Naïve cynicism
We expect others to be more biased and self-interested than they really are.
What it means
The tendency to assume that other people are more egocentrically biased, self-serving, and motivated by ulterior interest than they actually are. It is the flip side of naïve realism: because we trust our own view as objective, we explain others' divergent positions as the product of self-interest or distortion rather than honest disagreement. People reliably over-predict how self-servingly others will behave and how much others will discount their goodwill. The bias breeds preemptive defensiveness, escalates negotiation conflict, and corrodes trust even between cooperative parties. It can become self-fulfilling when anticipated cynicism provokes guarded, adversarial behavior on both sides.
Examples
In negotiations, each side expects the other to lowball out of greed, and braces with an aggressive counter-offer that confirms the suspicion.
Told a colleague stayed late to help the new starter, people hunt for the angle — a promotion due, a manager watching — rather than take the kindness at face value.
A charity founder takes no salary and donors assume there must be a dodge buried in the accounts somewhere. The suspicion says more about the donors than the books.
First described in Kruger & Gilovich (1999).