Andy is an 11-year-old boy. While having lunch in the school cafeteria, a boy walking past him misses a step and spills a few drops of his drink on Andy. Andy thinks that the boy's action was deliberate and shouts at him. Which of the following concepts is illustrated by Andy's behavior?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Andy's behavior illustrates the hostile attribution bias, which is the tendency to interpret others' behaviors as having hostile intent, even when the behavior is ambiguous or benign. In this case, Andy interpreted the accidental spilling of a drink as a deliberate act.

Andy Is an 11-Year-Old Boy