Deck 9: Personality

Question 1

Melissa is high in warmth, gregariousness, activity, and positive emotions.In Costa and McCrae's theory, Melissa would be considered high on the dimension of

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

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Costa and McCrae suggest that personality traits stop changing by age 30, after which they appear to be "set in plaster." Which of the following gives validity to their claim?

A)Their studies were cross-sectional.
B)Their correlations were high.
C)Many additional research studies have been conducted that support their claim.
D)Laypeople's observations of the personality traits of others supports their claim.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Since the findings by Costa and McCrae indicating stability in personality over time, more recent research indicates change is also possible.For example, in one study it was found that extraversion and openness decreased with age while increased over time.

A)impulsiveness
B)conscientiousness
C)neuroticism
D)agreeableness

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is not a facet of neuroticism according to Costa and McCrae?

A)assertiveness
B)depression
C)impulsiveness
D)anxiety

Question 5

Being lazy, careless, late, unenergetic, and aimless are characteristics that fall on the low end of Costa and McCrae's dimension.

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

Question 6

Thinking theoretically or philosophically, with little emphasis on economic values, is most characteristic of people who score high on Costa and McCrae's dimension of

A)neuroticism.
B)extroversion.
C)openness to experience.
D)agreeableness.

Question 7

According to Hooker (2002), the three processes that act in tandem with the three structural components of McAdams personality levels are

A)state processes, self-regulatory processes, and cognitive processes.
B)self-concept processes, personal concerns, and cognitive processes.
C)state processes, self-concept processes, and personal concerns.
D)personal concerns, dispositional traits, and life narrative

Question 8

One view of personality incorporates , which consist of things important to people.

A)dispositional traits
B)life narrative
C)self-concept
D)personal concerns

Question 9

Which of the following is not a dimension of Costa and McCrae's theory?

A)neuroticism
B)psychoticism
C)agreeableness
D)conscientiousness

Question 10

In Hooker's theory, state processes are to dispositional traits as are to personal concerns.

A)cognitive processes
B)self-regulatory processes
C)life narratives
D)all of the above

Question 11

Which theorist(s) described three parallel levels of personality structure and function?

A)McAdams
B)Hooker
C)Costa and McCrae
D)Jung

Question 12

Everyone describes Jamie as a nice person who is always helpful.This description best represents the personality concept of

A)behaviors.
B)traits.
C)stereotypes.
D)generativity.

Question 13

Research on Costa and McCrae's model of personality traits shows

A)little evidence of stability.
B)stability for only a few years.
C)no support for trait theories.
D)strong support for long-term stability.

Question 14

The creation of an identity or a sense of self is the goal of this type of personality theory.

A)dispositional traits
B)life narrative
C)self-concept
D)personal concerns

Question 15

Which of the following is not an assumption about traits?

A)Behaviors represented by traits must be distinctive.
B)Traits are stable characteristics.
C)Absolute quantitative standards are used to define traits.
D)Traits are based on relative comparisons across people.

Question 16

is/are (an) aspect(s) of personality that is/are consistent across different contexts.

A)Dispositional traits
B)Life narrative
C)Self-concept
D)Personal concerns

Question 17

According to large-scale studies done on subjects ages 16 to the 80s in the United States and Great Britain, one personality trait disappears or is much less apparent in later life.Which is it?

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

Question 18

Costa and colleagues reported that traits remained highly stable with correlations ranging from .68 to .85 over a year period.

A)5
B)7
C)10
D)12

Question 19

Which of the following is not one of the parallel levels of personality and function as defined by McAdams (1999)?

A)dispositional traits
B)life narrative
C)self-concept
D)personal concerns

Question 20

Although there is an impressive collection of research supporting personality stability using the five-factor model, there is also research indicating personality change.Ursula Staudinger and colleagues' perspective reconciles these differences by suggesting personality takes on two forms:

A)implicit and explicit development.
B)adjustment and growth.
C)stability and change.
D)qualitative and quantitative development.

Question 21

Which of the following is the correct order of Erikson's stages during adulthood?

