Deck 1: Introduction to Personality Psychology

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT part of most personality mechanisms?

A)Access codes
B)Decision rules
C)Inputs
D)Outputs

Answer 1

Access codes

Question 2

Traits define the __________ tendencies of an individual person.

A)central
B)average
C)overt
D)outlying

Answer 2

average

Question 3

Psychological mechanisms differ from traits in that mechanisms

A)are less stable.
B)refer more to processes.
C)do not have decision rules.
D)are biologically "hard wired."

Answer 3

refer more to processes.

Question 4

How many trait-descriptive adjectives are there in the English language?

A)More than 500
B)More than 1,800
C)More than 5,000
D)More than 20,000

Question 5

Personality is

A)outside the person.
B)inside the person.
C)both outside and inside the person.
D)inside or outside, depending on the person.

Question 6

Research on personality traits asks all of these questions EXCEPT

A)how many fundamental personality traits there are.
B)how personality traits are organized.
C)where personality traits come from.
D)which cues cause behavior in a situation.

Question 7

If I describe Juan as "possessive" or Anita as "friendly," I am employing the use of

A)trait-descriptive adjectives.
B)inner psychological states.
C)strategies to attain goals.
D)inner qualities of personality.

Question 8

A talkative person will

A)always talk more than a quiet person.
B)never shut up.
C)talk more than a quiet person in theaters.
D)talk more, on average, than a quiet person.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT defined as part of the person-environment interaction?

A)Serializations
B)Perceptions
C)Manipulations
D)Selection

Question 10

Features of personality that differentiate one person from another usually take the form of _____ in language.

A)differential pronouns
B)trait-descriptive adjectives
C)action-descriptive verbs
D)trait-differentiating adverbs

Question 11

Mike makes several social errors at a party.He calls the host by the wrong name, spills his red wine on the carpet, and insults the guest of honor.We label Mike's behavior as "socially inept." This labeling of Mike's behavior utilizes the _____ research approach to personality traits.

A)explanatory
B)descriptive
C)intuitive
D)presumptive

Question 12

Responses to an ink-blot test can demonstrate which part of the person-environment interaction?

A)Perceptions
B)Manipulations
C)Evocations
D)Selections

Question 13

To say that someone will tend to display a trait with regularity is to say that the person has a(n)

A)average tendency.
B)obsessive-compulsive disorder.
C)adaptation.
D)social-cognitive approach.

Question 14

The trait of courageousness is an especially good example of

A)an adaptive trait.
B)how traits are consistent.
C)how traits are activated only under certain conditions.
D)how traits change over time.

Question 15

Evocations are demonstrated when

A)different people see the same situation differently.
B)our characteristics unintentionally cause other people to act a certain way.
C)we intentionally attempt to make other people act in a certain way.
D)individuals select environments to match their traits.

Question 16

Which of the following questions does research on personality traits NOT emphasize?

A)How many fundamental traits are there?
B)How are traits organized within individuals?
C)What are the origins of traits?
D)How are all persons similar?

Question 17

To say that someone has the trait of happiness, you need to know that the person

A)is happy at a given moment.
B)is frequently happy.
C)remembers being happy.
D)makes others happy.

Question 18

Immanuel walks the same path every day at the same time.To state that he will most likely take the same route at the same time next Wednesday is using the _____ nature of personality traits.

A)descriptive
B)explanatory
C)predictive
D)individualistic

Question 19

Mo looks at the ink blot and sees two birds nesting.Heidi looks at the ink blot and sees a tranquil forest.Joe looks at the ink blot and sees something sexual.These three responses are illustrating that ______ are important components of the person-environment interaction.

A)prostheses
B)provocations
C)perceptions
D)projections

Question 20

Psychologists have found it difficult to define personality because

A)psychologists are not smart enough to determine the boundaries of human personality.
B)personality has a common sense definition that psychologists find hard to falsify.
C)the idea of studying human personality is a rather new concept in psychology.
D)any definition of personality needs to be sufficiently comprehensive to include a multitude of concepts.

Question 21

The intrapsychic environment is

A)not as objectively verifiable as the social or physical environment.
B)often easy to verify through the analysis of dreams.
C)relatively consistent across social, but not physical, environments.
D)based on how others in the environment react to a person.

Question 22

Most current personality research is done at the _____ level of analysis.

A)idiographic
B)human nature
C)individual uniqueness
D)group and individual differences

Question 23

The ability to learn spoken language is an example of the

A)human nature level of analysis.
B)individual and group differences level of analysis.
C)individual uniqueness level of analysis.
D)social psychological level of analysis.

