Deck 14: A: Understanding Human Personality

Question 1

A six-year-old says that she loves watching Barney,can't stand fast food,and thinks that people who are bald are funny.According to Gordon Allport's approach,which traits are being described?

A)central
B)primary
C)secondary
D)cardinal

Answer 1

secondary

Question 2

Some personality theorists rely on the concept of personality types.When developing these types,what is the basic rule?

A)There must be a large number of personality categories to address the diversity of personality across individuals.
B)Individuals may be categorized as belonging to one or more personality types.
C)The categories must not overlap.
D)The personality categories must be able to accommodate different degrees of personality traits.

Answer 2

The categories must not overlap.

Question 3

According to Galen,what was the source of cheerful and active traits?

A)bodily fluids.
B)genetic factors.
C)birth order.
D)the unconscious.

Answer 3

bodily fluids.

Question 4

When traits allow researchers to relate sets of stimuli and responses that might seem at first glance unrelated,how are the traits functioning?

A)as critical variables.
B)as scientific predisposers.
C)as idiographic variables.
D)as intervening variables.

Question 5

When Gordon Allport said,"The same fire that melts the butter hardens the egg," what point was he trying to make?

A)the same stimuli can have different effects on different people.
B)an individual's behaviour is influenced primarily by environmental conditions.
C)a person's behaviour is rarely consistent in different settings.
D)most personality theorists are in agreement.

Question 6

What do heritability studies of personality indicate?

A)very few personality traits are influenced by genetic factors.
B)almost all personality traits are influenced by genetic factors.
C)only broad traits,such as extraversion or neuroticism,are influenced by genetic factors.
D)only specific traits,such as self-control or sociability,are influenced by genetic factors.

Question 7

Gilles considers himself to be a very honest person.According to the psychological research on the consistency of behaviour across situations,what other behaviour can be expected of Gilles?

A)He will be honest in all situations.
B)He may be honest in some,but not all,situations.
C)He will actually be dishonest in many situations.
D)He may not be very conscious of his actual level of honesty.

Question 8

Which list of traits could create a description of a person generated by the five-factor model of personality?

A)reserved,energetic,assertive,quiet,shy
B)talkative,sympathetic,organized,stable,creative
C)anxious,unstable,temperamental,contented,calm
D)cold,quarrelsome,cruel,sympathetic,affectionate

Question 9

According to Gordon Allport,which traits represent the overarching elements of personality?

A)central
B)cardinal
C)primary
D)secondary

Question 10

Two children have different biological parents,but both were adopted in infancy by the same family.Which statement supports the idea that heredity determines personality?

A)The personalities of the children are more similar to the personalities of their adoptive parents than to their biological parents.
B)The personalities of the children are similar to the personality of the biological daughter of their adoptive parents.
C)The personalities of the children are more similar to each other than they are to their own biological siblings.
D)The personalities of the children are less similar to their adoptive siblings than they are to their own biological siblings.

Question 11

Toni describes her close friend as warm,happy,optimistic,funny,and high achieving.According to Gordon Allport's approach,what type of traits has Toni described?

A)primary
B)central
C)secondary
D)cardinal

Question 12

When Frank Sulloway studied people's support for innovative theories in science,what did he discover?

A)"only children" were consistently supportive of these theories,more so than other groups
B)100 percent of the laterborns he studied supported these theories.
C)the majority of those who supported these theories were firstborns.
D)laterborns were more likely to support these theories than were firstborns.

Question 13

A child's theory of personality is based on the loudness of people's voices.For example,the child says that people who speak softly are warm and honest,whereas people who talk loudly cannot be trusted.Which theory includes this use of voice quality as the basis for determining personality?

A)trait
B)social-learning
C)type
D)self

Question 14

According to most current personality theorists,how many factors best characterize personality structure?

A)three
B)five
C)seven
D)sixteen

Question 15

What would be the most effective way to differentiate genetic and environmental effects on personality?

A)Study twin pairs,some of whom were raised together and some of whom were raised apart.
B)Study monozygotic twins who were raised in the same family and who have never been apart.
C)Study dizygotic twins who were raised in the same family and who have never been apart.
D)Study non-twin siblings who were raised together,sharing the same family environment.

Question 16

As discussed in the textbook,which area of the brain was highly activated when extraverted individuals were presented with happy faces?

A)Right amygdala
B)Left amygdala
C)Right frontal lobe
D)Left frontal lobe

Question 17

Which individual developed a personality theory that included endomorphic,mesomorphic,and ectomorphic body types?

