Deck 13: Personality and the Uniqueness of the Individual

Question 1

Personality is __________.

A) not unique
B) mostly unstable
C) relatively consistent
D) completely environmental

Answer 1

relatively consistent

Question 2

Personality psychologists are concerned with ______________ in a given situation.

A) average behavior
B) crowd behavior
C) individual differences in behavior
D) all of these

Answer 2

individual differences in behavior

Question 3

George is always friendly to everyone at school, but when he is at work or at home he is mostly grumpy and irritable. "Friendly" may not be classified as one of George's personality traits, because it __________.

A) will not predict how he will act in a given situation
B) is not characteristic of him
C) is not consistent over time
D) is not consistent across situations

Answer 3

is not consistent across situations

Question 4

Statistically speaking, a trait such as "anxious" is __________.

A) uncommon in the population
B) above average in the entire population
C) normally distributed in the population
D) absent from the population

Question 5

Justin has a high behavioral threshold for anger. What does this mean?

A) Justin has a quick temper.
B) It takes a lot to make Justin angry.
C) Justin does not get angry.
D) Justin is constantly angry.

Question 6

Evolutionary psychologists would most likely say that personality traits evolved to __________.

A) adapt to problems related to survival
B) provide a cross-cultural understanding of behavior
C) associate loci markers on a genetic continuum
D) none of these

Question 7

Research shows that highly creative people have __________.

A) no sex
B) more sex than the average individual
C) less sex than the average individual
D) as much sex as the average individual

Question 8

Which of the following researchers is using the quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach to studying personality?

A) Julie is examining the relationship between changing residences and outgoingness.
B) Martin is looking for genetic markers associated with compassion.
C) Deana is conducting fMRI scans of subjects who scored high on a measure of shyness.
D) Fletcher is documenting the connections between childhood obesity and anxiety.

Question 9

Research has shown that people who frequently exhibit thrill-seeking behaviors have__________________, and therefore they seek excitement to return this to an appropriate level.

A) less dopamine than others
B) more dopamine than others
C) less acetylcholine than others
D) more acetylcholine than others

Question 10

A longer form of the DRD4 gene is associated with __________.

A) higher neuroticism
B) lower anxiety
C) higher risk taking
D) lower agreeableness

Question 11

The heritability of most basic personality traits is approximately __________.

A) 10 to 20 percent
B) 25 to 35 percent
C) 40 to 60 percent
D) 75 to 95 percent

Question 12

Differences in personality traits that are not attributable to genes may be accounted for by which of the following?

A) a shared environment
B) an unshared environment
C) measurement error
D) all of these

Question 13

As compared to fetuses who exhibit a normal heart rate, fetuses that have a high heart rate at 36 months (near term) have been shown to __________.

A) sleep better at one year
B) make more friends as teens
C) be more fussy at six months
D) be less shy at five years

Question 14

Children of mothers who experienced high stress while they were pregnant with them are more likely than controls to have __________.

A) lower glucocorticoid levels
B) a more pronounced stress response
C) excellent hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning
D) all of these

Question 15

Research shows that the Big Five personality traits are __________.

A) specific to the U.S
B) prevalent only in Western cultures
C) prevalent only in non-Western cultures
D) prevalent across cultures

Question 16

Which of the following individuals is behaving in a manner consistent with collectivist thinking?

A) Ricky is striving to graduate first in his class.
B) Ann doesn't want to be rude in front of guests.
C) Paige is expecting to win "Employee of the Month."
D) Leo doesn't want his brother to earn a higher math grade.

Question 17

________________ founded psychoanalysis.

A) Abraham Maslow
B) Diana Baumrind
C) Sigmund Freud
D) Alfred Adler

Question 18

According to Sigmund Freud, what we are aware of at any given time is known as the __________.

A) personality
B) preconscious
C) conscious
D) unconscious

Question 19

Phil is not thinking about his girlfriend at this very moment, but if asked he can describe her eyes, hair, smile, and laugh. Thus, the information about Phil's girlfriend is currently in his __________.

