Deck 12: Personality: The Uniqueness of the Individual

Question 1

________ refers to how much of a stimulus is required for it to be perceived.

A) Cortical arousal
B) Conditional regard
C) Reaction formation
D) Sensory threshold

Answer 1

Sensory threshold

Question 2

The major tenet of psychoanalysis is that ________.

A) peers are the major motivator of personality development
B) the unconscious is the most powerful force in personality
C) the three components of personality are formed by acetylcholine
D) the frontal and occipital lobes function in harmony to determine personality

Answer 2

the unconscious is the most powerful force in personality

Question 3

In the context of Hans Eysenck's biological theory of personality, why do introverts require a lower stimulus level to arouse them and reach their "comfort zone" than do extraverts?

A) Because they have high thresholds of arousal
B) Because they have higher baseline levels of cortical arousal
C) Because they seek stimulating environments
D) Because they have less sensitivity to stimuli

Answer 3

Because they have higher baseline levels of cortical arousal

Question 4

Which of the following is an assumption of the psychoanalytic perspective of personality?

A) One's personality resides in the unconscious, and early childhood experiences lay the foundation for adult personality.
B) Traits are the major force behind personality.
C) One has a natural interest in becoming the best person possible.
D) A person's behavior changes in different situations, and humans have a biological foundation for their personality traits.

Question 5

Rudo remains detached at school and does not get involved emotionally. He doesn't seem to care that his classmates perceive him to be what he is not. Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theory suggests that Rudo has a neurotic trend of ________.

A) moving with others
B) moving against others
C) moving toward others
D) moving away from others

Question 6

Darla is psychologically balanced and healthy. According to Sigmund Freud's notion that the human mind has three distinct "provinces," which of the following statements is true of Darla?

A) She has an uncontrolled id.
B) Her ego is most developed.
C) Her id and superego are bigger than her ego.
D) She has an exaggerated superego.

Question 7

Which of the following dimensions of personality reflects how people in Asian cultures tend to be more concerned about the impact of their behavior on their family, friends, and social groups?

A) groupthink
B) communism
C) collectivism
D) individualism

Question 8

Which of the following is the core idea behind positive psychology?

A) A focus on inherent inferiorities
B) A focus on neuroscientific methods
C) A focus on positive states and experiences
D) A focus on the collective unconscious

Question 9

According to Freud, the ________ develops around age two or three and helps us acknowledge what is right and what is wrong.

A) id
B) ego
C) superego
D) conscience

Question 10

From the following scenarios, which of the following behavioral geneticists is most likely using the quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach to study personality?

A) Fletcher is documenting the connections between childhood obesity and anxiety.
B) Martin is tracking down genetic markers associated with compassion.
C) Julie is studying both identical and fraternal twins, who have been raised apart, for identifying the most basic personality traits.
D) Deana is conducting functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of students who scored high on a measure of shyness.

Question 11

________ was a new scientific movement started in the late 1990s that combined Freudian ideas with neuroscientific methods.

A) Analytical psychology
B) Neuropsychoanalysis
C) Psychotherapy
D) Neuroscience

Question 12

In the context of the origins of personality, which of the following is true of the quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach?

A) It focuses on the amount of similarity between identical versus fraternal twins on a given trait.
B) It uncovers the location on particular genes that is associated with high or low levels of a trait.
C) It states that a majority of personality is influenced by life experiences and the environment.
D) It points to nurtured markers for several basic personality traits.

Question 13

The ________ method of personality questionnaires involves using reason or theory to come up with a question.

A) face valid
B) empirical
C) Rorschach Inkblot
D) thematic apperception

Question 14

Which of the following is true about people who attain self-actualization?

A) Self-actualizing people often experience moments of profound personal importance or personal meaning that shape the rest of their lives.
B) Self-actualizing people are more likely than most people to be influenced by the ideas and attitudes of others.
C) Self-actualizing people face difficulty in being able to solve problems with originality and novelty.
D) Self-actualizing people lack the ability to be spontaneous and straightforward.

Question 15

Which of the following statements is true about personality changes across a life span?

A) People become steadily more agreeable and conscientious from adolescence to late adulthood.
B) People become more antisocial from adolescence to early adulthood.
C) People's social vitality never levels off and continues to change even in older adulthood, without any decline in any other traits.
D) People become less assertive and emotionally unstable from adolescence to middle adulthood.

