Deck 4: The Trait Perspective

Question 1

Unlike Cattell's approach to studying personality, Eysenck's approach:

A) was rooted in theory.
B) disregarded the observation of reality.
C) disregarded the use of factor analysis.
D) none of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following statements about factor analysis is true?

A) It increases the number of traits psychologists can use to describe personality.
B) It provides a basis for arguing that most all traits are equally important in describing personality.
C) Its use had dropped off since the advent of computers..
D) It assists in the development of assessment devices.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Cattell's empirical work resulted in a personality scale which is called the:

A) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.
B) 16PF.
C) Source Trait Inventory.
D) MCMI.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The idea that traits exist and have the same meaning in everyone is consistent with the__________ approach to personality.

A) nomothetic
B) commonality
C) idiographic
D) implicit

Question 5

Cattell used the___________ criterion for his factor analysis of personality dimensons.

A) rational
B) commonsense
C) ubiquity
D) lexical

Question 6

In typologies proposed by Hippocrates and Galen, sanguine people were thought to be:

A) optimistic.
B) irritable.
C) depressed.
D) calm.

Question 7

Factor analysis:

A) provides a way to analyze qualitative data.
B) is useful only when dealing with self-reports.
C) represents a technique for identifying underlying dimensions.
D) directs you to collect data of a certain type.

Question 8

Second-order factoring is used to determine:

A) if the results from one factor analysis can be repeated.
B) whether the factors that emerge from an initial factor analysis form factors (i.e., correlate in clusters).
C) if factors determined in an initial factor analysis can be broken down further.
D) all of the above

Question 9

The idea that people are different in important ways goes back to at least:

A) 400 BC.
B) 200 AD.
C) 1800 AD.
D) 1880 AD.

Question 10

The trait approach to personality makes the point that:

A) people's dispositions are relatively inconsistent across situations.
B) people's dispositions are relatively inconsistent across time.
C) one person's pattern of dispositional qualities is much like the next person's.
D) none of the above

Question 11

Which of the following is not one of the four personality categories proposed by Hippocrates and Galen?

A) (choleric) irritable
B) (sanguine) optimistic
C) (malcontent) unhappy
D) (phlegmatic) calm

Question 12

Which of Eysenck's concepts has received less attention than the others?

A) extraversion
B) neuroticism
C) introversion
D) psychoticism

Question 13

The dimensions that emerge from a factor analysis are called:

A) factors.
B) loadings.
C) extractions.
D) analyses.

Question 14

According to Eysenck's categorization a melancholic person would be considered:

A) extraverted and low in neuroticism.
B) extraverted and high in neuroticism.
C) introverted and high in neuroticism.
D) introverted and low in neuroticism.

Question 15

Unlike type approaches, trait approaches treat differences between people:

A) as less stable.
B) as quantitative.
C) as qualitative.
D) in terms of aggregations.

Question 16

The idiographic view emphasizes that:

A) most people have many things in common.
B) when two people both possess a trait, that tends to mean the same thing.
C) a trait may be possessed by only one person.
D) none of the above

Question 17

__________categorized people as either introverts or extraverts.

A) Hippocrates
B) Galen
C) Carl Jung
D) none of the above

Question 18

Which of the following statements about factor analysis is NOT true?

A) Factor analysis can only be used with self-report data.
B) Labeling the factors extracted from factor analysis is a subjective process.
C) In factor analysis items can load on several factors.
D) None of the above; all of the statements are true.

Question 19

How are traits and typologies different from one another?

A) Traits refer to the whole person whereas typologies refer to specific aspects of the person.
B) Traits are seen as varying on a continuum whereas typologies put people in distinct categories.
C) Traits are changeable whereas typologies are fixed.
D) They are not different; traits and typologies are two words for the same phenomenon.

Question 20

Cattell's approach to understanding personality can best be described as:

A) theoretical.
B) rational.
C) empirical.
D) psychoanalytic.

Question 21

A third dimension identified by Eysenck, that reflects a predisposition toward disorders involving detachment from others, hostility, manipulativeness, and impulsiveness is:

A) sociopathy.
B) psychoticism.
C) schizophrenia.
D) Eysenck only identified two dimensions.

