Deck 1: The Study of the Person

Question 1

Personality is an individual's characteristic patterns of ________.

A) behavior
B) emotion
C) thought
D) all of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The task of an employer who attempts to identify dependable, conscientious, and hard-working job applicants is similar to the task of the ________ psychologist, who attempts to identify and assess individual differences.

A) psychoanalytic
B) trait
C) cognitive
D) behavioral

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The personality paradigm that focuses on rewards and punishments is known as the ________ paradigm.

A) trait
B) behaviorist
C) phenomenological
D) psychoanalytic

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The purpose of a basic approach (or paradigm) is to ________.

A) expand the range of data you consider
B) integrate diverse perspectives
C) limit inquiry to certain kinds of observations and patterns
D) resolve contradictions in data

Question 5

Advocates of any particular basic approach to personality historically ________.

A) claimed that their approach explains everything worth explaining
B) admitted that other approaches have their good points
C) proudly asserted that they have deliberately limited what they have chosen to look at
D) claimed that approaches cannot be compared with each other

Question 6

Psychologists following the phenomenological approach ________.

A) focus on the workings of the unconscious mind and the resolution of internal mental conflict
B) study how overt behavior is affected by rewards and punishments
C) build theoretical models of how people process information
D) are concerned with our conscious experience of the world and the consequences of having free will

Question 7

Personality psychology and clinical psychology overlap most often when approaching which topic?

A) personality processes
B) personality disorders
C) personality development
D) none of the above

Question 8

Personality psychologists who adhere to the ________ approach focus on identifying, conceptualizing, and measuring the ways in which people differ psychologically from one another.

A) psychoanalytic
B) trait
C) cognitive
D) phenomenological

Question 9

The unique mandate of personality psychologists is to attempt to ________.

A) identify and measure individual differences in ability and behavior
B) determine the effect of the social environment on behavior
C) explain whole, functioning persons and real life concerns
D) prevent or treat psychological personality disorders

Question 10

What two topics are covered under the phenomenological approach?

A) humanistic and cross-cultural perspectives on personality
B) humanistic and social-learning perspectives on personality
C) cross-cultural and cognitive perspectives on personality
D) trait and cross-cultural perspectives on personality

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic approaches to personality?

A) psychoanalytic
B) learning
C) assessment
D) phenomenological

Question 12

Personality psychologists adhering to the ________ approach focus on psychic energy, the workings of the unconscious mind, and the nature and resolution of internal mental conflict.

A) psychoanalytic
B) trait
C) cognitive
D) phenomenological

Question 13

Personality psychology shares with clinical psychology________.

A) an emphasis on mental disorders and the treatment of psychological problems
B) a common obligation to try to understand the whole person
C) a requirement that psychologists be licensed
D) the fact that both personality psychologists and clinical psychologists are usually in private practice rather than employed by universities

Question 14

________ theories of personality apply the insights and methods derived from the study of perception, memory, and thought to the study of personality.

A) Psychoanalytic
B) Trait
C) Cognitive
D) Phenomenological

Question 15

Personality psychology emphasizes how people are ________, whereas subfields such as cognitive and social psychology emphasize how people are ________.

A) similar to each other; different from each other
B) different from each other; similar to each other
C) essentially good; essentially bad
D) motivated by unconscious forces; motivated by conscious forces

Question 16

In observing human behavior, it is impossible to ________.

A) understand everything about a person all at once
B) choose to limit what you look at in a person
C) find patterns across different kinds of observation
D) make any real progress toward solving the personality puzzle

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT part of the psychological triad?

A) behavior
B) thoughts
C) psychological health
D) feelings

Question 18

Personality psychology has a variety of theoretical perspectives that are sometimes seen as competing with each other. Regarding this diversity, a major theme of this textbook is:

A) The personality puzzle will never be solved.
B) The One Big Theory (OBT) can account for everything in personality.
C) Great strengths are usually great weaknesses.
D) A single basic approach must be chosen on the basis of rigorous data analysis.

Question 19

Jeff suspects that his roommate's sexist jokes may indicate that his roommate has some hidden, unconscious hostility toward women or that he feels very insecure around women. Jeff's analysis suggests a ________ approach to personality.

A) psychoanalytic
B) trait
C) phenomenological
D) behaviorist

Question 20

The trait approach, the behaviorist approach, and the psychoanalytic approach ________.

A) are irreconcilable and contradictory views of human psychology
B) are all part of the One Big Theory (OBT)
C) all address the biological basis of human psychology
D) address different sets of questions about human psychology

Question 21

Explain why Funder believes that the basic approaches to personality are complementary and not competing explanations for understanding the psychological triad.

Question 22

Identify and describe the basic approaches to personality outlined in Chapter 1. Why is it useful to have a basic approach?

Question 23

Funder argues that a basic approach good for explaining some elements of personality is usually poor at explaining other elements of personality. Provide an example of an aspect of personality that is well explained by one basic approach but not the others. Then identify limitations in that basic approach by pointing to other aspects of personality that are better explained by a different approach.