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Explanatory style refers to the way an individual habitually makes sense of life events. Fortunately, these attributional habits can be changed. People can be taught to interpret events in more positive ways through a process known as learned optimism. Interventions often focus on skills like recognizing and avoiding thinking traps, questioning negative beliefs, and relaxation. Training in healthier attribution habits has been proven to make people less vulnerable to depression. Examples of such interventions include the Penn Resiliency Program and the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program.

Explanatory Style and Learned Optimism Interventions

This is an after-school group intervention for children ages 8-15 that has been successfully implemented around the world.  It teaches students to identify, challenge, and reframe negative thought patterns, as well as negotiation, decision-making, and relaxation skills.  This program has been shown to prevent disruptive behavior, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms in students.

The Penn Resiliency Program

This is a program based on the Penn Resiliency Program that is used by the US Army.  It focuses on functioning in 5 areas: social, emotional, physical, family, and spiritual, and includes self and family member assessments.  

The Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program

Read the following scenario and analyze the individual's thought process. Based on principles of changing attributional habits, propose a specific cognitive technique the individual could use to reinterpret the event more constructively.

Analyzing and Reframing Negative Thought Patterns

Research shows that an individual's habitual attribution style is not fixed and can be modified. Training in healthy attribution habits through deliberate practice has been shown to successfully alter explanatory styles and make people less vulnerable to developing depression (Konnikova, 2015).

Training in Healthy Attribution Habits (Konnikova Study)

A student receives a low score on a major project. They immediately think, 'I'm a complete failure. This proves I'm not smart enough for this course, and it's going to ruin my entire semester.' This single thought leads them to feel hopeless and lose motivation for their other classes. Based on this internal response, which of the following strategies would most directly address the root cause of the student's distress and help them build a more resilient mindset?

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