Question 22

Factors derived from factor analysis may themselves be interrelated. When such factors are themselves factor analyzed, the resulting factors are called:

A) basic factors.
B) primary factors.
C) second-order factors.
D) cardinal factors.

Question 23

Psychologists were surprised when it was reported that the correlation coefficients between trait self-reports and actual behavior were around:

A) 0.0
B) 0.1
C) 0.3
D) 0.6

Question 24

It has been argued that Eysenck's dimension of psychoticism is a blend of:

A) extraversion and agreeableness.
B) neuroticism and agreeableness.
C) agreeableness and conscientiousness.
D) neuroticism and conscientiousness.

Question 25

Some researchers prefer to use the term___________ for qualities Cattell labeled as culture.

A) sociability
B) intellect
C) eagerness
D) enthusiasm

Question 26

Eysenck believes that his two type dimensions of personality relate to qualities of:

A) the nervous system.
B) interpersonal interaction.
C) early childhood experiences.
D) social learning experiences.

Question 27

The emerging consensus among researchers is that there are___________ basic personality traits.

A) 3
B) 5
C) 10
D) 25

Question 28

Which of the following is one reason why there is a fair amount of disagreement as to what the five dimensions of personality are?

A) Different factors emerge depending on the measures included in a study.
B) Different factors emerge in different cultures.
C) Personality measures have low test-retest reliability.
D) all of the above

Question 29

Which of the following is the basic personality trait characterized by assertiveness, open expression of impulses, and confident assurance?

A) conscientiousness
B) dominance
C) extraversion
D) confidence

Question 30

Wiggins proposed a set of eight psychological patterns which he called the:

A) type-trait model.
B) value-meaning model.
C) eight-factor model.
D) interpersonal circle.

Question 31

Openness to experience is related to all of the following EXCEPT:

A) greater sexual satisfaction in marriage.
B) artistic expression.
C) fewer prior arrests among prisoners.
D) more favorable inter-racial attitudes.

Question 32

Conscientiousness reflects:

A) purposeful striving toward goals.
B) persistence.
C) planning.
D) all of the above

Question 33

Zuckerman disagrees with the traditional five-factor view in that he:

A) proposed an alternative five factors.
B) argued that there were more than five factors.
C) argued that there were fewer than five factors.
D) none of the above; he endorses the traditional five factors

Question 34

Eysenck believed that:

A) extraversion and neuroticism have roots in nervous system functioning.
B) there are four dimensions underlying behavior.
C) there is one dimension underlying behavior.
D) extraversion and introversion are the top two dimensions in the hierarchy forming personality.

Question 35

Adolescents high in agreeableness are:

A) more likely to express an interest in joining fraternities/sororities.
B) less likely to be victimized by peers.
C) less likely to receive social support from family members.
D) less likely to value tradition.

Question 36

Wiggins proposed two trait dimensions basic to human values. These dimensions are:

A) passion and power.
B) power and achievement.
C) dominance and love.
D) intelligence and affect.

Question 37

Wiggins's perspective emphasized ___________aspects of personality.

A) interpersonal
B) internal
C) behavioral
D) cognitive

Question 38

The largest disagreement about a label for one of the personality factors deals with:

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

Question 39

Extraversion is related to valuing:

A) achievement.
B) tradition.
C) benevolence.
D) all of the above

Question 40

A person who is high on the dimension of love and high on the dimension of dominance would most likely be considered:

A) unassuming.
B) introverted.
C) extraverted.
D) arrogant.

Question 41

Traits are most often assessed through:

A) projective assessment.
B) interviewing.
C) self-reports.
D) behavioral observations.

Question 42

When a situation and a trait are examined in the same study there are ___________systematic sources of influence on behavior.

A) four
B) three
C) exactly two
D) none of the above

Question 43

The fact that people often use verbal "hedges" when describing someone's personality indicates that they:

A) are less confident in their judgments than are psychologists.
B) don't really know other people.
C) believe that traits may be reflected in only particular kinds of situations.
D) don't believe that personality is related to behavior.

Question 44

Recent research has indicated that ___________personality disorders are represented within the five-factor model.

