Deck 11: Personality Theory and the Self-Concept

Question 1

William James's components of the self-concept include:

A) the ideal self, the actual self, the ought self.
B) the bad me, the good me, the not me.
C) the material me, the social me, the spiritual me.
D) the actual me, the public me, the private me.

Answer 1

the material me, the social me, the spiritual me.

Question 2

Mark Leary's sociometer theory suggests that:

A) self-esteem is determined by the number of an individual's successes divided by the number of the individual's aims and expectations.
B) self-esteem is directly related to the quality of our interactions and sense of positive relations with others.
C) the factors that determine self-esteem are unique for every individual.
D) self-esteem is determined by the match between an individual's actual self and ideal self.

Answer 2

self-esteem is directly related to the quality of our interactions and sense of positive relations with others.

Question 3

Our sense of self depends on the reactions of other people, and how other people treat us. The reactions we receive from others are incorporated into our sense of self. This statement refers to:

A) Charles Cooley's looking glass self.
B) William James' description of the self concept.
C) the reaction of an insecure person who pays too much attention to what others think.
D) Mark Leary's conception of the self concept.

Answer 3

Charles Cooley's looking glass self.

Question 4

The term "reflected appraisal" refers to:

A) self appraisal.
B) the persons perception of other people's appraisal.
C) actual appraisal.
D) hidden appraisal.

Question 5

In Gergen's experiment on the looking glass self:

A) being the recipient of positive reinforcement from the experimenter led to higher levels of self-esteem.
B) positive reinforcement increased self-esteem only in the ingratiation condition.
C) positive reinforcement increased self-esteem only in the accurate impression condition.
D) self-esteem was unaffected by the experimenter's feedback.

Question 6

According to George Herbert Mead, symbolic interactionism theory is concerned with:

A) our perception of the treatment we receive from others.
B) the actual treatment we receive from others.
C) how the treatment we receive from others shapes our self-concept.
D) All of the above

Question 7

Meta-accuracy:

A) is the term for our ability to "size up" other people.
B) is the term for our ability to predict how people will react to different social situations.
C) is the term for how accurate we are in our sense of how other people view us.
D) None of the above

Question 8

Erikson's stage theory:

A) encompasses the life span, while Freud's stages of development end at the beginning of adulthood.
B) ignores the role of culture.
C) focuses on the superego rather than the ego.
D) includes four psychosexual stages.

Question 9

The crisis in Erikson's first stage of development is:

A) autonomy versus shame and doubt.
B) initiative versus guilt.
C) trust versus mistrust.
D) intimacy versus isolation.

Question 10

We say that there is an identity deficit when the person ______________________, whereas in an identity conflict, ________________________.

A) has a distorted sense of self; two or more aspects of the self are in opposition to each other.
B) two or more aspects of the self are in opposition to each other; the person has no sense of self.
C) seeks to establish a single identity; has two or more different personalities.
D) seeks to establish a desired identity; two or more aspects of the self are in conflict with each other.

Question 11

Which of the following is not a strength of Erikson's model?

A) Erikson's model considers cultural factors.
B) The model focuses on personality across the lifespan.
C) Most concepts in Erikson's model readily lend themselves to empirical evaluation.
D) Those who study his work find it to be meaningful and personally relevant.

Question 12

When Tim was 10 years old, he decided he wanted to be a lawyer, and to the delight of his parents, he never wavered from that decision. By the age of 25, Tim was called to the bar (became a lawyer). According to James Marcia, Tim has attained the ego identity status of:

A) foreclosure.
B) identity achievement.
C) identity diffusion.
D) moratorium.

Question 13

When she first started university, Brittany planned to be a systems engineer. After two years she switched from engineering to psychology. Brittany is now 25 years old and is enrolled in a graduate program in clinical psychology. Although the program is challenging, and she sometimes envies the lifestyles of her friends who are already working, Brittany knows that she is on the right career path. Brittany is probably in the ego identity status of ______________.

A) foreclosure.
B) identity achievement.
C) identity diffusion.
D) moratorium.

Question 14

According to Marcia, ________________is associated with low neuroticism, high conscientiousness, and extroversion.

