We probably developed it originally to learn how to notice things and protect ourselves, but we do not need that so much anymore. I try to train myself to think counterintuitively with positive assumptions from apparently negative data, e.g., assuming a speeding car cutting me off and passing me is carrying a heart transplant instead of just speeding. I also try to ask a question that is not judgmental or does not reveal a particular bias and have been relieved many a time that I did not articulate my assumption. This leads to another issue sort of, which is why people ascribe the sex or race of a person as the reason why they do what they do, e.g., drive poorly. I hear it more than I would like when I am a passenger or bystander and I always wonder why those are the attributes they select for why someone does what they do, when they do not seem to have any logical relation to the conduct in question. I almost think that has to be learned behavior over time, although I have sometimes asked the "offender" if they heard it at home (when I can ask without offending myself) and they almost invariably deny that their parents said the same sort of thing.