A) all
B) most
C) very few
D) no

Question 45

The trait approach has been criticized because it:

A) has little to say about intrapersonal functioning.
B) doesn't offer explanations for why people behave as they do.
C) often relies on circular explanations to explain causality.
D) all of the above
True and False

Question 46

A vulnerability to a particular psychological problem is known as a:

A) nomothetic.
B) diathesis.
C) behavioral signature.
D) idiograph.

Question 47

Situations in which individual differences can be expressed easily are termed:

A) malleable situations.
B) strong situations.
C) weak situations.
D) expressive situations.

Question 48

The idea that personality can best be explained by considering the combination of settings and people is called:

A) environmentalism.
B) interactionism.
C) trait behaviorism.
D) situationism.

Question 49

The primary difference between trait and type theorists is that trait theorists believe people vary along a continuum whereas type theorists believe people are categorically different.

Question 50

According to Mischel and Shoda, traits are best characterized as:

A) freestanding tendencies to act.
B) having very little relation to behavior.
C) patterns of links between situation and action.
D) none of the above

Question 51

The analysis of variance model derived from lab research has the problem of neglecting the idea that:

A) people actively choose the situations they want to enter.
B) situations elicit different responses from different people.
C) people behave similarly across different situations.
D) all of the above

Question 52

___________is the idea that traits and situations jointly provide a complete account of behavior.

A) Interactionism
B) Trait-situationism
C) Person-environment duality
D) none of the above

Question 53

From an interactionist perspective, susceptibility to a particular personality problem means that:

A) one has the problem.
B) one has family members with the problem.
C) there is nothing one can do to avoid developing the problem.
D) the problem occurs more easily for one person than for another.

Question 54

The idea that situational variables are more important than personality variables in determining how people act is termed:

A) environmentalism.
B) interactionism.
C) Mischelianism.
D) situationism.

Question 55

A behavioral signature is:

A) an individual's characteristic way of acting across situations.
B) an individual's pattern of situation-behavior links.
C) the effect of an individual's behavior on the people around them.
D) none of the above

Question 56

A university campus is a___________ situation, whereas an army boot camp is a___________ situation.

A) weak; strong
B) strong; weak
C) poorly defined; clearly defined
D) constrained; unconstrained

Question 57

The attempt to understand psychopathology from a trait perspective is largely an attempt to:

A) understand the underlying dynamics of the individual.
B) determine indicators that are associated with a given class of problems.
C) look at biological vulnerabilities or susceptibilities.
D) none of the above

Question 58

A key theme of the dispositional perspective is the idea that people behave consistently.

Question 59

Hippocrates believed that phlegmatic people tended to be calm.

Question 60

A key theme of the dispositional perspective is that people are remarkably similar to one another.

Question 61

Factor analysis takes a small number of traits and increases them to a larger number of specific traits.

Question 62

In an extravert, high neuroticism is associated with excitability and aggressiveness

Question 63

Among the "big five" factors, the largest disagreement relates to the neuroticism factor.

Question 64

Openness to experience is linked to lower sexual satisfaction in marriage.

Question 65

Distilling to a smaller set of factors is known as factor extraction.

Question 66

Wiggins developed the interpersonal circle and proposed eight patterns of personality

Question 67

Eysenck agreed with Cattell that an empirical starting point is the best means of developing a personality theory.

Question 68

Tellegen has defended the five-factor model against critics who believe there are fewer factors.

Question 69

There is an emerging consensus in personality psychology that there are five basic personality factors.

Question 70

Conscientiousness in part reflects qualities such as planning, persistence, and purposeful striving toward goals.

Question 71

Cattell believes that the traits underlying human behavior must be determined empirically rather than theoretically.

Question 72

There is a fair amount of agreement as to what the five basic dimensions of personality are.

Question 73

According to Jung, extraverts seek out other people when they encounter stress

Question 74

The idiographic view holds that everyone stands somewhere on each trait that exists, but that the traits exist in the same way in every person.

Question 75

In his own research, Cattell determined that there were three underlying personality factors.

Question 76

There is considerable variation in what researchers include in the factor of extraversion.

Question 77

Extraversion is related to the desire for fewer children

Question 78

According to the nomothetic view, a given trait may exist for only one person in the world.

Question 79

Factor analysis is merely a complex way of looking at correlations of variables

Question 80

Jung divides people into the categories of introverts and extraverts.