Professor Washington's students did very poorly on the last exam. The tendency to make the fundamental attribution error might lead her to conclude that the class did poorly because

Question

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The fundamental attribution error refers to our tendency to underestimate the impact of situational factors and overemphasize dispositional (or personal) factors in explaining other people's behavior. In this case, Professor Washington's inclination to make the fundamental attribution error might lead her to assume that the students did poorly on the exam because they were unmotivated, lazy, or not intelligent enough. However, it's possible that other factors like the difficulty or format of the test, the students' health or ethical state, their personal problems, or unanticipated external factors may have contributed to their poor performance. Therefore, option D, students were unmotivated, is the best choice based on the given information.

Professor Washington's Students Did Very Poorly on the Last Exam