Deck 4: Persons and Situations

Question 1

A correlation coefficient is a measure of ________ and mathematically ranges between ________.

A) effect size; .30 and .40
B) probability; 1 and 100
C) effect size; -1 and +1
D) significance test; zero and infinity

Answer 1

effect size; -1 and +1

Question 2

Which of the following was NOT one of the types of data that Mischel compared to one another?

A) S data and B data
B) S data and S data
C) I data and B data
D) B data and B data

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In his book, Personality and Assessment, Mischel argued that behavior can be MOST accurately predicted from

A) situations.
B) personality variables.
C) motivations.
D) goals.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Situationism is the position that

A) situations do not influence behavior.
B) situations are less important than personality traits in determining behavior.
C) the ability of personality traits to predict behavior is severely limited.
D) trait words are more than mere descriptions of situations.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a reason that older people believe their personalities are more consistent than those of younger people?

A) Their social roles are more stable.
B) They are more mature.
C) They have more wealth accumulated.
D) They have more responsibilities.

Question 6

The situationist argument holds that

A) a thorough review of the literature reveals that there is a limit to how well one can predict behavior from personality.
B) situations are more important than personality traits for determining behavior.
C) our everyday intuitions about people are fundamentally flawed.
D) All of the answer options are correct.

Question 7

Individuals in which age group are likely to have the greatest amount of stability in their personality traits?

A) school-age children
B) adolescents
C) young adults between the ages of 20 and 30
D) adults between the ages of 50 and 70

Question 8

Which of the following psychologists is often credited with starting the person-situation debate?

A) Gordon Allport
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Walter Mischel
D) Henry Murray

Question 9

The trait approach is based on empirical research that is mostly from ________ studies.

A) correlational
B) experimental
C) case
D) archival

Question 10

Personality trait measurements are typically made on a(n) ________ scale.

A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) ratio
D) quasi-nominal

Question 11

The trait approach focuses exclusively on

A) the measurement of absolute levels of traits.
B) aspects of personality that are the same in all people.
C) physical dimensions.
D) individual differences.

Question 12

According to Kluckhohn and Murray, "Every man is in certain respects (a) like all other men, (b) like some other men, (c) like no other man." Which section of this quote MOST closely reflects what trait psychologists study?

A) "like all other men"
B) "like some other men"
C) "like no other man"
D) All of the answer options are correct.

Question 13

A fundamental problem for the trait approach is that

A) individual differences cannot be measured reliably.
B) situations do not affect behavior.
C) people are inconsistent.
D) correlational methods do not clearly indicate effect size.

Question 14

Which of the following terms describes the tendency for people to act differently in different situations?

A) inconsistency
B) consistency
C) emotional instability
D) stability

Question 15

According to situationists, the upper limit of personality coefficients is estimated as

A) .20.
B) .40.
C) .60.
D) .80.

Question 16

According to the text, which of the following is NOT part of the situationist argument?

A) There is an upper limit to how well we can predict behavior based on a personality trait measure.
B) Situations are more important than traits for determining behavior.
C) Everyday intuitions that people have about personality are wrong.
D) Persons and situations interact to predict behavior.

Question 17

According to the text, which of the following characteristics is positively associated with personality consistency?

A) openness to experience
B) neuroticism
C) general mental health
D) need for cognition

Question 18

Mischel originally argued that personality coefficients seldom exceed .30, whereas subsequent situationists raised that estimate to

A) .40.
B) .50.
C) .35.
D) .45.

Question 19

In his book, Personality and Assessment, Mischel argues that

A) traits are the only factors that influence human behavior.
B) situations do not reliably predict consistent behavioral trends.
C) behavior is too inconsistent to predict using broad personality traits.
D) personality traits transcend the immediate situation and moment, and they provide the most consistent guide to a person's actions.

Question 20

Walter Mischel and his 1968 book Personality and Assessment are noteworthy because this work

A) provides the most cogent argument for why trait theory and psychodynamic theory should be integrated.
B) is credited with starting the person-situation debate by claiming that traits are not as important as situational factors in behavioral prediction.
C) provides the first published defense of trait theory against the situationist critique.
D) was the first to outline the Five Factor Model of personality.

