Deck 15: An Overview of Personality Theory, Assessment, and Research

Question 1

The social cognitive emphasis on the potential for change can be contrasted with

A) Rogers' theory.
B) trait theory.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Longitudinal data on Jim suggests evidence of

A) stability.
B) change.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).

Answer 2

C

Question 3

An emphasis on stages of development is least consistent with

A) psychoanalytic theory.
B) Cattell's trait theory.
C) social cognitive theory.
D) Piaget's theory.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The person as a problem solver would be least associated with the views of

A) Bandura.
B) Kelly.
C) Cattell.
D) Mischel.

Question 5

Which of the following would appear to be least compatible with one another?

A) Bandura - five-factor theory.
B) Mischel - personal construct theory.
C) social cognitive theory - phenomenological theory.
D) Freud - Jung.

Question 6

The psychoanalytic emphasis on stages of development can be contrasted with (i.e., is unlike)

A) trait theory.
B) social cognitive theory.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).

Question 7

Of the personality theorists reviewed _______ is considered to be the most explicit about stating his view of the person.

A) George Kelly
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Carl Rogers
D) Raymond Cattell

Question 8

The text suggests that views about human nature

A) are irrelevant to psychology as a science.
B) influence areas studied most thoroughly.
C) affect treatment but not research.
D) affect research but not treatment.

Question 9

The text argues that one way of resolving different views of personality processes is to recognize that

A) Freud was right all along.
B) the notion of "processes" should be jettisoned.
C) a person may possess a multiplicity of motivational processes that come into play at different points in their life.
D) trait concepts are superior to motivational process concepts.

Question 10

According to the text, the task for personality psychology is to

A) account for patterns of stability and change.
B) focus on development of a psychology of the environment.
C) focus on development of a psychology of character structure.
D) account for behavioral aggregates.

Question 11

The psychoanalytic view of the importance of early experiences for personality development can be contrasted with (i.e., is unlike)

A) trait theory.
B) social cognitive theory.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).

Question 12

The clearest contrast in emphasis on past, present, and future-related variables is between

A) behaviorism and psychoanalysis.
B) Rogers' theory and Kelly's theory.
C) Rogers' theory and social cognitive theory.
D) Kelly's theory and psychoanalysis.

Question 13

A consistent area of emphasis in the text is the effect of a theorist's view of the person on the theory of personality. With regard to this issue, the text suggests

A) that a theorist should attempt to construct a theory free from any a priori assumptions about human nature.
B) that personal views act as a corrective influence in the interpretation of data that are collected.
C) that one should always ask whether an interpretation is a necessary conclusion from the data or whether it represents the theorist's personal view of human nature.
D) both (b) and (c).

Question 14

The concept of self is most clearly absent in which of the following?

A) personal construct theory.
B) social cognitive theory.
C) phenomenological theory.
D) The concept of self is present in all of the above.

Question 15

The therapy in which individuals are asked to behave as if they were a different person is

A) fixed-role therapy.
B) RET.
C) client-centered therapy.
D) behavior therapy.

Question 16

The text emphasizes that

A) environmental differences are associated with behavioral variability.
B) behavioral consistency reflects the importance of person factors.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).

Question 17

Which of the following had the least to say about psychopathology?

A) Allport.
B) Eysenck.
C) Kelly.
D) Bandura.

Question 18

The psychoanalytic emphasis on motivation can be contrasted with

A) trait theory.
B) cognitive theory.
C) Rogerian theory.
D) all of the above.

Question 19

The text's general conclusion with regard to the study of personality is

A) we now have a completed picture of personality in the various theories offered.
B) the behavioral approach to personality offers the strongest advantages, and other theories should be rejected.
C) the total picture of the nature of personality is far from complete.
D) theory, assessment, and research in personality are usually unrelated to each other.

Question 20

The contrast between internal and external views of behavior is most clearly seen in the following contrast

A) trait theory - psychoanalysis.
B) psychoanalysis - personal construct theory.
C) personal construct theory - Rogers' theory.
D) psychoanalysis - social cognitive theory.

Question 21

Research reviewed in the text on questions of social change suggests that the most useful personality theory for brining about change is _______ theory.

A) psychoanalytic
B) phenomenological
C) trait
D) social cognitive

Question 22

Considering Jim's personality over time, there is evidence that the child is father to the man.

Question 23

Jim was most impressed with the data from the

A) projectives.
B) questionnaires.
C) interview.
D) none of the above.

Question 24

The data on Jim vary so much from test to test that no common themes emerge.

Question 25

The text suggests that although theories of personality differ in the importance given to psychopathology, they pretty much agree on the explanation of it.

Question 26

Psychoanalytic theory is unique in its emphasis on the importance of conflict.

Question 27

A useful principle for bringing about social change is

A) administering the NEO-PI-R.
B) the free association method.
C) media modeling.
D) conducting twin studies.

Question 28

The case of Jim suggests that

A) there has been a complete change in him.
B) developments would have been difficult to predict.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).

Question 29

Discuss the case of Jim in the light of the theories covered and the personality data obtained in association with them.

Question 30

The text argues that an important question for personality theory is whether it

A) yields theories that are true.
B) produces theories that are elegant.
C) is popular with people in other scientific fields.
D) yields useful applications.

Question 31

The text argues that the biggest challenge in personality psychology is to figure out which theory is right.

Question 32

Most personality theories contain an implicit view of human nature.

Question 33

Every theory of personality deals with the concept of the unconscious in some fundamental way.

Question 34

Discuss the relationships among theory, approach to research, and approach to assessment in the light of the theories covered in the text.

Question 35

Compare and contrast three of the theorists covered in the text in relation to their theories of motivation and personality change.

Question 36

Jim felt that all of the assessment devices had some merit.

Question 37

Considering Jim's personality over time, one can feel hopeless about the potential for change.

Question 38

Compare the strengths and limitations of three theoretical approaches covered in the text.

Question 39

In the case of Jim, the data from different tests are qualitatively different from one another.