A)intimacy-isolation, generativity-stagnation, ego integrity-despair
B)identity-confusion, intimacy-isolation, generativity-stagnation
C)generativity-stagnation, ego integrity-despair, trust-mistrust
D)trust-mistrust, initiative-guilt, industry-inferiority

Question 22

According to Jung, which of the following increases with age as we develop a need to explore feelings of aging and mortality?

A)extroversion
B)introversion
C)masculinity
D)femininity

Question 23

An approach to personality that explicitly takes into account contextual factors is

A)dispositional traits.
B)personal concerns.
C)personality constructs.
D)situational specific.

Question 24

Theories based on life transitions propose that crises are followed by .

A)ego development.
B)interpersonal growth.
C)conscientiousness.
D)periods of relative stability.

Question 25

Logan (1986) suggested that the concepts of trust, achievement, and wholeness in Erikson's theory

A)represent a cycle that repeats.
B)are only present in the first three of Erikson's stages.
C)are only achieved in Erikson's eighth stage.
D)are not goals for most people.

Question 26

Critics argue that Erikson's stage of generativity is much too to capture the essence of adulthood.

A)narrow
B)broad
C)culturally specific
D)based on a masculine perspective of development

Question 27

Jung believed personality development , but Freud believed personality development ended _____________.

A)ended at age 5; in old age
B)continued across adulthood; in adolescence
C)continued across adulthood; at age 65
D)was stage-based; when one reached formal operational thought

Question 28

A key concept in Jung's theory of ego development is

A)conflict.
B)dialectic.
C)balance.
D)function.

Question 29

What can we conclude about the development of dispositional traits across adulthood?

A)Personality traits remain stable when the data are averaged across many different kinds of people.
B)Personality traits remain stable but only when examining specific personality traits in specific kinds of people.
C)When the data are averaged across many different kinds of people, the research overwhelmingly points to personality change over time.
D)It has become apparent that we do not have adequate measures to assess personality trait stability and change over time.

Question 30

According to Erikson, the basis for personality growth is

A)achieving a balance of forces.
B)blending among traits.
C)resolving struggles between tendencies.
D)achieving formal operations.

Question 31

Staudinger argues that openness to experience is highly correlated with ego development, wisdom, and emotional complexity and that all of these characteristics in people as they age.

A)increase
B)remain the same
C)decline
D)become increasingly difficult to measure

Question 32

Research regarding generativity concludes that the personal concerns of

A)men are fundamentally different from those of women.
B)older adults are not fundamentally different from those of younger adults.
C)older adults are identical to those of middle-aged adults.
D)middle-aged adults are fundamentally different from those of younger adults.

Question 33

The most basic aspect of a healthy personality in Erikson's theory is

A)introversion.
B)autonomy.
C)integrity.
D)trust.

Question 34

What people want during a particular time in their lives and within specific domains, including their strategies, plans, and defenses used to get what they want, are termed

A)defense mechanisms.
B)life skills.
C)personal concerns.
D)contextual traits.

Question 35

Which of the following is not one of Kotre's (2005) types of generativity?

A)cultural generativity
B)agentic generativity
C)personal generativity
D)technical generativity

Question 36

The epigenetic principle in Erikson's theory means that

A)ego development is determined by the environment.
B)each psychosocial strength has its own special time of importance.
C)the order of the stages of ego development is variable.
D)psychosocial development is due to assimilation-accommodation.

Question 37

One of the main criticisms of theories based on life transitions is that

A)each person's life transitions are different.
B)the research methods used are questionable.
C)measuring life transitions is problematic.
D)most of the supporting data is correlational.

Question 38

According to McAdams model, generative leads to life satisfaction and overall happiness, whereas generative does not.

A)concern; action
B)action; concern
C)productivity; stagnation
D)integrity; despair

Question 39

According to Jung, which of the following age groups is most likely to act in accordance with the gender-role stereotypes of their culture?

A)young adults
B)middle-aged adults
C)young-old adults
D)old-old adults

Question 40

With the advent of middle age, the focus shifts from intimacy to concern for the next generation, expressed as

A)industry versus inferiority.
B)identity versus confusion.
C)generativity versus stagnation.
D)ego integrity versus despair.

