Deck 9: Aging and Personality Development

Question 1

Which Big Five personality trait is the BEST predictor of mortality?

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

Answer 1

conscientiousness

Question 2

As people age they become MORE of which of the following?

A) agreeable and neurotic
B) neurotic and extraverted
C) extraverted and conscientious
D) conscientious and agreeable

Answer 2

conscientious and agreeable

Question 3

Which of the following traits are associated with being healthier and living longer?

A) conscientiousness and agreeableness
B) agreeableness and extraversion
C) extraversion and openness to experience
D) openness to experience and conscientiousness

Answer 3

conscientiousness and agreeableness

Question 4

Which of the following methods do most researchers use to determine if personality changes in age groups over time?

A) intra-individual change and mean-level change
B) mean-level change and rank-order consistency
C) rank-order consistency and factor analysis
D) factor analysis and intra-individual change

Question 5

Which of the Big Five personality traits is not related to any of the traits on the Chinese Personality Inventory?

A) conscientiousness
B) openness to experience
C) neuroticism
D) extraversion

Question 6

Dr. Heffernan is explaining to his class that personality stability is influenced by the choices that people make. Which of the following is Dr. Heffernan describing?

A) biological essentialist perspective
B) contextualist model
C) correspondence principle
D) interactional model

Question 7

Dr. Cho is studying changes in neuroticism with age at the group level. He plans to look at the average scores for a group at ages 50, 55, and 60. Which of the following approaches is Dr. Cho using?

A) mean-level change
B) rank-order change
C) intra-individual change
D) factor analysis

Question 8

What is the BEST way to describe the correlation between the Type A behaviour pattern and coronary artery disease based on recent research?

A) zero to weak
B) weak to moderate
C) moderate to strong
D) strong to perfect

Question 9

Which of the following traits from the Chinese Personality Inventory appears to be unique to Asian cultures?

A) dependability
B) accommodation
C) interpersonal relatedness
D) social potency

Question 10

Which of the Big Five personality traits is related to how original, imaginative, daring, and independent a person is?

A) conscientiousness
B) openness to experience
C) extraversion
D) agreeableness

Question 11

The notion that personality trait development is entirely governed by genetics is central to which of the following?

A) biological essentialist perspective
B) contextualist model
C) correspondence principle
D) interactional model

Question 12

Ana is careful, reliable, and neat. Ana is MOST likely to score high on which Big Five factor?

A) openness to experience
B) agreeableness
C) neuroticism
D) conscientiousness

Question 13

Dr. Fried is looking at rank-order consistency of the Big Five personality traits of people aged 30 to 69. Based on previous studies, Dr. Fried expects the GREATEST rank-order consistency among which age group?

A) 30- to 39-year-olds
B) 40- to 49-year-olds
C) 50- to 59-year-olds
D) 60- to 69-year-olds

Question 14

Adults in their eighties show mean-level declines in all of the Big Five personality traits EXCEPT which one?

A) agreeableness
B) openness to experience
C) neuroticism
D) conscientiousness

Question 15

Research suggests that during middle age the biggest gender difference in Big Five personality traits relates to which of the following?

A) conscientiousness
B) openness to experience
C) neuroticism
D) agreeableness

Question 16

Dr. Patel wants to look at personality changes at the level of the person, rather than at the group level. Which of the following should Dr. Patel investigate?

A) mean-level changes
B) rank-order changes
C) intra-individual changes
D) a factor analysis

Question 17

The maturity principle suggests that with age people become LESS of which of the following?

A) agreeable
B) conscientious
C) neurotic
D) extraverted

Question 18

Marco is very stubborn and finds it difficult to get along with others. Marco would likely score LOW on which Big Five factor?

A) openness to experience
B) agreeableness
C) neuroticism
D) conscientiousness

Question 19

Research discussed in the text suggests that men who have higher levels of which trait have much lower survival rates than men with lower levels of this trait?

A) openness to experience
B) extraversion
C) conscientiousness
D) neuroticism

Question 20

Which of the following is contradicted by research findings that suggest MOST personality changes occur in young adulthood?

A) stage theory
B) the transactional model
C) the correspondence principle
D) the maturity principle

Question 21

What do MOST adults aged 65 to 85 say when asked which phase of life they would return to if they could?