A) unconscious
B) preconscious
C) conscious
D) sublimated state

Question 20

According to Sigmund Freud, the ______________ is the reservoir of drives, thoughts, and memories that are hidden below the surface of our awareness but still affect our behavior.

A) unconscious
B) conscious
C) preconscious
D) all of these

Question 21

Freud proposed that _____________ are the "royal road to the unconscious."

A) dreams
B) slips of the tongue
C) free associations
D) all of these

Question 22

Making Connections in Personality: Implicit is to cognitive psychology as ________________ is to psychoanalysis.

A) psychotherapy
B) unconscious
C) superego
D) manifest

Question 23

Which of the following constitutes a slip of the tongue, sometimes called a Freudian slip?

A) Samuel, who is on a diet, purposefully orders one hamburger when he really wants three.
B) Marcy accidentally calls Tom, her boyfriend, by her ex-boyfriend's name.
C) Nick dishonestly tells his girlfriend he is home and is going to study but then goes out with his friends.
D) Salma secretly collects toothbrushes but does not tell people about it.

Question 24

The component of personality that seeks pleasure and avoids pain is called the __________.

A) superego
B) id
C) ego
D) displacement factor

Question 25

Kelly comes home from work and throws her work clothes on the floor. She eats dinner and leaves the dirty pans and dishes in the kitchen. She says she doesn't have time to clean her house, yet she finds plenty of time to go out and party with her friends. Psychoanalytic theory would say that Kelly has a strong __________.

A) ego
B) superego
C) id
D) libido

Question 26

The __________ is the part of the personality that attempts to satisfy the impulses of the id within society's norms.

A) superego
B) death drive
C) moralistic principle
D) ego

Question 27

The closest thing to a conscience Sigmund Freud said that humans possess is a __________.

A) ego
B) superego
C) phallic phase
D) wish fulfillment

Question 28

According to Freudian theory, when a sense of self emerges we can begin to operate on the "___________ principle".

A) pleasure
B) morality
C) reality
D) healthy

Question 29

Even though he has a huge crush on Clara, Milton will not ask her for a date, because he is too shy. Psychoanalytic theory posits that the Milton has a highly developed __________.

A) id
B) projection
C) oral stage
D) superego

Question 30

__________________ underlies all other defense mechanisms.

A) Sublimation
B) Repression
C) Reaction formation
D) Displacement

Question 31

Jan is really nice to Chris, her brother-in-law, even though she does not like him at all. Sigmund Freud would say that Jan's defense mechanism is __________.

A) sublimation
B) displacement
C) projection
D) reaction formation

Question 32

Don knows he has feelings for someone else, but he tells his friends that he thinks his partner is in love with someone from work. According to psychoanalytic theory, Don's behavior is an example of__________.

A) projection
B) humor
C) intellectualization
D) displacement

Question 33

Amy, an artist, constantly paints and sculpts naked human bodies. Her therapist tells her she is sublimating. Which of the following is the therapist suggesting to Amy about her behavior?

A) Amy is attributing an unacceptable impulse to someone else.
B) Amy has converted negative feelings about another person into negative feelings for herself.
C) Amy has a powerful sex drive and is expressing it in a positive manner.
D) Amy perceives art to have more positive attributes than it actually has.

Question 34

Sigmund Freud said that ______________ feelings were the cornerstone to personality development.

A) inferior
B) compassionate
C) maternal
D) sexual

Question 35

The first stage of psychosexual development is the __________.

A) genital stage
B) phallic stage
C) oral stage
D) latent stage

Question 36

A newly discovered erogenous zone in the second stage of psychosexual development is the__________.

A) anus
B) mouth
C) phallus
D) none of these

Question 37

In the phallic stage of psychosexual development, children discover that a source of pleasure is their__________.

A) anus
B) genitals
C) mouth
D) peers

Question 38

Boys resolve the phallic stage by __________.

A) desiring to be like their fathers
B) focusing sexual feelings on women other than their mothers
C) proving to girls that penises are superior
D) acknowledging that penises are inferior to wombs

Question 39

Immediately after the phallic stage, children enter __________.

