What describes an individual’s unique manner of interpreting events or personal history?

Prepare for the New CED Social Psychology Test. Study with flashcards and multiple choice questions. Understand the latest concepts in social psychology and get ready for your exam!

The correct choice emphasizes the concept of how individuals interpret and make sense of events and their personal experiences. Explanatory style refers to the consistent way in which a person tends to explain the causes of events, particularly good or bad outcomes. This can significantly influence their emotional responses and overall outlook on life.

Individuals with an optimistic explanatory style attribute positive events to internal, stable, and global factors, while they might view negative outcomes as external, unstable, and specific. In contrast, those with a pessimistic explanatory style may do the opposite, leading to different emotional repercussions and coping mechanisms. Thus, explanatory style is integral to understanding individual differences in interpreting various life situations.

Worldview encompasses broader philosophical beliefs and values that shape how individuals perceive and engage with the world around them, but it doesn't focus specifically on personal event interpretation. Cognitive appraisal refers to the assessment of how people evaluate and respond emotionally to a particular situation, but it typically does not capture the enduring nature of how someone explains events over time. Perceptual set is related to the readiness to perceive stimuli in a certain way, focusing more on perception rather than the interpretation of past experiences.

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