Which of the following situations best illustrates an external attribution?

• A. A runner thinks they lost a race because they did not train hard enough.
• B. A student blames a poor exam grade on the difficulty of the test.
• C. A musician attributes a bad performance to their own lack of talent.
• D. An employee believes they failed a project because they are not smart enough.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the concept of attribution in psychology: Attribution refers to how individuals explain the causes of behavior and events. There are two main types: internal (dispositional) attributions and external (situational) attributions.
2. Internal attribution means attributing the cause of behavior to personal factors such as ability, effort, or personality. For example, thinking 'I failed because I didn't study enough' is an internal attribution.
3. External attribution means attributing the cause of behavior to situational factors outside the person's control, such as task difficulty, luck, or other environmental influences.
4. Analyze each option by identifying whether the cause is internal or external: if the cause is about the person's own traits or efforts, it is internal; if it is about outside factors, it is external.
5. Select the option where the individual blames an external factor (like the difficulty of the test) rather than their own ability or effort, as this best illustrates an external attribution.