Question 24

At the psychological level, the physical environment may lead to the development of

A)shivering mechanisms when people are cold.
B)hunger pangs to motivate people to seek food.
C)friction mechanisms to prevent calluses in skin.
D)fear mechanisms to help us avoid environmental threats.

Question 25

The textbook presents the example of the three blind men and the elephant to suggest that

A)people are like animals in some ways and all living creatures have a personality.
B)individual and group differences are the most effective approach to studying personality.
C)each of the different approaches to personality research is inadequate for studying the full range of human personality.
D)using ancient legends is an inadequate approach to explaining the full range of differences in human personality.

Question 26

The individual uniqueness level of personality analysis addresses how every human is

A)like all others.
B)like some others.
C)like no others.
D)somewhat like other mammals

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of "nomothetic research"?

A)Preparing a case study of Sigmund Freud.
B)Comparing freshmen and seniors on a personality inventory.
C)Attempting to identify the genes related to impulsivity.
D)Analyzing the correspondence of Chris Rock.

Question 28

Studying how people vary in levels of anxiety, self-esteem, or worry represents a/an _____ approach to studying personality psychology.

A)individual differences
B)human nature
C)ideographic
D)environmental

Question 29

In modern personality psychology, the grand theories

A)guide all modern personality research.
B)are still argued about in the literature.
C)are seen as having primarily historical interest.
D)are used only in clinical applications of personality theory.

Question 30

In the social environment, our "effective environment" represents the/a

A)strongest environmental cues that are found in any given environment.
B)environmental cues that are directly related to survival in the immediate environment.
C)set of cues emitted by other people in the environment.
D)subset of environmental features people attend to based on their psychological mechanisms.

Question 31

Bianca always picks out restaurants that have a very quiet, subdued atmosphere.She always tries to avoid loud restaurants._____ is the person-environment fit mechanism that may account for this behavior.

A)Sublimation
B)Selection
C)Suggestion
D)Sophistication

Question 32

Grand theories of personality are usually based on statements about the

A)universal core of human nature.
B)major individual differences.
C)individual uniqueness of all humans.
D)differences between the sexes.

Question 33

Most grand theories of personality focus on the _____ level of analysis.

A)idiographic
B)human nature
C)individual uniqueness
D)group and individual differences

Question 34

The human nature level of personality analysis addresses how every human is

A)like all others.
B)like some others.
C)like no others.
D)somewhat like other mammals.

Question 35

Which of the following is an example of "idiographic research"?

A)Comparing men and women on emotionality.
B)Developing a questionnaire that measures sociability.
C)Writing a case study of Albert Einstein's personality.
D)Conducting a field study of helping behaviors.

Question 36

The group differences level of personality analysis addresses how every human is

A)like all others.
B)like some others.
C)like no others.
D)somewhat like other mammals

Question 37

To say that a trait is adaptive means that the trait

A)is the result of sexual selection.
B)easily changes as necessary.
C)serves a useful function.
D)indicates psychopathology.

Question 38

A problem with studying only the grand theories of personality is that only portions of the grand theories

A)have stood the test of time and inform modern personality research.
B)apply to men.
C)are based on non-German populations.
D)address the human nature level of analysis.

Question 39

The study of a single individual is an example of

A)idiographic research.
B)nomothetic research.
C)correlational research.
D)cognitive psychology research.

Question 40

Every time Sid walks into the room everyone laughs.This demonstrates the person-environment interaction of

A)evocation.
B)elocution.
C)exultation.
D)emaciation.

Question 41

Which domain relies most on statistical methods to identify fundamental traits?

A)Dispositional
B)Biological
C)Adjustment
D)Social and cultural

Question 42

Jay is interested in investigating unconscious conflict in a sample of college interns.Jay will most likely use the methods and theories associated with the ______ domain of personality.

A)dispositional
B)biological
C)social and cultural
D)intrapsychic

Question 43

Which domain of knowledge places the most emphasis on the external (to the person) dimensions of personality?

A)dispositional
B)social and cultural
C)biological
D)intrapsychic

Question 44

The fact that there are many differing views on personality suggests that

A)researchers study different domains of knowledge.
B)most views about personality psychology are incorrect.
C)one of the views is probably more accurate than others.
D)personality psychologists ignore one another's theories.

Question 45

The study of personality disorders falls within the _____ domain.

A)biological
B)social and cultural
C)adjustment
D)intrapsychic

Question 46

The domain of knowledge most concerned with unconscious mechanisms is the

A)Cognitive-experiential domain.
B)biological domain.
C)intrapsychic domain.
D)adjustment domain.

