Deck 6: Personality From the Interpersonal Perspective: Harry Stack Sullivan

Question 1

Like other theorists, Sullivan declined to support Freud's

A) use of stages
B) exclusion of women
C) sexual emphasis
D) emphasis on the unconscious

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What did Sullivan wish to emphasize?

A) humans ancestral past
B) childhood anxiety
C) natural inferiority
D) interpersonal relations

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Sullivan was

A) Jewish
B) Irish
C) English
D) Romanian

Answer 3

B

Question 4

How did the social law of relatively apply to Sullivan's families?

A) The Sullivans and Stacks had equal status in the community.
B) The two families had equally low status.
C) The Stacks had relatively high status.
D) The Sullivans had relatively high status.

Question 5

What signified Sullivan's identity problems?

A) He never felt "grown-up."
B) He felt like a woman trapped in a man's body.
C) He did not know who his real mother was.
D) He changed his name more than once.

Question 6

Which of the following accurately describes Sullivan?

A) He was probably the most stable theorist covered so far.
B) He had the vulnerable, haunted look of actor James Dean.
C) He had affairs with many women and married three.
D) He had a pristine record as a solid citizen.

Question 7

All except one of the following accurately describes Sullivan as a symbol of diversity? Which does NOT describe him?

A) He may have been homosexual.
B) He was Irish.
C) He had Native American ancestry.
D) He may have been schizophrenic.

Question 8

The women in Sullivan's life included all of the following, except one. Which woman was NOT included?

A) his mother
B) his first cousin
C) Karen Horney
D) Clara Thompson, also a theorist

Question 9

Which of the following characterized Sullivan's college career?

A) distinguished
B) non-existent (He went from an exclusive prep school to medical school.)
C) nondescript (little is known about it)
D) mediocre

Question 10

Which of the following characterized Sullivan's medical school career?

A) distinguished
B) varied (He switched schools several times.)
C) nondescript (It is not certain where he went to school.)
D) mediocre

Question 11

Sullivan described his medical school as

A) the best in the mid-west
B) a diploma mill
C) on par with Harvard medical school
D) one of the oldest in the country (It still exists today.)

Question 12

Sullivan's training as a psychiatrist can be characterized as

A) thorough
B) non-existent (He never even worked in a hospital.)
C) provided by the patients
D) solid

Question 13

What was the advantage of Sullivan's psychiatric training?

A) He learned from experience in the wards, not from the dogmatic professors of his day.
B) He had many distinguished professors, including Adler.
C) His training was unusually extended: it took him six years to complete his residency.
D) He was a Harvard medical school resident.

Question 14

Sullivan's burning interest during his psychiatric, clinical training was

A) depression
B) schizophrenia
C) manic depressive (bipolar) disorder
D) induced psychotic disorder

Question 15

All alternatives are true of Sullivan, except one. Which is UNTRUE?

A) His family's history of low socio-economic standing may explain his troubles.
B) He proposed to several women.
C) He abandoned Catholicism for atheism.
D) His training was minimal, but, ironically, he is a central figure in the development of psychiatric training.

Question 16

All of the following are reasons why Sullivan may have committed suicide, except one. Which is NOT a reason Sullivan may have committed suicide?

A) He had inoperable cancer.
B) The rural community of his youth was suicide ridden.
C) He had a heart ailment.
D) The day he died was his deceased mother's birthday.

Question 17

Which was true of Sullivan?

A) He used cocaine.
B) He was mentally stable.
C) He gave alcohol to his patients.
D) He predicted his own death inaccurately.

Question 18

Which of the following fits Sullivan's definition of personality best?

A) a system of interrelated psychic structures
B) a symphony of conscious and unconscious forces
C) the coordination of inter- and intra- psychic forces with the external world
D) the enduring pattern of interpersonal situations characterizing a human life

Question 19

Whose view is Sullivanianism LEAST related to?

A) Freud
B) Adler
C) Horney
D) Jung

Question 20

Significant others are

A) another way to say "parents"
B) people who are most meaningful in our lives
C) include only members of the extended family
D) is a small circle of intimates whose primary role is that of confidant

Question 21

A self-system is

A) the relationship among the id, ego, and superego
B) a system that unites the ego and the unconscious
C) the part of personality born out of influences of significant others
D) a hierarchy of psychic structures with basic physical needs at the bottom and self-fulfillment at the top

Question 22

Relations with significant others are

A) on again, off again
B) sometimes fantasized
C) absent for many people
D) always troubled

Question 23

Which are among the tensions emphasized by Sullivan?

