Situational Factors (also Known As External Factors)

Situational Factors (also known as External Factors) are influences that do not occur from within the individual but from elsewhere like the environment and others around you. Examples of situational factors are your environment, work and school, and the people around you. The opposite is dispositional factors that are are individual characteristics that influence behavior and actions in a person like personality traits, temperament, and genetics. People tend to cite dispositional factors as the reason for success ("I passed the test because I am smart", "I worked hard for that grade") where people tend to blame failure on situational factors ("The test wasn't fair", "The teacher doesn't like me").