“Characterological self-blame is the paradigm case of such a case. Peterson and Seligman (1987) provide an excellent explanation for why this is (my notes in brackets): Of the two explanatory styles, pessimism is considered the worst explanation for negative events. The cause of that event to be a consequence of other people or the situation itselfīenefits of an optimistic explanatory style.The cause of that event to be short lived.The cause of that event to be specific to that event only.When considering an optimistic explanatory style as local, unstable, and external, this means that people who employ an optimistic explanatory style believe: If the responsibility is attributed to other people or other factors, then the control is external.Īn example of an internal explanation would be “It was my fault” whereas an example of an external explanation is “This happened because of person X’s actions.” Describing optimistic explanatory style If a person attributes responsibility to themself, then the control is internal. Internal/external characteristics refer to the source of control and responsibility for a particular event. If the cause of the event can be considered long lasting, then it would be stable.Īn example of a stable explanation is, “This is just the way that it happens” whereas an unstable explanation is, “This happened because of these specific circumstances.” Internal/external If the cause of the event is short lived, then it is unstable. Stable/unstable characteristics refer to how long the cause of the event will last. In contrast, if the event’s cause is far reaching and can affect other domains of our lives, it would be considered global.Īn example of a global characteristic would be, “I will never live this down.” In contrast, an example of a local characteristic is, “This is a temporary moment of discomfort, and then I will move on.” Stable/unstable If the cause of a particular event is limited only to that one instance, it is characterized as local. Local/global characteristics refer to how far reaching the cause and consequences of a situation are. Let’s go through these characteristics in more detail. In contrast, an optimistic style is characterized as using local, unstable, and external explanations for negative events (Peterson & Buchanan, 1995). Definitions of characteristics of explanatory styleĪ pessimistic style is one that uses global, stable, and internal explanations for negative events. Typically, two explanatory styles are proposed: pessimistic and optimistic. We tend to rely on the same type of explanatory style to explain the occurrence of uncontrollable events in our lives. Specifically, explanatory styles refer to how we explain the causes of particular events in other words, why did this event happen to us? Our explanatory styles tend to be stable. What is an ‘explanatory style?’Īn explanatory style describes how we make sense of adverse events that happen to us (Peterson & Seligman, 1987). What Is the Optimistic Explanatory Style?īefore we can discuss the exact details of an optimistic explanatory style, a good place to begin is by first explaining what explanatory style is.
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