Which option best illustrates self-serving bias?

• A. Attributing good outcomes to internal factors and bad outcomes to external factors
• B. Attributing successes to luck and failures to internal factors
• C. Blaming the professor for good grades
• D. Attributing all outcomes to external factors

Answer: (A)

Self-serving bias is the pattern of explaining successes with internal factors (like ability or effort) and explaining failures with external factors (like luck or task difficulty). The option that says good outcomes come from internal factors while bad outcomes come from external factors matches this protective attribution style exactly. For example, you might credit a high test score to your hard work and skill, but blame a low score on the test being unfair or the teacher’s grading. The other choices don’t fit: attributing successes to luck and failures to internal factors reverses the pattern, which isn’t self-serving bias; blaming the professor for good grades puts external blame on a positive outcome rather than maintaining self-esteem; and attributing everything to external factors ignores the internal attributions that self-serving bias relies on.