Definition: This refers to how people explain the events of their lives. There are three facets of how people can explain a situation that can lean toward optimism or pessimism:
- Stable vs. Unstable: Changing across time or unchanging across time.
- Global vs. Local: Universal throughout one’s life or specific to a part of one’s life.
- Internal vs. External: Cause of an event as within oneself or outside oneself.
Also Known As: Attributional Style
