Deck 13: Individual Differences in Emotion

Question 1

Which of the following sex differences was NOT observed in a large, nationally representative study of adults in the United States?

A) Men reported feeling more positive emotion, in general, than did women.
B) Women reported feeling angry more often than did men.
C) Women reported feeling frightened more often than did men.
D) None of the above are false; all are true.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following sex differences was NOT observed in a large, nationally representative study of adults in the United States?

A) Men and women reported feeling similar amounts of anger.
B) Women reported feeling more sadness than did men.
C) Men reported feeling more calm positive emotion than did women.
D) None of the above are false; all are true.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following sex differences was observed in a large, nationally representative study of adults in the United States?

A) Women reported feeling more positive emotion than did men.
B) Women reported feeling more fear than did men.
C) Men reported feeling more anger than did women.
D) All of the sex differences described above were observed in the study.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following emotions is NOT experienced at higher levels by women than by men, in countries around the world as well as in the United States?

A) Anger
B) Fear
C) Sadness
D) All three of these emotions are experienced more by women than by men.

Question 5

Which of the following statements regarding the relationship between gender egalitarianism and people's experience of emotion is FALSE?

A) Women in more egalitarian countries report feeling fear and sadness less often than those in countries where women have less power.
B) Men in more egalitarian countries report feeling fear and sadness less often than those in countries where women have less power.
C) Women in more egalitarian countries report expressing more anger than those in countries where women have less power.
D) All of the above are true; none are false.

Question 6

Which of the following statements about gender and emotional expression is FALSE?

A) In countries throughout the world, women report crying more often than men.
B) In countries throughout the world, men report expressing anger more openly than do women.
C) Although men report experiencing more positive emotion than women, women smile more often than men.
D) None of the above are false; all are true.

Question 7

In a study described in your textbook (Bushman, 2002), participants received critical feedback on an essay from a person described as another participant. They then had opportunities to hit a punching bag and administer loud, annoying noises to the "other participant." Which of the following accurately describes the results?

A) Men punched the bag harder, administered louder noise blasts, and were in a better mood at the end of the study than women.
B) Women punched the bag harder, administered louder noise blasts, and were in a better mood at the end of the study than men.
C) Women punched the bag harder than men did, but men administered louder noise blasts than women did.
D) Men punched the bag harder than women did, but women administered louder noise blasts than men did.

Question 8

In a study described in your textbook (Hecht & LaFrance, 1998), same-sex pairs of participants engaged in conversations in the lab. In some conversations, one partner had power over the other in a mock job interview. In other conversations, the two partners were equals. Which of the following accurately describes the results?

A) Women smiled more often than men when the two partners were equals, but less often than men when there was a power difference.
B) Men smiled more often than women when there was a power difference, but men and women smiled at similar levels when the partners were equals.
C) Among both men and women, smiling behavior and self-reported positive affect were positively correlated among high-power participants, but uncorrelated among low-power participants.
D) All of the statements above accurately describe a result of the study.

Question 9

In a study described in your textbook (Hecht & LaFrance, 1998), same-sex pairs of participants engaged in conversations in the lab. In some conversations one partner had power over the other in a mock job interview. Results showed that smiling behavior and self-reported positive affect were positively correlated among high-power participants, but uncorrelated among low-power participants. Which of the following accurately describes the implications of this finding?

A) Women naturally experience more positive emotion than men do.
B) People in positions of power express their emotions more openly than those in low-power positions.
C) Women express positive emotions more authentically than men do.
D) Men enjoy being in power more than women do.

Question 10

Women's and men's emotional experience and expression differ in a number of ways. Which of the following explanations of these gender differences is best supported by research discussed in your textbook?

A) Differences between women's and men's emotions likely reflect women's naturally higher level of agreeableness.
B) Differences between women's and men's emotions likely reflect gender differences in power and status.
C) Differences between women's and men's emotions likely reflect men's greater regulation of emotions.
D) Differences between women's and men's emotions likely reflect innate sex differences in emotional reactivity.

Question 11

In a study by Klein and Hodges (2001), participants watched a video of a woman who had recently scored poorly on an important test, talking about her experience. At several points during the video, participants were asked to guess what the woman was thinking and feeling. Which of the following best describes the implications of the study results?

A) Women are naturally more capable of empathy than men.
B) Men are better at guessing others' thoughts, whereas women are better at empathizing with others' feelings.
C) Women feel more sympathy for others than do men, but men and women show similar ability to infer others' thoughts and feelings.
D) Men and women are equally capable of empathy, but men may empathize more selectively than women.

Question 12

Which of the following accurately defines the term temperament, according to your textbook?

A) Heightened emotional reactivity, typical of artists and musicians
B) A strong dispositional tendency to experience anger and negative emotion
C) Consistent individual differences in how babies react to the environment, including differences in emotionality
D) One's level of emotional maturity, in terms of emotion regulation ability.

Question 13

Behavioral genetics studies suggest that the proportion of variability in people's emotional dispositions than can be accounted for by genes is .

A) between 10 and 25 percent
B) between 20 and 60 percent
C) between 50 and 75 percent
D) between 70 and 90 percent

Question 14

Maria is extremely sociable and loves meeting new people; her friends often call her "the life of the party." Maria is clearly high on the personality trait of:

A) Extraversion
B) Agreeableness
C) Conscentiousness
D) Openness to Experience

Question 15

Among her friends, Belinda is considered the kindest and most generous. A personality researcher would say that Belinda is very high on:

A) Extraversion
B) Agreeableness
C) Conscientiousness
D) Openness to Experience

Question 16

Carrie is very self-disciplined and reliable - if she says she is going to do something, it will get done. researcher would say that Carrie is very high on:

A) Extraversion
B) Agreeableness
C) Conscientiousness
D) Openness to Experience

Question 17

Which of the following is the best definition of the Big Five personality trait Neuroticism?

