Deck 2: Clues to Personality: the Basic Sources of Data

Question 1

Dr. Garcia wants to measure the earliest autobiographical memories of the participants in her project. She would most likely obtain ________ data.

A) L
B) I
C) S
D) B

Answer 1

C

Question 2

________ data are the most frequently used basis for personality assessment.

A) B
B) L
C) S
D) I

Answer 2

C

Question 3

To obtain S data, a psychologist can ________.

A) develop a questionnaire
B) recruit informants
C) observe the subject directly
D) look up information in public records

Answer 3

A

Question 4

To assess the personality traits of a group of 5-year-olds, researchers use puppets to illustrate different personality traits. Children are then asked to pick the puppet that best matches their personality. This is an example of ________ data.

A) S
B) I
C) L
D) B

Question 5

Which kind of data are the most cost-effective to collect?

A) L
B) S
C) I
D) B

Question 6

While completing the Acme Personality Inventory, you answer True to the item "I consider myself a nervous person." Your response to this item would be an example of ________ data.

A) L
B) I
C) S
D) B

Question 7

Because each kind of data has limitations, personality psychologists should ________.

A) not bother collecting data
B) gather as much data as possible
C) only use L data, which are the most reliable
D) use only one source of data and control for its limitations

Question 8

When gathering data or clues about personality, the best policy is to ________.

A) gather only a very small number of clues and focus on the important ones
B) gather only clues that are certain not to be misleading
C) rely solely on self-report data
D) collect as many clues as possible

Question 9

A major advantage of S data is that ________.

A) only a trained personality psychologist can interpret S data
B) the best information about personality is obtainable from real-life social outcomes
C) you are the world's best expert about your own personality
D) to assess personality, you must observe what the person actually does

Question 10

What you do may be influenced by how you see yourself and how you are seen by others. This means that your self-perceptions and others' perceptions have ________.

A) definitional truth
B) causal truth
C) phenomenological force
D) causal force

Question 11

If Dr. O'Connell wants to learn about Laura, why might Dr. O'Connell want to avoid using S data?

A) The person supplying the S data may not want to or be able to provide accurate reports about Laura.
B) The S data often do not have psychological relevance.
C) The S data are influenced by too many factors to reveal much about a person's personality.
D) The S data have definitional truth.

Question 12

According to the textbook, there are no perfect ________ of personality, only ________.

A) measures; devices
B) indicators; clues
C) theories; hypotheses
D) reliable measures; valid measures

Question 13

When someone is high in narcissism, what type of data about this person might be the least trustworthy?

A) B
B) I
C) L
D) S

Question 14

The "Find Your Love Style" quiz published in the local newspaper is an example of ________ data.

A) B
B) I
C) L
D) S

Question 15

Researchers must use clues to personality in their research because________.

A) personality is defined solely by biological factors that cannot be observed
B) personality tests are unethical
C) personality is something hidden that resides inside an individual
D) personality is defined by responses to self-report questionnaires

Question 16

What is the best way for a researcher to judge the face validity of items on a measure?

A) Conduct an exploratory factor analysis on the items.
B) Conduct a confirmatory factor analysis on the items.
C) Conduct an internal consistency analysis on the items.
D) Read and consider the content of the items.

Question 17

Sally has an exaggerated sense of the greatness of her attributes and abilities. A trained observer would say that Sally is high in what personality dimension?

A) self-monitoring
B) self-esteem
C) narcissism
D) neuroticism

Question 18

Which kind of data would be the easiest way to obtain information about the content of dreams?

A) S
B) B
C) L
D) I

Question 19

In order to examine the relationship between early life experiences and adult criminality, Dr. Robbins asks his research participants to fill out questionnaires describing their early life. He then obtains copies of their arrest records from the county courthouse. The questionnaires used in Dr. Robbins's study would be ________ data, whereas the arrest records would be ________ data.

A) L; B
B) S; I
C) S; L
D) B; L

Question 20

If Dr. O'Connell wants to learn about Laura, why might Dr. O'Connell want to use S data?

A) S data have causal force.
B) S data are relatively simple and easy to collect.
C) The person providing S data might be the world's best expert about Laura.
D) All of the above.

Question 21

________ data are fairly easily verifiable, concrete, real-life outcomes of possible psychological significance.

A) S
B) B
C) I
D) L

Question 22

According to the text, accidental mistakes in judging personality are considered ________, whereas inaccurate judgments that are influenced by prejudices are considered ________.

