Deck 6: Continuity and Change in Traits: the Roles of Genes, Environments, and Time

Question 1

In a sample showing low absolute continuity and high differential continuity over time for a given trait,

A) The average of individual scores remains the same over time and their relative positions in the score distribution remain the same
B) The average of individual scores changes over time and their relative positions in the score distribution change
C) The average of individual scores changes over time and their relative positions in the score distribution remain the same
D) The average of individual scores remains the same over time and their relative positions in the score distribution change

Answer 1

The average of individual scores changes over time and their relative positions in the score distribution remain the same

Question 2

All of the following are true of the Q-sort methodology in personality assessment except

A) Persons are compared to each other on absolute trait levels
B) It incorporates an ipsative ordering procedure for personality descriptors
C) It relies on ratings made by experts
D) Items are sorted into a normal distribution

Answer 2

Persons are compared to each other on absolute trait levels

Question 3

If the correlation coefficient of a given trait among MZ twins is +.50, and the correlation coefficient among DZ twins on the same trait is +.30, then the heritability quotient is approximately

A) 10%
B) 20%
C) 40%
D) 60%

Answer 3

40%

Question 4

If the heritability quotient on extraversion is 40%, this means that

A) 40% of the variability on extraversion can be attributed to chance
B) 60% of extraversion is due to environmental factors
C) 40% of the variability on extraversion can be attributed to genetic differences between people
D) 40% of extraversion can be attributed to a person's genes

Question 5

With respect to differential continuity, which of the following statements is well-supported in longitudinal research?

A) Stability over a given period of time say, 5 years) increases as people get older
B) Stability over a given period of time decreases as people get older
C) Traits are equally stable across the lifespan
D) Stability over a given period of time is strongest in early adulthood

Question 6

In the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, which of the following results was obtained? .

A) MZ twins raised apart showed significantly higher concordance agreement) on traits than MZ twins raised together
B) MZ twins raised apart showed significantly lower concordance on traits than MZ twins raised together
C) MZ twins raised apart showed approximately similar concordance on traits than MZ twins raised together
D) MZ twins raised apart showed approximately similar concordance on traits than DZ twins raised together

Question 7

In a sample of 100 classmates, extraversion scores in 1972 correlate +.70 with extraversion scores from the same sample in 1992. This result demonstrates

A) Low differential continuity
B) High differential continuity
C) High absolute continuity
D) Low absolute continuity

Question 8

A heritability quotient is an estimate of

A) The proportion of variance in a trait attributable to genetic differences between people
B) The percentage of genetic influence upon a given trait for an individual
C) The ratio of genetic to environmental impact on the development of a trait in a population of people
D) The extent to which scientists can be confident that a given trait is genetically determined

Question 9

Research suggests that among older adults marriage tends to

A) Insulate men from negative emotion
B) Promote positive emotion in women
C) Lead to negative emotion in women
D) Increase negative emotion in both women and men

Question 10

Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies suggest that as people move from young adulthood through midlife and early old age, their scores on measures of positive emotion tend to

A) Increase
B) Decrease
C) Remain stable
D) Decrease until age 40 and then increase substantially

Question 11

Test-retest correlations for neuroticism over a 30-year period of time tend to be around

A) +.80
B) +.50
C) +.20
D) -.20

Question 12

Differential continuity usually refers to

A) An individual's relative placement for a trait score within a group sample of trait scores over time
B) A group's change in mean trait scores over time
C) The relative rank ordering of scores on different traits for an individual over time
D) The variance in an individual's actual trait scores over time

Question 13

Research involving temperament dispositions and environment indicates that

A) People select and create environments that reinforce their current temperamental dispositions
B) People select and create environments that change their current temperamental dispositions
C) Environments shape temperament dimensions rather than the other way around
D) People actively seek environments that complement, rather than match, their temperaments

Question 14

Which of the following tends to occur regarding differential continuity of traits over the human lifespan?

A) Differential continuity of traits tends to decrease as the length of time between measurement intervals increases
B) Differential continuity of traits tends to increase as measurement intervals increase
C) Differential continuity of traits tends to decrease later in the lifespan
D) Differential continuity of traits tends to be equally high regardless of testing intervals

Question 15

Research by Jerome Kagan and other developmental psychologists identifies behavioral inhibition in infancy as a temperament pattern associated with

A) High levels of arousal in the brain's limbic system
B) Low levels of arousal in the brain's limbic system
C) High levels of dopamine activity in the brain
D) Low levels of dopamine activity in the brain

Question 16

The 5-HT transporter gene is responsible for

A) Producing molecules that removes serotonin from the synaptic cleft
B) Producing proteins that stimulate the production of serotonin
C) Turning on systems that increase nurturant behavior
D) Turning on systems that stimulate nerve transmission along serotonegenic lines

Question 17

Which of the following is not true regarding the temperament dimension of "effortful control"?

A) In early childhood, girls score higher than boys
B) High scores predict effective interpersonal functioning
C) Scores on effortful control tend not to change between ages of 2 and 4 years
D) Effortful control is a foundational temperament for the development of conscience in children

Question 18

Caspi's overall concept of the process by which temperament dimensions become more fully articulated personality traits is known as

A) Learning processes
B) Developmental elaboration
C) Environmental elicitation
D) Social and temporal comparisons

Question 19

What is ego resiliency?

