Deck 9: The Biological Approach: Theory, Application, and Assessment

Question 1

Using factor analysis, Eysenck found that people who score high on the dimension of psychoticism tend to be

A) egocentric and aggressive.
B) impulsive.
C) not generally concerned with the rights and welfare of others.
D) all of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Eysenck provided all of the following arguments except one to make the case for a biological basis of personality. Which one?

A) The results of cross-cultural research
B) Research on brain-wave activity
C) The consistency of extraversion-introversion over many years
D) genetics research findings

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to Eysenck's original model, why do introverts often prefer to isolate themselves from others?

A) They have had a history of negative social experiences.
B) They are trying to keep their arousal levels from getting too high.
C) They have failed to develop appropriate social skills.
D) They generally do not trust people.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In Eysenck's model of personality, which of the following is correct about extraversion? introversion?

A) It is an example of a habitual response.
B) It is the opposite of neuroticism.
C) It is one of two basic personality dimensions.
D) It is one of five basic personality dimensions.

Question 5

If Jose drinks one cup of coffee in the afternoon, he will have difficulty falling asleep at night. Jose is also more easily annoyed than other people when someone nearby plays loud music. Jose could probably be classified as

A) an extravert.
B) an introvert.
C) neurotic.
D) psychotic.

Question 6

Compared to 30 or 40 years ago, personality psychologists today generally are more likely to acknowledge that

A) the personalities of newborns resemble a "blank slate."
B) personality cannot be separated from our biology.
C) all people have similar biological functioning, such as nearly identical brain-wave activity.
D) differences in adult personality are a result of different learning histories.

Question 7

Which of the following is true about people who are low on the dimension of behavior approach (BAS)?

A) They respond to rewards with great pleasure.
B) They learn to balance the rewards they receive with the punishments.
C) They are less likely to become angry over falling short in their goals.
D) They approach new situations with great caution.

Question 8

A man tends to have strong reactions to emotional events. He becomes overly excited and panics when facing even mild stress, and takes a long time to recover from these experiences. Eysenck might say this man is high on which personality dimension?

A) Extraversion
B) Neuroticism
C) Psychoticism
D) Emotionality

Question 9

According to Eysenck's original model, which of the following is true about extraverts?

A) They generally have a high level of cortical arousal.
B) They have learned through early experiences to enjoy social events.
C) They generally have a low level of cortical arousal.
D) They are low in neuroticism.

Question 10

Hans Eysenck's approach to personality research is similar to Cattell's approach in that

A) both emphasized the role of biology in determining personality.
B) both are concerned with identifying the basic structure of personality.
C) both identified the same number of basic personality factors.
D) both emphasized the distinction between extraversion and introversion.

Question 11

Cross-cultural research on Eysenck's model of personality tends to find

A) patterns similar to those found in America, but only in European countries.
B) extraversion-introversion scores vary considerably depending on the child-rearing practices in the culture.
C) the same three dimensions of personality across cultures.
D) evidence to support a biological basis for extraversion-introversion, but not the other dimensions in the model.

Question 12

People who are easily upset or have a quick temper are high in

A) connectivity.
B) emotional affectivity.
C) neuroticism.
D) emotionality

Question 13

Barnabus has practiced the piano for hours in preparation for his recital. It will be rewarding for him to perform well with everyone in attendance. If you knew that Barnabus has a highly active BAS, which of the following would you predict to be most likely?

A) He will take the most pleasure from the ordeal of the recital being over.
B) He will take pleasure from just anticipating the feeling of reward.
C) His BIS will make him indifferent to the rewards of successful accomplishment.
D) Any mistakes during the recital will be ignored.

Question 14

Which of the following is an example of a "supertrait" in Eysenck's theory?

A) Sociability
B) Impulsiveness
C) Optimism
D) Psychoticism

Question 15

According to the text, the growing acceptance of the several biological influences on personality is

A) a reflection of the decline of psychoanalysis in academic psychology.
B) partly due to a return to the notion of the blank slate.
C) a reflection of behaviorism's decline in academic psychology.
D) due to computer technology of the late 20th century.

