How do optimistic and pessimistic attributional styles differ?

How do optimistic and pessimistic attributional styles differ?

• A. Optimistic style attributes positive outcomes to external, unstable causes and negative outcomes to internal, stable causes.
• B. Pessimistic attributional style attributes positive outcomes to internal, stable causes and negative outcomes to external, unstable causes.
• C. Optimistic style attributes positive outcomes to internal, stable causes and negative outcomes to external, unstable causes.
• D. Pessimistic style attributes outcomes based on luck rather than causes.

Answer: (C)

Attributional style is about how we explain why things happen. An optimistic (or optimistic explanatory) style tends to link positive outcomes to internal and stable causes—things about the person or their abilities that are likely to persist—and to link negative outcomes to external and unstable causes—factors outside the person that can change. This way, good results feel like something within a person that will endure, while bad results feel temporary and controllable by changing the situation. So the statement that optimistic style attributes positive outcomes to internal, stable causes and negative outcomes to external, unstable causes matches that pattern exactly, which is why it’s the best choice. The other patterns either swap these attributions or describe a view (attributing outcomes to luck) that isn’t part of the typical optimistic versus pessimistic attributional framework.

Attributional style is about how we explain why things happen. An optimistic (or optimistic explanatory) style tends to link positive outcomes to internal and stable causes—things about the person or their abilities that are likely to persist—and to link negative outcomes to external and unstable causes—factors outside the person that can change. This way, good results feel like something within a person that will endure, while bad results feel temporary and controllable by changing the situation.

So the statement that optimistic style attributes positive outcomes to internal, stable causes and negative outcomes to external, unstable causes matches that pattern exactly, which is why it’s the best choice. The other patterns either swap these attributions or describe a view (attributing outcomes to luck) that isn’t part of the typical optimistic versus pessimistic attributional framework.