A) foreclosure.
B) identity diffusion.
C) moratorium.
D) identity achievement.

Question 15

According to _________________ theory, people strive actively to confirm their sense of self, and desire a sense of predictability and control.

A) self-enhancement
B) self-verification
C) self-consistency
D) self-presentation

Question 16

In the movie Catch Me If You Can, which is based on a true story, a con man named Frank Abagnale Jr. would dress up in a pilot's uniform not only to pass bad cheques, but also to improve his mood when he felt lonely, insecure, and depressed. According to Abagnale, the uniform brought him respect and dignity, and helped him to overcome feelings of uselessness and dejection. In addition to financial gain, Abagnale's motive(s) for wearing a pilot's uniform addressed the need for:

A) self-presentation and self-enhancement.
B) self- presentation and self-verification.
C) self-improvement and self-enhancement.
D) self-improvement and self-consistency.

Question 17

When he got back a statistics test, Doug compared his grades with the grades of other students. Festinger calls this:

A) social-verification.
B) self-improvement.
C) self-verification.
D) social-differentiation.

Question 18

In the example above, Doug sought out students who typically received similar grades to make the comparison. Doug appears to be motivated by a goal of:

A) accurate self-verification.
B) self-enhancement.
C) self-improvement.
D) accurate-self evaluation.

Question 19

In a research paradigm, participants are given adjectives describing personal traits, and are asked to indicate if these words apply to themselves. A standard finding is that subjects are quicker to remember self-referent words when later tested on a word recognition test. This is known as the:

A) self-description effect.
B) self-encoding test.
C) self- reference effect.
D) self-relevant effect.

Question 20

People from countries like Japan typically engage in self-enhancement in ways that emphasize ________________, and people from individualistic countries like the United States typically engage in self enhancement that emphasizes ________________.

A) their connectedness to others; their personal traits.
B) financial success; collectivistic values.
C) their differences from others; their efforts at self-improvement.
D) personal traits; personal traits.

Question 21

When Carol was worried that her boyfriend had lost interest in her, her views about social issues became more extreme. McGregor at al. would say that Carol's behaviour is an example of _____________________

A) opinionated reasoning.
B) self-enhancement.
C) self-verification.
D) compensatory conviction.

Question 22

_______________ is a form of repression that serves the defensive function of keeping unwanted thoughts about the self out of conscious awareness.

A) compensatory conviction
B) self-enhancement
C) self-verification
D) self-complexity

Question 23

According to Linville, _____________ is an important buffer against stress, in that it reduces vulnerability to maladjustment.

A) compensatory conviction.
B) self-complexity.
C) social comparison.
D) self reference.

Question 24

Vincent's self-concept is relatively straightforward. He thinks of himself as a stockbroker, son, and collector of comic books. His friend Jim's self-concept is more complex. Although Jim's job as a lawyer is important to him, Jim has many other interests and responsibilities. Jim's self concept encompasses but is not limited to his work as a lawyer, being a parent to his two children, being part of a closely-knit network of friends, his volunteer work in a neighbourhood association, his role as treasurer of a radio-controlled airplane club, and so forth. Coincidentally, Vincent and Jim lose their jobs at the same time. According to Linville, we would expect that:

A) Jim will be more distressed by his job loss than Vincent, because losing his job also interferes with Jim's ability to fulfill the role of being a provider for his children.
B) Jim will be more distressed by his job loss than Vincent, because Jim's self-concept requires him to fulfill many roles, and Vincent's self-concept does not.
C) Vincent is likely to be more distressed than Jim, because Vincent's self-concept is more heavily invested in work than is the case for Jim.
D) We have no way of predicting who will be more distressed by the loss of a job.

Question 25

The spontaneous self-concept:

A) is primarily concerned with self-esteem.
B) is assessed by a measure that has an individual indicate which of a long list of adjectives applies to him or herself.
C) is multifaceted, with at least seven components
D) is not useful in research about the self-concept because it is too subjective.

Question 26

According to the distinctiveness hypothesis:

A) individuals are disproportionately more likely to spontaneously mention any unique factors they may possess when describing themselves.
B) people want to fit in, and will attempt to minimize characteristics that set them apart from others.
C) all people are unique in their own way.
D) people with distinctive characteristics have higher than average self-esteem.

