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Success and Failure Explanatory Style Questionnaire3

Success and Failure Explanatory Style Questionnaire Test

With 48 questions and an estimated nine-minute completion time, the Success and Failure Explanatory Style Questionnaire Test explores how you explain successes and setbacks across relationships and achievement. Your results outline patterns in optimism, control, stability, and globality, supporting focused self-reflection about confidence, persistence, and responses to difficulty.

Questions: 489 minutes

Success and Failure Explanatory: situation and reply bubbles

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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3,210 completions

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Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

2,676 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Interpersonal OptimismIO

Measures how positively and constructively a person explains successes and failures in relationships with others.

example score102/120

102/120Higher optimismexample score

20 – 75Lower optimism

76 – 96Moderate optimism

97 – 120Higher optimism

A score of 102 falls in the Higher optimism range, suggesting a generally positive and constructive explanatory style in interpersonal situations.

Optimism in Achievement SituationsOiAS

Measures how strongly a person tends to explain achievement successes by internal, stable causes that support confidence and persistence toward goals.

example score63/168

63/168Low optimismexample score

28 – 110Low optimism

111 – 138Moderate optimism

139 – 168High optimism

A score of 63 falls in the Low optimism range, suggesting the person less often attributes achievements to their own stable qualities, which may be linked to reduced confidence and persistence in goal pursuit.

Optimism in Failure SituationsOiFS

Measures how optimistically a person explains failures as temporary, specific, and potentially controllable rather than pervasive and fixed.

example score111/168

111/168Moderate optimismexample score

28 – 104Low optimism

105 – 133Moderate optimism

134 – 168High optimism

A score of 111 falls in the Moderate optimism range, suggesting a generally resilient but not consistently stable tendency to view failures as limited and manageable.

Optimism in Success SituationsOiSS

Measures how strongly a person explains successes through internal, stable, and broadly applicable causes (optimistic attribution in success situations).

example score63/120

63/120Lower optimismexample score

20 – 79Lower optimism

80 – 105Moderate optimism

106 – 120Higher optimism

A score of 63 falls in the Lower optimism range, suggesting successes are less consistently attributed to stable, personal, and generalizable factors.

ControlC

Measures how strongly a person believes they can influence the causes and outcomes of successes and failures.

example score83/108

83/108Moderate controlexample score

18 – 65Low control

66 – 88Moderate control

89 – 108High control

A score of 83 indicates a moderately strong sense of control, suggesting the person often feels their actions can affect outcomes but may see some situations as outside their influence.

GlobalityG

Globality measures whether a person explains successes and failures as broadly affecting many life areas or as limited to a specific situation.

example score77/96

77/96Moderateexample score

16 – 62Local

63 – 82Moderate

83 – 96Global

A score of 77 indicates a moderately global explanatory style, meaning events are often interpreted as extending beyond the immediate situation but not consistently across all areas of life.

StabilityS

The Stability parameter measures whether you tend to explain successes and failures as caused by factors that are enduring over time or temporary and changeable.

example score38/84

38/84More changeableexample score

14 – 53More changeable

54 – 69Mixed stability

70 – 84More stable

A score of 38 falls in the More changeable range, suggesting you more often see the causes of events as temporary rather than lasting.

Overall OptimismOO

Measures the extent to which a person tends to explain successes and failures in an overall optimistic versus pessimistic way.

example score143/288

143/288Low optimismexample score

48 – 189Low optimism

190 – 232Moderate optimism

233 – 288High optimism

A score of 143 falls in the Low optimism range, suggesting a more pessimistic attributional style overall when interpreting life events.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

People in self-development

41%OF USERS

They want to understand how their optimism and sense of control shape motivation after wins and setbacks.

Clients in counseling

34%OF USERS

They take it to pinpoint unhelpful explanations for failures and build a more constructive way to interpret events.

Teens and their parents

25%OF USERS

They use it to see how a teenager explains school and relationship outcomes and where support is most needed.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Optimism in Interpersonal SituationsOiIS

You?

Average79.4

Typical rangeTypical64.9 – 93.9

Possible20 – 120

Optimism in achievement situationsOias

You?

Average102

Typical rangeTypical77.4 – 126.7

Possible28 – 168

Optimism in situations of failureOisof

You?

Average120.3

Typical rangeTypical102.4 – 138.2

Possible28 – 168

Optimism in Situations of SuccessOiSoS

You?

Average62.2

Typical rangeTypical48.7 – 75.6

Possible20 – 120

Control ParameterCP

You?