A) sexual anxiety
B) spiritual anxiety
C) archival anxiety
D) interpersonal anxiety

Question 24

Which is true of the "mothering one"?

A) always the biological mother
B) an adult
C) always a woman
D) middle-aged

Question 25

"Need for tenderness" refers to

A) a need to be treated tenderly
B) desires for physical contact, exclusively
C) desire for relief from various tensions
D) need for self-esteem

Question 26

Which of the following best describes the ideal infant mothering one relationship, according to Sullivan?

A) close
B) characterized by reciprocal role-taking
C) entirely psychological
D) unmanageably complex

Question 27

Which of the following best describes the emotional relationship between the infant and the mothering one?

A) characterized by distance
B) responses in the mother short-circuit responses in the infant
C) too complex to decipher
D) anxiety in the mother is transferred to the infant

Question 28

To what does Sullivan's "empathy" refer?

A) the emotional linkage between the infant and significant other people
B) standing in someone else's emotional shoes
C) a kind of emotional ESP
D) a sophisticated form of non-verbal communication

Question 29

Interpersonal security refers to

A) being secure in interpersonal relations
B) relaxation of the tension of anxiety
C) securing many interpersonal relations
D) seeking to make interpersonal relations secure

Question 30

"Big, blooming, buzzing confusion" describes

A) parataxic mode
B) syntaxic mode
C) orthotaxic mode
D) prototaxic mode

Question 31

"The child uses speech, but still makes few logical connect

A) parataxic mode
B) syntaxic mode
C) orthotaxic mode
D) prototaxic mode

Question 32

"The meaning of words, as well as judgments and observations, are shared" describes

A) parataxic mode
B) syntaxic mode
C) orthotaxic mode
D) prototaxic mode

Question 33

According to (Kochansak, 2002) good-mother/child interaction is called

A) social dominance orientation
B) synchrony
C) alchemy
D) mutually responsive orientation

Question 34

Which mode is associated with the childhood stage of Sullivanian personality development?

A) parataxic mode
B) syntaxic mode
C) orthotaxic mode
D) prototaxic mode

Question 35

Which mode is associated with the juvenile stage of Sullivanian personality development?

A) parataxic mode
B) syntaxic mode
C) orthotaxic mode
D) prototaxic mode

Question 36

Personifications are

A) facades or personas given a different name by Sullivan
B) human attributes invested in persons or objects that do not possess them
C) accurate descriptions of significant entities in people's lives
D) fantasized connections to other people, often public figures (John Hinkley and Jody Foster)

Question 37

Which of the following is the best indication of the "good mother"?

A) hugs and kisses
B) a satisfying nipple
C) satisfying, warm, and comfortable interactions
D) a deep seated spiritual connection between mother and infant

Question 38

All of the following, except one, are likely to be personifications of a person. Which is NOT a likely personification?

A) bad mother
B) good me
C) bad me
D) bad man

Question 39

"Forbidding gestures" refers to

A) the distressed infants communications with the mothering one
B) the distressed mothering one's attempts to comfort the anxious infant
C) gestures that are mutually employed by angry infants and mothering ones
D) covert cues such as a hesitancy, reluctance, or revulsion

Question 40

Which of the following findings relating to homosexuality is the LEAST trustworthy?

A) There is a gene for male homosexuality on the X chromosome.
B) Female rat fetuses between brothers in the womb show masculine traits.
C) Ring-finger-longer-than-index-finger less in gay men.
D) Response to an auditory click greater for lesbians than heterosexual women.

Question 41

According to Daryl Bem's "exotic is erotic" theory of homosexuality

A) gay men are attracted to exotic other men
B) gays are more erotic than "straight" men
C) boys who spend much childhood time with girls find boys exotic
D) gay boys find exotic materials more exotic than "straight" boys

Question 42

Which is reasonably likely to describe a significant other

A) spiritual
B) oral
C) fantasized
D) skeletal

Question 43

All except one of the following parental attitudes are mal-adaptive, according to Sullivan. Which is adaptive (NOT maladaptive)?