Question 16

Eleanor takes immense pride in herself. She competes with other people at every given opportunity and is easily angered when things do not go as planned. Karen Horney's theory suggests that Eleanor has a neurotic trend of ________.

A) moving with others
B) moving away from others
C) moving against others
D) moving toward others

Question 17

With regard to personality dimensions, ________ can be defined as anything done by an employee that is intentionally negative for his or her organization.

A) characteristic nonadaption
B) counterproductive work behaviors
C) unconditional positive regard
D) overproductive actions

Question 18

________, as a defense mechanism, is the unconscious act of keeping threatening or disturbing thoughts, feelings, or impulses out of consciousness.

A) Reaction formation
B) Repression
C) Sublimation
D) Projection

Question 19

According to Karen Horney, which of the following is true of basic anxiety?

A) Basic anxiety in itself is not neurotic.
B) Basic hostility is the result of inward basic anxiety during an individual's childhood.
C) Basic anxiety is suppressed during an individual's formative years.
D) Basic anxiety may not give rise to normal behaviors.

Question 20

According to Carl Jung, ________ consists of all our repressed and hidden thoughts, feelings, and motives.

A) personal unconscious
B) anima
C) animus
D) collective conscious

Question 21

According to Sigmund and Anna Freud, which of the following is true about psychological defense mechanisms?

A) They are compulsive feelings and behaviors.
B) They deny and distort reality in some way.
C) They operate on the "moralistic principle" and give us a sense of what we should and should not do.
D) They motivate most of our speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions.

Question 22

Nina feels needy and does not allow her boyfriend to move to another city. She makes him feel sorry for her by projecting herself as the "poor little me." Generally, she has a tendency to cling on to the people in her life. Karen Horney's theory suggests that Nina has a neurotic trend of ________.

A) moving away from others
B) moving against others
C) moving with others
D) moving toward others

Question 23

In the context of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic perspective of personality, which of the following is true of the superego?

A) It is in direct contact with the outside world.
B) It operates on the "moralistic principle."
C) Its sole function is to seek pleasure.
D) It operates on the "reality principle."

Question 24

According to behavioral observation, a measure of how much agreement there is in ratings when using two or more coders to rank personality or behavior in other people is known as the ________.

A) experimenter's bias
B) intra-class coefficient
C) social attribution bias
D) inter-rater reliability

Question 25

Among the three provinces of the human mind derived by Freud that control and regulate impulses, the ________ is the only part of the mind that is in direct contact with the outside world.

A) ego
B) superego
C) alter ego
D) id

Question 26

Susan has a low behavioral threshold for feeling shy. On the basis of this statement, which of the following is most likely true about Susan?

A) It does not take much to make Susan feel shy.
B) Susan does not usually feel awkward in a crowd.
C) Susan is extremely outgoing in social circles.
D) It is easy for Susan to get comfortable with new people.

Question 27

The long version of which of the following genes is associated with less efficient dopamine production?

A) BCL2
B) ABO
C) BDNF gene
D) DRD4

Question 28

Which of the following refers to the internal and specific cognitive, motivational, or personality systems that solve specific problems of survival and reproduction?

A) physical operations
B) physiological processes
C) behavioral threshold
D) psychological mechanisms

Question 29

Greg is attending a lecture on the principles of management at the local community hall. In the middle of the session, he begins to feel very hungry and wants to leave. However, he realizes that leaving would disrupt the class and perhaps insult the speaker. He decides to wait until the lecture is over and then get a snack. According to Freudian psychoanalytic theory on the human mind, Greg's mind has a highly developed ________.

A) projection
B) superego
C) id
D) oral stage

Question 30

Antonio and Candra are five-year-old twins who live in Brooklyn with their parents and elder sister. Which of the following is most likely an example of an unshared environment for the family ________.

A) their neighbors in Brooklyn
B) their parents
C) their birth order
D) their elder sister

Question 31

Which of the following animals shares a distinct conscientiousness dimension with humans?

A) chimpanzees
B) birds
C) dogs
D) horses

Question 32

In the context of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic perspective of personality, identify a true statement about the superego.

A) It mediates the conflict between impulse and control in a healthy person.
B) It is the only part of the mind that is in direct contact with the outside world, and it operates on the "reality principle."
C) It is the control center of the personality and frequently applies the brakes to the impulses of the id.
D) It is founded in the "pleasure principle" and operates on the "do it" principle.

