Are you more likely to respect everyone you meet until they prove they don't deserve it, or disrespect every one until they 'earn' it?

Yes, it would seem so.

I try to respect everybody until they prove themselves unworthy of it.

Yes to the first part.

In my case i always respect someone until they prove that they don’t deserve it. I wouldn’t disrespect someone unless they deserved it.

For me, respect is automatic. The only thing people have to earn from me is trust.

I don’t have to respect someone in order to treat them respectfully.

Respect is a given. It’s a reflection of me, not them. I show respect to everyone I meet and know…..even those whom I really pretty much don’t care for.

I have to agree with @holden. I treat people with courtesy and respect, no matter who they are; this is a matter of social behavior.

I am entitled to my private feelings, however. I typically regard a new acquaintance neutrally, and the person will either gain or lose my respect by his or her conduct, attitudes, manner of expression, and so on.

My last manager’s manager is a person for whom I have no personal respect. However, for as long as I worked under him I never failed to show respect to his position or to treat him with all due workplace courtesy, regardless of the well-earned contempt with which I view him in my own mind.

@writemyselfaletter I lurve your outlook.
@Jeruba That is a distinction I overlooked. Thanks for the insight.

I’m iffy about the whole concept of respect. People are complex; worthy of respect in one area, but not necessarily in another. In that sense, I guess for me, respect is definitely earned. I have to base my opinion on something.

Instead of worrying about respecting people, I just base my interactions with people on how I would like to be treated.

I evaluate each encounter on a case by case basis. Fortunately, most of the time, I seem to be able to respect everyone right from the start but occasionally things go south with some people and that ends up being their loss in the long run.

Neither, I tend to be indifferent to people until they sway my opinion one way or the other. As far as respect goes, I have common courtesy for everyone I meet (ie: being polite to them, holding doors open etc) unless they give me a reason not to but that is different to respect I feel.

I treat people with respect until I have evidence that some person doesn’t deserve it.

Yes to the first part.