Deck 14: Personality Processes: Learning, Motivation, Emotion, and Thinking

Question 1

According to the concept of affective forecasting, positive events won't ________ as one might expect, and negative events won't ________ as one might expect.

A) lead to as much happiness; lead to as much misery
B) last as long; be as short lasting
C) be as frequent; be as infrequent
D) be as complex; be as simple

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Habituation is associated with which of the following changes in behavior over time?

A) a slow increase in behaviors
B) a slow decrease in behaviors
C) a sudden change in behavior
D) no change in behaviors

Answer 2

B

Question 3

When a new mobile is first hung over baby Jessica's crib, she looks at it frequently, but after several weeks pass she hardly notices it. Jessica has become ________ to the mobile.

A) classically conditioned
B) operantly conditioned
C) habituated
D) counterconditioned

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In Pavlov's famous studies, when the presentation of meat was frequently preceded by the sound of a bell, dogs

A) refused to eat the meat.
B) began to salivate at the sound of the bell.
C) showed fear responses to the bell.
D) salivated only when given the meat.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT an example of classical conditioning?

A) avoiding a meal that caused you to have food poisoning in the past
B) experiencing nostalgia when visiting a previous residence
C) not studying for an exam because of many previous failed attempts
D) rewarding a dog for good behavior with a treat

Question 6

According to recent reviews of the literature, repeated exposure to violent video games can make someone more aggressive and less empathic. This is an example of

A) the negative consequence of habituation.
B) rank-order change.
C) becoming less consistent.
D) effective classical conditioning.

Question 7

Behaviorism is rooted in the basic principle that all behavior

A) stems from environmental influences.
B) is phenomenological.
C) can be revealed through psychoanalysis.
D) is a result of the personality traits.

Question 8

Pavlov's experiments on the timing of associations demonstrated that two things become associated because

A) they occur at the exact same time.
B) the conditioned stimulus (CS) comes well before the unconditioned stimulus (UCS).
C) one event changes the meaning of the other event.
D) they have similar perceptual features.

Question 9

An individual's environment, from a behaviorist perspective, includes his or her

A) thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
B) close surroundings with others who offer support and advice.
C) rewards and punishments in the physical and social world.
D) immediate physical space (e.g., a forest or a house).

Question 10

Behaviorists believe that personality differences can be entirely explained by

A) learning.
B) behavioral traits.
C) phenomenological processes.
D) IQ.

Question 11

Why do behaviorists believe that useful information only comes from direct observation?

A) This information is more decontextualized.
B) This information is how unconscious motives are expressed.
C) Behaviorists cannot verify internal thoughts or feelings.
D) Behaviorists are more interested in how groups learn than in how individuals learn.

Question 12

Based on recent research regarding the ability to forecast emotional reactions to major events, people tend to

A) be accurate judges of the emotional impact of future events.
B) underestimate the emotional impact of negative events but not positive events.
C) underestimate the emotional impact of positive events but not negative events.
D) overestimate the emotional impact of both negative and positive events.

Question 13

It has been suggested that chronic anxiety is the result of

A) repeated pairing of a common stimulus with an unpleasant response.
B) the occurrence of one predictable negative event.
C) repeated exposure to aversive stimuli that are unpredictable and random.
D) second-order conditioning and stimulus generalization.

Question 14

A light goes on in a room just before an excruciatingly loud buzzer sounds. A subject who startles when the light goes on shows ________ behavior, but one who leaves the room to avoid the noise exhibits ________ behavior.

A) respondent; operant
B) operant; respondent
C) conditioned; counterconditioned
D) counterconditioned; conditioned

Question 15

The attempt to determine how behavior is connected to the environment is called

A) behavioral linking.
B) empiricism.
C) associationism.
D) functional analysis.

Question 16

Operant conditioning emphasizes ________, whereas respondent conditioning emphasizes ________.

A) active learning; passive learning
B) punishment; reward
C) an animal's learning ability; a human's learning ability
D) effects on one's physical world; effects on one's social world

Question 17

The idea that, in time, you can get used to almost anything is associated with which learning mechanism?

A) habituation
B) classical conditioning
C) operant conditioning
D) respondent conditioning

Question 18

According to the central ideas of behaviorism, what are the three main types of learning?

A) learned helplessness, stimulus-response associations, if … then associations
B) habituation, classical conditioning, operant conditioning
C) humanism, hedonism, associationism
D) reinforcement, punishment, conditioning

Question 19

Behaviorists like John Watson assumed that an individual's personality consists of a repertoire of learned

A) helplessness.
B) stimulus-response associations.
C) if … then responses.
D) social norms.

