MCAT Behavioral Sciences Question 212: Answer and Explanation

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Question: 212

2. Eli studies really hard for his chemistry class but keeps getting poor scores on quizzes and lab assignments. Eventually, he begins to feel like nothing he does will improve his performance in chemistry. When faced with future chemistry assignments, Eli doesn't even bother trying because he feels destined to fail at chemistry. This can best be described as:

  • A. learned helplessness.
  • B. an internal locus of control.
  • C. incongruity.
  • D. the fundamental attribution error.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

Learned helplessness occurs when someone tries hard but fails repeatedly at a task. Eventually, the individual believes that they have no control over the outcome, develops an external locus of control (choice B is wrong), and stops trying (choice A is correct). Incongruity refers to the idea that the real self has fallen short of the ideal self; while this may pertain to the situation described in the question stem, there is not enough evidence to assume that succeeding in chemistry is part of Eli's idealized self (choice C is wrong). The fundamental attribution error occurs when an individual attributes the actions of others (not themselves) to their personalities (choice D is wrong).

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