A) The capacity to modify one's impulses
B) The capacity to modify one's level of ego control
C) The capacity to modify one's opinions to fit the situation
D) The capacity to modify one's developmental elaboration

Question 20

According to Block's studies with the Q-sort, impressive consistency in personality may be seen with respect to

A) An individual's standing on a particular trait relative to his or her peers
B) Basic motives and interest patterns in persons
C) Patterns of personality traits evolving over time
D) Discrete acts that may be summed into trait categories

Question 21

A smiling and active baby may tend to receive more attention than an irritable baby, which in turn enhances the development of extraversion. This is an example of

A) Passive genotype influence
B) Active genotype influence
C) Ecological genotype influence
D) Evocative genotype influence

Question 22

Which of the following statements best captures the difference in meaning between "temperament" and "traits"?

A) Temperament is highly heritable whereas traits show low heritability
B) Childhood traits develop gradually into adult temperaments
C) Temperament refers to negative interaction patterns whereas traits usually are couched in positive, prosocial terms
D) Temperament refers to broad and stylistic features of behavior that are assumed to be part of native endowment whereas traits are more socially and cognitively elaborated

Question 23

In the AT&T longitudinal study of male managers followed from their 20s into their 40s, which of the following trends was discovered with respect to personality traits?

A) Decreases in ambition over time, and increases in autonomy
B) Decreases in autonomy over time, and increases in friendliness
C) Decreases in friendliness over time, and increases in detachment
D) Decreases in responsibility over time, and increases in rigidity

Question 24

Slow-to-warm-up babies are best characterized as showing

A) Negative moods and low intensity of reactions
B) Negative moods and high intensity of reactions
C) Positive moods and low intensity of reactions
D) Positive moods and high intensity of reactions

Question 25

In his analysis of scientists from history, Frank Sulloway underscores the significance of birth order in the family. Which of the following statements best captures his central finding?

A) Later-borns tend to be more rebellious and open to experience than first-borns
B) Later-borns tend to be more conscientious and agreeable than first-borns
C) First-borns tend to show higher levels of neuroticism than later-borns
D) There is no difference in behavior and traits based on birth order

Question 26

The very concept of personality "trait" tends to be biased toward

A) Continuity and complexity over change and simplicity
B) Change and complexity over continuity and simplicity
C) Continuity and change over complexity and simplicity
D) Continuity and simplicity over change and complexity

Question 27

A research design that measures personality traits in a single sample of individuals over time is a

A) Cross-sectional study
B) Quasi-experimental study
C) Longitudinal study
D) Case study

Question 28

Unique patterns of genetic combinations that affect behavioral tendencies in a nonlinear manner are an example of

A) Temperament
B) Emergenisis
C) Evocative genotype influences
D) Nonshared environment effects

Question 29

If a particular behavior pattern is so strongly determined by genetics that all members of a population have the pattern in virtually equal amounts, then the heritability quotient for this pattern in this population is likely to be approximately

A) 100%
B) 75%
C) 50%
D) 0%

Question 30

Which of the following conclusions regarding the 5-HT serotonin transporter gene is supported by research?

A) Inheriting one or two short alleles of 5-HTTP is associated with depression
B) Inheriting two long alleles of 5-HTTP is associated with depression
C) Inheriting one or two short alleles of 5-HTTP is associated with depression only when high levels of stress are also experienced
D) Inheriting two long alleles of 5-HTTP is associated with depression only when high levels of stress are also experienced

Question 31

An example of non-shared family environment effect on trait development would be

A) Birth order
B) Social class
C) Parents' education
D) Parents' religion

Question 32

In York and John's assessment of four different personality types among women, individuated women showed which of the following trait patterns?

A) Highly dependable, but prone to guilt
B) Rational and objective, but prone to aloofness
C) Anxious, hostile, and lacking in personal meaning
D) Introspective and assertive, with wide interests

Question 33

Which of the following is an example of nonadditive genetic variance?

A) Even though MZ twins have all their genes in common and DZ twins have about half of their genes in common, MZ twins may be over twice as similar to each other as DZ twins are
B) The effects of genetics, non-shared environments, and shared environments may not add up to 100%
C) Adoptive siblings tend to be less like each other than are biologically related siblings
D) MZ twins raised together are less like each other than MZ twins raised apart

Question 34

In the longitudinal study of women graduating from Mills College in the late 1950s, increases in which of the following characteristics were observed from college years through midlife?

A) Self-criticism
B) Dependency
C) Sensitivity toward others
D) Self-control

Question 35

Twin and adoption studies suggest that differences in shared environments e.g., overall family, warmth, social class, and other features of the family environment that siblings share) account for approximately what percentage of the variance of trait scores?

A) 70%-80%
B) 40%-50%
C) 20%-25%
D) 0%-5%

Question 36

Twin studies suggest that heritability quotients for most self-report traits tend to be around

A) 70%-80%
B) 40%-50%
C) 20%-30%
D) 0%-10%

Question 37

Research on stress reactivity analogizes different children to dandelions and orchids. Which of the following statements captures what this line of research suggests?

A) Orchids show a higher sensitivity to context
B) Dandelions show stronger and more consistent behavior patterns
C) Orchids show a lower sensitivity to context
D) Dandelions show weaker and less consistent behavior patterns

Question 38

Studies examining the mean scores of the Big Five personality traits over time and across different cohorts suggest that as people get older

A) A agreeableness) declines but C and N increase
B) N decline slightly, but A and C increase
C) 0 increases throughout the lifespan
D) No mean differences in scores were reported

Question 39

According to Gordon Allport, adult personality development should move in the direction of all of the following indices of maturity except

A) Emotional security
B) The capacity to invest the self in significant life projects
C) The establishment of a personally-derived philosophy of life
D) The loss of a childhood sense of innocence and wonder

Question 40

Research on personality traits indicates

A) Most reliably measured traits are at least moderately heritable
B) Most reliably measured traits are primarily affected by environmental factors
C) Most reliably measured traits are linked directly to particular genes
D) Most reliably measured traits are associated with birth order