Since I was 12 years, old, I've always noticed that there are two different kinds of people in this world. I used to try to generalize them as Democrats and Republicans, or as liberals and conservatives, or as nerds and boring people. But I haven't been able to pinpoint just what the difference was until today.

It all started in my Asian American Studies class today when we were asked about what we take from out childhood experiences and how that shapes how we live out lives and look at the world. I get it today.

When we are born, we start off with a blank slate when it comes to social behaviors, actions, and tendencies. We don't know how people act. We don't know why they do the things they do. Social norms, stereotypes, and conventions aren't something we know automatically-- they are learned. This includes notions of identity, race, and where you fit into society. By the time we are in middle school and high school, we have a set of ideas of what the world is like-- we have created a world-view. And from this set of things we learn springs a set of expectations of what the world is supposed to be like. This includes anything from why people turn door knobs certain ways, to why people travel in cars instead of walking, to racial stereotypes.

But for some people, there are things which challenge our world-view; there are times when we are urged or forced to ratify our ideology to correct a contradiction. For instance, there is a white 10-year-old boy who lives in rural Indiana and who has never made friends with an African American. A new black student comes to his elementary school and doesn't have anyone to play with, so he asks the white 10-year-old if he wants to play a game with him. He has never known a black person before-- this challenges his worldview about black people.

Another example-- I went to a high school with a high percentage of Asians, mostly Chinese and Korean. They were there primarily to become better scholars. But then I meet a girl who goes there and then she goes to parties at night. But I thought Asians were supposed to be studious! We have a contradiction. So what do I do-- do I refuse to believe her when she tells me how much wine she drank last night, to comply with my worldview?

The difference between the two types of people I mentioned before applies directly to this: One group would not know how to handle such a contradiction because they have little experience in doing so- the other group would be more experienced and able to ratify one's expectations of people in the world.

I call people who are more able to ratify their worldview socially acceptive, or socially adaptable, because they are more able to accept people's differences and more able to adapt to many different social situations.

Think about it. How socially acceptive are you-- how acceptive are you of other people who are different from you? Isn't it a good thing to be socially acceptive?