Question 21

One response to Mischel's critique asserts that a fair review of the research on the predictability of behavior from personality traits would likely indicate that

A) behavior can never be reliably predicted from personality variables.
B) the predictability of behavior from personality traits is better than Mischel acknowledged.
C) the predictability of behavior from situations is worse than the predictability from personality.
D) Mischel was right that personality traits are unpredictable from behavior.

Question 22

Which of the following characteristics seems to predict increased consistency of behavior?

A) high self-monitoring
B) neuroticism
C) preference for consistency
D) none of these attributes

Question 23

According to the analogy drawn in the text between situational effects on behavior and Scud missiles, situations

A) can overshadow individual differences in all cases.
B) never seem to affect behavior.
C) seem to have inconsistent effects.
D) seem to bring out individual differences in all people.

Question 24

In order to improve personality research, researchers can

A) check for factors that predict consistency.
B) predict behavioral trends rather than single acts.
C) measure behavior in real life.
D) All of the answer options are correct.

Question 25

Which of the following would be an example of trying to improve the predictability of behavior from personality traits by taking into account the possibility that some people are more consistent than others?

A) measuring how frequently you are late to work using a daily diary report of your everyday behavior
B) collecting information about your responses to stressful work situations
C) trying to predict how warm and friendly you will act when you meet your in-laws next Monday
D) determining if the behavior of high self-monitors is less predictable than that of low self-monitors

Question 26

Which of the following was NOT a study that Funder and Ozer reviewed in their work calculating the size of the situation coefficient?

A) the forced compliance task that illustrated cognitive dissonance
B) the bystander intervention effect that illustrated situational factors on helping behavior
C) the reduction in intrinsic motivation that occurs when children are given rewards
D) the position of the learner in Milgram's experiments on obedience

Question 27

According to recent research, individuals high in ________ might actually be more consistent.

A) self-control
B) self-esteem
C) preference for consistency
D) extraversion

Question 28

A recent review of the entire literature on social psychology concluded that the situational effect was about

A) .10.
B) .20.
C) .40.
D) .50.

Question 29

The traditional practice in evaluating the degree to which behavior is affected by the situation has been to

A) square the correlation coefficient for the relationship between behavior and some aspect of the situation.
B) determine the percentage of variance accounted for by personality, subtract that from 100 percent, and then assign that value to the situation.
C) multiply the variance in the behavioral measure by 2.
D) add the variance in the behavioral measure to the variance for the situational variable.

Question 30

How thorough was Mischel's review of the personality literature in Personality and Assessment?

A) fairly thorough; about half of the book
B) incredibly thorough; about three-quarters of the book
C) not very thorough; about as long as a typical undergraduate term paper
D) He barely mentions it at all; only about two pages

Question 31

When a researcher examines the association between behaviors at a party on Friday night and how many times someone volunteers to answer questions in class on Monday, she is looking at the association between ________ data and ________ data.

A) I; B
B) S; I
C) B; B
D) B; I

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT one of the responses to the situationist argument?

A) Personality researchers argued that Mischel's literature review was selective.
B) Personality researchers searched for certain kinds of people who were more consistent than others.
C) Personality researchers started to think more carefully about the importance of a correlation of .40.
D) Personality researchers worked harder to find single traits that could strongly predict single responses at a particular point in time.

Question 33

According to the text, the purpose of personality traits is to predict

A) specific behavioral manifestations.
B) behavior in the long term.
C) I data but not B data.
D) S data but not I data.

Question 34

Someone who is ________ is likely to express his or her personality consistently from one situation to the next.

A) low in self-monitoring
B) high in self-monitoring
C) low in self-efficacy
D) high in self-efficacy

Question 35

A situationist would interpret a correlation of around .30

A) as an example of a very small effect size.
B) as an example of a medium effect size.
C) as an example of a large effect size.
D) by using a Binomial Effect Size Display.

