Question

If a person assumes a neutral action by a colleague was meant to hurt them, which cognitive bias are they demonstrating?

Accepted Answer

The cognitive bias being demonstrated is the hostile attribution bias. This bias is a psychological tendency to interpret the ambiguous actions of others as having a malicious or harmful intent, even when the behavior is actually neutral or unintentional. A cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that occurs when people are processing and interpreting information in the world around them, which affects the decisions and judgments they make. In this specific case, the individual assumes their colleague had a negative motive—such as a desire to undermine or insult them—despite having no evidence to support that conclusion. An example of this is when a person perceives a coworker’s failure to say hello in the hallway as a deliberate snub meant to exclude them, rather than considering the more likely possibility that the coworker was simply distracted or did not see them.

Home → All Courses → Law and Criminal Justice Courses → Conflict Management and Alternate Dispute Resolution → Flashcard

If a person assumes a neutral action by a colleague was meant to hurt them, which cognitive bias are they demonstrating?

The cognitive bias being demonstrated is the hostile attribution bias. This bias is a psychological tendency to interpret the ambiguous actions of others as having a malicious or harmful intent, even when the behavior is actually neutral or unintentional. A cognitiv....