A) the oral stage
B) the genital stage
C) a latent phase
D) none of these

Question 40

According to Sigmund Freud, when does the genital stage of psychosexual development take place?

A) birth to age 2
B) age 2 to age 4
C) age 16 to age 20
D) puberty through adulthood

Question 41

Adam smokes cigarettes. His therapist told him he likely received too little gratification in the oral stage of development, and therefore he has __________.

A) an animus
B) an oral fixation
C) manifest content
D) a superiority complex

Question 42

Making Connections in Personality: Psychoanalytic theorists say that which of the following disorders would most likely arise from an anal fixation?

A) obsessive-compulsive disorder
B) schizophrenia
C) major depressive disorder
D) anorexia nervosa

Question 43

Which of Sigmund Freud's ideas has received a great deal of empirical support?

A) the resolution of the Oedipal complex
B) the sexual feelings of children
C) penis envy
D) oral and anal fixations

Question 44

Which of the following individuals became a major figure in psychoanalytic theory?

A) Alfred Adler
B) Karen Horney
C) Carl Jung
D) all of these

Question 45

Alfred Adler disagreed with Freudian theory, suggesting that ______________ is the major motivator of all behavior.

A) unconscious aggression
B) unconscious sexual urges
C) striving for superiority
D) the need for affiliation

Question 46

Ed is constantly trying to upstage everyone-trying to dress better, drive a nicer car, and eat at fancier restaurants than all of his friends do. Alfred Adler would say that Ed has __________.

A) an inferiority complex
B) a collective unconscious
C) basic hostility
D) basic anxiety

Question 47

Carl Jung proposed that our repressed feelings and motives are a part of our __________.

A) collective unconscious
B) personal unconscious
C) neurotic trends
D) self-actualization

Question 48

Carl Jung said that the ______________ is a reservoir of experiences shared by our ancestors that has been transmitted across generations and has provided us with an inherent knowledge of the good, the bad, the art of survival, and so on.

A) motivation
B) long-term memory
C) animus
D) collective unconscious

Question 49

An archetype is __________.

A) an ancient, recurring image that results from ancestral experiences
B) a disposition to behave consistently across social but not private settings
C) the part of the self that monitors and controls behavior
D) the tendency to deny or repress painful ideas

Question 50

Which of Carl Jung's archetypes does the evil Darth Vader from the movie Star Wars best represent?

A) the self
B) the shadow
C) the animus
D) the anima

Question 51

John likes to carry a girl's purse. Carl Jung might say that John is unable to repress his ________.

A) oral fixation
B) libido
C) anima
D) animus

Question 52

Karen Horney theorized that a person would develop anxiety traits if he or she __________.

A) turns childhood hostility toward parents inward to the self
B) is physically abused when younger and physically abusive when older
C) shows neurotic tendencies from infancy
D) has a tendency to favor one parent over the other

Question 53

Peter does whatever he is told by his work supervisor. He also does whatever his wife wants him to do. Peter is very needy and just can't say no to anyone. Karen Horney's theory suggests that Peter has a neurotic trend of __________.

A) moving away from others
B) moving toward others
C) moving against others
D) all of these

Question 54

Making Connections in Personality: An individual displaying which of Karen Horney's neurotic trends displays some of the same traits as does an individual displaying the Type A behavior pattern?

A) moving against others
B) moving toward others
C) moving away from others
D) none of these

Question 55

Abraham Maslow's concept of ______________ posited that people have an inborn drive to reach their full potential and live life to the fullest.

A) positive regard
B) self-actualization
C) the phi phenomenon
D) memes

Question 56

Abraham Maslow found which of the following regarding the relationships of self-actualized people?

A) They tend to have shallow relationships with others.
B) They tend to have few but deeply meaningful relationships.
C) They tend to have many utilitarian relationships but few meaningful ones.
D) The people whom they consider to be friends do not return the sentiment.

Question 57

One of the tenets of the psychotherapy created by Carl Rogers is that a therapist must show______________ for a client.

