Mark and Meg are two eighth-grade students who have just failed a math test. Considering gender differences in students' explanations for failure, how are the two students likely to explain their poor test performance?
A) Mark will think he failed because he "just can't do math." Meg will think, "I got an F because I didn't work hard enough on this subject-I could have studied more."
B) Mark will attribute his failure to a lack of effort, thinking, "I didn't study very hard because I don't care about getting good grades." Meg will think, "I'm just not very good at math."
C) Mark will think that he isn't very lucky when it comes to tests, and Meg will think that she failed because she didn't have friends that could help her study.
D) Mark will think, "I got an F because I'm not smart enough to do this math." Meg will think, "I failed because the teacher hates me and the test wasn't fair."

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to research on gender differences in attributional styles, boys are more likely to attribute their failures to lack of effort whereas girls are more likely to attribute their failures to lack of ability. Therefore, Mark is more likely to think that he failed because he didn't care enough to study and Meg is more likely to think that she failed because she isn't naturally good at math. Choice A is incorrect because it reverses the likely attributional styles for boys and girls. Choice C is incorrect because it suggests irrelevant explanations for the failure. Choice D is incorrect because it attributes the failure to fixed traits rather than effort or ability.

Mark and Meg Are Two Eighth-Grade Students Who Have Just