Deck 8: Personality and Individual Differences

Question 1

'We are all unique individuals and our personalities are always evolving. A person's personality is too complex to be measured using numbers or categories?' Which of the following approaches to personality does this statement describe?

A) Ideographic
B) Nomothetic
C) Social-radical
D) Psychodynamic

Answer 1

A
Explanation: The ideographic approach has the underlying assumption that individual personalities are unique and always changing.

Question 2

Which of the following approaches to personality has the underlying assumption that personalities can be measured and categorised, for example through a personality test?

A) Ideographic
B) Nomothetic
C) Social-radical
D) Psychodynamic

Answer 2

B
Explanation: The nomothetic approach sees personality as being measurable and describable in terms of a set of traits or personality types. The ideographic and social-radical views see personality as more unique, complex, and changeable over time.

Question 3

The nomothetic approach sees personality as something that is measurable and which can be labelled with different categories.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: The nomothetic approach sees personality as measurable, whereas the ideographic approach sees personality as much more complex and dynamic, and beyond measurement.

Question 4

The ideographic approach sees personality as something that is measurable and which can be labelled with different categories.

Question 5

In recruitment and selection, what is 'predictive validity'?

A) A measure of how accurately a selection technique measures a candidate's personality
B) A blend of different selection techniques, as found in an assessment centre
C) The impact the workplace has on personality development
D) A scale upon which personality traits can be measured

Question 6

A list of desired skills, experience, and personality characteristics that is sent out to applicants for a job is known as a person ______.

Question 7

Recruitment is the process of narrowing down a field of candidates to choose one suitable candidate for a job.

Question 8

For which of the following jobs would an extravert personality be more appropriate? Please select all that apply.

A) An auditor who spends a lot of their time scrutinising financial records
B) A research scientist whose job involves the analysis of a lot of data
C) A salesperson who approaches passers-by in busy shopping centres
D) A tour rep who organizes parties for holidaymakers several times a week

Question 9

You wish to recruit a member of sales staff who will need to interact with many different people during the working day, building up an instant rapport with a variety of different clients. Which of the following personality types would your ideal candidate have?

A) Choleric
B) Introvert
C) Neurotic
D) Extravert

Question 10

Match the following terms associated with personality to their correct definition.
-A specific personality characteristic

A) Personality trait
B) Personality type
C) Personality test
D) Person specification

Question 11

Match the following terms associated with personality to their correct definition.
-A set of personality characteristics which make up a particular category of personality

A) Personality trait
B) Personality type
C) Personality test
D) Person specification

Question 12

Match the following terms associated with personality to their correct definition.
-An instrument designed to measure aspects of an individual's personality

A) Personality trait
B) Personality type
C) Personality test
D) Person specification

Question 13

Match the following terms associated with personality to their correct definition.
-A document outlining the ideal characteristics of a successful candidate for a vacancy

A) Personality trait
B) Personality type
C) Personality test
D) Person specification

Question 14

Which of the following Hippocratic personality groups found on Eysenck's model of personality would describe someone who has a very calm, controlled, and even-tempered personality?

A) Sanguine
B) Phlegmatic
C) Choleric
D) Melancholic

Question 15

Using Eysenck's model of personality, a person who is thoughtful, reliable, and even-tempered would be typical of which of Hippocrates's four humours?

A) Melancholic
B) Choleric
C) Sanguine
D) Phlegmatic

Question 16

Which personality measuring instrument uses four scales and is derived from the work of Jung?

A) Cattell's 16PF traits
B) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
C) Big five personality factors
D) Keirsey's temperament sorter

Question 17

Which of the Myers-Briggs scales would be used to assess the amount of empathy that an individual has with other people?

A) Extraversion/Introversion (E/I)
B) Sensing/Intuition (S/N)
C) Thinking/Feeling (T/F)
D) Judgement/Perception (J/P)

Question 18

Keirsey's _________ sorter matches Myers-Briggs personality types to ideal professions.

Question 19

Match the following traits on the big-five OCEAN scale to their description.
-The degree to which people are imaginative and willing to try new ideas

A) Openness to experience
B) Conscientiousness
C) Agreeableness
D) Neuroticism

Question 20

Match the following traits on the big-five OCEAN scale to their description.
-The degree to which people are diligent and orderly

A) Openness to experience
B) Conscientiousness
C) Agreeableness
D) Neuroticism

Question 21

Match the following traits on the big-five OCEAN scale to their description.
-The degree to which people are cooperative and get along with others

A) Openness to experience
B) Conscientiousness
C) Agreeableness
D) Neuroticism

Question 22

Match the following traits on the big-five OCEAN scale to their description.
-The degree to which people are emotionally stable

A) Openness to experience
B) Conscientiousness
C) Agreeableness
D) Neuroticism

Question 23

Which of the following are true of the ideographic approach to personality? Please select all that apply.

A) Personality is dynamic and always changing over time
B) Personality can be measured using a personality test
C) Experiences throughout our lives shape our personality
D) Our personalities are a natural essence, just like the colour of our eyes

Question 24

Whether personality is an innate characteristic, or whether it changes and is influenced over time, is sometimes referred to as the nature vs ____ debate.

Question 25

Which of the following are reasons why interviews often give an incorrect perception of a candidate's personality to the interviewers? Please select all that apply.

A) People tend to take account of aspects of the interview which reinforce their existing perceptions of the candidate.
B) Early perceptions of a candidate, whether good or bad, can influence how the candidate is viewed throughout the rest of the interview.
C) Stereotypes can lead to unfair discrimination against candidates based on their membership of particular social groups.
D) Interviewers tend to look favourably on candidates with similar characteristics to themselves.

Question 26

Structured interviews give a better predictive validity than unstructured interviews.

Question 27

An ___ centre approach blends several selection techniques in combination so as to not rely on the weaknesses of just one selection technique.

Question 28

Match the following selection techniques to the purpose for which they are most suitable.
-Check specific facts about a candidate's previous work experience.

A) References
B) Work sampling
C) Structured interview
D) Graphology

Question 29

Match the following selection techniques to the purpose for which they are most suitable.
-Observe a candidate performing specific tasks that they might be expected to perform in their work.

A) References
B) Work sampling
C) Structured interview
D) Graphology

Question 30

Match the following selection techniques to the purpose for which they are most suitable.
-Discuss specific work-related scenarios based on a candidate's previous knowledge and experience.

A) References
B) Work sampling
C) Structured interview
D) Graphology

Question 31

Match the following selection techniques to the purpose for which they are most suitable.
-No proven use at all in selecting candidates.

A) References
B) Work sampling
C) Structured interview
D) Graphology