Average56

Typical rangeTypical40.5 – 71.6

Possible18 – 108

Globality parameterGp

You?

Average55

Typical rangeTypical43.3 – 66.6

Possible16 – 96

Stability parameterSp

You?

Average37

Typical rangeTypical23.8 – 50.2

Possible14 – 84

Overall Optimism ScoreOOS

You?

Average112.1

Typical rangeTypical77.6 – 146.7

Possible48 – 288

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

This is not a test. This questionnaire is intended to examine unique aspects of thinking across different situations. The first response that comes to mind is the best response. The questionnaire includes 24 events/situations. For each event, respond as follows: 1. Vividly imagine each event as if it were happening right now, even if it seems unlike situations in your own life. 2. Consider what the primary cause of the situation would be if something similar happened to you, and indicate one main cause. 3. For the two questions that follow your stated cause, select a number from 1 to 6 that best reflects your response. Try to avoid choosing middle responses. On the paper form, the cause of the situation should be written on the line provided. In the online version, a text field is also provided for entering the cause. This text is not processed and is not saved anywhere. You may enter a response or leave it blank.

- Will never happen again
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- Will always be true
- Outside my control
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- Completely under my control
- Only this particular situation
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- All situations in my life

These are 3 of the 48 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Success and Failure Explanatory Style Questionnaire Test - Description and methodology of the test

attributional style

optimism

positive psychology

People who want to understand their habitual explanations for positive and difficult events may use the Success and Failure Explanatory Style Questionnaire Test as a structured self-report profile. As an explanatory style questionnaire, it is especially relevant when confidence, persistence, social feedback, or reactions to setbacks feel connected. The result maps patterns that may support focused reflection on everyday coping.

What This Assessment Explores

This optimism attribution test covers these scales:

Interpersonal Optimism (20-120) and Optimism in Achievement Situations (28-168) show social/achievement/failure patterns: Lower optimism 20-75; Moderate optimism 76-96; Higher optimism 97-120; Low optimism 28-110; Moderate optimism 111-138; High optimism 139-168.
Optimism in Failure Situations (28-168), Optimism in Success Situations (20-120), and Control (18-108) show success/influence/breadth patterns: Low optimism 28-104; Moderate optimism 105-133; High optimism 134-168; Lower optimism 20-79; Moderate optimism 80-105; Higher optimism 106-120; Low control 18-65; Moderate control 66-88; High control 89-108.
Globality (16-96), Stability (14-84), and Overall Optimism (48-288) show duration/outlook patterns: Local 16-62; Moderate 63-82; Global 83-96; More changeable 14-53; Mixed stability 54-69; More stable 70-84; Low optimism 48-189; Moderate optimism 190-232; High optimism 233-288.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Responses use six-point bipolar scales anchored by alternatives such as temporary versus enduring, specific versus broad, and outside versus personal control. Ratings are combined across social and achievement situations, then presented within each displayed range and result band; the visitor is not asked to infer how many points any single answer contributes.

The named source is STONE Questionnaire (Gordeeva et al., 2009), whose attributional approach is conceptually consistent with this questionnaire’s focus on explaining outcomes. Its logic also relates to the Attributional Style Questionnaire described by Peterson et al. (1982), while Gordeeva and Osin (2011) connect optimistic attributional style with well-being and performance. These sources support construct-level interpretation, not identical validation of this online form. The displayed bands should not be treated as population norms or evidence of matching reliability.

An attributional style assessment is sensitive to current mood, recent outcomes, memory, self-awareness, and the wish to present oneself favorably. Read the profile as a descriptive aid for reflecting on persistence, perceived control, and coping; it is not a diagnosis.

Author: B. Weiner, C. S. Dweck, M. E. P. Seligman

Literature:

Gordeeva, T. O., Osin, E. N., & Shevyakhova, V. Y. (2009). Diagnostics of optimism as a style of explaining successes and failures: STONE Questionnaire. Moscow: Smysl. ISBN 978-5-89357-251-3.
Gordeeva, T. O., & Osin, E. N. (2011). Optimistic attributional style as a predictor of well-being and performance in different academic settings. In I. Brdar (Ed.), The Human Pursuit of Well-Being: A Cultural Approach (pp. 159-174). Springer Netherlands. 10.1007/978-94-007-1375-8_14
Peterson, C., Semmel, A., von Baeyer, C., Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1982). The Attributional Style Questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 6(3), 287-299. 10.1007/BF01173577

Updated: 2025-10-02