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When we come across a new situation, it is filtered through our brains and compared to the situations most similar to it that we've run across in the past.

For example: I've been around alcohol and those who drink it my entire life, but I can honestly say I've only ever seen 1 person stumbling drunk, and that's when I was a child. Physical details didn't stay in my memory as I primarily recall emotions and how I responded. If I came across someone stumbling drunk, I would first think the person might be ill before thinking drunk and would have to consciously remind myself that being drunk is more common and a more likely cause. It would be a faster connection if it was night, on the street, near a bar. It would be a much slower connection if I came across the person during the day, dressed well, in an office. Context gives a lot of clues to the brain when figuring things out.

I think it is a testament to the kinds of life experiences people have had when they interpret good things, or at least neutral ones, before they interpret catastrophic or bad things in what they see.