The Influence of Dispositions and Everyday Social Factors on the Hostile Attribution Bias
Abstract
Interpersonal conflict in ambiguous social situations can instigate aggressive responses in individuals with the hostile attribution bias (HAB). However, the nature of the psychological properties of these situations needs to be explored more extensively, including the specific social-contextual properties. One individual difference that few studies have explored with the HAB is dispositional trust, which is proposed to be the opposing side of HAB. The current vignette study aimed to explore this, along with improving previous measures and creating a new measure of HAB. Factor analyses and multilevel modeling were used for establishing a hostile composite and exploring both individual differences, social-contextual factors, and their interaction on hostile responses. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the factor structure proposed for a hostile composite (i.e., HAB score), but did not confirm our categorization of general vignette scenarios. Further, agreeableness and trust were found to have significant negative relationships with the HAB, supporting one objective of the study. Honesty-Humility was also explored and had a significant negative relationship with HAB. Finally, perpetrator power was significant, where hostility was found more in scenarios where power dynamics were equal. Limitations and suggestions for future directions are explored. The current study contributes to the understanding of the HAB in different social situations, and the complexities that individual differences and social-contextual factor have on perceptions of hostility.