A) childhood
B) young adulthood
C) emerging adulthood
D) middle adulthood

Question 22

According to Balsis, which of the following BEST describes why older adults are less likely to be diagnosed with a personality disorder than are younger adults?

A) the symptoms of personality disorder dissipate with age
B) younger adults are overdiagnosed with personality disorders
C) the symptoms of personality disorders are masked by Alzheimer's disease
D) the diagnostic criteria aren't suitable for older adults

Question 23

Ernesto scores low on conscientiousness and is therefore at increased risk for developing which of the following?

A) a substance abuse problem
B) lung disease
C) high blood pressure
D) macular degeneration

Question 24

Who was the first person to argue that personality development occurred through adulthood?

A) Freud
B) Jung
C) Erikson
D) Allport

Question 25

Mariah is writing an essay on Carl Jung's personality theory. Which personality concept is MOST likely to be central to her essay?

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

Question 26

Suppose Ed and Fred both develop neurofibrillary tangles in their brain, but only Ed develops symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. It is therefore likely that Fred would score LOWER than Ed on which of the following?

A) neuroticism
B) agreeableness
C) openness to experience
D) extraversion

Question 27

Which of Erikson's stages is said to occur during early adulthood?

A) intimacy vs isolation
B) identity vs role confusion
C) generativity vs stagnation
D) integrity vs despair

Question 28

Raj received a high score on the Loyola Generativity Scale. Raj is likely to score LOW on which Big Five trait?

A) openness to experience
B) conscientiousness
C) neuroticism
D) extraversion

Question 29

When given the Self-Examination Interview, Helen revealed that she never really accomplished anything because she isn't very smart. What status of integrity BEST describes Helen?

A) integrity-integrity
B) despairing
C) non-exploratory
D) pseudo-integrated

Question 30

According to McAdams, which two factors produce a conscious concern for the next generation?

A) symbolic immortality and cultural demand
B) cultural demand and belief
C) belief and action
D) action and symbolic immortality

Question 31

Who developed the first widely accepted theory of personality across the lifespan?

A) Freud
B) Jung
C) Erikson
D) Allport

Question 32

Examining one's life and trying to find meaning in one's life story is key to which of Erikson's psychosocial stages?

A) intimacy vs isolation
B) identity vs role confusion
C) generativity vs stagnation
D) integrity vs despair

Question 33

Which two Big Five personality traits have been linked to increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease?

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

Question 34

What does the research suggest about generative concerns?

A) they are stable across adulthood
B) they peak in mid-life
C) they peak at about age 70
D) they peak in early adulthood

Question 35

Jerome is 50 years old. According to Erikson, what stage of psychosocial development is Jerome experiencing?

A) intimacy vs isolation
B) identity vs role confusion
C) generativity vs stagnation
D) integrity vs despair

Question 36

Which of the following personality traits INCREASED in medical students who were trained to be more mindful?

A) conscientiousness and agreeableness
B) agreeableness and openness to experience
C) openness to experience and extraversion
D) extraversion and conscientiousness

Question 37

Unhealthy behaviours such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and physical inactivity are all linked to HIGHER levels of which of the following?

A) neuroticism
B) conscientiousness
C) openness to experience
D) extraversion

Question 38

Which of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development is linked to changing the standard with which a person evaluates mistakes from the past?

A) intimacy vs isolation
B) identity vs role confusion
C) generativity vs stagnation
D) integrity vs despair

Question 39

Research suggests that low levels of which trait increase a person's risk for developing Alzheimer's disease?

A) neuroticism
B) agreeableness
C) openness to experience
D) conscientiousness

Question 40

What do Freund and Ritter argue is the MOST common trigger of challenges in middle adulthood?

A) reaching age 40
B) life-review
C) losing a parent
D) having children leave home

Question 41

Provide a critique of Erikson's psychosocial theory of development.

Question 42

Discuss the relationship between health and personality traits.

Question 43

Discuss the concept of a mid-life crisis.

Question 44

Discuss possible reasons for lower rates of personality disorders among older adults than younger adults.

Question 45

Discuss a tool that researchers can use to identify older adults who have not reached the integrated stage of psychosocial development. Describe the different outcomes produced by this tool and identify outcomes associated with poor integrity.