Deck 7: Using Personality Traits to Understand Behavior

Question 1

Which of the following characteristics is NOT associated with conscientiousness?

A) high IQ
B) avoidance of risks
C) educational level
D) longevity

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which trait has been consistently linked to a range of health outcomes?

A) neuroticism
B) authoritarianism
C) openness
D) conscientiousness

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A researcher who tries to discover the most important or basic personality traits that exist is taking a ________ approach.

A) single-trait
B) many-trait
C) essential-trait
D) typological

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Julie is a serious and conscientious employee; however, with her friends at happy hour on Friday afternoon she is the life of the party. According to Snyder's theory, Julie would most likely be ________.

A) a high self-monitor
B) a low self-monitor
C) high in private self-consciousness
D) low in public self-consciousness

Question 5

According to recent research about personality and energy drink preferences, those high in self-monitoring would likely prefer which brand of energy drink in a consumer taste test study?

A) Superstar Energy
B) Acme Energy Drink
C) Energy Enhancer
D) Energy for You

Question 6

Which trait is linked to reduced creativity in group problem-solving tasks?

A) narcissism
B) openness
C) conscientiousness
D) self-monitoring

Question 7

In order to alleviate the effects of bias in employment testing, employers might want to use ________ because they typically do not show racial or ethnic differences.

A) aptitude tests
B) ability tests
C) tests of conscientiousness
D) achievement tests

Question 8

Given Snyder's description of self-monitoring, you would expect someone who is low in self-monitoring to be ________ than someone high in self-monitoring.

A) harder to judge
B) easier to judge
C) less depressed
D) less conscientious

Question 9

According to one survey of employers, seven out of the top eight qualities sought in new employees involved ________.

A) intelligence
B) agreeableness
C) emotional intelligence
D) conscientiousness

Question 10

A researcher interested in identifying common patterns of trait variation that characterize whole persons is using a ________ approach.

A) single-trait
B) typological
C) configural
D) many-trait

Question 11

Which of the following traits is largely independent of integrity tests?

A) openness
B) agreeableness
C) emotional stability
D) conscientiousness

Question 12

When compared to high self-monitors, people who score low in self-monitoring tend to ________.

A) perform better in job interviews
B) use strategies to influence coworkers
C) be willing to lie to get a date
D) masturbate less often

Question 13

According to the text, tests of conscientiousness seem to predict ________ better than they predict ________.

A) employee thefts; supervisors' ratings of job performance
B) job satisfaction; employee thefts
C) supervisors' ratings of job performance; employee thefts
D) criminal behavior; job behavior

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a currently discussed explanation for narcissistic behavior?

A) Narcissists are struggling to maintain an unrealistic self-concept.
B) Narcissists have trouble controlling impulses.
C) Narcissists are motivated by power and prestige and use certain strategies to attain these goals.
D) Narcissists are actually shy and timid but believe that these traits reflect personal weaknesses.

Question 15

Research on ________ addresses important questions concerning the way that inner reality and the private self relate to external reality and the self as presented to others.

A) authoritarianism
B) introversion and extraversion
C) self-monitoring
D) conscientiousness

Question 16

Which trait is associated with positive first impressions but more negative impressions in longer-term relationships?

A) conscientiousness
B) self-monitoring
C) narcissism
D) authoritarianism

Question 17

A researcher who starts with an interest in delinquency and then identifies the traits associated with that category of behavior is taking a ________ approach.

A) single-trait
B) many-trait
C) essential-trait
D) typological

Question 18

Low self- monitors are more likely than high self-monitors to be described as ________.

A) talkative
B) self-dramatizing
C) having social poise and presence
D) independent

Question 19

People who adjust their behavior to best fit the situation are called ________, and people whose behavior is guided by their personality are called ________.

A) ego resilient; ego controlled
B) agreeable; conscientious
C) high self-monitors; low self-monitors
D) low self-monitors; high self-monitors

Question 20

According to a recent study described in the textbook, which trait has been linked to a decrease in life satisfaction following a bout of unemployment?

A) agreeableness
B) conscientiousness
C) narcissism
D) self-monitoring

Question 21

The most important advantage of Q-sorting is that it ________.

A) allows the judge to rate the target person consistently high or low on every trait
B) does not require the judge to make subtle discriminations between trait ratings
C) can only be used by trained clinicians, thus preventing problems inherent when laypersons serve as judges
D) forces the judge to compare all the items directly against each other

Question 22

The most important thing to notice about a table of Q-sort correlates is the________.

A) general patterns that emerge
B) exact value of the correlations
C) wording of specific items
D) smallest correlation

Question 23

What is another name for ego resiliency?

A) psychological adjustment
B) self-monitoring
C) extraversion
D) self-control

Question 24

Sally is seriously depressed at age 18. Research using the Q-sort suggests that as a child, Sally probably would have been described as ________.

