Gabriel participated in a study where he was given an IQ test described as an excellent predictor of future academic and financial success.Gabriel performed poorly on the test.Gabriel is likely to attribute his low scores to
A) bad luck, thereby misapplying the representativeness heuristic.
B) the invalidity of the test, thereby protecting his self-esteem.
C) unclear instructions, thereby making the fundamental attribution error.
D) his own ability, thereby demonstrating the actor-observer bias.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Gabriel is likely to protect his self-esteem by attributing his low scores to the invalidity of the test rather than to his own ability. This is a common defensive attribution pattern known as the self-serving bias.

Gabriel Participated in a Study Where He Was Given an IQ