A) believing that the infant must be clean and dry
B) becoming upset when the infant tinkers with its genitals
C) fancying that the infant "takes after" some other person in the family
D) being concerned about taking care of the infants basic physical need

Question 44

All except one of the following characterize the childhood stage. Which does NOT characterize the childhood stage?

A) articulate speech
B) acculturation in what is proper
C) continued development of the self-system
D) sharing of word meanings, judgments and observations

Question 45

Which of the following helps the self-system maintain normal functioning during the childhood stage?

A) selective inattention
B) intellectualization
C) denial
D) rationalization

Question 46

Which are among the emotions children are apt to learn during the childhood stage?

A) feeling high
B) feeling fulfilled
C) feeling a part of the larger community
D) feeling shame

Question 47

During the childhood stage, "manifesting the need for tenderness toward potent figures"

A) is especially well received
B) may backfire: these figures may make fun of the child
C) is abandoned, as it is immature
D) is done more desperately than in infancy

Question 48

All except one of the following are commonsensical, widely used terms adopted by Sullivan to account for learning. Which was originated by Sullivan?

A) trial and success
B) learn by anxiety
C) rewards and punishments
D) trial and error

Question 49

The "anxiety gradient" refers to

A) variations of anxiety during childhood
B) earning to discriminate increasing from diminishing anxiety
C) gradations of anxiety across people involved in interpersonal relations
D) a steep slope of anxiety

Question 50

Which of the following best characterizes the relationship between the example "good mother" and her infant?

A) They show no reaction when one is not in the presence of the other.
B) They sense the feelings and needs of one another.
C) They show upset when anyone other than each other is present.
D) They seem unaware of the presence of other people.

Question 51

Without parental sanity, what will become of the child?

A) It will itself become insane.
B) It will arrive at later stages with uncertainty about its worth.
C) It will be unable to master the anxiety gradient.
D) It will, paradoxically, become a resilient and well-adjusted adult, by virtue of its compensatory abilities.

Question 52

Which is of paramount importance to the child during the juvenile period?

A) sexual gratification
B) pleasing parents
C) advancing educationally
D) peers

Question 53

During the juvenile stage

A) peers become less important
B) the child learns that rules applicable to the home may be inappropriate at school
C) parents become "enemies"
D) religious awakening occurs

Question 54

During the preadolescence stage

A) establishing a relationship with a "chum," a same sex friend becomes of primary importance
B) a single friend is embraced; gangs or cliques are shunned
C) children become "reality" based; fantasy is taboo
D) children become temporarily anti-social

Question 55

Early adolescence is characterized by

A) social indifference
B) abandonment of the "best friend" or chum
C) obsession with extracurricular activities, especially sports
D) the appearance of lustful feelings

Question 56

What brain structure, if altered, may predict being gay?

A) the hypothalamus
B) the amygdala
C) the prefrontal cortex
D) the hippocampus

Question 57

All except one of the following are intimacy expressions. Which is NOT an intimacy expression?

A) autophilic
B) isophilic
C) homophilic
D) heterophilic

Question 58

Katasexual means

A) attraction to people of a different race
B) bisexual
C) asexual
D) sexual preference for animals or dead people

Question 59

All except one of the following are about use of the genitals. Which is NOT about uses of the genitals?

A) katagenital
B) onanism
C) amphigenital
D) paragenital

Question 60

All except one of the following regard uses of the genitals. Which is NOT among uses of the genitals?

A) mutual masturbation
B) metagenital
C) orthogenital
D) omnigenital

Question 61

Sullivan said Americans are the most "sex-ridden" people he knew. All of the following are reasons why he said that, except one. Which was NOT a reason for his comment?

A) Early marriage is discouraged.
B) Parents insist on sex education programs.
C) Adults view teen sexuality from the "just say no" or the contraceptive perspective.
D) Society creates a twilight zone between adolescence and adulthood.

Question 62

According to Sullivan, late adolescence is characterized by

A) the end of lust
B) the establishment of a fully mature repertory of interpersonal relations
C) termination of relations with the mothering one
D) the belief in magical and imaginary features of reality and interpersonal relations

Question 63

Sullivan's "late adolescence" is most similar to

A) Horney's ambivalent stage
B) Jung's young adulthood stage
C) Freud's genital stage
D) Adler's fourth decade stage

Question 64

Which of Sullivan's ideas is strongly related to some classic research with institutional infants and some famous monkey research?