A) biases; stereotypes
B) heuristic errors; formal errors
C) errors; biases
D) trivial; serious

Question 23

Different informants may not agree about the personality of a common target individual because ________.

A) each judge may see the target person in only a limited number of social contexts
B) judges may form a mistaken impression based on the recollection of a single, uncharacteristic behavior
C) some informants may have biases that affect the accuracy of their judgments
D) all of the above

Question 24

I data are ________.

A) self-judgments
B) judgments made by knowledgeable observers
C) easily observable, real-life outcomes
D) direct observations of the subject in some predefined context

Question 25

A major disadvantage of L data is ________.

A) that they provide too much information
B) that informants may have access to only a narrow range of the target's behavior
C) that the data are influenced by multiple factors besides just personality
D) that judges may be biased about the person they are describing

Question 26

Because Jesse's teacher believes that he is intelligent, she challenges him with extra assignments and generally encourages his curiosity. At the end of the school year, Jesse performs better on the school's achievement test than any other student. Jesse's enhanced performance is likely due to the ________.

A) recency effect
B) expectancy effect
C) self-serving bias
D) judgment bias

Question 27

A researcher asks parents to report on the personality characteristics of their children. This is an example of ________ data.

A) B
B) I
C) L
D) S

Question 28

Which type of data is likely to be the most subjective and judgmental?

A) I
B) B
C) L
D) S

Question 29

A teacher is mistakenly told that one of his students is intellectually gifted. However, by the end of the year, this student has actually made substantial gains in her standardized test scores. This is an example of what psychological phenomenon?

A) action verification
B) behavioral confirmation
C) self-serving biases
D) positive illusions

Question 30

According to the text, which of the following is another term for behavioral confirmation?

A) action verification
B) causal force
C) expectancy effect
D) narcissistic reflection

Question 31

The tendency for us to become what other people believe us to be is called a(n) ________ effect.

A) confirmation
B) expectancy
C) fish-and-water
D) self-monitoring

Question 32

The main disadvantage of using L data is that ________.

A) they may be affected by too many factors to tell us much about a person
B) they are descriptions based on hundreds of behaviors in many situations
C) informants may be biased about the person they are judging
D) longitudinal data are often very expensive to collect

Question 33

A personality description of a client by his or her therapist is an example of ________ data.

A) S
B) L
C) I
D) B

Question 34

What kinds of behaviors by an acquaintance would most likely be remembered?

A) an atypical behavior that was emotionally evocative
B) only behaviors consistent with the acquaintance's personality
C) the most recently observed typical behavior
D) behaviors that are observed every day

Question 35

The fact that behavior is frequently determined by multiple causes presents the most significant disadvantage for ________ data.

A) B
B) L
C) I
D) S

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of I data?

A) They have causal force.
B) They include common sense.
C) They are based on large amounts of information.
D) They come from carefully controlled experimental situations.

Question 37

The judgments that others make of your personality affect your opportunities and expectancies. Thus, these judgments have ________.

A) generalizability
B) validity
C) causal force
D) reliability

Question 38

What is the minimum number of informants that Funder recommends for each person in a study?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) five

Question 39

There is a possibility that individuals are so accustomed to certain aspects of their personality that they might not be aware of those traits. This is called the ________ effect.

A) fish-and-water
B) self-verification
C) self-expectancy
D) narcissism

Question 40

I data essentially measure ________.

A) your internal states or emotions
B) your level of self-awareness
C) your reputation
D) work productivity (in industrial psychology)

Question 41

________ data derive from the researcher's direct observation of what the subject does.

A) L
B) I
C) S
D) B

Question 42

According to the textbook, daily diary reports can be considered ________ data.

A) L
B) I
C) S
D) B

Question 43

A behavioroid measure is a combination of which two types of data?

A) S and B
B) L and B
C) I and B
D) S and L

Question 44

Which of the following is LEAST likely to be considered B data?

A) measures of heart rate
B) observation of how many times a participant spoke during a five-minute conversation
C) a psychologist's interpretation of how a participant's responses to an unstructured clinical interview reflect his or her personality
D) a participant records his or her daily activities in a research "diary" at the end of a day

Question 45

Which of the following is an example of L data?

A) a description of Terry's personality provided by her mother
B) an observer's count of the number of times Terry laughs during a videotaped laboratory interaction
C) the number of times Terry has been hospitalized
D) Terry's response of "True" to the questionnaire item "I enjoy interacting with other people"

Question 46

Which of the following types of personality data is the most objective and verifiable?

