His or her perceptions of the adversary's intentions. His or her perceptions of the adversary's power and capabilities. A leader's capacity for empathy with his or her adversary. First, the most important decision-making participants suffered from greater or lesser distortions in their images of themselves and adversaries. They saw the adversary as diabolical or worse.
Leaders vacillate about intentions of the adversary.
Early in the crisis they expected little resistance. However, later, they expected the worst from their adversaries. There were similar perceptual distortions about the adversary's power and capabilities. Also, there was an absence of empathy for the adversary. To Stoessinger, war and political conflict are learned behavior traced to cognitive distortions.