Deck 4: The Freudian Approach: Relevant Research

Question 1

According to Freud, the type of defense mechanisms that adults are likely to use is related to

A) whether or not they are in a stable, romantic relationship.
B) adequate resolution of the psychosexual stages of development.
C) the level of neurotic anxiety they experience.
D) their childhood experiences.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to Freud, the content of our dreams reveals

A) what has been on our mind when we are awake.
B) implicit punishments and rewards.
C) what is going on in our unconscious.
D) what we value the most about ourselves.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Freud identified which defense mechanism as the cornerstone of psychoanalysis?

A) Sublimation
B) Dreaming
C) Repression
D) Denial

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Your very good friend is a psychotherapist who adheres to the model of Sigmund Freud. As such, you can assume that she believes that the content of our dreams reveals

A) unacceptable ideas that are actually acceptable.
B) unconscious conflicts and desires.
C) anxieties with which we were born.
D) much useless information.

Question 5

Which of the following findings challenges the Freudian interpretation of dreams?

A) People often dream during REM sleep, but they also dream during NREM sleep.
B) Newborn babies experience large amounts of REM sleep on a daily basis.
C) People deprived of REM sleep have difficulty with anxiety-provoking material.
D) People have longer periods of REM sleep as the night progresses.

Question 6

Psychoanalytic researchers have used the results of studies on the frequencies of male and female dream characters to support which aspect of Freud's theory?

A) Repression
B) The Oedipus complex
C) Projection
D) The pleasure principle

Question 7

Assessment of recurrent dreams finds that the content of such dreams usually includes ____________This is used to support the notion that dreams reflect conflicts that are rooted in the dreamer's unconscious.

A) threatening images
B) one's parents or siblings
C) sexual content
D) physical activity

Question 8

Marcellus frequently has the same dream about being chased by his wife's first husband. In the dream, the man is angry at Marcellus, and screams "you stole her from me." He has this dream at least once or twice a month. Marcellus is having a ____________dream.

A) conscious
B) lucid
C) surreal
D) recurrent

Question 9

Which of the following best describes the cross-cultural findings when comparing the frequencies of male and female characters in dreams?

A) Although there are a few exceptions, the frequencies found in American samples tend to be found in other cultures as well.
B) American and European samples show different frequencies than non-Western samples.
C) Male characters tend to show up in dreams more frequently in male-dominated societies.
D) Although a consistent pattern is found in the results from different American samples, no clear pattern emerges when looking at studies using participants from other cultures.

Question 10

Which of the following best summarizes research on the frequency of male and female characters in dreams?

A) Both men and women have more male than female characters in their dreams.
B) Men have more male than female characters in their dreams, whereas women have more female than male characters in their dreams.
C) Men have more female than male characters in their dreams, whereas women have more male than female characters in their dreams.
D) Men have more male than female characters in their dreams, but women have approximately equal numbers of male and female characters in their dreams.

Question 11

Which statement best summarizes what researchers have found about the changes in frequencies of male and female dream characters at different age levels?

A) The adult pattern of frequencies of dream characters does not emerge until the teenage years.
B) The pattern changes for males as they pass through the Oedipus complex.
C) The frequencies of male and female characters completely reverse for both males and females as they age from childhood to adulthood.
D) The pattern found in adult males and females is also found in samples of children of various ages.

Question 12

Researchers draw a distinction between defense mechanisms and coping strategies, in that defense mechanisms are____________ , whereas coping strategies are____________ .

A) negative? positive
B) ineffective? effective
C) innate? learned
D) unconscious? conscious

Question 13

Some psychoanalytic researchers have argued that dreams represent unresolved conflicts. As evidence for this interpretation, they point to

A) how much more men sleep than women.
B) the results of sleep-deprivation studies.
C) the existence of recurrent dreams.
D) how much babies dream compared to adults.

Question 14

Which of the following conclusions has been supported by the results of REM sleep research?

A) Depriving someone of REM sleep leads to severe psychological disturbances.
B) Dreaming does have psychological benefits, but a reduced amount of REM sleep is not necessary associated with serious psychological problems.
C) Greater than average amounts of REM sleep indicates psychological problems.
D) Without REM sleep, it is impossible to perform stressful tasks.

Question 15

In dream research, sleepers are sometimes awakened when____________ indicates they are probably dreaming.

A) a physiological measure
B) sleeptalking
C) the time of night
D) their body temperature

Question 16

Some male participants in one study by Cramer (1998) gave threatening information about their masculinity and femininity. The investigator then asked the participants to tell stories about pictures in TAT cards. The investigator was studying

A) masculinity and femininity.
B) coping strategies.
C) aggression.
D) defense mechanisms.

