One of your professors has apparently just lost his job. Suppose that the campus newspaper publishes an article about it, invoking external, stable attributions. Which of the following might be the headline of the article?
A) "Unlucky Series of Misunderstandings Leads to Professor Being Fired"
B) "Another Great Professor Let Go as a Result of Budget Cuts"
C) "Inappropriate Conduct Causes Professor's Demise"
D) "When Professors Get Lazy, Consequences Can Be Extreme"

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

B invokes an external attribution (budget cuts) as the cause of the professor's job loss, which suggests that it was not necessarily the professor's fault. The other options either invoke stable (unlucky series of misunderstandings, lazy) or internal (inappropriate conduct) attributions, which suggest that the professor had control over the situation and may have been responsible for their job loss.

One of Your Professors Has Apparently Just Lost His Job