Question 33

On the basis of research examining universal changes in personality change across cultures, it has been found that people usually become ________ from early to mid-adulthood.

A) more anxious
B) less agreeable
C) less conscientious
D) more open

Question 34

Very often, Vincent likes to carry a ladies' purse, and his body language is primarily characterized by feminine mannerisms. Proponents of Carl Jung's theory might say that Vincent is unable to repress his ________.

A) anima
B) materialism
C) shadow
D) animus

Question 35

The main idea behind Hans Eysenck's model of personality is that ________.

A) differences in individuals' genome create a different level of arousal and sensitivity to stimulation
B) the Big Five personality dimensions, along with one's talents, aptitudes, and cognitive abilities define an individual's characteristic adaptations
C) the idea of striving for superiority, not sex or aggression, is the major drive behind all behavior
D) traits or dispositions constitute the major force behind an individual's personality

Question 36

Which of the following psychologists founded the movement known as psychoanalysis?

A) Sigmund Freud
B) Carl Rogers
C) Karen Horney
D) Abraham Maslow

Question 37

Alan dislikes his elder brother, Sebastian, because he feels that his parents are partial toward him. He is always eager to pick a fight with Sebastian but he tells his friends that Sebastian does not like him and is always looking for ways to get back at him. According to Freudian psychoanalytic theory, Alan's behavior best exemplifies ________.

A) intellectualization
B) displacement
C) projection
D) sublimation

Question 38

The humanistic movement was rekindled in the 1990s and relabeled ________.

A) personality psychology
B) evolutionary psychology
C) positive psychology
D) cognitive psychology

Question 39

Efren is not thinking about his girlfriend at this very moment. However, someone asks him to describe her, and without much thought, he describes her eyes, hair, and smile. Thus, according to Freud's three levels of consciousness, this information about his girlfriend is likely to be stored in the ________ layer of Efren's consciousness.

A) unconscious
B) subconscious
C) conscious
D) preconscious

Question 40

Identify an assumption of the humanistic-positive perspective of personality.

A) Personality traits have their foundations in biology.
B) Traits are the major force behind personality.
C) One has a natural interest in becoming the best person possible.
D) One's personality resides in the unconscious and early childhood experiences lay the foundation for adult personality.

Question 41

Which of the following best applies to the definition personality?

A) It exists only if everyone acted and thought alike
B) It is not enduring, or it changes over time.
C) It is relatively consistent.
D) It is mostly unstable.

Question 42

Karen Horney defined ________ as a feeling of being isolated and helpless in a world conceived as potentially hostile.

A) basic hate
B) basic hostility
C) basic anxiety
D) basic aggression

Question 43

According to Robert McCrae (1949) and Paul Costa (1942), the two primary components of the Big Five theory are basic tendencies and ________.

A) psychological mechanisms
B) reaction formations
C) characteristic adaptations
D) defense mechanisms

Question 44

Which of the following is an assumption of the biological theories of personality?

A) Humans naturally strive to overcome their inherent inferiorities or deficiencies, both physical and psychological.
B) One's personality resides in the unconscious and early childhood experiences lay the foundation for adult personality.
C) People naturally strive toward growth and fulfillment and need unconditional positive regard for that to happen.
D) Differences in personality are partly based in differences in structures and systems in the central nervous system.

Question 45

According to Freudian psychoanalytic theory, which of the following is true about the ego?

A) The ego "stands over us" and evaluates actions in terms of right and wrong; hence, it is our conscience.
B) If the id wants pleasure, the ego makes a realistic attempt to obtain it.
C) The ego is the part of our personality that we do not yet own; it owns or controls us.
D) The sole function of the ego is to seek pleasure.

Question 46

Karen Horney's psychological social theory suggests that neurotically ________ involves developing a detached and "cool" demeanor-not responding emotionally, not caring, and being "above it all."

A) moving with others
B) moving away from others
C) moving toward others
D) moving against others

Question 47

According to Carl Rogers, which of the following statements defines psychological adjustment?

A) It is a feeling of being isolated and helpless in a world conceived as potentially hostile.
B) It is the seat of impulse and desire that owns or controls people.
C) It is congruence between the real and ideal selves.
D) It is the ability to respect and appreciate another person unconditionally.