Question 16

According to Eysenck, the major source of individual differences in personality is

A) early childhood experiences.
B) genetic factors.
C) social learning history.
D) parents' child?rearing practices.

Question 17

Recent research challenges one aspect of Eysenck's original theory, suggesting that extraverts and introverts differ in terms of their

A) level of cortical arousal.
B) impulsiveness.
C) sensitivity to stimulation.
D) ability to concentrate.

Question 18

Compared to a few decades ago, personality psychologists today are much more likely to acknowledge the importance of biological influences on personality. This shift is partly a reflection of the declining influence of which approach to personality?

A) Psychoanalytic
B) Trait
C) Humanistic
D) Behaviorism

Question 19

A woman likes to spend her time with others, enjoys loud music, often acts impulsively, and does not like to be alone. According to Eysenck's model of personality, this woman is

A) sociable.
B) extraverted.
C) low in neuroticism.
D) impulsive.

Question 20

Cross-cultural research on Eysenck's model of personality tends to find the same three dimensions of personality across cultures. Eysenck points to this finding as evidence for

A) a biological basis of personality.
B) the importance of environmental influences on personality.
C) evolutionary personality theory.
D) the need for factor analysis.

Question 21

According to the evolutionary psychology perspective, the process of social exclusion leads to anxiety because

A) people fear that others will punish them.
B) experiencing anxiety serves an important survival function.
C) each of us is reminded of a traumatic experience in childhood.
D) all of the above

Question 22

According to evolutionary personality theory, psychological mechanisms

A) evolved because they were needed for survival.
B) helped the species survive and reproduce.
C) are identical in all people.
D) were once useful, but no longer are.

Question 23

A five?year?old boy is controlled and gentle. He is reluctant to play with new children and hesitates when entering new situations. Temperament researchers would probably identify this child as

A) shy.
B) inhibited.
C) introverted.
D) low in sociability.

Question 24

Some researchers identify what they call an "inhibited" style in very young children. This research can be used to argue that

A) a child's personality resembles a "blank slate."
B) all children are born shy, but many learn to overcome it.
C) temperament is at least partly inherited.
D) there are important evolutionary reasons for shyness.

Question 25

Research indicates that a child's temperament is related to how well he or she performs in school. Researchers explain this finding with each of the following reasons except one. Which one?

A) Temperament is related to intelligence.
B) Teachers may be more willing to work with students of certain temperament.
C) Some temperaments are more compatible with the requirements of the typical classroom than others.
D) Teachers sometimes misinterpret temperamental differences in their students.

Question 26

According to temperament researchers, which statement is correct about inhibited children?

A) They will grow up to be shy adults.
B) They are born with a predisposed tendency for anxiety to novelty.
C) At least half of all American children can be identified as "inhibited."
D) They cannot be identified until about the age of five.

Question 27

Which of the following is not a basic temperament according to the three-dimensional model of Buss and Plomin?

A) Activity
B) Emotionality
C) Connectivity
D) Sociability

Question 28

According to the "goodness of fit" model, educators should ask which question?

A) What temperament characteristics contribute to better school performance?
B) How can we change temperament in problem children?
C) How can we control problem behaviors in children with certain temperaments?
D) What kind of environment and procedures are most conducive to learning for this student, given his or her temperament?

Question 29

Researchers measured children's fear of unfamiliar situations at 21 months and again at four years of age. When the children were brought back to the laboratory at five and a half years, the researchers found

A) that children who were inhibited earlier displayed more risky behavior when playing a ball-tossing game.
B) that children who were inhibited earlier displayed more risky behavior when playing on a mattress in a falling game.
C) that children who were inhibited at 21 months and four years again clung to their mother or father as before.
D) that children who were uninhibited at 21 months and four years began to cling to their mother or father at five and a half years.

Question 30

Theorists give many arguments for the evolution of anxiety. Each of the following is an argument except one. Which one?

A) Humans need to belong to groups.
B) We all have a need to dominate others.
C) Anxiety is found in nearly every culture of the world.
D) Anxiety assists the survival needs of the species.