Question 41

The best conclusion to make about personal concerns is that

A)there is evidence for substantive change as people age.
B)there is no change.
C)there is some change, but it is related to a person's age.
D)a midlife crisis is inevitable.

Question 42

The best way to view midlife is as a time of

A)inevitable losses.
B)unavoidable crises.
C)both gains and losses.
D)inevitable gains.

Question 43

marks the attempt to create an appealing story "ending" that will generate new beginnings for future generations.

A)Autonomy
B)Creation
C)Generativity
D)Integrity

Question 44

In Whitbourne's approach, a person's unified sense of the past, present, and future is termed the

A)life-span construct.
B)life story.
C)perspective hypothesis.
D)scenario.

Question 45

Changing your identity over time is a process of reframing your life story, which according to McAdams, is strongly influenced by

A)generativity.
B)personal control.
C)personal concerns.
D)culture.

Question 46

Which of the following is not a criticism of theories based on life transitions?

A)sample selection
B)whether changes really happen
C)degree to which stages are universal
D)whether changes in extroversion occur

Question 47

Researchers point out that the idea of a midlife crisis became widely accepted as fact because of

A)the high rate of men experiencing them.
B)scientific data proving the existence of the midlife crisis.
C)the mass media.
D)the number of high profile people, such as sports figures, politicians, and actors, who showed evidence of such crises.

Question 48

Whitbourne's identity theory combines assimilation and accommodation, concepts central to the cognitive theory of whom?

A)Baltes
B)Piaget
C)Erikson
D)Costa & McCrae

Question 49

Some research suggests that the midlife crisis might be better conceptualized as

A)a time of fragmented identity.
B)a time of increased cognitive complexity.
C)a period of emotional reorganization.
D)a period of physical decline and depression.

Question 50

The best conclusion to draw from research concerning the midlife crisis is that

A)there is no question it exists.
B)there is little data to support its existence.
C)it clearly exists for women but not for men.
D)it clearly exists for men but not for women.

Question 51

Giving events personal meaning and continuity, and in effect creating an autobiography, is the definition of Whitbourne's concept of a

A)life-span construct.
B)life story.
C)perspective hypothesis.
D)scenario.

Question 52

Stewart (1996) suggests that rather than a midlife crisis, we should think about

A)midlife changes.
B)unavoidable crises.
C)midlife corrections.
D)midlife complexity.

Question 53

Which of the following is false regarding culture and midlife crisis?

A)The midlife crisis is a cultural invention.
B)The concept of midlife itself is limited to adults studied in the United States.
C)In other cultures, transitions and crises are related to role relations such as marriage and relocation into the spouse's family.
D)In other countries, women experience midlife crises at higher rates than men.

Question 54

One's willingness to let the situation determine what he or she will do is known as in Whitbourne's identity theory.

A)accommodation.
B)assimilation.
C)perspective hypothesis.
D)scenario testing.

Question 55

The books Passages and Pathfinders reflect which group of personality theories?

A)ego theories
B)personal attributions
C)dispositional traits
D)life transitions

Question 56

One of the more popular methods for examining life stories is through

A)case studies whereby individuals are followed over the life span.
B)questionnaires regarding life events.
C)autobiographical memory.
D)recalling and analyzing one's dreams across the lifespan.

Question 57

The two most common goal themes in life stories are

A)agency and communion.
B)primary and secondary control strategies.
C)intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.
D)external and internal locus of control.

Question 58

Rachel plans to go to college, major in art history, obtain a master's degree, and then work in an art museum.In Whitbourne's theory, this is Rachel's

A)life story.
B)scenario.
C)self-concept.
D)identity.

Question 59

According to McAdams, the narrative that people create and revise throughout adulthood is a

A)life-span construct.
B)life story.
C)life narrative.
D)scenario.

Question 60

Research focusing on life transitions as the basis for personality development shows

A)clear evidence of a single sequence of qualitative changes.
B)supportive evidence based on large representative samples.
C)strong evidence of transitions at specific points (such as age 30).
D)little evidence of universal transitions tied to specific ages.