A) Frequent belief that other people disrespect you and are making fun of you
B) High dispositional pessimism, the belief that things will always go wrong
C) Overall level of psychopathology, defined according to DSM-V criteria
D) High dispositional frequency and intensity of negative emotion experience

Question 18

Which of the following Big Five personality factors is correlated with the amount of activity in the neural reward circuit during gambling?

A) Extraversion
B) Agreeableness
C) Conscientiousness
D) Neuroticism

Question 19

Which of the following Big Five personality traits is associated with lower use of reappraisal and problem solving as emotion regulation strategies?

A) Extraversion
B) Conscientiousness
C) Neuroticism
D) Openness to Experience

Question 20

Research evidence has documented a correlation between people's skill at regulating their emotions and scores on which of the following Big Five personality traits?

A) Agreeableness
B) Conscientiousness
C) Neuroticism
D) All of the above have been linked to emotion regulation ability

Question 21

Which of the following Big Five personality factors has been linked to high dispositional experience of both compassion and awe?

A) Extraversion
B) Conscientiousness
C) Neuroticism
D) Openness to Experience

Question 22

Much research indicates that activation in the within the right and left hemispheres has differential implications for dispositional emotion; greater activity on the right side predicts a tendency toward sadness and depression, whereas greater activity on the left predicts happiness.

A) frontal lobe
B) amygdala
C) insular cortex
D) nucleus accumbens

Question 23

Which of the following best describes the relationship between genotype for the serotonin transporter gene and depression?

A) People with two alleles are more prone to depression than those with one or more long alleles.
B) People with two long alleles are more prone to depression than those with one of more alleles.
C) People with two alleles show a stronger association between life stress and depression than those with two long alleles.
D) There is no significant relationship between serotonin transporter genotype and vulnerability to depression.

Question 24

Which of the following best summarizes the effects of having serotonin transporter gene alleles, rather than long alleles?

A) People with alleles tend to experience stronger negative emotions than people with long alleles.
B) People with alleles are at higher overall risk of psychopathology than people with long alleles.
C) People with alleles tend to be more agreeable and conscientious than people with long alleles.
D) People with alleles tend to be more reactive to social and emotional qualities of the environment than people with long alleles.

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT used as an approach to scoring the MSCEIT - the test of emotional intelligence described in your textbook?

A) Correct answers are determined by someone who has actually had the experience described in each question.
B) Correct answers are chosen based on empirical research on the outcomes of each possible course of action for each question in the test.
C) The answer given by the greatest number of people taking the test is considered the correct answer.
D) The answer selected by experts, typically people who do research on emotion.

Question 26

Studies examining the relationship between scores on the MSCEIT, a test designed to assess emotional intelligence, and important outcomes such as life satisfaction, quality of close relationships, and emotion regulation ability have found significant but modest correlations. These correlations are used to estimate the of the MSCEIT as a measure of emotional intelligence.

A) reliability
B) generalizability
C) internal validity
D) predictive validity

Question 27

Evidence from a large, nationally representative study of adults in the United States shows that women experience more emotion, overall, than men.

Question 28

Questionnaire data suggest that, in countries throughout the world, men and women experience roughly equal amounts of anger.

Question 29

Questionnaire data suggest that, in countries throughout the world, men express anger more openly than women do.

Question 30

Research suggests that women and men are equally capable of empathy, but men are more selective about those with whom they empathize.

Question 31

Extraversion is the only Big Five personality factor that significantly predicts people's dispositional tendency to experience positive emotions.

Question 32

Research suggests that people who are high on the personality trait of Conscientiousness are better able to regulate their anger after being insulted.

Question 33

Having the allele of the serotonin transporter gene causes increased depression and anxiety.

Question 34

Scores on the MSCEIT test of emotional intelligence strongly predict outcomes such as life satisfaction, quality of close relationships, optimism, and ability to regulate one's emotions.

Question 35

In a large, nationally representative study of adults in the United States (Simon & Nath, 2004), researchers found than men reported experiencing positive emotions more often than did women. What two possible explanations for this were suggested in your textbook, and what do those two explanations have in common?

Question 36

List three of the Big Five personality factors described in your textbook and, for each, describe one aspect of emotion that has been found to correlate with that aspect of personality.

Question 37

Much research indicates that the personality trait of Extraversion is associated with high dispositional positive emotionality. Summarize two possible explanations for this association, discussed in your textbook.

Question 38

Research on the serotonin transporter gene, described in your textbook, offers a good example of a moderator effect - when the implications of one variable depend on one's level of some other variable. In this case, the effects of having vs. long serotonin transporter genes (or one of each) appears to moderate the effects of one's environment. Summarize the nature of this effect, and give one example of a specific research study, described in your textbook, that illustrates this moderating effect.

Question 39

The MSCEIT is a test used to measure people's emotional intelligence. In the test, many questions ask how people would interpret emotional stimuli (such as morphed facial expressions of emotion), or how they would respond to emotionally complicated situations. Your textbook describes three approaches to scoring people's answers - deciding what the "right" answer is. Describe each of the three scoring approaches, and for each, state one limitation of that approach.

Question 40

Your textbook discusses much research comparing men's and women's emotions in terms of experience, expression, regulation, and empathy for others. Would you argue that men and women are mostly the same, mostly different, or similar in one way but different in another? Discuss at least five research findings from class or your textbook as support for your thesis.