Final answer:
Student X's attribution of lateness to parking problems represents a situational and external attribution, indicating causes outside of her control, contrasting with dispositional and internal attributions which relate to personal traits or actions. Additionally, our tendency to attribute our own behavior to situations and others' behavior to personal traits is described by the actor-observer bias and fundamental attribution error.
Step-by-step explanation:
When Student X blamed her lateness on parking problems, she is attributing her tardiness to something beyond her personal control, which is known as a(n) <C. Situational> and <B. External> attribution. Such attributions suggest that the cause of her lateness is due to the environment or circumstances, rather than her personal characteristics or actions. If, instead, she blamed her lateness on her poor time management, that would represent a(n) <D. Dispositional> or <A. Internal> attribution, indicating a belief that the lateness was due to her own traits or behaviors.
Jane's belief regarding her bad grade, attributing it to her professor's personal dislike rather than her own efforts or the quality of her work, suggests an external locus of control. Similarly, the actor-observer bias describes a tendency to attribute our own behaviors to situational factors while attributing others' behaviors to dispositional traits. This bias is an example of the fundamental attribution error, where we overemphasize internal characteristics as explanations for others' behaviors.
The reformulated version of Seligman's study on attribution suggests that making internal, stable, and global attributions for negative events can contribute to depression, while healthier attribution habits can decrease this vulnerability. Moreover, self-serving bias reflects the tendency to make dispositional attributions for success and situational attributions for failure to maintain a positive self-image.