Explanatory Style
Whether you read setbacks as permanent and personal or temporary and specific.
Evidence: well established. We label every concept honestly, and say so when it's a teaching model. How we rate evidence.
Shrink Definition
Explanatory style is the habitual way you explain why good and bad things happen, especially whether causes feel permanent, pervasive, and personal. A pessimistic style reads setbacks as lasting, wide-reaching, and your fault, while an optimistic style reads them as temporary, specific, and changeable. This style strongly shapes mood, motivation, and resilience. It can be examined and shifted.
Plain language
The habitual way you explain why good and bad things happen to you.
Shrink Insight
It's not just what happens, but how you explain it, that shapes you.
Why it matters
It strongly influences mood, persistence, and resilience after setbacks. A more accurate, flexible style can be learned.
Common misunderstanding
People think events themselves determine how they feel. How we explain events matters as much as the events.
Shrink Perspective
The story you tell about why shapes what happens next in you.
Shrink Reflection
How did I explain a recent setback to myself?
Shrink Step
After a setback, check whether your explanation is permanent and personal, or specific and changeable.
Shrink Minute
Notice how you explained a recent setback to yourself.
Shrink Takeaway
How you explain events shapes how they land.
Medical boundary
This concept is educational and shouldn't be used to self-diagnose. It doesn't replace care from a licensed clinician. Symptoms, medication, and treatment decisions should be discussed with a qualified professional, and emergency symptoms require emergency care.
Evidence summary
A well-studied construct in research on optimism, resilience, and depression risk.
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