The effect of anger on intentionality bias.

Abstract

More than a decade of research on emotions has demonstrated the role of affect in social judgments. Emotions influence the way individuals make inferences about others' behavior. Building on these previous findings, the present research investigates the effects of anger and sadness on the attribution of intentionality. In Experiment 1, angry, sad, or neutral participants read a series of sentences describing simple actions and had to indicate whether the actions were done intentionally or accidentally. Results showed that anger significantly predicted the proportion of intentional judgment when participants were asked to interpret ambiguous sentences. In Experiment 2, the effect of anger on intentionality was replicated. Angry participants endorsed more intentional explanations than neutral participants. This finding helps explain how anger increases the inclination to make hostile inferences.