Exam 4: Behavior Control: the Self in Action

Jacopo has a long-term goal of becoming a neurologist. At the moment, though, he is only seven years old. He therefore also has several "stepping stone goals" (finishing high school, going to college, going to medical school, etc.). That is, Jacopo has a complete ____.

Peter is team leader for a major project at work. The project is very complex and will require a number of months to complete. He wants to ensure that the team members will stay motivated and on task despite the inevitable frustrations. Based on research, it is likely that the lowest motivation will occur ____.

Maureen thinks that her abilities are fluid and capable of changing and developing over time.  She decides to try to learn to garden. Her first year of planting is a complete failure--nearly every plant dies. She only harvests a few tomatoes. Given what you know about Maureen, what can you predict about her interest in gardening?

Which individual is least likely to experience goal shielding?

What does research suggest about the mindset of people who are suicidal? In particular, where do suicidal people stand in terms of their self-awareness, their level of emotionality, and the levels of meaning at which they are thinking?

What is the capacity to delay gratification? How is it typically tested? Are there ways that this capacity can be improved?

When entity theorists encounter failure, they are more likely to experience learned helplessness than incremental theorists are when they experience failure.

Researchers offered people free popcorn at the movies. Some people were offered fresh popcorn, while others were offered stale popcorn. People ate more ____.

According to the textbook, children's capacity to delay gratification is increased when ____.

When a person starts working toward one goal and the mind automatically shuts off other goals from consciousness ____ is said to have occurred.

In social psychology, the "belief that one's own project will proceed as planned, even while knowing that the vast majority of similar projects have run late" is known as the ____.

As discussed in the text, suicide typically starts with some discrepancy between ____.

Capacity for change is one of the key ingredients for successful self-regulation, and is essentially the same thing as ____.

Rachel has taken French for years and is very good at it. Nonetheless, she just enrolled in Intermediate French (which will be easy for her)rather than Advanced French (which will be slightly challenging but not impossible). It is probably safe to assume that Rachel ____.

Suicidal people tend to focus a lot on the future and how miserable it appears to be.

Do goals and plans actually facilitate achievement?

Suppose that Sergej has just asked Georgia whether she would like to study with him for an upcoming English exam. Georgia is struggling in the class, and she knows that Sergej is an excellent English student, so she enthusiastically agrees. Meanwhile, Sergej interprets her enthusiasm as a sign that she might have a crush on him, and he therefore suggests that the two of them grab a bite to eat together before studying; "Georgia is very attractive," he thinks to himself, "so why not?" Georgia, meanwhile, who is completely clueless about what is on Sergej's mind, muses to herself, "well, that is so nice of him to think that I might be hungry; what a nice study partner!" The fact that Sergej and Georgia interpret things so differently here is most consistent with ____.

How do suicidal people tend to think about the future?

Suicidal people tend to focus more on the ____.

Rosa has just been told she has a serious illness and visited with a specialist who has outlined a number of treatment options. If she is like most people, her next step will be to ____.