Example of Intentionality Bias
- A coworker forgets to include you on an important email chain, and you immediately assume they left you out on purpose to undermine you.
Intentionality bias leads you to interpret the oversight as a deliberate slight rather than a simple mistake. - A driver cuts in front of you on the highway, and you feel certain they did it intentionally to disrespect you, even though they may have simply not seen your car.
The bias causes you to attribute hostile intent to what was likely an accidental or careless driving error.
Note
Intentionality bias is closely related to the hostile attribution bias, in which people specifically assume that ambiguous actions are motivated by hostility. However, intentionality bias is broader — it encompasses any assumption of deliberateness, not just malicious intent. Young children display intentionality bias strongly, often believing that even natural events like rainstorms happen "on purpose," a tendency that diminishes but never fully disappears in adulthood.
