a person’s characteristic tendencies when inferring the cause of behavior or events, that may be based on three dimensions: the internal-external dimension (whether they tend to attribute events to the self or to other factors), the stable-unstable dimension (whether they tend to attribute events to enduring or transient causes), and the global-specific dimension (whether they tend to attribute events to causes that affect many events or just a single event). Internalizing disorders are most characteristic of internal, stable, and global attributions.
ATTRIBUTIONAL STYLE: “The person’s attributional style determined that he or she attributed his or her car accident to him- or herself, felt that he or she was a bad driver, and felt that this bad driving occurred in many situations.”