A) S
B) B
C) I
D) L

Question 47

Records of employee absenteeism are what type of data?

A) S
B) B
C) I
D) L

Question 48

The Thematic Apperception Test and the Rorschach test elicit ________ data.

A) L
B) I
C) S
D) B

Question 49

Which of the following would be an example of natural B data?

A) observations of the number of times a subject told a joke in a day
B) the number of seconds a subject waits before seeking help during an experimental emergency situation
C) a subject's verbal responses to a Rorschach test
D) the number of times a subject interrupts others during a videotaped laboratory situation

Question 50

What term is sometimes used to describe instruments like the Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)?

A) S instruments
B) omnibus personality test batteries
C) objective tests
D) performance-based personality tests

Question 51

When a psychologist asks a question because he or she wants to know the answer, the question elicits ________. When a psychologist asks a question because he or she wants to see how the individual will respond to that stimulus, the test elicits ________.

A) B data; I data
B) S data; I data
C) S data; B data
D) laboratory B data; natural B data

Question 52

The most important advantage of B data is that they are based on ________.

A) common sense, so they have greater psychological relevance
B) a report by the best expert, so they are more accurate
C) direct psychological tests, so they have greater causal force and scientific value
D) direct observations of behavior, so they are more objective and quantifiable

Question 53

A researcher asks participants to imagine that they have been excluded from their circle of friends and then takes images of their brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning technology. The images generated in this study would be considered ________ data.

A) experience sampling
B) experimental B
C) L
D) projective

Question 54

What term describes computer-assisted methods to measure thoughts and feelings that occur during normal daily activities?

A) experiential assessment
B) ambulatory assessment
C) projective assessment
D) digitally assisted experimental assessment

Question 55

The typical experimental social psychologist collects ________ data.

A) B
B) I
C) L
D) S

Question 56

As part of a research project, a participant uses a smart phone application that signals her at random times throughout the day. At those times, the application presents a series of questions for her to answer regarding her current activities. This is an example of ________ data.

A) experience sampling
B) experimental B
C) L
D) projective

Question 57

According to the text, what simple example of L data is considered by clinical psychologists to be a potential indicator of psychopathology?

A) an arrest record by age 21
B) an annual income below the poverty line
C) being fired from a job by age 30
D) never being married by age 40

Question 58

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of B data?

A) Direct observations require little in the way of psychological interpretation.
B) Direct observations are easily quantifiable.
C) Direct observations can be made with extreme precision, as in the case of reaction times.
D) Psychologists can construct situations to elicit particular behaviors.

Question 59

One concern with items on measures like the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is that they often lack face validity. What kind of problem does this create?

A) Participants can easily fake responses on the items.
B) Such items raise concerns with social desirability.
C) Responses are difficult to interpret in psychological terms.
D) Such items tend to make participants very anxious.

Question 60

In a priming study, participants solved puzzles that included words such as gray, wise, retired, and Florida. After solving these puzzles, participants were observed as they walked down a hallway. The observation of participants' speed of walking would be considered ________ data.

A) experience sampling
B) experimental B
C) L
D) projective

Question 61

S data most often have face validity.

Question 62

The process whereby an individual seeks out completely objective information about herself/himself is called self-verification.

Question 63

An advantage of B data is that they have a straightforward interpretation.

Question 64

If a personality psychologist is interested in the actual answer to a personality test question, then the participant's response is considered S data.

Question 65

Answers to the questions on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory are considered S data.

Question 66

An academic transcript is an example of L data.

Question 67

I data are superior to S data when considering reports of self-esteem.

Question 68

Biases in judgment essentially occur at random.

Question 69

The terms expectancy effect and behavioral confirmation refer to the same psychological phenomenon.

Question 70

According to the textbook, people seldom behave in different ways with different people.

Question 71

Many research projects involve data that are blends of the S, I, B, and L types.

Question 72

Judgments by informants are seldom distorted by biases in memory.

Question 73

Facebook profiles and tweets on Twitter are examples of B data.

Question 74

Observing how fast someone walks after an experimental prime is an example of L data.

Question 75

Physiological measures are considered L data.

Question 76

Psychologists who try to predict age at first marriage from personality information typically have limited success.

Question 77

Psychologists typically can predict L data quite easily.

Question 78

The EAR (Electronically Activated Recorder) collects video data from participants.

Question 79

Answers to projective tests such as the Rorschach ink blots are considered B data.

Question 80

The fact that life outcomes are multidetermined is the biggest disadvantage of L data.