Question

Two friends attribute their high math scores to their high level of effort and ability in math and their low Spanish scores to their teacher's subjective grading and favoritism.
In this situation, these students are exhibiting:

A) the actor-observer effect
B) the hindsight bias
C) scapegoating
D) equity
E) the self-serving bias

Answer 1

Answer:

E) the self-serving bias

Explanation:

The self-serving bias refers to people's inclination to attribute positive events or positive outcomes to their own character but attribute the negative events to external factors. It's a regular type of cognitive bias that has been broadly studied in social psychology.

For example; a student obtains a good grade on a test or positive exam results and tells himself that he studied hard or is good at that particular subject. He gets a bad grade on another test or gets a negative exam results and says the teacher doesn't like him or the test was unfair.

When Athletes win a game they attribute their win to hard work and practice, while when they lose they attribute the loss to some external factors beyond their control.