Exam 1: What Is Personality

Although Sally is well behaved and polite at home, she can be really mean to the other children at school. Psychologists who adhere to the trait approach to personality would say Sally's behavior

Which of the following statements is an axiom that best reflects the personality psychologist's point of view?

Asking people to respond to ambiguous stimuli is an example of personality

When personality researchers use the term individual differences they are referring to

A psychologist attributes a boy's poor social skills to his lack of contact with children who model appropriate behavior. The psychologist is using which approach to personality?

A psychologist develops a test to measure individual differences in social anxiety. She obtains social anxiety scores from a large group of participants, and then tries to predict how those scoring high on the test will act in a social situation as compared to those scoring low. This psychologist would probably be identified with which approach to personality?

The approach to personality that explains aggressive behavior as unconscious impulses turned outward on other people is the

Consistent behavior patterns that people display in many different situations are

Cognitive personality psychologists suggest people become depressed because of the way they interpret their inability to control events.

Suppose you meet a new person on campus from a culture different from your own. You soon discover that your new friend has difficulty understanding what you mean by "self-esteem." You conclude that your friend probably comes from

The biological approach argues that people's unconscious minds are largely responsible for personality differences.

Which of the four components necessary for the study of personality is characterized by inventories, direct observations, and tests?

Which of the following is correct about the relation between personality and culture?

Consider the issue in psychology of free will versus determinism as discussed in your textbook. Which approach to personality represents an extreme position on this issue?

Most of the research on personality reported in the textbook is based on studies with people

Early psychologists presented extreme positions on the conscious versus unconscious determinants issue. Which of the following modern psychologists now recognize that much information is processed below awareness?

Behavioral psychologists try to apply personality research to practical concerns by

State which of the six general approaches to personality emphasizes extreme positions with regard to conscious versus unconscious determinants of behavior. Which approach(es) fall(s) between these extremes? Discuss which approach emphasizes extreme positions with regard to free will versus determinism as the underlying assumption.

To achieve a full understanding, personality researchers must examine psychological topics from more than one approach.

Which of the following is an explanation that personality researchers from the biological approach give for aggressive behavior?