Question 17

According to recent research findings, REM sleep appears to be necessary to

A) maintain one's mental health.
B) guard against serious psychological disturbances.
C) prepare us for dealing with anxiety-arousing events.
D) allow any consolidation of memories of events that take place during waking hours.

Question 18

Which of the following is true about REM sleep?

A) Most adults spend 1 ½ to 2 hour a night in REM, spread over several periods.
B) Adults spend most of their sleeping hours in REM sleep.
C) Muscles are more tense and active during REM sleep than non-REM sleep.
D) Only about half of all adults experience REM sleep.

Question 19

People who are deprived of ____________may have more difficulty with stressful tasks than those who do not experience such deprivation.

A) Delta wave sleep
B) REM sleep
C) 9 to 10 nightly sleep hours
D) psychotherapy

Question 20

In one dream study, researchers compared the dreams of Palestinian children who lived in the Gaza Strip where they had experienced years of violence with children living in the more peaceful Galilee area. The findings from dream reports revealed that

A) children living under constant stress had fewer dreams.
B) the dreams of children living under constant stress included more threatening events.
C) those who received suggestions prior to sleep had more threatening events in their dreams regardless of living circumstances.
D) both a and b

Question 21

Sammy is 12 years old. Which of the following defense mechanisms is he likely to resort to when dealing with the fact that he just accidentally broke his mother's favorite vase by playing with his baseball in the house?

A) Denial
B) Projection
C) Identification
D) Sublimation

Question 22

Which of the following is false about sexual jokes?

A) Freud suggested we laugh at sexual jokes to reduce tension.
B) Jokes are often tolerated when open discussions of sex are inappropriate.
C) Most of the sexually oriented jokes contain a great deal of humor.
D) Freud argued that the humor content of a sexual joke rarely justifies the laughter.

Question 23

Each person relies more on some defense mechanisms and less on others when the ego is threatened. Psychologists refer to this contrast as differences in

A) defensive style.
B) ego strength.
C) preferred id impulses.
D) mental health.

Question 24

Based on the results of research on humor, under which condition would you expect people to laugh the loudest at a joke?

A) When at an otherwise boring party
B) After finishing a five-mile race
C) After watching an anxiety-provoking film
D) When relaxing

Question 25

You are thinking of having an affair by having sex with someone other than you partner, but you feel very guilty for wanting to do this. That night you accuse your partner of having been unfaithful to you, even though there is no real evidence of such betrayal. Which defense mechanism are you using?

A) Sublimation
B) Reaction formation
C) Denial
D) Projection

Question 26

When Tony was three years old, he experienced a great deal of stress at home. As an adult, he tends to have problems with hostility, depression, and alcohol abuse. Which defense mechanism might he use more than others?

A) Reaction formation
B) Sublimation
C) Denial.
D) Rationalization

Question 27

According to Anna Freud, daughter of noted psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, the use of a defense mechanism can be either adaptive or maladaptive. Which one it is depends on

A) the user's age.
B) whether the user distorts reality.
C) whether the user is aware of the defense mechanism.
D) the user's gender.

Question 28

Many of the research findings in support of Freud's theory of humor can also be explained by the fact that people find ____________funny.

A) incongruity
B) all forms of humor
C) what others laugh at to be
D) what society tells them to laugh at to be

Question 29

Which of the following do researchers commonly use to measure defense mechanisms?

A) Self-report inventories
B) Projective tests
C) Behavioral interviews
D) Hypnosis

Question 30

Which statement best summarizes the results of research that presents hostile humor to angry participants?

A) The findings are almost completely consistent with Freud's theory.
B) The findings support the Freudian prediction about catharsis but not the prediction about reducing aggression.
C) The findings are mixed, sometimes supporting Freud's predictions, sometimes not.
D) The findings are almost completely at odds with Freud's theory.

Question 31

According to Freud, presenting angry people with hostile humor should

A) lead to an increase in aggression.
B) lead to a cathartic release of tension and an increase in aggression.
C) lead to a cathartic release of tension and a decrease in aggression.
D) increase anger but not aggression.

Question 32

According to Freud, which of the following functions is served by telling or listening to jokes?

A) One's enemy can be attacked through humor.
B) The punch line of a joke provides the satisfaction that comes with tension release.
C) Sexual thoughts can be expressed in socially acceptable outlets.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 33

When researchers asked people to rate cartoons for funniness, they found that

A) each participant experienced a cathartic release of tension.
B) men rated cartoons that ridiculed women as funnier.
C) the likelihood of participants acting aggressively significantly increased.
D) women were more amused by cartoons that targeted women than by those that targeted men.