Question 36

Funder and Ozer (1983) examined the results of three classic social psychological studies. They converted the results to effect sizes and found that the effects were equivalent to correlations in the range of ________ (in absolute value).

A) .10 to .20
B) .30 to .40
C) .61 to .75
D) .70 to .97

Question 37

Which reason describes why averaged (aggregated) behaviors are more strongly related to personality traits than individual behaviors?

A) Random variations tend to cancel out when aggregated.
B) Random variations tend to multiply when aggregated.
C) Trait variation is mostly random when aggregated.
D) Trait variation is mostly specific when aggregated.

Question 38

Which of the following is true about predicting future behaviors?

A) Specific behaviors are generally pretty easy to predict.
B) Specific behaviors are better predicted than aggregated behaviors.
C) Aggregated behaviors are better predicted than specific behaviors.
D) Aggregated behaviors aren't usually very accurate when predicting future behaviors.

Question 39

One difficulty in searching for variables that might predict consistency of behavior is that

A) it is hard for researchers to think of variables that would predict differences in consistency.
B) such research is too time-consuming to conduct.
C) only one variable seems to predict consistency.
D) the effects of such variables are subtle and are sometimes difficult to detect.

Question 40

Which of the following is the best example of a situationist argument?

A) Melinda's talkativeness is related to her optimism.
B) Knowing Robert's extraversion doesn't really let us predict his behavior.
C) Knowing Sanjay's neuroticism means we know how anxious he usually is.
D) Suri's conscientiousness changes depending on the time of day.

Question 41

Funder and Colvin (1991) brought participants to the lab for two interactions with different people. Which of the following results shows the power of the situation?

A) Participants who spoke loudly at session 1 also spoke loudly at session 2.
B) Participants who kept partners at a distance also behaved in a fearful manner.
C) Participants smiled frequently and spoke in a loud voice more than expected.
D) Participants were more relaxed at session 2 than session 1.

Question 42

The large number of trait terms in the English language indicates that

A) we need an abundance of trait terms to distinguish between different types of people.
B) personality traits are an important part of our culture.
C) when it comes to personality, one size does not fit all.
D) All of the answer options are correct.

Question 43

Which conclusion follows from Funder's analysis of the person-situation debate?

A) Personality doesn't usually predict behavior.
B) Person perceptions are largely incorrect.
C) Even in the same situation, all people do not behave in the same way.
D) People don't really act differently from each other.

Question 44

Which of the following conclusions does Funder draw about the role of persons versus situations in affecting behavior?

A) Situations matter more than persons, because people tend to be inconsistent.
B) Situations have an important influence on behavior, but people also tend to be consistent.
C) Situations matter, but only under particular conditions, because people tend to be inconsistent.
D) Situations have a minimal influence on behavior, because people tend to be consistent.

Question 45

Funder notes that the person who is most talkative at a party is also likely to be the most talkative at the department of motor vehicles (DMV). Which of the following terms describes this principle?

A) absolute consistency
B) relative consistency
C) absolute change
D) relative change

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT one of Funder's conclusions regarding the person-situation debate?

A) Most situational coefficients are actually between .30 and .40.
B) Situational coefficients are similar in size to personality coefficients.
C) Both situational variables and personality variables have an effect on behavior.
D) It is difficult to translate experimental results into effect sizes.

Question 47

Good coping would be positively associated with what trait?

A) neuroticism
B) conscientiousness
C) agreeableness
D) openness to experience

Question 48

The avoidance of drug abuse is associated with what trait?

A) openness to experience
B) neuroticism
C) extraversion
D) conscientiousness

Question 49

Peer acceptance is associated with what trait?

A) openness to experience
B) self-monitoring
C) extraversion
D) conscientiousness

Question 50

In Leikas, Lönnqvist, and Verkasalo (2012), participants interacted with trained actors. The number of times a participant gestured depended mostly on his or her own characteristics. Which of the following reflects the correct interpretation of this result?