Question 48

Following the birth of his baby brother, five-year-old Ermen feels that he is no longer the center of his parents' attention. He resents this fact, but he is unable to express his dislike for his sibling for fear of being reprimanded. When Ermen is left to take care of his baby brother, he often resorts to hurting him but shows intense affection toward the baby in the presence of his family. According to Freudian psychoanalytic theory, this is an example of ________.

A) reaction formation
B) displacement
C) sublimation
D) projection

Question 49

Which of the following is the most recently evolved personality trait that involves impulse control and therefore requires highly developed brain regions capable of controlling impulses?

A) excitability
B) neuroticism
C) conscientiousness
D) introversion

Question 50

Which of the following is true about reaction formation?

A) Reaction formation results in exaggerated or compulsive feelings and behavior.
B) Reaction formation underlies all the other defense mechanisms.
C) Reaction formation is indirectly responsible for inferiority complex.
D) Reaction formation involves expressing a socially unacceptable impulse in a socially acceptable and even desirable way.

Question 51

Tina is outgoing, has a big social circle, and can instantly strike a conversation with strangers. Which of the following statements is most likely to be true of Tina's personality?

A) She has a low threshold for anger.
B) She has a high threshold for social awkwardness.
C) She has a low threshold for social awkwardness.
D) She has a high threshold for anger.

Question 52

Among the three provinces of the human mind as derived by Freud, the id is founded on the ________.

A) pleasure principle
B) golden rule
C) moralistic principle
D) five-factor model

Question 53

According to culture and personality dispositions, Asian cultures emphasize the trait of ________ much more than Western cultures do.

A) extraversion
B) openness to experience
C) risk taking
D) interpersonal relatedness

Question 54

Timothy is an independent and assertive 30-year-old who does not get easily influenced by the ideas and attitudes of other people. He forms his own ideas as he has a clear direction and goal in life. He doesn't reach out for guidance to others regarding what to think or how to behave. According to Abraham Maslow, which characteristic of self-actualizing individuals does Timothy portray?

A) Simplicity and naturalness
B) Being problem-centered
C) Spontaneity
D) Resistance to enculturation

Question 55

Karen Horney, the first major female psychoanalyst, defined ________ as anger or rage that originates in childhood and stems from fear of being neglected or rejected by one's parents.

A) basic anxiety
B) basic hostility
C) basic compliance
D) basic aggression

Question 56

In contrast to the humanistic psychologists, positive psychologists ________.

A) support the idea that differences in individuals' genomes (DNA) create a different level of arousal and sensitivity to stimulation
B) argue that differences in personality are partly based in differences in structures and systems in the central nervous system
C) emphasize the study of the whole person
D) are more likely to base their ideas in research than in speculation, clinical practice, and observation

Question 57

Which of the following is a problem associated with the rational method of developing questionnaire items?

A) It is expensive, time-consuming, and gives relatively unreliable results.
B) Participants tend to generalize from their observations and assume that what they experience in one situation applies to all similar situations.
C) It requires an outside criterion of who is anxious or not, such as a therapist's evaluation of the anxiety levels, to relate to such method.
D) Participants might give socially desirable or false answers rather than honest ones because the questions are transparent.

Question 58

According to Abraham Maslow, which of the following is a true statement about self-actualizing people?

A) They look to others for guidance on what to think or how to behave.
B) They pretend to be what they are not.
C) They sometimes can appear quite childlike in their ability to be spontaneous and straightforward.
D) They are more likely than most people to be influenced by the ideas and attitudes of others.

Question 59

Which of the following is most likely to be the most influential, nongenetic determinant of personality differences among people ________.

A) their unshared environment
B) their loci markers
C) their identical twins
D) their parents

Question 60

Teresa must study for a test on a Saturday evening, but all her friends are going to a party to which Teresa has also been invited. Teresa is torn between her desire to party with her friends and her need to prepare for the test. She finally decides to stay behind to study and party some other time. According to Sigmund Freud, which of the following allowed Teresa to evaluate her actions?

A) Her unconscious mind
B) Her ego
C) Her id
D) Her superego

Question 61

In the context of personality measurement, the ________ is defined as a method for developing questionnaire items that focuses on including questions that characterize the group the questionnaire is intended to distinguish.

A) rational method
B) quantitative trait loci (QTL) method
C) empirical method
D) Rorschach Inkblot test method

Question 62

Which of the following theories assumes that dispositions are the major force behind personality?

