What are self-serving attributions, and why do people make them?
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Self-serving attributions involve making external attributions (e.g., bad luck, task difficulty) for our own failure and internal attributions (e.g., ability) for our own success. People make self-serving attributions to maintain self-esteem whenever possible, even if that means putting a slightly different spin on reality. Self-serving attributions also serve a self-presentational function: we can convince others that we failed through no fault of our own. And finally, sometimes actors have access to information that observers don't, and may make what appear to be self-serving attributions.
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A psychologist is describing the different personality disorders. When she comes to avoidant and schizoid personality disorders, the students look puzzled. How will she distinguish these two personality disorders?
a. Avoidant personality disorder has closer etiological ties to mood disorders than schizoid personality disorder has. b. Those with schizoid personality disorder tend to become extremely dependent on others, while those with avoidant personality disorder manage to maintain their independence. c. Those with schizoid personality disorder prefer to be alone; those with avoidant personality disorder want to be liked by others but are afraid of even minimal signs of disapproval. d. Those with avoidant personality disorder are not distressed by their self-induced social isolation, while those with schizoid personality disorder are distressed by their lack of social skills.
According to one view, women finding a spouse and embarking on traditional feminine behavior occurs between the ages of __________.
A. 15 to 23 B. 21 to 27 C. 25 to 33 D. 30 to 35
The effect of a drug depends most fundamentally on __________
a. body size b. how much drug is taken c. psychological set d. the amount of food in the stomach
Evolutionary theory tries to explain why
a. many people die in middle adulthood. b. evolution selected for people who lived too close to the maximum age expectancy. c.many diseases that affect older adults have endured evolutionary change. d. body parts wear out after years of use.