Question

After failing a test, Troy explained his poor performance by saying, "I planned to study really hard for this exam, but I was feeling sick, so I did poorly." During a previous exam, when Troy did well, he said that he studied for many hours and that all his hard work had paid off. Troy is showing evidence of:

Answer 1

Troy is showing evidence of external attribution bias. He attributes his successes to internal factors but blames external factors for his failures.

Step-by-step explanation:

Troy is showing evidence of external attribution bias. External attribution bias refers to the tendency to attribute one's own successes to internal factors, such as hard work or ability, and attribute failures to external factors, such as being sick.

In the case of Troy, when he did well on a previous exam, he attributed his success to studying for many hours and hard work. However, when he did poorly on the recent exam, he attributed his failure to feeling sick, which is an external factor beyond his control.

This bias allows individuals to protect their self-esteem by attributing failures to external factors rather than personal shortcomings.