Question 20

Experiments have shown that if one receives rewards and/or punishments randomly (i.e., regardless of what one does), then one is likely to develop depression. This phenomenon is known as

A) learned helplessness.
B) angst.
C) social learning theory.
D) reverse conditioning.

Question 21

According to Mischel, what is the MOST important aspect of personality and cognition?

A) Personality traits are subordinate to cognitive processes.
B) Cognitive processes are subordinate to personality traits.
C) The interaction between the many systems of personality and cognition is most important.
D) Systems of personality and cognition operate in a serial process.

Question 22

What construct would Mischel prefer to replace the construct of personality traits?

A) expectancies
B) the self-system
C) cognitive-affective person units
D) if ... then contingencies

Question 23

According to Carol Dweck's BEATS model of personality, what is the final need for which everyone will strive?

A) self-coherence
B) self-efficacy
C) self-concept
D) self-esteem

Question 24

On the first day of kindergarten, the teacher responds to the students every time they ask her a question. By the end of the first week, the teacher will only respond to students who are sitting quietly at their desks. At the end of the second week, the teacher will only respond to students' questions if they are quietly seated, raise their hands, and wait to be called on before asking their questions. The teacher is using ________ to change the students' behavior.

A) habituation
B) shaping
C) punishment
D) secondary conditioning

Question 25

According to Mischel's theorizing, which of the following methods would be the best way to stop yourself from eating a piece of delicious chocolate cake?

A) smelling the cake to trick yourself into thinking that you ate it
B) telling yourself repeatedly that chocolate tastes bad
C) thinking about the chocolate cake as a piece of brown plastic
D) imagining how good the cake tastes to replace the actual desire to eat it

Question 26

What two important ideas are combined in Mischel's cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS)?

A) An individual's belief may matter more than reality, and individuals have completely stable personality traits.
B) Observation is the most important source of learning, and individuals have completely stable personality traits.
C) Observation is the most important source of learning, and the personality system has multiple tracks.
D) An individual's belief may matter more than reality, and the personality system has multiple components that often interact.

Question 27

Understanding the situation and changing one's behavior accordingly requires which of the following?

A) idiographic goals
B) insight
C) nomothetic goals
D) personality

Question 28

The Bobo doll studies of aggression demonstrated that

A) changing efficacy expectations can facilitate behavioral change.
B) expectancies vary across situations.
C) children will imitate positive but not negative behaviors.
D) learning can occur vicariously through observation.

Question 29

The causes of behavior from operant conditioning

A) can only be unconscious.
B) can only be conscious.
C) can be both conscious and unconscious.
D) are similar to psychoanalysis.

Question 30

Social learning theory arose to correct several shortcomings of orthodox behaviorism; specifically social learning theorists argue that behaviorism ignores

A) personality, identity, and individualism.
B) motivation, thought, and emotion.
C) both positive and negative emotion.
D) goals, life stories, and personality traits.

Question 31

Charles is reluctant to go to a party where he knows he won't know many people. Based on Bandura's prescription of self-change, Charles should ________ if he wants to change his level of social anxiety.

A) stay home and adjust slowly
B) force himself to go to the party
C) go to the party but only talk to people he knows well
D) go to the party but only if he really wants to

Question 32

According to the text, a distinctive aspect of humans is that we learn

A) nearly everything from observation.
B) by both punishment and reward.
C) very few things from observation.
D) nearly everything from classical conditioning.

Question 33

According to Skinner's terminology, behavior that acts on the environment and changes environmental conditions to the organism's advantage is ________ behavior.

A) respondent
B) reinforced
C) operant
D) reciprocally determined

Question 34

Bandura's ________ has proven to be the MOST influential of his ideas.

A) specific approach to psychotherapy
B) emphasis on observational learning
C) locus of control
D) discovery of if ... then contingencies

Question 35

Your ________ is how you see yourself, whereas your ________ is what you think you are capable of accomplishing.

A) self-concept; reputation
B) self-concept; self-efficacy
C) reputation, self-efficacy
D) self-efficacy; self-concept

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT considered a shortcoming of classic behaviorism?

A) It is largely based on research with animals.
B) It ignores the social aspects of learning.
C) It doesn't explain how people can differ in their behaviors.
D) It treats its subjects as passive.

Question 37

According to Mischel, every individual's if … then pattern of contingencies is unique and comprises his

A) personality.
B) life narrative.
C) behavioral signature.
D) personal goals.

Question 38

According to Bandura, what two components influence an individual's impression of what they are capable of doing and who they are?

A) self-efficacy and self-concept
B) personality traits and personal life goals
C) social support and self-esteem
D) intelligence and level of diligence

Question 39

Julian Rotter's social learning theory focuses primarily on

A) drives.
B) drive reduction.
C) decision making.
D) reciprocal determinism.