A)William Sheldon.
B)Galen.
C)Frank Sulloway.
D)Hans Eysenck.

Question 18

Which situation is analogous to what is called the "consistency paradox" in the study of personality?

A)A businessman is kind and affectionate with his family,but is authoritarian and demanding with his employees.
B)A woman rates herself as calm and stable,and she rarely loses her temper.
C)A man's family and friends rate him as organized and responsible,but he occasionally acts carelessly and irresponsibly.
D)A teacher rates herself as introverted most recently,but last year she rated herself as extraverted.

Question 19

A person is described by others as organized,responsible,and cautious.Which factor of the five-factor model of personality is being described?

A)extraversion
B)agreeableness
C)conscientiousness
D)neuroticism

Question 20

Paul is very extraverted and somewhat unstable.According to Eysenck's personality circle,how else is Paul likely to be described?

A)impulsive
B)sober
C)thoughtful
D)even-tempered

Question 21

Louis is extremely orderly and neat.According to Freud,what stage of fixation is being characterized?

A)oral stage
B)anal stage
C)phallic stage
D)latency stage

Question 22

Why have type and trait theories of personality been criticized?

A)They do not allow researchers to give concise descriptions of differing individual personalities.
B)They do not identify characteristics that are correlated with behavior.
C)They do not generally explain how personality develops.
D)They emphasize conflicting forces within the individual.

Question 23

The district attorney never stops his campaign to rid the city of pornography.He gets extremely agitated when speaking against the evils of "adult" magazines and he quotes scripture endlessly to back up his tirades.How would Freud most likely explain the underlying cause of this behaviour?

A)reaction formation.
B)repression.
C)regression.
D)rationalization.

Question 24

A little boy has started to imitate everything that his father does and act like him as much as he can.Within the context of Freud's theory,what can be inferred about the boy?

A)His ego is in full control.
B)He has resolved the Oedipus complex.
C)He realizes that as a boy it is important to identify with his father.
D)He expects rewards from his father if he attempts to be like him.

Question 25

Mario is playing the role of the ego in Freud's theory of personality.What would be Mario's major function?

A)search for immediate sexual gratification without concern for consequences.
B)mediate between the id impulses and the superego demands.
C)satisfy the inner voice of "oughts" and "should nots" at any cost.
D)work toward achieving the ego ideal.

Question 26

A professor acknowledges that he is not a proponent of Freud's theory of personality.One day he begins the lecture by saying,"Today we will be discussing the weaknesses in Fraud's theory of personality." What does the professor's error illustrate?

A)the collective unconscious.
B)the consistency paradox.
C)a fixation.
D)a Freudian slip.

Question 27

According to Freud,which psychological process protects an individual from experiencing extreme anxiety by pushing ideas out of conscious awareness and into the unconscious?

A)repression
B)regression
C)reaction formation
D)rationalization

Question 28

In public,an acquaintance seems to be full of jokes and acts like the life of the party,but in private he confesses that he is not really sure if people like him.Which term best characterizes this individual?

A)shy extravert.
B)introvert.
C)outgoing introvert.
D)extravert.

Question 29

In Freud's theory of personality,which is the correct matching of part and principle?

A)id-reality
B)superego-reality
C)superego-pleasure
D)id-pleasure

Question 30

In Freud's theory of personality,which aspect of the self corresponds roughly to the common notion of conscience?

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

Question 31

To illustrate Freud's structures of personality in a theatrical fashion,a psychology professor asks for volunteers to play the "roles" of the psyche.One student jumps up and starts shouting "Pick me,pick me!".Which role should he be assigned?

A)ego.
B)id.
C)superego.
D)ego and superego.

Question 32

In Freud's view,there was a continuing battle between two antagonistic parts of the personality which were moderated by a third aspect of the self.Which term refers to the moderator?

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

Question 33

Lyle is best described as a slob.He smells because he doesn't bathe,he leaves every dish he owns sitting in his kitchen sink,and he just throws his garbage into the yard.The Board of Health is contemplating condemning his house.How would Freud explain Lyle's behaviour?

A)an unresolved Oedipal complex.
B)fixation in the anal stage of development.
C)an under-developed superego.
D)an over-developed id.

Question 34

According to Freud,what is the major task of the latency stage?

A)resolution of the Oedipus complex
B)weaning
C)toilet training
D)development of defense mechanisms

Question 35

According to most experts on personality theory,why did the "appearance" of behavioural inconsistency arise?

A)because of failures to take into account the psychological features of situations.
B)because most measures of personality lack reliability and validity.
C)because the observers of the people in the situations were not adequately trained to make accurate observations.
D)because individuals are,in fact,inconsistent in their behaviour patterns.