Question 31

The form of anxiety shown by inhibited children that comes from their exposure to unfamiliar people, settings, or challenges is called

A) moral anxiety.
B) castration anxiety.
C) anxiety to novelty.
D) neurotic phobia.

Question 32

Alison becomes very anxious when she has to give a speech in front of an audience. Advocates of evolutionary personality theory might call Alison's problem an example of anxiety caused by

A) conditioning.
B) an inherited temperament.
C) a fear of social exclusion.
D) a fear of novel situations.

Question 33

Research suggests that inhibited children are especially anxious about

A) people.
B) loud noise.
C) novelty.
D) strangers.

Question 34

In a review of research it was estimated that ________ children are seven times more likely to suffer from social anxiety disorder.

A) inhibited
B) impulsive
C) uninhibited
D) fearless

Question 35

Many generations ago, our ancestors were more likely to survive if they lived in groups than if they tried to live by themselves. This argument is used by advocates of evolutionary personality theory to explain

A) fear of strangers.
B) marriage.
C) nationalism.
D) anxiety.

Question 36

Donna is a very shy seven-year-old. Research suggests that when she was only a few years old, Donna was probably anxious about

A) meeting people.
B) being separated from her mother.
C) loud noises.
D) novel situations.

Question 37

According to the widely accepted temperament model presented in the text, how many general temperaments are there?

A) Three
B) Four
C) Eight
D) Sixteen

Question 38

Some psychologists argue that we should utilize different learning procedures to meet the needs of each student's temperament. This approach is based on which model?

A) Eysenck's model of personality
B) The five-factor model
C) The "goodness of fit" model
D) Evolutionary personality model

Question 39

According to evolutionary personality theory, anxiety is

A) the result of natural selection.
B) a positive emotion.
C) no longer useful to human beings.
D) learned.

Question 40

Research on the academic performance of elementary school children has found

A) temperament is not related to academic performance.
B) children with an "easy" temperament don't do as well in school as other children.
C) students do better when their temperament is similar to that of the teacher.
D) temperament plays a role in how well children do in school.

Question 41

Researchers have examined cerebral asymmetry in depressed people. The results of this research suggests that

A) some people may be born with a greater likelihood to become depressed than others.
B) our experiences are less important in determining depression than our inherited tendencies.
C) whether a person develops a depression-prone brain activity pattern depends on experiences during the first few years of life.
D) there is relatively little psychologists can do for depressed people if the depression has a biological component.

Question 42

Using the electroencephalograph (EEG), researchers have found higher activation in the left hemisphere is associated with

A) smiling.
B) negative mood.
C) greater reactions to films that elicit fear.
D) feelings of disgust.

Question 43

A strength of the biological approach is that

A) it has succeeded in identifying specific parameters for psychologists who want to change behavior.
B) there seems to be no limit to psychologists' ability to test for biological factors.
C) most of its advocates are medical doctors with an interest in treating disease.
D) it makes a variety of suggestions for personality change.

Question 44

Which of the following has been found by researchers examining cerebral asymmetry?

A) When most people experience positive emotions, they have higher levels of electrical activity in their right hemisphere.
B) Most people have more electrical activity in the left hemisphere than the right hemisphere.
C) Changes in electrical activity can be detected when people experience negative emotions, but not when they experience positive emotions.
D) Differences in hemispheric activity levels can be detected in children less than one year old.

Question 45

Sarah is a grade school teacher faced with a variety of student capabilities in her class. According to the goodness of fit model, a good teaching strategy for Sarah would be

A) to focus on the students with high ability and request they assist the others.
B) to present lessons and assignments that fit with what her students enjoy.
C) to optimize learning by matching assignments and tasks with individual students' learning styles.
D) to ignore different temperaments and hold high academic standards for all.

Question 46

Trina is slow to warm up to a new task. Rather than jumping right into a new assignment, she spends a great deal of time getting prepared and trying to understand the entire project. Because of her temperament, Trina usually falls behind the other students in her third-grade class. According to the goodness of fit model, Trina's teacher should

A) work with Trina to overcome her slow-to-warm-up style.
B) adapt her teaching to meet Trina's style of learning.
C) give Trina less work to do, even if this means Trina learns less than the other students.
D) allow Trina to take the work home with her to finish it all.