Question 40

What term is used to describe a good result that follows a particular behavior?

A) positive affect
B) reinforcement
C) respondent conditioning
D) operant response

Question 41

Sharon believes that intelligence and ability are innate and you cannot do anything to change them. Sharon has a(n) ________ theory of ability.

A) entity
B) incremental
C) schematic
D) rigid

Question 42

What idiographic goal term refers to long-term goals that organize broad areas of a person's life?

A) current concerns
B) personal projects
C) development goals
D) personal strivings

Question 43

Which of the following is the typical way that primary goals, as defined by McClelland, are assessed?

A) having participants list all personally meaningful goals
B) completing a standard goal questionnaire
C) using the Thematic Apperception Test
D) using the Implicit Association Test

Question 44

Mrs. Garcia often invites her family and friends to her house for lunches and parties. She is also involved with the people in her church group and in the Parent-Teacher Association at her child's school. According to McClelland's view of motivations, Mrs. Garcia is high in ________ motivation.

A) achievement
B) affiliation
C) power
D) connectedness

Question 45

Goals that are unique to the individuals pursuing them are called ________ goals.

A) strategic
B) judgment
C) nomothetic
D) idiographic

Question 46

All of the following are primary goals proposed by David McClelland EXCEPT a need for

A) achievement.
B) autonomy.
C) affiliation.
D) power.

Question 47

According to distinctions between types of idiographic goals, a ________ is something you think about, whereas a ________ is something you do.

A) judgment goal; development goal
B) current concern; personal project
C) long-term goal; short-term goal
D) personal project; current concern

Question 48

Given that Rory works hard on his golf game and pursues excellence, he should score high in which of McClelland's primary goals?

A) achievement
B) domination
C) mastery
D) performance

Question 49

Rosie has recently been rejected from several graduate school programs. In response, she works on the weak aspects of her application and intends to gain experience and reapply the following year. Rosie is high in ________ motivation.

A) power
B) affiliation
C) achievement
D) developmental

Question 50

What goal-related term describes the ongoing motivation that persists in the mind until the goal is either attained or abandoned?

A) current concerns
B) personal projects
C) judgment goals
D) personal strivings

Question 51

Mischel's if … then model is rooted in Watson's

A) S-R connection theory.
B) five-factor model.
C) social learning theory.
D) personal construct theory.

Question 52

Which of the following represent the MOST common types of nomothetic goals?

A) achievement and affiliation
B) achievement and power
C) power and learning
D) learning and affiliation

Question 53

A ________ is a desired end state, and ________ are the means that the individual uses to achieve this end state.

A) goal; strategies
B) strategy; goals
C) self-concept; self-schemas
D) motivation; needs

Question 54

Mrs. Khoury enjoys running the office. She likes telling other employees what to do and strives to be promoted to vice president of her company. According to McClelland's view of motivations, Mrs. Khoury is high in ________ motivation.

A) narcissism
B) affiliation
C) power
D) dominance

Question 55

Which of the following is NOT a type of idiographic goal?

A) current concerns
B) personal projects
C) developmental goals
D) personal strivings

Question 56

According to the discussion in the text about personal goals, it is important to have the ability to

A) focus primarily on general, long-term goals.
B) make connections between short- and long-term goals.
C) focus primarily on very specific goals.
D) set general goals that are separate from your daily activities.

Question 57

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of idiographic goals?

A) They are conscious at least some of the time.
B) They are common goals that essentially everyone pursues.
C) They are assumed to be changeable over time.
D) They are assumed to function independently of each other.

Question 58

Essential motivations that almost everyone pursues are called ________ goals.

A) development
B) judgment
C) nomothetic
D) idiographic

Question 59

Based on the text, which of the following would NOT be considered a personality process?

A) perception
B) motivation
C) emotion
D) trait development

Question 60

Steven believes that intelligence and ability can change with experience. Steven has a(n) ________ theory of ability.

A) entity
B) incremental
C) schematic
D) flexible

Question 61

Research by Julie Norem indicates that defensive pessimists and optimists likely ________ goals.

A) use different strategies but obtain similar
B) have similar specific goals but different general
C) use the same strategies but obtain different
D) have different learning goals but similar performance

Question 62

A strong, consistent, and stable tendency to experience positive and energizing emotions is the fundamental feature of what trait?

A) neuroticism
B) extraversion
C) openness
D) achievement motivation

Question 63

Grant is up against a deadline and fears he will not have enough time to do all he needs to do for it. In response, he makes a list of everything he needs to do in order of priority and gradually completes each task. Grant is practicing high

A) cognitive control.
B) emotional intelligence.
C) social control.
D) affect stability.

