Question

Which of the following is an example of a self-serving bias? a. Leonard gets bad grades in sociology and psychology, so he switches his major to biology because he will like it more. b. Leonard gets good grades in sociology and psychology, so he sends his professors a card thanking them for what good professors they are. c. Leonard attributes earning a good grade in his psychology class to the fact that he is an exceptionally hard working student who is also incredibly smart. d. He blames the poor grade he received in his sociology class on having a bad teacher who gave hard exams. e. Leonard gets a bad grade in his psychology class and a good grade in his sociology class, so he believes he should study harder to prepare for his next psychology exam.

Answer 1

Answer:

c. Leonard attributes earning a good grade in his psychology class to the fact that he is an exceptionally hard working student who is also incredibly smart.

Explanation:

Self-serving bias refers to the attributions that enable us to see ourselves in a favourable light following an outcome. In this case, the outcome is the fact that Leonard earned a good grade in his psychology class. Leonard sees this as an accomplishment that is 100% attributable to him. This shows that he is employing the self-serving bias, as he sees himself in a favourable light.

Answer 2

Answer:

c. Leonard attributes earning a good grade in his psychology class to the fact that he is an exceptionally hard working student who is also incredibly smart.

Explanation:

Already self-serving bias is the kind of bias that makes us overstate our own importance, making us believe that a good thing happened because we are extremely and naturally wonderful, unique and perfect. An example of this can be seen when Leonardo believes that he got a good score in his psychology class because he is an exceptional and extremely intelligent student, while in fact Leonardo got good grades for striving and having a good teacher.