An individual's characteristic way of explaining the causes of positive and negative events, particularly along dimensions of internality, stability, and globality. Pessimistic explanatory styles are associated with increased risk for depression and poorer outcomes.
Example: A pessimistic person attributing job rejection to being "incompetent" (internal), "always failing" (stable), and "bad at everything" (global), while an optimist blames "tough competition" (external, unstable, specific).