What term describes mutual views held by conflicting people, where each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive?

• A. Motivation
• B. Grit
• C. Mirror-Image Perceptions
• D. Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Answer: (C)

Mirror-image perceptions occur when opposing groups interpret each other through a biased lens: each side believes its own actions are ethical and peaceful while portraying the other as evil and aggressive. This mutual misjudgment fuels conflict because when one side takes a defensive move, the other sees it as aggression, prompting a retaliatory response that is again labeled as defensive. The cycle reinforces each side’s view and makes reconciliation harder.

The other terms don’t capture this reciprocal, oppositional stance. Motivation is just about what drives behavior in general. Grit refers to perseverance in the face of obstacles. Self-fulfilling prophecy describes a belief that causes itself to come true, but it doesn’t inherently describe the shared, inverted moral judgments each side holds about the other.