Question 61

has/have created new opportunities for young adults to create possible selves.

A)Online social media
B)Higher involvement in the work force
C)More opportunities to travel both domestically and internationally
D)More comprehensive higher education programs

Question 62

In Kegan's theory of the self-concept, his first three stages are incorporative, impulsive, and imperial.These correspond to first three stages.

A)Piaget's
B)Erikson's
C)Freud's
D)LaBouvie-Vief's

Question 63

In cross-cultural studies, is/are lowest in older adults who report little religious commitment.

A)neuroticism
B)chronic health conditions
C)feelings of self-worth
D)the number of hoped for selves

Question 64

For some older adults, especially , a strong attachment to God is what they believe helps them deal with life's challenges.

A)Hispanic Americans
B)African Americans
C)Native Americans
D)European Americans

Question 65

Neuroscience research shows that people who have practiced meditation

A)are more spiritual.
B)show greater utilization of more areas of the brain.
C)show more organized attention systems.
D)show fewer white matter hyperintensities.

Question 66

Older adults reported that turning problems over to God was a three-step process that included all of the following except

A)differentiating between things that can and cannot be changed.
B)becoming more involved in religious activities.
C)focusing one's effort on the parts of the problem that can be changed.
D)emotionally disconnecting from the parts of the problem that cannot be changed.

Question 67

includes seeking pastoral care, participating in organized and nonorganized religious activities, and expressing faith in a God who cares for people.

A)Religiosity
B)Religious identity
C)Spiritual support
D)Religious generativity

Question 68

Whitbourne and colleagues developed a measure to assess people's use of assimilation and accommodation in identity formation.This measure is called the

A)Assimilation Accommodation Test
B)Identity Formation Indicator-General
C)Identity and Experiences Scale-General
D)General Self-Perception Profile

Question 69

Whitbourne's findings suggest that the two most important sources of identity come from

A)friends and work.
B)family and work.
C)friends and family.
D)work and children.

Question 70

Younger adults, compared with older adults, are more likely to have

A)more possible selves but to be less likely to believe they can attain them.
B)more possible selves and to be more likely to believe they can attain them.
C)fewer possible selves and be less likely to believe they can attain them.
D)fewer possible selves and be more likely to believe they can attain them.

Question 71

When asked to describe their hoped for and feared possible selves, researchers found that adults over the age of 60 were more likely to be focused on concerns.

A)family
B)material
C)personal
D)occupational

Question 72

Older adults are more likely to believe that
A)they will become their hoped for self.
B)they will become their feared self.

A)the hoped for self is not under their personal control.
B)?neither the hoped for nor the feared self is under their personal control.

Question 73

There is considerable evidence linking spirituality and

A)mental and physical health.
B)greater longevity.
C)fewer feared selves.
D)a highly differentiated self-concept.

Question 74

Which of the following is the last of Kegan's six stages of the development of self?

A)interindividual
B)institutional
C)interpersonal
D)imperial

Question 75

The risk of dying in a given year among the old-old in China was found to be lower among frequent religious participants when compared with nonparticipants.

A)10%
B)21%
C)36%
D)54%

Question 76

LaBouvie-Vief and colleagues found that the degree of differentiation in the self was related to one's level of cognitive development.This finding provides support for

A)Piaget
B)Costa & McCrae
C)Kegan
D)Whitbourne

Question 77

The organized, coherent, integrated pattern of self-perceptions is the

A)ego.
B)life story.
C)self-concept.
D)scenario.

Question 78

Reliance on spiritual beliefs helps people to

A)ignore their problems.
B)be distracted from their problems.
C)focus on the parts of the problem that may be under their control.
D)share their problems with others who are also religious.

Question 79

Aspects of our personality pertaining to what we could become, what we would like to become, and what we are afraid of becoming are called

A)life story.
B)possible selves.
C)ego.
D)trait clusters.

Question 80

Older adults report using most frequently as a coping mechanism in daily life.

A)family
B)friends
C)religious faith
D)knowledge gathering