A) biological theories
B) social-cognitive learning theories
C) trait theories
D) humanistic theories

Question 63

Which of the following statements is accurate about Carl Jung's psychoanalytic perspective of personality?

A) Full personality development requires acknowledging and being receptive to the unconscious or less well-developed sides of one's personality.
B) Personality development leads to consistent psychological differences in the personalities of first-born, middle-born, and last-born individuals.
C) What one consciously thinks, feels, and believes is a relatively accurate and important source of information for explaining his or her personality development.
D) The differences in dopamine production play a critical role in brain and neural development, which in turn affect personality development.

Question 64

In the context of social-cognitive learning theories, which of the following statements is true about Walter Mischel?

A) He argued that a hostile person is always hostile in every situation.
B) He agreed that personality involves stable and consistent behavior over time.
C) He completely agreed that personality involves stable and consistent behavior across situations.
D) He argued that the qualities a person brings to each situation interact with the situation to make the behavior consistent even when the situation changes.

Question 65

According to Freud, the last part of the human mind that develops around age two or three is the ________.

A) ego
B) superego
C) instinct
D) id

Question 66

Which of the following Big Five dimensions of personality is best depicted by the description "How planned, organized, orderly, hard-working, controlled, persevering, punctual, and ambitious is someone?"

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

Question 67

The ________ layer of consciousness contains all the drives, urges, or instincts that are outside awareness but nonetheless motivate most of one's speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions.

A) unconscious
B) preconscious
C) subconscious
D) conscious

Question 68

According to Karen Horney's psychological theory, neurotically ________ involves consistently needing or clinging to other people, belittling oneself, getting people to feel sorry for "poor little me," and almost completely repressing feelings of anger and hostility.

A) moving against others
B) moving toward others
C) moving away from others
D) moving with others

Question 69

In the context of evolutionary explanations of personality, identify a true statement about naturally and sexually selected personality traits.

A) Sexually selected traits are favored if they increase one's chances of survival and reproductive success.
B) Naturally selected traits make one more attractive to the opposite gender.
C) Sexual selection is the sole contributor that operates in the evolution of human personality traits.
D) Intelligence and creativity are sexually selected traits because people are attracted to intelligent and creative people.

Question 70

Olivia, a sophomore, wants to participate in a soccer tournament. She possesses the physical stamina required for the game. Because her peers consider it a masculine game, she represses her masculine qualities and traits to fit in with her peers. In the context of Carl Jung's psychoanalytic perspective of personality, Olivia represses her ________.

A) anima
B) superego
C) ego
D) animus

Question 71

The ________ layer of consciousness is what one is aware of at any given moment in time.

A) subconscious
B) conscious
C) preconscious
D) unconscious

Question 72

The ________ layer of consciousness is just below the surface of awareness.

A) preconscious
B) unconscious
C) subconscious
D) conscious

Question 73

According to Carl Rogers, ________ is the ability to respect and appreciate another person irrespective of their behavior.

A) empathy
B) emotional transmission
C) altruism
D) unconditional positive regard

Question 74

Carl Jung proposed that the ________ consisted of the shared experiences of our ancestors-God, mother, life, death, water, earth, aggression, survival-that have been transmitted from generation to generation.

A) collective unconscious
B) personal conscious
C) personal subconscious
D) collective preconscious

Question 75

Psychologists use the term ________ when they are referring to the unique and relatively enduring set of behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and motives that characterize an individual.

A) individualism
B) personality
C) psyche
D) cognition

Question 76

According to Carl Jung, the ________ is the male part of the female personality.

A) ego
B) animus
C) soma
D) superego

Question 77

In the context of human personality, ________ is the point at which one moves from not having a particular response to having one.

A) a psychosexual stage
B) a quantitative trait locus
C) a behavioral threshold
D) a moral high ground

Question 78

Identify the correct statement about psychological defense mechanisms, which are a major contribution by Sigmund Freud to psychology?

A) They operate unconsciously.
B) They are always repressive in nature.
C) They project reality as it is.
D) They operate on the "realistic principle."

Question 79

Sigmund and Anna Freud described psychological ________ as strategies that the mind develops to protect itself from anxiety-provoking desires, thoughts, and memories.

A) projective tests
B) defense mechanisms
C) archetypes
D) fixations

Question 80

According to Hans Eysenck's biological theory of personality, introverted people have a higher level of ________ than do extraverted people.

A) relaxation
B) cortical arousal
C) response threshold
D) social desire