Which term describes a pattern in which individuals attribute their successes to external factors and their failures to lack of ability?

Which term describes a pattern in which individuals attribute their successes to external factors and their failures to lack of ability?

• A. External Attribution
• B. Locus of Control
• C. Learned Helplessness
• D. Self-Efficacy

Answer: (C)

This pattern shows how attribution styles shape how someone explains outcomes: successes are blamed on factors outside the self, while failures are blamed on a lack of ability. It often emerges after repeated experiences of uncontrollable events, leading the person to feel powerless and to view effort as ineffective. The best term for this is learned helplessness, because it captures the idea that people come to expect they cannot influence results and therefore explain failures as internal deficiencies (lack of ability) while crediting successes to external factors like luck or circumstances. This combination tends to reduce motivation and persistence over time. External attribution would only describe blaming outcomes on outside causes without specifying the opposite pattern for failures. Locus of control refers to a general belief about whether outcomes are controlled internally or externally, not this specific pattern of explanations for successes and failures. Self-efficacy is about belief in one’s own ability to succeed, which is the opposite of attributing failures to lack of ability.

This pattern shows how attribution styles shape how someone explains outcomes: successes are blamed on factors outside the self, while failures are blamed on a lack of ability. It often emerges after repeated experiences of uncontrollable events, leading the person to feel powerless and to view effort as ineffective. The best term for this is learned helplessness, because it captures the idea that people come to expect they cannot influence results and therefore explain failures as internal deficiencies (lack of ability) while crediting successes to external factors like luck or circumstances. This combination tends to reduce motivation and persistence over time.

External attribution would only describe blaming outcomes on outside causes without specifying the opposite pattern for failures. Locus of control refers to a general belief about whether outcomes are controlled internally or externally, not this specific pattern of explanations for successes and failures. Self-efficacy is about belief in one’s own ability to succeed, which is the opposite of attributing failures to lack of ability.