Which term refers to the belief that individuals cannot control what happens to them?

Which term refers to the belief that individuals cannot control what happens to them?

• A. Optimism
• B. Determinism
• C. Pessimism
• D. Fatalism

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is about the sense of control or agency people have over events. Fatalism is the belief that outcomes are predetermined by fate or forces beyond a person’s influence, so individuals feel they cannot change what happens to them. This focus on inevitability and lack of personal control is what sets fatalism apart. Differences to other terms: optimism and pessimism describe expectations about how things will turn out, not whether a person can influence those outcomes. Determinism is the view that events follow causal laws or prior conditions; it describes the structure of causation in the world, but it doesn’t inherently claim that people are powerless to act or alter their futures.

The idea being tested is about the sense of control or agency people have over events. Fatalism is the belief that outcomes are predetermined by fate or forces beyond a person’s influence, so individuals feel they cannot change what happens to them. This focus on inevitability and lack of personal control is what sets fatalism apart.

Differences to other terms: optimism and pessimism describe expectations about how things will turn out, not whether a person can influence those outcomes. Determinism is the view that events follow causal laws or prior conditions; it describes the structure of causation in the world, but it doesn’t inherently claim that people are powerless to act or alter their futures.