Question 64

According to previous research, women are generally higher than men in affect intensity. This finding may provide evidence for why

A) it is more adaptive for women to express their anger than it is for men.
B) women are more emotionally intelligent compared to men.
C) women have a higher threshold for pain compared to men.
D) women are more prone to depression compared to men.

Question 65

A person with a judgment goal will respond to failure with a(n) ________ pattern of behavior.

A) helpless
B) mastery-oriented
C) anxiety-driven
D) pessimistic

Question 66

Laura attends church regularly because she finds personal meaning and spiritual fulfillment in the rituals and discussions. Jeanne attends church regularly because she knows that many influential business leaders from the community also attend that church. Laura and Jeanne have

A) the same strategies, leading to different behaviors.
B) the same strategies, leading to the same behavior.
C) different strategies, leading to different behaviors.
D) different strategies, leading to the same behavior.

Question 67

Research has examined the degree to which individuals' optimistic and pessimistic strategies persist across various contexts. The results of this research suggest that

A) correlations of strategy use across contexts range from about .30 to .40.
B) correlations of strategy use across contexts are essentially zero.
C) the correlation of strategy use across contexts is about .30 for optimism but about -.30 for pessimism.
D) the correlation of strategy use across contexts is about -.30 for optimism but about .30 for pessimism.

Question 68

Which of the following theoretical models describes the relationship between views of the world and particular goals?

A) Epstein's cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST)
B) Dweck's motivational theory
C) Kelly's personal construct theory
D) McCrae and Costa's characteristic adaptations theory

Question 69

Methods for pursuing goals in life and organizing a wide range of activities are known as

A) schemas.
B) expectancies.
C) scripts.
D) strategies.

Question 70

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic stages of emotion?

A) appraisal
B) motives
C) facial expressions
D) scripts

Question 71

A person with a developmental goal will most likely respond to failure with a(n) ________ pattern of behavior.

A) helpless
B) mastery-oriented
C) anxiety-driven
D) pessimistic

Question 72

An individual who experiences powerful feelings of both joy and sadness would score high on what personality dimension?

A) neuroticism
B) affect variability
C) affect intensity
D) affect instability

Question 73

When Zajonc famously said, "preferences need no inferences" with respect to emotion, what was he really arguing?

A) Appraisal does not need to come first in the emotion process.
B) Appraisal must come first in the emotion process.
C) Personality traits are more important than situations for determining emotions.
D) Attitudes are more important than personality traits for determining emotions.

Question 74

A(n) ________ goal is one in which an individual is interested in self-improvement, and a(n) ________ goal is one in which an individual seeks to validate a personal attribute.

A) intrinsic; extrinsic
B) judgment; development
C) extrinsic; intrinsic
D) development; judgment

Question 75

What term describes a person who typically expects the worst so that they can be surprised or even relieved when the worst does not happen?

A) defensive optimists
B) defensive pessimists
C) strategic pessimists
D) reverse optimists

Question 76

How might an optimist and a defensive pessimist behave differently when waiting for the results of a recent exam?

A) The optimist will expect the best and the pessimist will be more accurate.
B) The optimist will expect the best and the pessimist will expect the worst.
C) The pessimist will expect the worst and the optimist will be more accurate.
D) The pessimist will expect the best and the optimist will expect the worst.

Question 77

What are the two basic dimensions of the emotional circumplex model?

A) aroused-unaroused and negative-positive
B) positive stimuli and negative stimuli
C) strong-weak and aroused-unaroused
D) aroused-unaroused and strong-weak

Question 78

According to the text, which of the following is an example of the negative consequences associated with rapidly changing emotions?

A) Frequent emotional swings cause stress to both the person experiencing them and surrounding others.
B) Frequent emotional swings limit the individual's capacity to adapt to any one environment.
C) Frequent emotional swings create social distance and sometimes result in chronic depression.
D) Frequent emotional swings typically create many more negative emotional experiences than positive emotional experiences.

Question 79

Some research suggests that pessimism might prove more adaptive than optimism in

A) individualistic cultures.
B) collectivistic cultures.
C) handling the diagnosis of a chronic disease.
D) handing the diagnosis of a terminal disease.

Question 80

From the perspective of cognitive psychology, how exactly can emotions be considered a kind of procedural knowledge?

A) Emotions are only fully understood after being explicitly told what they are.
B) Emotions are typically understood from repeated experience.
C) Emotions cannot be learned and can only be fully expressed through action.
D) Emotions develop through mechanisms of both nature and nurture.