Question 36

A boy thinks about stealing a candy bar from the store because he is hungry.He is prevented from doing so because of the possible consequences of getting caught,so he decides to go home and eat instead.In Freud's view,which aspect of the personality is fully in control?

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

Question 37

What concept is Freud's most important contribution to the science of psychology?

A)unconscious processes.
B)the manifest content of behaviour.
C)Freudian slips.
D)inferiority.

Question 38

A psychologist identifies herself as a psychodynamic personality theorist.What belief is she most likely to hold?

A)one's personality is an expression of one's past reinforcement history.
B)inner forces shape personality and motivate behaviour.
C)understanding the self-concept is crucial to understanding personality.
D)individuals are constantly striving to realize their potential.

Question 39

In Freud's theory of personality,to defend itself against the demands of the id and the superego,what will the ego institute?

A)the pleasure principle.
B)the reality principle.
C)problem-focused coping strategies.
D)defense mechanisms.

Question 40

When Theresa overhears a woman say that her husband has a lot of "libido," what does the woman likely mean?

A)He is extraverted.
B)He is aggressive.
C)He has a strong sex drive.
D)His superego is repressed.

Question 41

A boy has once again forced himself to ask a girl out on a date,although deep down he doubts that she will say yes.According to Julian Rotter,how can the boy's doubts be best understood?

A)in terms of encodings.
B)in terms of expectancies and beliefs.
C)in terms of affects.
D)in terms of competencies and self-regulatory plans.

Question 42

What is the focus of Alfred Adler's theory of personality?

A)libidinal pleasures.
B)feelings of inferiority.
C)attempts to self-actualize.
D)the ego and its defenses.

Question 43

According to the theory of Albert Bandura,what is the definition of self-efficacy?

A)a willingness to conform to the feelings of the majority.
B)the belief that one can perform adequately in a particular situation.
C)a system of moral values and a strong sense of right and wrong.
D)the need to achieve one's potential or to be the best that one can be.

Question 44

How do contemporary social-learning and cognitive theories differ from the early learning theory approaches?

A)They hold that environmental contingencies are less important.
B)They suggest that organisms react passively to their environments.
C)They emphasize cognitive processes as well as behavioural ones.
D)They minimize the importance of mental processes.

Question 45

Written on the whiteboard is a list of five items: encodings,expectancies and beliefs,affects,goals and values,and competencies and self-regulatory plans.Which theory encompasses these five items?

A)the five-factor theory of personality.
B)Walter Mischel's cognitive-affective personality theory.
C)Albert Bandura's cognitive social-learning theory.
D)Nancy Cantor's social intelligence theory.

Question 46

Which statement best characterizes the consensus on the status of Freud's theory of personality?

A)His theory is generally correct,with minor exceptions.
B)His theory has a female-centred bias which makes his concepts less generalizable.
C)Some of his ideas have been widely accepted and others have been abandoned.
D)It has been impossible to evalaute any of Freud's ideas through empirical scrutiny.

Question 47

The fitness center is usually a relaxed place until the manager arrives.She is always tense and spends much of her time yelling at the workers.Soon everyone seems to be angry and on edge.Which term best characterizes this scenario?

A)self-efficacy
B)self-verification
C)defensive pessimism
D)reciprocal determinism

Question 48

A psychologist is engaged in a contemporary type of research that is related to the humanist tradition but can be traced back to Freud's analysis of Leonardo da Vinci.He is using published materials to develop a coherent and illuminating story of the life of a famous author.Which technique is he using?

A)behavioural analysis
B)psychobiography
C)self-verification
D)personal construction

Question 49

Imagine that Carl Rogers is on a talk show handling questions about child-rearing practices.A parent calls in and asks how he should handle his son,who deliberately pushed another child off a bicycle.What approach would Carl Rogers most likely suggest to the parent?

A)give the child a time out from one of his favourite activities.
B)tell the child,"Go to your room without supper."
C)promote the benefits of humanistic counselling.
D)tell the child,"Trying to hurt another child is a bad thing to do."

Question 50

In what way did Karen Horney's beliefs differ from those of orthodox Freudian supporters?

A)She suggested that "womb envy" leads men to devalue women.
B)She suggested that less emphasis should be placed on cultural factors.
C)She suggested that more emphasis should be placed on infantile sexuality.
D)She suggested that Freud focused too much on present character structure.

Question 51

Which individual is affiliated with the terms,"collective unconscious," "archetypes," and "analytic psychology"?

