Do you tend to think the best or worst of people's intentions?

I either think they are doing it on purpose, or they’re stupid. Adults should know basic etiquette. Of course it also depends on what it is. I was thinking of something very annoying being done to me or something affecting a group of people.

My default assumption is that they’re oblivious to how their behavior is affecting others. That just seems so common as to be a safe working hypothesis (subject to revision as evidence develops).

I agree with @thorninmud . I figure that 99% of the time someone is not even aware of how their behavior may be annoying to others, and to be real, what some may find annoying others may not notice at all.

I assume people’s intention is to do what they believe is best for themselves at the time (assuming it’s conscious behavior). As targeted as people’s behavior can be it can be equally oblivious (unconscious behavior falls under this). Typically, I prefer to inform them and make my judgement from there. Mood also plays a role; if I’m in a crap mood I’ll assume the worst, happy the reverse.

Of course, the vast majority of the time, if it’s annoying enough for me to notice, I don’t really care what their intent is – just that they stop.

Some people are genuinely malicious, no matter how many times their little games are uncovered & pointed out to them, they pretend not to hear, squirming with delight on the inside, not admitting guilt believing their little rouses will soon be forgotten about… still they subtly needle away as inconspicuously as they dare, so as not to give the game away completely while extracting every last ounce of pleasure out of their devilment, patting themselves on the back for being so clever….. Thankfully that’s a minority of people, aren’t most people genuine? I’d tell them once, twice even three times and have done with it…. Reminds me of a fellow who continuously shoved the back of his chair into the back of mine while I was having a meal in a favourite restaurant, three strikes & your out… three times I mentioned it to him. The third time I said there wouldn’t be a fourth as he would be wearing the chair, not sitting on it :-/

I have a 50/50 view on people. I guess it all depends on who the person is. Unfortunately after my highschool years it left me bitter and always assuming the worst from people and that they were always out to get me, but now that I have gotten college experience, and seen how oblivious people really can be, I’ve learned to give some benefit of the doubt.
It’s hard to give benefit of the doubt all the time because of some of my skewed views, and always having the past in the back of my mind. Now that I think about it, it is always easier to assume the worst, but that is something that isn’t exactly mentally healthy.

If their behaviour is such than can reasonably be taken as being irritating to a reasonable person, I would assume they’re being a dick. I don’t ever given anyone the benefit of the doubt. No place for that where I’ve lived.

I give people the benefit of the doubt, probably way too often,.

Generally the worst.

I’m generally extremely tolerant of annoyances. This results from being that person that is probably annoying to a lot of people. I think back on being a freshman in high school, and man, I was the freshmaniest freshman, I was constantly doing dumb shit like falling up the stairs and pushing on the pull door, the kind of dumb shit that I thought would get me beat up in high school, but the oddest thing happened. Several upperclassmen liked me despite it all. Man, that felt good! I try to pay that forward now. If someone is annoying me I usually kind of project and imagine my freshman-self, always well-meaning but tragically lacking in common sense.

Annoyances are fine. What I don’t tolerate well is rudeness. Perhaps because I can so greatly sympathize with the people who are being accidentally annoying, I cannot understand the people who are extremely rude to such people.

I assume the best about the guy who drives under the speed limit; I assume the worst about the guy who flips him off.

Basically, these comics that I saw on reddit the other day sum up my views on this way more succinctly than all the shit I wrote.

It’s an illusion to think you can know someone’s intentions. Often, people are unaware of even their own intentions. It’s a waste of time to even speculate. Therefore, I either withhold judgement on their intentions or I give them the benefit of the doubt.

Sadly, I tend to think the worst.

I tend to think the best, give them the benefit of a doubt, empathize with their limitations and in the end when I’m at my wits end, I finally come to accept most of those people were a-holes. My work in the past 5yrs has been to stop givng credit where credit isn’t due.

Sadly, I tend to think the best.

I’m trying not to read intentions at all, but I still see the best

If it bugs me I tell it really fast. If they continue then you get how I feel.

Concerning me personally, THE ABSOLUTE WORST POSSIBLE INTENTIONS!

and I am seldom ever proven wrong

Gadzooks, I believe many people are inherently clueless. They will do things that are Boorish, or irritating to others because they just don’t realize they are doing it. Some do realize but they can’t help stop doing it because it cramps their personal style and is like a habit they can’t break. There are people, and family that do things they know is irritating to me but they do so anyhow. Not so much as to purposely irate me, but because they are trying to work their own agenda, and need me to participate somehow. They are looking at it from their point of view and not seeing anyone else’s point of view or don’t really care; if they can’t get done what they wanted.

—Some do realize but they can’t help stop doing it because it cramps their personal style and is like a habit they can’t break.—-

Fact from fiction…

I give benefit of the doubt, because really obscure AND normal things totally get on my nerves. Just seems too out of the way for me to think that they’re doing it on purpose just to piss me off. If someone wants to piss me off though, it’s easy to pick up, and usually happens with people I’ve known for a while.

Don’t get me wrong though. I may not think the worst of people’s intentions, but I most certainly do not think the best, either.