A) aggressive
B) overcontrolled
C) undercontrolled
D) egocentric

Question 25

According to the text, sex differences in the personality correlates of delay of gratification are likely attributable to sex differences in ________.

A) hormones
B) attention span
C) socialization practices
D) temperamental traits

Question 26

The items in the California Q-Set were derived from ________.

A) factor analysis
B) a biologically based model of personality
C) Allport and Odbert's original list of trait terms from everyday language
D) efforts by researchers to develop a list of items that would adequately describe personality

Question 27

What are essential traits according to Jack Block?

A) neuroticism/extraversion
B) negative emotionality/positive emotionality
C) stability/plasticity
D) ego control/ego resiliency

Question 28

Positive emotionality in Tellegen's three-factor model is closest to which trait in Eysenck's model?

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

Question 29

What are the Big Three traits according to Auke Tellegen?

A) neuroticism/extraversion/openness to experience
B) neuroticism/extraversion/psychoticism
C) ego control/ego resiliency/ego adjustment
D) positive emotionality/negative emotionality/constraint

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a dimension that would likely show differences between liberals and conservatives?

A) harm/care
B) in-group loyalty
C) authority/respect
D) purity

Question 31

What is another name for ego control?

A) psychological adjustment
B) self-monitoring
C) emotional stability
D) self-control

Question 32

Joe is a 15-year-old who abuses drugs on a regular basis. Research using the Q-sort suggests that as a child, Joe probably would have been described as ________.

A) quiet and shy
B) overcontrolled and inhibited
C) easily victimized and rigid
D) emotionally unstable and immature

Question 33

Jack Block found that 23-year-olds who described themselves as being politically conservative were likely to have been described as _________ at age 3.

A) self-reliant and energetic
B) guilty and anxious
C) maintaining close relationships
D) emotionally unstable and aggressive

Question 34

What are the essential traits according to Hans Eysenck?

A) neuroticism/extraversion/openness to experience
B) neuroticism/extraversion/psychoticism
C) ego control/ego resiliency/ego adjustment
D) positive emotionality/negative emotionality/constraint

Question 35

Which correlates of delay of gratification were common in both girls and boys?

A) being reflective, reasonable, and able to plan ahead
B) being intelligent, competent, and attentive
C) being shy, quiet, and compliant
D) being anxious, resourceful, and emotionally labile

Question 36

A researcher using factor analysis to identify basic traits is likely to favor the ________ approach.

A) single-trait
B) many-trait
C) essential-trait
D) typological

Question 37

Which trait is associated with attractiveness?

A) conscientiousness
B) self-monitoring
C) narcissism
D) authoritarianism

Question 38

The ________ is a personality assessment device consisting of a deck of 100 cards, each of which describes an aspect of personality. These cards are sorted into categories by the respondent.

A) California F scale
B) self-monitoring scale
C) California Q-Set
D) NEO Personality Inventory

Question 39

A researcher taking the many-trait approach to understanding personality would likely use which of the following measurement instruments?

A) California F scale
B) California Q-Set
C) the neuroticism scale from the NEO Personality Inventory
D) self-monitoring scale

Question 40

Which dimension of personality assessed by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory appears to be the one most responsible for obnoxious and arrogant behavior?

A) leadership
B) self-sufficiency
C) entitlement/exploitativeness
D) self-esteem

Question 41

According to Jack Block, ego ________ gets people into trouble, but ego ________ gets people out of trouble.

A) undercontrol; overcontrol
B) resiliency; overcontrol
C) overcontrol; undercontrol
D) undercontrol; resiliency

Question 42

The ________ approach to personality usually assumes that all people can be characterized by points on a continuous score of measurement; the ________ approach to personality suggests that people might differ in kind more than in degree.

A) typological; trait
B) trait; typological
C) essential-trait; single-trait
D) constructivist; critical realist

Question 43

Which essential trait theorist developed a model with the strongest ties to psychoanalytic ideas?

A) Jack Block
B) Hans Eysenck
C) Auke Tellegen
D) Raymond Cattell

Question 44

Negative emotionality in Tellegen's three-factor model is closest to which trait in Eysenck's model?

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

Question 45

Based on research, the resident of which of these cities will probably score the highest on openness?

A) Des Moines, Iowa
B) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
C) Chicago, Illinois
D) Miami, Florida

Question 46

The rank-order stability of personality is highest in which of the following periods of development?

A) infancy
B) childhood
C) adolescence and the college years
D) adulthood

Question 47

Sally is a strong proponent of the lexical hypothesis. Where would she likely begin her search for the essential traits of personality?

A) the dictionary
B) by observing the personalities of nonhuman animals
C) Eysenck's theories
D) ancient Greek medical texts

Question 48

What is the best summary of the current state of knowledge about personality types?

