Final answer:
John's tendency to attribute his good exam result to his own qualities while blaming his poor result on external factors exemplifies the self-serving bias. This cognitive bias impacts how individuals understand their own performance in relation to success and failure. The concept is broadened by recognizing the impact of grade inflation and the fundamental attribution error on students' self-perceptions.
Step-by-step explanation:
John attributed his poor grade on the calculus midterm to the teaching quality, whereas he attributed his high grade on the final to his own intelligence and effort. This reflects a cognitive bias where an individual makes internal attributions for their successes and external attributions for their failures. This bias is known as the self-serving bias, a common distortion in how people perceive the causes of their own actions and outcomes. When examining factors of student performance, such as being in class, innate ability, and work ethic, it's important to recognize how success or lack thereof can be perceived and rationalized. In the context of this discussion, the notion of grade inflation is also relevant, as it refers to the trend where achievements that once earned a 'C' might now earn a 'B' or 'A', affecting students' self-perception and their attribution of success. Another related concept to consider is the fundamental attribution error, where people tend to attribute others' actions to internal characteristics while attributing their own behaviors to situational factors. This was famously demonstrated in the quizmaster study mentioned above.