Question 27

Identify the statement about possible selves (Markus and Nurius) that is incorrect:

A) People who focus on their positive possible self become anxious that they will not be able to fulfill their own expectations.
B) People who are cognitively preoccupied with the feared possible self will be highly anxious.
C) People who are preoccupied with the negative possible self may be motivated to take steps to make sure that this possible self does not actually occur.
D) People with a desirable possible self will be motivated to perform behaviours and conduct themselves in ways that help them achieve this goal.

Question 28

E. Tory Higgin's work on self discrepancy theory considers:

A) the feared possible self and the desirable possible self.
B) the feared possible self, the desirable possible self, and the discrepancies between them.
C) the ideal self, the actual self, and the ought self.
D) the idealized and actual self

Question 29

Courtney has a large discrepancy between her actual self and ought self. According to E. Tory Higgins, we would expect that Courtney would:

A) experience depression.
B) experience anxiety.
C) experience anxiety only if she developed health difficulties.
D) experience anxiety and depression.

Question 30

In a study comparing idiographic and nomothetic measures of appearance related discrepancies it was found that:

A) idiographic and nomothetic measures are equivalent.
B) idiographic measures are more accurate than nomothetic measures.
C) nomothetic measures are more accurate than idiographic measures.
D) nomothetic and idiographic measures can yield substantially different results.

Question 31

Findings on self-discrepancy theory indicate that:

A) self discrepancies are generally stable over time.
B) self ideal discrepancies are related to postpartum depression.
C) the magnitude of the perceived discrepancy between a person's actual and ideal appearance is a predictor of eating disorder symptoms.
D) all of the above.

Question 32

One criticism of E. Tory Higgins's work on self-discrepancy theory (SDT) is that:

A) the theory is presented in such abstract terms that it cannot be tested.
B) the theory lacks applied value.
C) the empirical distinction between ought and ideal selves is quite blurry.
D) SDT pathologizes minority group members.

Question 33

Findings on self-esteem indicate that:

A) self-esteem rises in childhood and falls in adulthood.
B) self-esteem increases through adulthood and then drops in elderly participants.
C) self-esteem is highly variable, and no general trends were observed.
D) females have higher self-esteem than males.

Question 34

In their work on the culture of self worth, Twenge and Campbell report that:

A) there has been a steady increase in overall levels of self-esteem across generations.
B) levels of depression have steadily declined in successive generations.
C) the culture of self-worth has paid off in societal improvements.
D) All of the above.

Question 35

Self competence:

A) is similar to Bandura's concept of self efficacy.
B) involves a perceived sense of social worth.
C) reflects positive or negative evaluations of the self and related feelings of self-worth that stem from internalized social standards of appropriateness.
D) is negatively correlated with self-worth.

Question 36

Identify the case example that illustrates the concept of paradoxical self-esteem.

A) Anthony has high self-liking and high self-competence, despite very poor performance in school.
B) Marta, who is well-liked by her co-workers and successful in her job has high self-esteem.
C) Connie has been fired from several jobs and has few friends. She is low in self-liking and self-competence.
D) Caitlin has low self-liking, high self-competence, and is a highly successful orthopedic surgeon.

Question 37

_________________ involves automatic evaluations and reactions to the self that occur outside of conscious awareness.

A) Explicit self-esteem
B) Self-endorsement
C) Implicit self-esteem
D) Self-verification

Question 38

Recent evidence suggests_________________ correlations between implicit and explicit self-esteem.

A) small but significant positive
B) large positive
C) non-significant
D) large negative

Question 39

Sean is high in defensive self-esteem. We can expect that:

A) Sean has high implicit self-esteem and low explicit self-esteem.
B) Sean has low implicit self-esteem and high explicit self-esteem.
C) Sean's self esteem is strongly tied in to his changing circumstances.
D) A and C above

Question 40

_________________ is the self worth that a person derives from being a part of social organizations.

A) mattering
B) social self-esteem
C) collective self-esteem
D) group self-esteem

Question 41

In the Shavelson et al. hierarchical model of self-esteem, the general self-concept is composed of:

A) academic, social, emotional, and physical self-concepts.
B) occupational, relational, and psychological self-concepts.
C) family, work, and friendship self-concepts.
D) intellectual, psychological, social, and biological self-concepts.