Question 34

Researchers find that some people tend to rely on unconscious defense mechanisms more than others. They refer to these individual patterns as the person's

A) coping style.
B) developmental level.
C) emotional maturity level.
D) defensive style.

Question 35

According to several research findings (Brody, Rozek, & Muten, 1985; Cramer, 1997; Cramer & Brilliant, 2001), children rely most heavily on which of the following unconscious defense mechanisms?

A) Denial
B) Identification
C) Reaction formation
D) Sublimation

Question 36

Research on Freud's theory of humor has found all of the following results except one. Which one?

A) People find mildly hostile humor funnier when it is aimed at a person or group they do not like.
B) Angry people may react in different ways to jokes that include aggressive themes.
C) The greater the tension build-up to a joke, the funnier people find the punch line.
D) Anxious people are not able to enjoy a joke.

Question 37

According to Freud, a good joke teller should

A) get to the punch line quickly.
B) get people to relax as the punch line approaches.
C) build tension in the audience as the joke is told.
D) avoid jokes with hostile or aggressive content.

Question 38

According to Freud, in order to reduce the likelihood that an angry person will behave in aggressive ways, you should tell that person a ____________joke.

A) hostile
B) sexual
C) "corny"
D) really funny

Question 39

Researchers find frequent use of ____________is associated with a higher rate of interpersonal and psychological problems.

A) sublimation
B) immature defense mechanisms
C) coping strategies
D) hostile humor

Question 40

After a tragic event, like hurricane Katrina, people often make jokes about the tragedy. Freud might explain this behavior in terms of

A) denial.
B) symbolic expression of hostility.
C) reaction formation.
D) tension reduction.

Question 41

Participants in hypnosis research were told the experimenter's machinery can determine if they are lying or not. These participants often failed to show posthypnotic amnesia. This finding is seen as evidence for

A) neodissociation theory.
B) psychoanalytic theories of hypnosis.
C) sociocognitive theories of hypnosis.
D) the "hidden observer" phenomenon.

Question 42

Which of the following concepts do sociocognitive theorists often use to explain the behavior of hypnotic subjects?

A) Expectancy
B) Motivation
C) Concentration
D) All of these are correct

Question 43

Psychoanalytically oriented theorists explain posthypnotic amnesia by arguing that

A) the experience has been recorded in a part of the mind not accessible to consciousness.
B) participants do what they think they are supposed to do.
C) participants have not been given an adequate incentive to report the experience.
D) participants do not record the experience anywhere in memory.

Question 44

According to sociocognitive theorists, participants in hypnosis demonstrations act the way they do because

A) the controlling influence of the ego is temporarily removed under hypnosis.
B) consciousness has been divided into accessible and nonaccessible pockets.
C) participants act the way they think they are supposed to act.
D) participants act on the pleasure principle.

Question 45

According to the textbook, the many theories of hypnosis can be roughly placed along a continuum depending on

A) whether posthypnotic amnesia is regarded as possible.
B) the hypnotic trance is or is not within the control of the person being hypnotized.
C) the extent to which the theory reflects psychoanalytic thinking.
D) the theory allows for the concept of susceptibility modification.

Question 46

The view that deeply hypnotized people experience a division of their consciousness is known as ____________theory.

A) neodissociation
B) sociocognitive
C) trance
D) transactional analysis

Question 47

The "hidden observer" demonstrations are used to support the ____________theory of hypnosis.

A) absorption
B) role
C) nontrance
D) neodissociation

Question 48

A stage hypnotist arranges chairs so that only a few of the many volunteers who rush to the stage are able to participate in the show. She does this to capitalize on which responsiveness-enhancing variable?

A) Expectancy
B) Attitude
C) Motivation
D) Absorption

Question 49

The influence of psychoanalytic theory can be seen most clearly in the____________ theory of hypnosis.

A) absorption
B) neodissociation
C) nontrance
D) role

Question 50

"Posthypnotic amnesia" refers to the hypnotic subjects' inability to recall

A) whether or not they have been hypnotized.
B) what happened under hypnosis at any time in the future.
C) what happened under hypnosis until the hypnotist tells them to.
D) events that happen after hypnosis.

Question 51

How responsive you are to hypnotic suggestions

A) depends largely on how good the hypnotist is.
B) is fairly stable over time, like a personality trait.
C) changes with your amount of experience with hypnosis.
D) can be predicted from personality trait measures like intelligence and extraversion.

