But these situations are rarer than we imagine, and without hearing from the other person, we can’t really know their intentions. Getting Their Intentions Wrong Is Costly Intentions matter, and guessing wrong is hazardous to your relationships. We Assume Bad Intentions Mean Bad Character. Perhaps the biggest danger of assuming the other person had bad intentions is that we easily jump from “they had bad intentions” to “they are a bad person.” We settle into judgments about their character that color our view of them and, indeed, affect not only any conversation we might have, but the entire
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