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LiveScience
LiveScience
Emily Cooke

Assuming the worst in others can be 'read' in brain scans

Woman looks anxiously at her phone with one hand on her forehead .

The brain activity of people who are easily offended is different from that of people who aren't as prone to getting riled up, a new study suggests.

Many people would consider a missed text from a best friend to be a harmless, accidental act. Maybe they're busy, or perhaps they read it and simply forgot to reply. However, some people are more likely to misconstrue this action as aggressive or hostile, thinking they're perhaps ignoring you on purpose. Scientists call this tendency to assume the worst in people "hostile attribution bias," and it can make people more likely to be aggressive, experience poor mental health and struggle to maintain healthy relationships. 

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