is.

This second strategy often fails because people sometimes want to hide their more intimate feelings, or cover up or lie about their emotional state.

The role of empathy in understanding others

Empathy plays an important role in understanding other people. Getting to know another person’s experience in order to get to know their point of view, and how it makes them feel, opens the door to understanding.

Understanding other people means experiencing your feelings and comparing them to your own. It means remembering similar experiences that you have had to go through and recognizing the differences between your point of view and that of the other.

Active listening is also important in this regard. You should not react immediately and this will help you deal with individual differences.

Why is it important to understand others?

We know that people have survived and evolved thanks to social skills in group life. Socialization has often facilitated survival through learning and the acquisition of skills that others teach.

Understanding others has been one of the key factors in the development of these basic skills. This helps us to know when interaction and implementation of mechanisms is necessary to protect our own lives in addition to other people’s lives.

Furthermore, when other people in a group either ignore or misunderstand you, this can lead to major emotional and psychological consequences.

Mistakes you make when trying to understand other people

People’s tendencies or intentions can vary, regardless of the behavior they may show to others. This behavior shows a state of mind or emotion that may be appropriate in the circumstances. For example, if you’re at an airport where your street is far away and you need to run through crowds, does that mean you’re an impatient and disrespectful person?

You can usually pick up certain key factors, but at the same time not take into account other people’s equally important keys. Therefore, it is not always easy to understand others.

On the other hand, the opinion of others about certain circumstances also affects the understanding of others’ particular situations and moods. In other words, the reaction of others can affect the ability to understand an individual.

Therefore, understanding others is one of the most important tasks for the survival of people and society. However, it is not an easy job to transcend your own self and put yourself in the shoes of others if you are not able to identify your own feelings and the factors that condition them.

In addition to this, certain opinions and specific scenarios can reduce objectivity when you put yourself in other people’s shoes. This is when empathy can bring out the dark side. As individuals integrated into communities and groups, it is sometimes inevitable to be prejudiced.