A)Carl Rogers.
B)Carl Jung.
C)Alfred Adler.
D)Abraham Maslow.

Question 52

Humanistic psychologists would be interested in people's responses to questions such as,"How did you feel when she said that?" or "Why do you think she treats you that way?" Which term best characterizes the nature of these types of questions?

A)dispositional
B)existential
C)phenomenological
D)holistic

Question 53

A child reads his sister a children's story about a little locomotive that reaches the top of a hill because it thinks it can.Which one of Bandura's concepts is being highlighted?

A)self-efficacy.
B)reciprocal determinism.
C)observational learning.
D)optimism.

Question 54

Which humanistic theorist suggested that basic anxiety causes people to move toward,against,and away from others,thereby causing them to live by a "tyranny of shoulds"?

A)Carl Rogers
B)Karen Horney
C)Walter Mischel
D)Abraham Maslow

Question 55

The university is going to sponsor a lecture by a humanistic personality theorist.What will the speaker most likely express with respect to humans?

A)They are very similar in their tendencies.
B)They are primarily motivated by the libido.
C)They are striving toward self-actualization.
D)They are generally negative in their view of the world.

Question 56

As described in the textbook,researchers explored the conditions under which girls aged 9-11 years were most likely to use defense mechanisms.What did the researchers discover?

A)the unpopular girls used more defense mechanisms than the popular girls after an episode of peer rejection.
B)the popular girls used more defense mechanisms than the unpopular girls,regardless of peer rejection
C)the popular girls used rationalization more often than the unpopular girls.
D)the popular girls used denial more often than the unpopular girls.

Question 57

What is a major criticism of Freud's theory?

A)It is overly dependent upon the concept of the unconscious.
B)It is difficult to evaluate scientifically.
C)It suggests the existence of defense mechanisms.
D)It is not comprehensive enough to explain behavioural diversity.

Question 58

"Personality is the sum of the overt and covert responses that can be reliably elicited by an individual's reinforcement history." Which approach to personality is being described?

A)humanistic
B)psychodynamic
C)evolutionary
D)learning theory

Question 59

A man has had a particularly frustrating day at work and because of some errors by others he won't make his sales goals.When he arrives home a bicycle blocks his way into the garage,so he picks it up and throws it across the yard into some bushes.Which defense mechanism is being characterized?

A)denial.
B)regression.
C)reaction formation.
D)displacement.

Question 60

As described in the textbook,researchers focused on how children at summer camp reacted to different psychological situations.What did the data collected from the camp counsellors indicate?

A)different situations bring out different behaviours in people.
B)the best measures of personality are those that focus on average behaviours
C)people are remarkably consistent in their behaviour across different situations.
D)males are more resilient than females.

Question 61

Which of the following is most likely an example of self-handicapping behaviour?

A)A student is not happy unless he gets higher grades,runs faster,and has a nicer car than his friends.
B)A student likes others to think that she makes "A's" without studying and wins diving competitions without practicing.
C)A young musician smashes his favourite violin bow on the ground the day before he is to play in a recital.
D)A woman tells her husband that she could have been a great actress if she hadn't married him and had children.

Question 62

At the end of her job interview,a woman is given the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.To make a good impression,when she sees items such as "I am sometimes bothered by things that shouldn't upset me," and "I don't always tell the truth," sheanswers that these statements are not true.What will the person scoring the test most likely do?

A)ask the woman to clarify her responses.
B)question the validity of the test.
C)deduct one mark for each of these responses.
D)add one mark for each of these responses.

Question 63

A researcher wants to develop a test of personality that will follow well-defined rules and will be simple to administer and score.Which term best reflects this type of test?

A)objective
B)empirical
C)rational
D)projective

Question 64

With respect to contributions made by various major theories of personality to the understanding of human nature,what point of view does the textbook express?

A)social-cognitive theory makes the most comprehensive contribution.
B)Freudian theory provides little value to the understanding of human nature.
C)each type of theory makes different contributions.
D)social intelligence theory has the highest validity and reliability ratings.

Question 65

A new father decides that spending more time at home with the family is more important than working overtime and making more money.According to Nancy Cantor's view of personality,on what basis did this man decide to refuse overtime work?

A)choice of life goals.
B)knowledge of social interactions.
C)strategies for implementing goals.
D)interpersonal intelligence.

Question 66

A psychologist uses a personality inventory that assesses thirty separate traits that are organized within the major factors of the five-factor model of personality.Which test is the psychologist most likely using?

A)Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.
B)Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory -2.
C)Thematic Apperception Test.
D)NEO Personality Inventory.