A) The amount of variability explained by the person was small.
B) The amount of variability explained by the person was large.
C) The amount of variability explained by the situation was small.
D) The amount of variability explained by the situation was large.

Question 51

Happiness is associated with what trait?

A) openness to experience
B) self-monitoring
C) extraversion
D) conscientiousness

Question 52

Attractiveness is associated with what trait?

A) openness to experience
B) self-monitoring
C) extraversion
D) conscientiousness

Question 53

A long life is associated with what trait?

A) openness to experience
B) self-monitoring
C) neuroticism
D) conscientiousness

Question 54

Funder and Ozer (1983) converted the results of three classic social psychological studies to effect sizes. After comparing those effect sizes with those typically obtained by personality psychologists, Funder and Ozer concluded that

A) situational variables, like personality variables, cannot predict behavior.
B) both situational and personality variables are important determinants of behavior.
C) the upper limit for a situation coefficient is only .20.
D) the three studies were so fundamentally flawed that they do not allow us to conclude anything about the predictability of behavior from situational variables.

Question 55

In Leikas, Lönnqvist, and Verkasalo (2012), participants interacted with trained actors. The number of times a participant gazed into the eyes of his or her partner depended a lot on the behavior of the partner. Which of the following reflects the correct interpretation of this result?

A) The amount of variability explained by the person was small.
B) The amount of variability explained by the person was large.
C) The amount of variability explained by the situation was small.
D) The amount of variability explained by the situation was large.

Question 56

A social psychologist focused on statistical significance is concerned with ________, whereas a personality researcher focused on effect sizes is concerned with ________.

A) documenting the existence of an effect; quantifying the size of an effect
B) quantifying the size of an effect; documenting the existence of an effect
C) squaring correlations; Binomial Effect Size Displays
D) process; outcome

Question 57

Political liberalism is associated with what trait?

A) openness to experience
B) neuroticism
C) extraversion
D) conscientiousness

Question 58

Which definition best describes the meaning of a cross-situational consistency coefficient of r = .70?

A) Behaviors in one situation strongly predict behaviors in another situation.
B) Behaviors in one situation weakly predict behaviors in another situation.
C) Behaviors in one situation are the opposite of behaviors in a different situation.
D) Behavior is the mediator between personality and the situation.

Question 59

In Leikas, Lönnqvist, and Verkasalo (2012), participants interacted with trained actors. What was one of the major conclusions from this study?

A) Behaviors with more situation variance had less person variance.
B) Behaviors with less situation variance had less person variance.
C) Situations didn't vary that much.
D) People didn't vary that much.

Question 60

Historically, personality psychologists have concentrated on ________ to evaluate the effects of personality variables, whereas social psychologists have concentrated on ________ to evaluate the effects of situational variables.

A) variance; standard deviations
B) standard deviations; variance
C) effect size; statistical significance
D) statistical significance; effect size

Question 61

Match the correct term with each definition.

-r = .30 to .40

A)Relative consistency
B)Situationism
C)The "personality coefficient"
D)Aggregation
E)Interactionism
F)BESD

Question 62

According to the text, when psychologists argue about the importance of the person versus the situation, they may really be arguing about

A) their fundamental values.
B) study design decisions.
C) historical accounts of psychology.
D) their religious beliefs.

Question 63

The ________ perspective indicates that, under the right circumstances, everyone can be rich, popular, and successful.

A) interactionist
B) pro-personality
C) situationist
D) behaviorist

Question 64

What dramatic conclusion did some psychologists and non-psychologists draw from Mischel's claims regarding personality and behavior?

A) that personality did not exist
B) that correlations cannot test the link between the person and the situation
C) that personality does not change over the life span
D) that people are in some ways similar and in some ways different than other people

Question 65

Match the correct term with each definition.

-The friendliest person at a party is probably also the friendliest in class.

A)Relative consistency
B)Situationism
C)The "personality coefficient"
D)Aggregation
E)Interactionism
F)BESD

Question 66

Based on recent research, what is likely to happen when an aggressive person plays a competitive multiplayer video game?