A) unconditional positive regard
B) provisional support
C) universal approval
D) no empathy

Question 58

Carl Rogers considered someone to be psychologically well adjusted if he or she __________.

A) behaved consistently across time and situations
B) was treated fairly by his or her parents and caregivers
C) had congruence between the ideal and real selves
D) was motivated to help and serve others

Question 59

Walter Mischel conducted research into which perspective on personality?

A) endocrinological
B) social-cognitive learning
C) behavioral
D) religious

Question 60

Allport and Odbert (1936) attempted to determine how many terms for personality existed by__________.

A) interviewing male college students from 100 major universities
B) surveying men, women, and children from the ages of 5 to 75
C) counting the number of terms in the dictionary that described people
D) reading the 50 most influential English novels and noting the terminology

Question 61

Which of the following is not a dimension of the Big Five model of personality traits?

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

Question 62

Costa and McCrae (1996) refer to the "universal raw material of personality capacities and dispositions" as __________.

A) basic tendencies
B) the Big Five
C) cognitive abilities
D) the unconscious

Question 63

Hans Eysenck's model of personality does not include the dimension of __________.

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

Question 64

Hans Eysenck theorized that genetic differences in ____________ lead to differences in personality.

A) levels of arousal
B) sexual orientation
C) parental behavior
D) daytime alertness

Question 65

In studies of personality, which nonhuman animals possess conscientiousness?

A) dogs
B) horses
C) chimpanzees
D) all of these

Question 66

Studies of bird personality showed that when foreign objects were placed in the birds' cage, which of the following occurred?

A) some were consistently "shy" and some "bold"
B) they always acted "timid"
C) most showed a constant openness to experience
D) they consistently demonstrated a lack of impulsiveness

Question 67

"Boldness" and "shyness" in birds appear to be mediated by the same gene that mediates ____________ in humans.

A) boldness and shyness
B) thrill seeking
C) anger
D) conscientiousness

Question 68

In research, the consistency of ratings between two or more raters is called __________.

A) face validity
B) inter-rater reliability
C) congruence
D) significance

Question 69

Raters are considered reliable if the correlation between their ratings equals or exceeds __________.

A) .50
B) .60
C) .70
D) .80

Question 70

Behavioral observations are good measures of personality because they are __________.

A) objective
B) subjective
C) retrospective
D) theoretical

Question 71

One advantage to the interview method of personality assessment is __________.

A) the ease of interpreting responses
B) anonymous responding
C) the ability to pose open-ended questions
D) the ease of scoring responses

Question 72

Dr. Budd is presenting a client with an ambiguous image and asking her to report what she sees, the hope being that thoughts and wishes from her unconscious will reveal themselves in the form of her

A) passion
B) commitment
C) intimacy
D) none of these

Question 73

Rorschach inkblots serve which of the following purposes?

A) They reveal unconscious motives.
B) They can help diagnose major depression.
C) They can help see warning signs for suicide.
D) all of these.

Question 74

Todd's therapist shows him a picture of a man and a woman standing near a telephone pole and asks Todd to tell a story about what he sees. Todd's therapist is using __________.

A) a Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
B) a Rorschach inkblot
C) a questionnaire
D) an empirical study

Question 75

On a personality test assessing hostility, researchers have included the items, "I react strongly when someone gets in my way" and "I will let someone know if they have made me angry," and they are asking respondents to indicate the extent to which they agree. These questions would be considered to have __________.

A) inter-rater reliability
B) face validity
C) empiricism
D) test-retest reliability

Question 76

Personality tests are most useful in ____________ police officers.

A) hiring
B) selecting
C) screening
D) dismissing

Question 77

Researchers found that children who were impulsive and aggressive at age three were likely to __________.

A) become shy adults
B) use drugs during adolescence
C) divorce more frequently
D) grow out of any negative behavior

Question 78

A large, longitudinal study of the Big Five personality traits showed that __________.

A) agreeableness increases with age
B) conscientiousness decreases with age
C) sociability decreases with age
D) assertiveness decreases with age

Question 79

Alzheimer's disease affects personality in that __________.

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