Question

hich of the following is an example of a self-serving bias? leonard attributes earning a good grade in his psychology class to the fact that he is an exceptionally hard working student who is also incredibly smart. he blames the poor grade he received in his sociology class on having a bad teacher who gave hard exams.

Answer 1

Self-serving bias occurs when individuals attribute successes to internal factors and failures to external factors, as seen when Leonard credits his intelligence for a good grade and blames his teacher for a bad one.

Step-by-step explanation:

Understanding Self-Serving Bias

A self-serving bias is an attributional error where individuals credit their successes to internal or dispotional factors, and attribute their failures to external or situational factors. In the example provided, Leonard displays a self-serving bias by attributing his good grade in psychology to his hard work and intelligence (internal factors) and his poor grade in sociology to the quality of the teacher and difficulty of the exams (external factors).

This bias serves a protective function for an individual's self-esteem, allowing them to maintain a more favorable view of themselves. It's important to note that while this bias can help in guarding self-esteem, it may also hinder personal growth and objective self-assessment by not acknowledging one's own role in their failures.

In the realm of sports media, a similar example of self-serving bias would include a sports player or coach attributing a win to their own skill or hard work, while blaming a loss on external factors such as the referees' decisions or other situational elements that were out of their control.