A) The aggressive person will be less aggressive.
B) The aggressive person will evoke aggression from the other players.
C) The aggressive person will frequently win.
D) There is no ability to predict how the aggressive person will behave in this context.

Question 67

Which of the following is NOT an example of interactionism?

A) An extraverted person chooses to live in a bigger, faster-paced city.
B) An agreeable person is generally a good team player.
C) A neurotic person expects to be socially excluded, which makes others stay away from him.
D) A conscientious person reacts differently to feedback from her boss.

Question 68

According to the text, historically, ________ tended to regard individual differences as relatively unimportant, while ________ tended to put such differences front and center.

A) sociologists; philosophers
B) tenured psychologists; pre-tenured psychologists
C) behavioralists; evolutionary psychologists
D) social psychologists; personality psychologists

Question 69

According to the text, what is the central lesson that came out of the person-situation debate?

A) Sometimes a theory's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness.
B) People are different from one another, and these differences matter.
C) Individual differences are relatively unimportant in predicting behavior.
D) Reliability is necessary but not sufficient in ensuring a construct is measured validly.

Question 70

Match the correct term with each definition.

-The effect of a person variable may depend on the situation.

A)Relative consistency
B)Situationism
C)The "personality coefficient"
D)Aggregation
E)Interactionism
F)BESD

Question 71

Which of the following describes social psychologist Roger Brown's views on the importance of personality?

A) He first believed situations were important but later changed his mind.
B) He first believed traits were important but later changed his mind.
C) He first believed traits were unimportant but later recognized their importance.
D) He first believed situations were unimportant but later recognized their importance.

Question 72

Dr. Danvers recently ran a study in which participants' behavior was assessed in a series of different situations. Given what we know from the studies on behavioral consistency referenced in the text, what conclusions will Dr. Danvers likely draw from his study?

A) The individual's behavior is entirely dependent on the situation they are in.
B) Situations have influence on behavior, but individuals still tend to be consistent.
C) Behavior is almost impossible to measure from lab observations.
D) Personality is the only real predictor of behavior.

Question 73

Which of the following does NOT describe a type of person-situation interaction?

A) People generally prefer situations that are pleasant.
B) People choose the situations they occupy.
C) People change the situations they occupy.
D) People react differently to the same situation.

Question 74

Match the position or person who would most endorse each argument.

-A correlation of .30 to .40 is very small.

A)Situationist critique
B)Walter Mischel
C)Pro-personality response
D)David Funder
E)Henry Murray

Question 75

Match the correct term with each definition.

-The situation is more important than the person in determining behavior.

A)Relative consistency
B)Situationism
C)The "personality coefficient"
D)Aggregation
E)Interactionism
F)BESD

Question 76

According to Funder, what evidence is there that the person-situation controversy still exists today?

A) The current literature still includes the occasional mention that personality is not a significant predictor of behavior.
B) Psychologists still rely heavily on correlational research designs.
C) Social psychologists make more money on average than personality psychologists.
D) There is no real evidence that the controversy still exists.

Question 77

How were all of the behavioral measurements in the studies reviewed in Mischel's influential book collected?

A) from real-life observations
B) in laboratory settings
C) from self-reported narrative accounts
D) from peer-reported accounts

Question 78

Which of the following statements does NOT reflect the influence of values that contribute to a situationist versus a pro-personality position?

A) People are both flexibly adaptive to situations and consistent in personal style.
B) Attributing behavior to the situation absolves people from blame.
C) Attributing actions to personality implies that people are responsible for their circumstances.
D) People are free to do what they want, so they are responsible for their actions.

Question 79

Match the correct term with each definition.

-Correlations are higher when behaviors are averaged.

A)Relative consistency
B)Situationism
C)The "personality coefficient"
D)Aggregation
E)Interactionism
F)BESD

Question 80

Sally found that neither caffeine nor extraversion individually predicted problem solving; however, she found that they both worked together to predict problem solving. This is an example of what kind of an effect?

A) a true interaction
B) a suppressor
C) an evocation
D) a true mediation