Question 42

In a study of different domains of the self-concept, Pliner et al. found that for visitors to the Ontario Science Centre:

A) concerns related to physical appearance are more central and important to the self- concepts of males than females throughout the lifespan.
B) concerns related to physical appearance are more central and important to the self- concepts of males than females in adolescence, but in adulthood these concerns become more important to females relative to males.
C) throughout the lifespan, concerns related to physical appearance are more central and important to the self-concepts of females than males .
D) concerns related to physical appearance are more central and important to the self- concepts of females than males from childhood to middle age, but in old age these concerns become more important to males than females.

Question 43

According to a top-down model of self-worth:

A) We first develop a sense of self-worth in specific domains, and eventually form a generalized sense of self-worth.
B) We first develop a generalized sense of self-worth, and then develop a sense of self-worth in specific domains.
C) Our generalized sense of self-worth is unrelated to our sense of self-worth in specific domains.
D) None of the above

Question 44

In regards to state and trait self-esteem:

A) Trait self-esteem is our typical level of self-esteem, whereas state self-esteem is how we feel about ourselves in the moment.
B) State self-esteem is our typical level of self-esteem, whereas trait self-esteem is how we feel about ourselves in particular situations.
C) The distinctions between the two forms of self-esteem do not hold up in research.
D) Researchers are able to assess state self-esteem accurately, but reliability ratings for trait self-esteem are so low that most in the field consider them to be useless.

Question 45

In ______________________ people are aware of themselves as a social object.

A) private self-consciousness
B) personal self-consciousness
C) social self-consciousness
D) public self-consciousness

Question 46

____________________ has led to the development of the sound Princess, which is used by Japanese women to mask the sounds made in public washrooms.

A) Private self-consciousness
B) Objective self-awareness
C) Public self-consciousness
D) Personal self-awareness

Question 47

According to the self-absorption paradox,

A) people who are preoccupied with thoughts of themselves come across as having excessively high self-esteem, but actually have low self esteem.
B) people who have a tendency to be absorbed in thoughts about themselves also are equally capable of being fully absorbed by their thoughts about others.
C) self-focused attention seems beneficial to self-understanding, but too much attention on the self can also be highly maladaptive.
D) throughout history, individuals who are high in self-absorption have created great works of art that have brought pleasure to millions of people.

Question 48

Lisa is high in self-monitoring. We would expect all but the following of Lisa:

A) She is good at learning what is expected in different social situations.
B) She is good at shaping her behaviour to fit the situation.
C) She has good self control over her emotions.
D) She acts consistently across a range of situations.

Question 49

____________________ is a self-defeating form of behaviour designed to protect the self by generating excuses.

A) Self-monitoring
B) Self-disabling
C) Self-handicapping
D) Self-efficacy reduction

Question 50

High levels of self-handicapping are associated with all but the following:

A) Positive evaluations by others
B) High levels of socially prescribed perfectionism
C) Low self-esteem
D) More stress before an exam and poorer exam performance

Question 51

Outline William James' three components of the self concept.

Question 52

Describe four of the eight stages from Erikson's psychosocial development model. Identify the conflict from each and the resolution that must be achieved in order to move onto the next stage.

Question 53

Describe two different expressions of generativity, and identify some predisposing factors to an individual being generative.

Question 54

Outline Marcia's four levels of ego identity status.

Question 55

Name and describe three of the five motives that can guide the self-concept.

Question 56

Give three examples of the differences in the self-concept across individualistic and collectivistic cultures.

Question 57

Define self-complexity and self-concept clarity. Why are each important?

Question 58

Explain the three representations of the self as defined by the self-discrepancy theory and the implications of what might occur when there is a large gap between two of these representations.

Question 59

Describe the differences between implicit and explicit self-esteem. How is each measured?

Question 60

List some characteristics of low self monitors and of high self monitors.