Question 47

The lexical strategy (i.e., using natural language to identify fundamental traits) falls most squarely within the

A)social and cultural domain.
B)cognitive-experiential domain.
C)dispositional domain.
D)intrapsychic domain.

Question 48

Which of the following does NOT fall within the biological domain of knowledge?

A)Subjective experience
B)Genetics
C)Psychophysiology
D)Evolution

Question 49

Patti collects data on three personality tests from several hundred participants.She then examines the systematic statistical similarities and differences among the traits assessed by each test.Patti is using the logic and methods of the ______ domain of personality.

A)biological
B)intrapsychic
C)social and cultural
D)dispositional

Question 50

The dispositional domain focuses on

A)understanding the ways individuals differ from one another.
B)the emotional consequences of dispositions.
C)the biological nature of dispositions.
D)the outer nature of dispositions.

Question 51

Which domain is most concerned with identifying the number of fundamental individual differences?

A)Biological
B)Dispositional
C)Intrapsychic
D)Social and cultural

Question 52

The domains of knowledge in personality differ mainly in the

A)number of active researchers.
B)degree to which they emphasize internal or external factors.
C)degree to which they emphasize adaptation and adjustment.
D)degree to which they understand personality.

Question 53

When different domains of knowledge contradict one another, we can conclude that

A)the most recent domains are most correct.
B)the more historical domains are most correct.
C)none of the domains is correct.
D)the contradictions may be more apparent than real.

Question 54

A researcher who compares identical twins to fraternal twins probably conducts most of her research within which domain?

A)Intrapsychic
B)Biological
C)Adjustment
D)Cognitive-Experiential

Question 55

Which domain focuses most on the relationships between personality and health behaviors?

A)dispositional
B)adjustment
C)social and cultural
D)cognitive-experiential

Question 56

Sidney is interested in differences in the levels of extraversion of British men and Italian men.Sidney will most likely use the methods and theories used by researchers studying personality within the _____ domain.

A)cognitive-experiential
B)dispositional
C)social and cultural
D)intrapsychic

Question 57

The fact that almost all humans live in groups suggests the importance of the _____ domain.

A)intrapsychic
B)cognitive-experiential
C)adjustment
D)social and cultural

Question 58

A "domain of knowledge" is a

A)laboratory where personality research is conducted.
B)single theory about the nature of personality.
C)specialty area of science and scholarship.
D)grand theory of personality psychology.

Question 59

Researchers in a given domain of personality share all of these EXCEPT

A)common methods of inquiry.
B)foundations of known facts.
C)theoretical explanations.
D)common laboratory space.

Question 60

Sigmund Freud's theory of personality falls within the _____ domain of knowledge.

A)biological
B)dispositional
C)social and cultural
D)intrapsychic

Question 61

Lillian is interested in how borderline personality disorder affects everyday behaviors in a clinical population.She most likely will use the methods and the models of the _____ domain of personality in conducting her research.

A)dispositional
B)biological
C)adjustment
D)intrapsychic

Question 62

Which trait theory best exemplifies the principle of parsimony? A theory that proposes

A)two personality dispositions.
B)three personality dispositions.
C)five personality dispositions.
D)16 personality dispositions.

Question 63

Which of the following is a scientific theory?

A)astrology
B)Einstein's ideas on relativity
C)reincarnation
D)extra sensory perception

Question 64

The most important criterion for generating a testable theory is

A)the generalizability of its predictions.
B)its compatibility with other theories.
C)its precision of prediction.
D)its comprehensiveness.

Question 65

_____ are based on systematic observation, whereas _____ are not.

A)Theories; beliefs
B)Beliefs; theories
C)Domains; approaches
D)Approaches; domains

Question 66

Which of the following is NOT an example of a theory that provides a guide for researchers?

A)A Freudian psychoanalyst predicting stinginess from the ideas about development through a particular stage of psychological development.
B)A biological psychologist predicting a decrease in social behavior when the frontal lobe of the brain is damaged.
C)A personality psychologist analyzing a large pool of responses to questionnaire items to find the underlying structure of the data.
D)A cognitive psychologist predicting that how an individual's self evaluation will determine his or her reaction to a specific stimuli.

Question 67

George's theory of personality leads to the discovery of new links between cognition and brain functioning that were previously believed to be impossible.George's theory has

A)comprehensiveness.
B)heuristic value.
C)testability.
D)parsimony.

Question 68

Which of the following is NOT a function of a theory?

A)Guides research
B)Eliminates domains of knowledge
C)Organizes research findings
D)Makes predictions