Question 52

Critics of the neodissociation theory of hypnosis challenge the interpretation of the "hidden observer" demonstrations by conducting experiments in which they

A) tell the "hidden observer" he or she will experience less pain when hypnotized.
B) ask the "hidden observer" to report experiences through "automatic writing."
C) tell the participant that the experimenter's machine can determine if he or she is lying.
D) give the same instructions to people who are not hypnotized.

Question 53

Based on past research, who do you suppose would be the most responsive to a hypnotic suggestions?

A) A highly extraverted person
B) An intelligent person
C) A person who gets highly involved in a book or movie
D) A person who has gone through a hypnotic induction before

Question 54

Research on the relationship between personality trait measures and hypnotic responsiveness generally has found

A) personality traits such as sensation-seeking and extraversion are moderately correlated with hypnotic responsiveness.
B) hypnotic responsiveness is related to a person's ability to become highly involved in sensory or imaginative experiences.
C) no consistent evidence relating personality trait measures to hypnotic responsiveness.
D) hypnotic responsiveness has more to do with the hypnotist's talent than the subject's ability to become hypnotized.

Question 55

In which of the following circumstances are people more responsive to hypnosis?

A) When the situation is not defined as hypnosis
B) When the participant has not been responsive to hypnosis in the past
C) When the cooperation and trust of the participant is established
D) When the hypnosis is more "entertainment based" rather than clinical in nature

Question 56

One problem researchers have had in finding experimental evidence in support of Freud's theory of humor is that

A) many of the findings are subject to alternative explanations.
B) predictions can't be derived from Freud's theory.
C) very few, if any, of the findings have been replicated.
D) researchers are unable to manipulate the participant's unconscious thoughts.

Question 57

Participants in the "hidden observer" demonstrations placed their arms in painfully cold water. Researchers found that highly hypnotized participants

A) reported experiencing no pain.
B) could only experience pain after the experimenter told them they could.
C) left their arm in the water, but reported through their "hidden observer" that the experience was painful.
D) experienced no pain while hypnotized, but recalled the pain after the hypnosis was over.

Question 58

From Freud's view of tension reduction, one can conclude that a joke will be received as funnier when

A) it is sexual than when it is hostile.
B) more tension is experienced before the punch line.
C) tension increases rapidly.
D) less tension is experienced before the punch line.

Question 59

Which of the following has been found effective for improving a person's hypnotic responsiveness?

A) Finding a compatible hypnotist
B) Giving the subject more experience with hypnosis
C) Creating a setting of active involvement rather than passive participation
D) Changing the subject's personality

Question 60

Which statement best summarizes the results of research on Freud's theory of humor?

A) Very few of the research findings are consistent with Freud's predictions.
B) Almost all of this research supports Freud's theory of humor.
C) Although a few of the minor predictions from Freud's theory are supported, most of the major predictions have not been supported.
D) Although many of the research findings are consistent with Freud's predictions, they are subject to alternative interpretations.

Question 61

Write about a dream you have had and give an example of a psychoanalytic interpretation of it. Why do people dream, according to Freud? Summarize the research findings on dreams that challenge Freud's theory of dreaming.

Question 62

According to the psychoanalytic explanation of hypnosis, the superego forms a new subsystem when a person is under hypnosis.

Question 63

Some theorists argue that psychological defense mechanisms are a healthy part of one's psyche, while others might argue that such strategies for distorting reality are always unhealthy. Still others believe that defense mechanisms do not truly exist .Which of these positions do you most agree? Defend your answer.

Question 64

In dream research, sleepers are sometimes awakened when physiological measures indicate they are probably dreaming.

Question 65

Give a description of your own of the defense mechanisms used by children and contrast them with those used by adults. Give examples of different individual differences in defense mechanisms.

Question 66

Sociocognitive theories of hypnosis point out that a person cannot do under hypnosis what they would not do without it.

Question 67

One function of dreams that Freud maintained was they provide a safe and healthy outlet for expressing aggressive desires.

Question 68

Numerous studies find that people who score high on measures of trait called ____________are more responsive to hypnotic suggestion than those who score low on that same trait.

A) psychosis
B) expectancy
C) extraversion
D) absorption

Question 69

State three specific predictions of Freud's theory about hostile humor. Summarize the evidence for a preference for hostile humor, the reduction of aggression with hostile humor, and the relationship between tension reduction and funniness.

Question 70

List and describe the techniques used to increase hypnotic responsiveness. Explain why it can be said that hypnosis is largely a participant variable.

Question 71

Before the use of more sophisticated defense mechanisms, children most often use projection as a defense mechanism.

Question 72

All but which of the following has been found to enhance hypnotic responsiveness?

A) Positive attitudes toward hypnosis
B) An expectation that one will become highly hypnotized
C) A high level of motivation to become hypnotized
D) A high extraversion score