Amelia failed a test and said it was because the questions were "tricky"; Oscar passed the same test and said it was because he studied hard.Amelia is using _____; Oscar is using _____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Amelia is attributing her failure to external factors (the "tricky" questions), which is an example of the self-serving bias, a tendency to attribute one's failures to external factors and successes to internal factors. Oscar is attributing his success to his own efforts (studying hard), which is also an example of the self-serving bias, but in the context of attributing success to internal factors.

Amelia Failed a Test and Said It Was Because the Questions