A) contact with the mothering one
B) his classification of sexual orientations and behaviors
C) the notions of parataxic, prototaxic, and syntaxic
D) his notion of personification

Question 65

"Marasmus" refers to

A) an infant form of manic-depressive syndrome
B) what we would now call attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity
C) precocious intellectual development
D) wasting away for want of human contact

Question 66

A line of research in developmental or child psychology is well related to Sullivan's theory. Which of the following represents that line of research?

A) paraperceptual studies
B) cognitive development studies
C) attachment studies
D) shyness studies

Question 67

In Harry Harlow's famous monkey studies, which mother figure did baby monkeys prefer?

A) the mother with the nipple
B) the mother with the simulated beating heart
C) the mechanical mother that could move
D) the terrycloth mother

Question 68

Which of the following characterizes the infant of the example "good mother"?

A) He relaxes when she picks him up but tenses when she puts him down.
B) He cries when she leaves him.
C) He smiles only when looking at her.
D) When she picks him up he moves his body as if to try to get closer to her.

Question 69

The most widely used assessment technique in psychiatry was developed by Sullivan. What is it called?

A) the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
B) the Thematic Apperception Test
C) The Psychiatric Interview
D) the Rorschach inkblot test

Question 70

All but one of the following are among Sullivan's contributions to understanding people through the interview process. Which is NOT one of those contributions?

A) assumptions about the nature of interview data
B) statistical methods for analyzing interview data
C) structural outlines for obtaining and organizing information
D) guidelines for interpreting the interview process and defining the roles of participants

Question 71

Which was one of Sullivan's strongest beliefs about the role of the psychological professional in the interview process?

A) The interviewer should let the patient control the process.
B) The interviewer should stay out of the process, just ask questions and record answers.
C) The interviewer should take charge of the situation and do most of the talking.
D) The interviewer should be a participant observer.

Question 72

All except one of the following are among the four stages of the interview that Sullivan identified. Which is NOT one of those four stages?

A) detailed inquiry
B) inception
C) intense encounter
D) interruption

Question 73

During the critically important third phase of the interview, what typically characterizes the patient, according to Sullivan?

A) walking around the obvious
B) sexual talk
C) over-disclosure
D) transference

Question 74

Security operations are

A) skills that allow avoidance of forbidding gestures
B) the patient's evasive interview strategy
C) the interviewer's subtle attempts to "bring the patient out"
D) attempts to hide true feelings

Question 75

Foresight is

A) a future orientation as opposed to Freud's orientation to the past
B) looking back in order to see forward better
C) the uncanny ability to predict the future
D) the capacity to look ahead for good experiences and to avoid bad ones

Question 76

"Notice changes in the body" refers to

A) therapists perceptions of the physiological changes in the patient's body
B) the patient's learned ability to detect increases/decreases in the tension of anxiety
C) the therapists perceptions of the patient's changes in body posture
D) the mutual inspection by therapist and patient of each other's body posture

Question 77

"Notice marginal thoughts" involves

A) the thoughts of the therapist
B) thoughts that are of little significance but are presented as if they are important
C) the two critics, I1 and I2
D) the thoughts the therapists makes in the margins of her or his notes

Question 78

Which of the following refers to the "rather intelligent creature" (critic) who appears during the interview process?

A) the one-way mirror that permits the therapist to see the patient, but not vise versa
B) the mirror that reflects the impressions we are making on others back to us
C) the one-way mirror that permits the patient to see the therapist, but not visa versa
D) the mirror that distorts the perceptions we have of other people

Question 79

"Make prompt statements of all that comes to mind" involves which of the following?

A) just mentioning everything that comes to mind
B) promptly mentioning thoughts, especially those with emotional content
C) talking rapidly because it prevent self-censorship of thoughts
D) trusting the situation to the extent of expressing the thoughts that it provokes

Question 80

All except one of the following best characterize the limitations of Sullivan and his work? Which does NOT characterize those limitations?

A) Because of his obscurity, other psychologists and psychiatrists are largely unfamiliar with Sullivan.
B) Sullivan was no scientist.
C) There has been little direct research on Sullivan ideas.
D) Some of Sullivan's concepts border on the trivial.