“She did what? There is no way I would do that!” The Potential Interpersonal Harm Caused by Mispredicting One’s Behavior

Journal of Business Ethics · 2008 · Volume 80 · Issue 1

Abstract

When forecasting their own behavior, people are often inaccurate and tend to predict that they will engage in more socially desirable behavior than they actually do. The problem with inaccurate behavioral forecasts is that they can lead to negative consequences both for the self and for others. One particularly negative consequence may be that such errors can produce overly harsh evaluations and condemnation of others who do not act in a way that most people predict they themselves would act. This paper identifies these common behavioral forecasting errors, why they occur, and the negative interpersonal and unintended, unethical consequences they can have.

Keywords

behavioral forecasting errors, misprediction, unintended unethical behavior

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