A) Knowing a person's personality type adds to our ability to predict his or her behavior beyond what can be predicted by knowing how the person stands on the traits that define the typology.
B) Although types add little for psychometric purposes of measurement and prediction, they still may have value as aids in education and theorizing.
C) There are five basic personality types, each corresponding to one of the Big Five personality traits.
D) Compared to the trait approach, the typological approach is completely useless for explaining or describing people or behavior.

Question 49

Sammy is concerned about whether relatively extraverted adolescents become relatively extraverted adults. Sammy studies what kind of personality stability?

A) absolute
B) ipsative
C) mean-level
D) rank-order

Question 50

Which Big Five domain is related to less smoking?

A) psychoticism
B) extraversion
C) agreeableness
D) openness

Question 51

The lower your score is on measures of psychological health and well-being, the ________.

A) higher your score is on agreeableness
B) higher your score is on neuroticism
C) higher your score is on self-monitoring
D) lower your score is on authoritarianism

Question 52

According to the text, which three personality types are the most replicable?

A) well-adjusted/undercontrolled/overcontrolled
B) Type A/Type B/ Type D
C) Introvert/Extravert/Thinker
D) resilient/controlled/anomic

Question 53

Which trait seems to be related to a quicker recovery from disabling accidents or illnesses according to recent research?

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

Question 54

The Big Five are believed to be orthogonal factors of personality. What does orthogonal mean?

A) People's scores on one of the factors are useful for predicting their scores on only one of the other factors.
B) People's scores on one of the factors are useful for predicting their scores on two of the other factors.
C) People's scores on one of the factors are useful for predicting their scores on three or four of the other factors.
D) People's scores on one of the factors do not predict their scores on any of the other factors.

Question 55

Which of the Big Five traits appears to be the most difficult to understand?

A) neuroticism
B) extraversion
C) psychoticism
D) openness

Question 56

Which Big Five domain captures a tendency to experience negative emotions?

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

Question 57

Which Big Five domain captures a tendency to experience positive emotions?

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

Question 58

Cross-cultural research on the Big Five suggests that ________.

A) the same Big Five are found in all cultures that have been studied to date
B) none of the factors appears to replicate cross-culturally
C) the central attributes of personality are generally similar in other cultures, but there are at least a few important differences
D) some of the U.S. factors are found in studies using European samples, but none of the U.S. factors are found in studies of Asian samples

Question 59

Which of the Big Five traits appears to have the most inconsistency in terms of cross-cultural replication?

A) agreeableness
B) extraversion
C) psychoticism
D) openness

Question 60

Which trait is most closely linked with dominance?

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

Question 61

Longitudinal research concerning mean level changes in personality traits suggest that most personality changes occur during adolescence.

Question 62

According to Eysenck, the trait of psychoticism is a blend of aggressiveness, creativeness, and impulsiveness.

Question 63

Andy is concerned about whether younger adults are much happier than older adults. Andy studies what kind of personality stability?

A) ipsative
B) differential
C) mean-level
D) rank-order

Question 64

The Big Six model is also called the HEXACO.

Question 65

You must be high on intelligence to score highly on the openness dimension of the Big Five.

Question 66

Ego control was related to increased delay of gratification in boys but not in girls.

Question 67

People high in conscientiousness seem to avoid behaviors that involve health risks.

Question 68

Which of the following traits seems to show the strongest and most noticeable mean-level increase from ages 15 to 60?

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

Question 69

Integrity tests are often used by employers in personnel selection.

Question 70

Typological approaches to personality have demonstrated predictive advantages over trait approaches for predicting behavior.

Question 71

Stage actors tend to score low on the self-monitoring scale.

Question 72

The Q-sort is the only way to get reliable S data using the many-trait approach.

Question 73

Hospitalized mental patients tend to get low scores on the self-monitoring scale.

Question 74

A researcher using the Big Five likely adopts the many-trait approach.

Question 75

Low self-monitors are typically described more favorably than high self-monitors.

Question 76

The plasticity factor covers both extraversion and openness.

Question 77

The study of mean-level changes in personality across the life span suggests which of the following?

A) Adolescence is the time of most mean-level changes in personality.
B) Mean-levels of all personality traits drop after adolescence.
C) Mean-level changes in personality traits occur across the life span.
D) Mean-levels of personality traits are completely stable after age 30.

Question 78

Studies using the Q-set suggest that ego overcontrol might be a risk factor for depression in males but not females.

Question 79

The items on the California Q-Set were designed by a team of researchers and practitioners who generated a comprehensive set of terms sufficient to describe personality.

Question 80

Personality traits are generally consistent across the life span, but this consistency increases with age. This statement best reflects which principle of personality development?

A) cumulative
B) maturity
C) corresponsive
D) lexical