Question 47

A psychologist purchases an electroencephalograph (EEG) for use in his research. The psychologist is interested in measuring

A) intelligence.
B) muscle tension.
C) heart rate.
D) brain-wave activity.

Question 48

The biological approach to personality has each of the following strengths except one. Which one?

A) It has identified some realistic parameters for psychologists interested in behavior change.
B) It has provided a bridge between the study of psychology and the discipline of biology.
C) Nearly all of the hypotheses generated from the biological approach can be tested through direct manipulation of the variables of interest.
D) Most of the advocates of the biological approach are academic psychologists interested in testing their ideas through research.

Question 49

In a study of college students with no history of emotional disturbance, students with higher right hemisphere activation were

A) less likely to experience their first depressive episode.
B) more likely to experience their first depressive episode.
C) made depressed by the researchers.
D) less likely to experience pleasure about routine

Question 50

State the basic tenets of evolutionary personality psychology by describing the role of natural selection and the psychological mechanisms that are thought to determine personality. Explain how unpleasant and problematic human characteristics like anxiety could have evolved.

Question 51

A psychologist wants to conduct research on cerebral asymmetry. She wants to examine

A) brain damage.
B) intelligence.
C) mental retardation.
D) differences in right- and left-hemisphere activity.

Question 52

Which of the following physiological measures have been used to study personality?

A) Neuroimaging
B) Respiration
C) Hormone levels
D) All of the above

Question 53

According to research on cerebral asymmetry, a person who frequently suffers from depression probably has

A) higher right-hemisphere activity than left-hemisphere activity when resting.
B) higher left-hemisphere activity than right-hemisphere activity when resting.
C) equal right- and left-hemisphere activity when resting, but higher right-hemisphere activity when depressed.
D) equal right- and left-hemisphere activity when resting, but higher left-hemisphere activity when depressed.

Question 54

List and discuss three arguments made by Eysenck for the biological basis of personality. Do they each have merit? State why or why not.

Question 55

Describe how two children, one inhibited and the other uninhibited, would respond to their first day of kindergarten. Specify a likely example of anxiety to novelty. In your example discuss Thomas and Chess's nine temperament dimensions.

Question 56

Which of the following is false about childhood differences in temperament patterns?

A) Differences show up on teachers' evaluations.
B) Differences are found in scores on achievement tests.
C) Differences are related to intelligence.
D) Differences are found in the child's grades.

Question 57

To get higher grades and better evaluations from teachers students should

A) have a temperament that matches the teacher's expectations.
B) match their interests to the teacher's interests and focus.
C) have a temperament that leads to strong attention to details.
D) have a temperament that supports moral values.

Question 58

Psychologists have found that using an electroencephalograph (EEG) in their research has all the advantages listed below except one. Which one?

A) The EEG allows researchers to record brain activity in quick intervals.
B) The EEG electrodes only pierce the scalp in a few places, and participants recover from the procedure after only a few days.
C) Participants report that the procedure is not uncomfortable.
D) The EEG can measure brain activity level in more than one part of the brain.

Question 59

A psychologist shows participants films designed to make them either happy or sad. She measures the participants' brain activity levels with an electroencephalograph (EEG) during the films. This psychologist is probably conducting research on

A) cerebral asymmetry.
B) brain damage.
C) temperament.
D) classical conditioning.

Question 60

What is cerebral asymmetry? How is it measured? Explain how emotion is predicted by individual differences in cerebral asymmetry and the possible role of thresholds in brain activity.

Question 61

Proponents of evolutionary personality theory use the process of natural selection to explain universal human characteristics.

Question 62

Eysenck argued that extraverts and introverts differ only in their behavior and not in their physiological makeup.

Question 63

People who are easily upset or have a quick temper are high in emotionality.

Question 64

The difference in right- and left-hemisphere activity is referred to as cerebral asymmetry by researchers.

Question 65

Scales designed to measure BAS and BIS correlate with measures of extraversion and introversion, respectively.