Watch for
Feeling slighted by actions with innocent explanations.
Social & PerceptionBias #48
Hostile Attribution Bias
We see hostility in neutral actions.
The tendency to interpret ambiguous or neutral behaviours as intentionally hostile rather than accidental or situational.
Why it matters: Strongly associated with aggressive behaviour. Key target in CBT.
Try this
Generate benign alternatives before concluding hostility.
Real-world example
A colleague walks past without saying hello and you assume they are angry rather than distracted.
Key researchers
Kenneth Dodge
First described in 1987
Psychological mechanism
Chronic accessibility of hostile schemas. Ambiguous cues are matched to hostile models before conscious evaluation.
Below is a realistic scenario. Read it, then choose what you would do. The feedback will show whether a cognitive bias influenced your choice — not to judge, but to reveal the pattern in action.
Thought Experiment
This experiment places you in a realistic decision. Your instinctive choice will reveal whether bias is at work.
STEP 1 → ReadSTEP 2 → ChooseSTEP 3 → Reveal
Debrief
Hostile attribution bias creates conflict where none exists. Assume benign intent first and only move to hostile explanations with strong evidence.
Sources
Original ResearchDodge (1980) — Original research
EducationalAPA Dictionary entry