Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 27, 2026

Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory
Published on: June 14, 2019
Law school performance predicted by explanatory style
J M Satterfield1, J Monahan, M E Seligman
1Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California at San Francisco 94143, USA.
Abstract:
The explanatory styles of 387 law students were assessed prior to law school using the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ). Longitudinal performance measures were collected throughout law school and related to each student's initial explanatory style. In contrast to studies with undergraduates, students who made stable, global, and internal attributions for negative events combined with the converse attributions for success (typically called pessimists) outperformed more optimistic students on measures of grade point averages and law journal success. We discuss the limitations of current attributional research methodologies and suggest the prudent and cautious perspective necessary for law or skill-based professions may account for our findings.
Related Concept Videos
Reliability and Validity
Hindsight Biases
Fundamental Attribution Error
Law of Effect
Edward Thorndike's foundational work involved studying learning in animals, particularly using puzzle boxes...
Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory
Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory