Deck 1: What Is Personality

Question 1

The more closely we look at the characteristic ways people deal with emotional situations, the more we

A) begin to see how people are much the same.
B) see that people are not alike.
C) how each individual's responses are overwhelmed by the demands of the situation.
D) understand where the personality comes from.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following questions would a personality psychologist ask?

A) Why are certain types of people prone to depression?
B) Why are some people introverted, whereas others are outgoing ?
C) Can we predict job satisfaction in employees?
D) All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

According to the psychoanalytic approach, a diagnosis of depression is most likely

A) a result of feelings of hostility turned inward.
B) predictable from earlier episodes of sadness and loneliness.
C) due to a malfunction of receptors in the brain.
D) due to low self-esteem.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following statements best describes the study of personality?

A) Personality psychologists are interested in how people react to different situations.
B) Personality psychologists now recognize that early explanations of personality, such as Freud's psychoanalytic theory, are incorrect.
C) Personality psychologists are interested in consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within the individual.
D) Personality psychologists are interested in the consistent behavior patterns caused either by something about the person or by placing the person in the same situation.

Question 5

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship among the six approaches to understanding personality?

A) Only one of the approaches is probably correct.
B) The six approaches complement one another and differ primarily in their focus.
C) Although the six approaches occasionally vary only in emphasis, two or more approaches provide incompatible explanations.
D) Because each of the approaches is comprehensive, personality psychologists need to align themselves with only one approach.

Question 6

When personality researchers use the term individual differences they are referring to

A) the different behavior patterns individuals display across time.
B) the interpersonal processes that originate within the individual.
C) the consistent behavior patterns that individuals display across situations.
D) fluctuations in behavior patterns for individual situations.

Question 7

The approach to personality that explains aggressive behavior as unconscious impulses turned outward on other people is the

A) psychoanalytic approach.
B) trait approach.
C) behavioral/social learning approach.
D) cognitive approach.

Question 8

A psychologist develops a test to measure individual differences in social anxiety. She obtains social anxiety scores from a large group of participants, and then tries to predict how those scoring high on the test will act in a social situation as compared to those scoring low. This psychologist would probably be identified with which approach to personality?

A) Psychoanalytic
B) Trait
C) Humanistic
D) Behavioral/social learning

Question 9

Consistent behavior patterns that people display in many different situations are

A) very difficult to identify.
B) often called individual differences by personality psychologists.
C) predictive of personality traits.
D) likely to be found in depressed personalities.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is an axiom that best reflects the personality psychologist's point of view?

A) "People are the same the world over."
B) "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their passions a quotation."
C) "There are few differences between people, but what differences there are, really matter."
D) "Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you'll get."

Question 11

When we look closely at the reactions of people to the same situation, we see

A) evidence that most people behave in typical ways.
B) that people are more alike than they are different.
C) each individual's personality is overwhelmed by the demands of the situation.
D) that characteristic differences between people begin to emerge.

Question 12

A psychologist explains a woman's fear of snakes in terms of her unconscious fear of her father. This psychologist is using which approach to personality?

A) Psychoanalytic
B) Trait
C) Humanistic
D) Behavioral/social learning

Question 13

A personality psychologist who focuses on the stable patterns of aggressive behavior in schoolchildren that may be related to genetic predispositions follows the

A) psychoanalytic approach.
B) biological approach.
C) humanistic approach.
D) behavioral/social learning approach.

Question 14

Which of the following approaches has focused on the way people learn from watching role models?

A) Psychoanalytic approach
B) Behavioral/social learning approach
C) Biological approach
D) Cognitive approach

Question 15

Although Sally is well behaved and polite at home, she can be really mean to the other children at school. Psychologists who adhere to the trait approach to personality would say Sally's behavior

A) can be identified along a continuum of personality characteristics.
B) is the result of unconscious mental activity.
C) results from conditioning and expectations.
D) is a reaction to changing feelings of self-acceptance.

Question 16

Which approach to personality presents the most idealistic picture of human nature?

A) Psychoanalytic
B) Trait
C) Humanistic
D) Behavioral/social learning

Question 17

Which of the following is an explanation that personality researchers from the biological approach give for aggressive behavior?

A) The inheritance of a proclivity to be aggressive.
B) An adaptive mechanism according to evolutionary theory.
C) Levels of neurotransmitters in the brain.
D) All of the above

Question 18

Sarah's mother receives a call from her daughter's teacher telling her she that Sarah has been misbehaving. According to the psychoanalytic approach, her daughter's misbehavior

A) results from a poorly formed self-concept.
B) is a reaction to her parent's expectations.
C) is the result of unconscious mental activity.
D) results from conditioning processes.

Question 19

Greg believes that aggressive behavior in his coworkers is an expression of frustration that results from unsatisfied basic needs. He believes in the

A) cognitive approach.
B) biological approach.
C) behavioral/social learning approach.
D) humanistic approach.

Question 20

A psychologist attributes a boy's poor social skills to his lack of contact with children who model appropriate behavior. The psychologist is using which approach to personality?

A) Humanistic
B) Cognitive
C) Behavioral/social learning
D) Psychoanalytic

Question 21

The four components necessary for a complete understanding of personality include each of the following except

A) application.
B) assessment.
C) philosophy.
D) research.

Question 22

The component necessary for the study of personality known as assessment is characterized by which of the following?

A) Application of theory in the workplace.
B) Genetic versus environmental influences.
C) Testing principles and assumptions of theory.
D) Inventories, tests, and direct observations.

Question 23

Early psychologists presented extreme positions on the conscious versus unconscious determinants issue. Which of the following modern psychologists now recognize that much information is processed below awareness?

A) Behavioral/social learning
B) Cognitive
C) Biological
D) Humanistic

Question 24

In contrast to the other approaches, in what way are the behavioral/social learning approach and the psychoanalytic approach to personality similar?

A) Both maintain that we are often not aware of the causes of our behavior.
B) Both emphasize the importance of environmental determinants of behavior.
C) Both emphasize genetic determinants of behavior.
D) Both maintain that behavior is often the result of free choices (free will).

Question 25

Which of the four components necessary for the study of personality is characterized by inventories, direct observations, and tests?

A) Research
B) Theory
C) Assessment
D) Application

Question 26

By __________ we mean the ways psychologists from different approaches measure personality.

A) "articulation"
B) "application"
C) "assessment"
D) "actualization"

Question 27

Behavioral psychologists try to apply personality research to practical concerns by

A) controlling the way people process information.
B) identifying characteristics of individuals in the workplace.
C) creating environments to increase the frequency of desired behaviors.
D) facilitating people in the development of their self-concept.

Question 28

Of the following approaches, which ignores inherited influences the most?

A) Cognitive
B) Biological
C) Trait
D) Psychoanalytic

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true about the different approaches to personality?

A) One must adhere to the same approach when giving explanations for different phenomena.
B) The strength of some approaches in explaining behavior patterns makes up for the weaknesses of other approaches.
C) The best way to show contradictions is to explain phenomena using different approaches.
D) One need not align oneself with the same approach when explaining different phenomena.

Question 30

Consider the issue in psychology of free will versus determinism as discussed in your textbook. Which approach to personality represents an extreme position on this issue?

A) Psychoanalytic approach
B) Trait approach
C) Humanistic approach
D) Cognitive approach

Question 31

To explain depression, trait theorists would most likely focus on

A) identifying people prone to depression.
B) the genetic susceptibility individuals have toward depression.
C) the unconscious feelings of anger within people.
D) how people interpret a world that seems uncontrollable.

Question 32

Which of these is not a characteristic of an individual in a collectivist culture?

A) Cooperation
B) Dependency
C) Success identified with personal achievement
D) Success identified with group accomplishments

Question 33

A psychologist argues that people are often not aware of why they act the way they do. Further, although he acknowledges that genetics may play a role in determining personality, our behavior is determined by the environment more than we recognize. This psychologist probably aligns himself with which approach to personality?

A) Psychoanalytic
B) Trait
C) Humanistic
D) Behavioral/social learning

Question 34

Of the following approaches, which places the least emphasis on conscious determinants of behavior?

A) Cognitive
B) Biological
C) Trait
D) Psychoanalytic

Question 35

Which of the following is correct about the relation between personality and culture?

A) Because personality is concerned with the person, personality psychologists are not interested in cultural differences.
B) Most studies to date find few if any significant cross-cultural differences in personality phenomena.
C) Personalities exist within a cultural context.
D) Individual differences in personality can be found only in individualistic cultures.

Question 36

Which of the following approaches to personality explains depression by how situations are interpreted through the most highly accessible thoughts?

A) Psychoanalytic approach
B) Behavioral/social learning approach
C) Trait approach
D) Cognitive approach

Question 37

Suppose you meet a new person on campus from a culture different from your own. You soon discover that your new friend has difficulty understanding what you mean by "self-esteem." You conclude that your friend probably comes from

A) an individualistic culture.
B) a collectivist culture.
C) a nonindustrial culture.
D) a large family.

Question 38

Most of the research on personality reported in the textbook is based on studies with people

A) from individualistic cultures.
B) from collectivist cultures.
C) with a strong sense of self.
D) who prefer cooperation to competition.

Question 39

Which approach to personality is most likely to argue that genetics plays an important role in determining personality and behavior?

A) Psychoanalytic
B) Biological
C) Humanistic
D) Behavioral/social learning

Question 40

For people who are depressed, a psychologist following the behavioral/social learning approach to personality would probably examine

A) what depressed people say about themselves.
B) events in the environment surrounding the depressed person.
C) the genetic susceptibility to depression.
D) the best predictors of emotional level.

Question 41

The author of the textbook defines personality as consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within the individual.

Question 42

The biological approach argues that people's unconscious minds are largely responsible for personality differences.

Question 43

Which of the following statements is true about personality assessment?

A) Assessment of personality is useful only if we assume people can report about themselves accurately and honestly.
B) The methods a psychologist uses to assess personality depend partly on which approach to personality he or she adopts.
C) Psychoanalytic psychologists often use self-report inventories to assess personality.
D) Psychologists no longer use vague stimuli like inkblots to measure personality.

Question 44

State which of the six general approaches to personality emphasizes extreme positions with regard to conscious versus unconscious determinants of behavior. Which approach(es) fall(s) between these extremes? Discuss which approach emphasizes extreme positions with regard to free will versus determinism as the underlying assumption.

Question 45

To achieve a full understanding, personality researchers must examine psychological topics from more than one approach.

Question 46

The trait approach identifies where a person might lie along a continuum of personality characteristics.

Question 47

Cognitive personality psychologists suggest people become depressed because of the way they interpret their inability to control events.

Question 48

According to the textbook, the most obvious example of applying personality to personal and social issues is

A) sports psychology.
B) self-help books.
C) personality testing.
D) psychotherapy.

Question 49

Asking people to respond to ambiguous stimuli is an example of personality

A) theory.
B) assessment.
C) application.
D) research.

Question 50

List by name the six general approaches to personality. Using an example of someone you know who is aggressive, discuss how each of the six explain that person's behavior.

Question 51

What are the four essential components for the study of personality? Choose one of the six general approaches to personality and use it as an example to illustrate the differences in these components.

Question 52

Regardless of the approach, assessment is about making predictions from personality theory.

Question 53

State whether our behavior is shaped by the situation or by the kind of person we are and give three reasons for your answer. Distinguish between reactions that are the result of situational factors and those that result from intrapersonal processes.

Question 54

Psychologists who take the cognitive approach to personality would suggest that aggressive behavior is learned because it has been rewarded.