Question 67

A woman is described by others as having many obsessive-compulsive behaviours and fears,and is definitely prone to indecisiveness.If she were to take the MMPI-2,on which clinical scale would she likely obtain a high score?

A)psychasthenia
B)schizophrenia
C)hypomania
D)generalized anxiety

Question 68

Beyond actual accomplishments,there are three other sources of information for self-efficacy judgments.What are these sources?

A)person,places,and behaviours.
B)reciprocal determinism,attitude,and behaviour.
C)vicarious experience,persuasion,and monitoring of emotional arousal.
D)past experience,reinforcement history,and present expectation for success.

Question 69

A student spends much time socializing with friends instead of studying for an important exam because he is afraid to find out whether he has what it takes to pass the exam.Which term best characterizes this scenario?

A)the consistency paradox.
B)self-handicapping behaviour.
C)self-efficacy.
D)fixation.

Question 70

A man believes that one's behaviour should be based on the needs and approval of the community at large.According to Markus and Kitayama,which type of culture does this man likely represent?

A)an individualistic culture.
B)an independent culture.
C)a collectivist culture.
D)an altruistic culture.

Question 71

Raj wanted to develop a test that could predict success in selling real estate.If Raj used the empirical strategy of test construction that was developed for the original MMPI,what would Raj do?

A)analyze the skills needed to sell real estate.
B)test potential items on successful and unsuccessful real estate salespeople.
C)ask buyers of real estate what they liked and did not like about their salesperson.
D)observe successful real estate salespeople "in action."

Question 72

The textbook describes a study on the relationship between self-handicapping and gender in college students.What did the researchers discover about the tendency toward self-handicapping?

A)It was found in males only.
B)It was found in females only.
C)It was found in both males and females.
D)It was found when participants were led to believe that they had done better than expected.

Question 73

Cross-cultural research on the self has sometimes used a measurement device called the Twenty Statements Test,in which participants are asked to give 20 differentanswers to the question "Who am I?" When comparing the responses of students from various countries,what did one group of researchers discover?

A)in keeping with their interdependent sense of self,American students were least likely to give self-evaluations.
B)the differences in the responses of men and women were typically very large.
C)cultural differences mattered more than gender differences.
D)most of the students defined themselves in terms of their ideological beliefs.

Question 74

A study looked at e-mail addresses and personality self-reports from 599 individuals.The researchers then asked an independent group of students to make judgments about personality based only on the e-mail addresses.What did the study reveal?

A)there was a positive correlation between raters' assessments and e-mail users' self-reports.
B)there was no agreement between raters and e-mail users in personality assessments.
C)the students reported that there was insufficient information to make accurate personality assessments.
D)there is a strong relationship between self-report of personality characteristics and gender.

Question 75

Todd has signed up for a research study in which he will be completing a personality inventory.What should Todd expect?

A)to undergo a systematic interview by a trained clinical psychologist.
B)to read a series of statements and indicate whether each is true of himself.
C)to report what he sees in a series of ambiguous pictures.
D)to be tested for his potential for acquiring various skills.

Question 76

Although Leeza is certain that she will succeed as an actress,she does not believe that her parents will support this career choice.In the context of Bandura's work,which term best characterizes Leeza's beliefs about her future?

A)conditions of worth.
B)an outcome-based expectation.
C)self-handicapping.
D)learned helplessness.

Question 77

A researcher is looking for a test that has an extensive archival record of more than fifty years that also has standardized items that he can analyze to test hypotheses about self-efficacy,a psychological construct that did not exist when the test was first developed.Which test should the researcher be encouraged to use?

A)Woodworth Personal Data Sheet.
B)NEO Personality Inventory.
C)Big Five Questionnaire.
D)Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2.

Question 78

A psychologist uses a personality inventory that assesses thirty separate traits that are organized within the major factors of the five-factor model of personality.Which test is the psychologist most likely using?

A)Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.
B)Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory -2.
C)Thematic Apperception Test.
D)NEO Personality Inventory.

Question 79

A study was conducted on the impact of self-efficacy beliefs on college performance.What was the outcome?

A)students who had higher self-efficacy did better than their peers.
B)The degree of self-efficacy did not have an impact on college performance.
C)higher self-efficacy only mattered for those who did less well in high school than their peers.
D)though there was an initial relationship between self-efficacy and college performance,the correlation disappeared over time.

Question 80

Which personality theory most strongly emphasizes situational determinants of behaviour?

A)trait
B)psychodynamic
C)humanistic
D)social-learning