Question 1

Alfred Adler was a neo-Freudian who proposed the concept of

Accepted Answer

Alfred Adler proposed the concept of an inferiority complex, which he believed drove individuals to strive for superiority and success in order to compensate for their perceived weaknesses or inadequacies. This concept differs from Freud's focus on the role of unconscious sexual and aggressive impulses in motivating behavior.

Question 2

Neo-Freudian personality theorists were most likely to disagree with Freud about the importance of

Accepted Answer

Neo-Freudian personality theorists agreed with Freud about the importance of unconscious dynamics and defense mechanisms, but they disagreed about the emphasis on childhood sexual instincts. They argued that social and cultural factors, rather than just instinctual drives, also played a role in shaping personality.

Question 3

Refusing to believe or even to perceive painful realities constitutes the defense mechanism known as

Accepted Answer

Denial involves a refusal to acknowledge painful realities or experiences, in order to protect oneself from the psychological distress they may bring.

Question 4

Carl Jung referred to a shared reservoir of memory traces from our species history as the

Accepted Answer

Carl Jung referred to this shared reservoir of memory traces as the collective unconscious, which includes universal symbols and archetypes that are present in dreams, myths, and cultural traditions. The other options do not pertain to this concept.

Question 5

Carl Jung believed that the collective unconscious contains ________ derived from our species' universal experiences.

Accepted Answer

Jung believed that the collective unconscious contains archetypes, which are universal and symbolic representations of certain types of experiences and ideas that are shared among all human beings, regardless of culture or individual experience.

Question 6

A refusal to believe direct and highly credible evidence that your spouse is suffering from a terminal illness best illustrates

Accepted Answer

This scenario best illustrates denial, which is a defense mechanism in which a person refuses to accept reality or recognize an unpleasant or anxiety-provoking situation. The direct and highly credible evidence of the terminal illness is being ignored or dismissed. Displacement is the redirection of an emotion or impulse from its original target to a different one, fixation is a persistent focus on a particular stage of psychosexual development or a particular object, and projection is attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts or feelings onto another person.

Question 7

Contemporary psychodynamic theorists are most likely to disagree with Freud's assumption that

Accepted Answer

While contemporary psychodynamic theorists still recognize the importance of unconscious mental processes, conflicting wishes, and childhood experiences, they tend to place less emphasis on the role of sexual drives in personality development than Freud did. They believe that other factors, such as attachment and interpersonal relationships, also play significant roles.

Question 8

Melissa is unconsciously fearful that her husband is a better cook than she is.Recently,she refused his offer to prepare dinner because,said she,"You could better spend the time playing with your kids." Melissa's comment best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Melissa's comment is an example of rationalization, where she justifies her refusal of her husband's offer to cook by suggesting a more socially acceptable reason (spending time with kids) instead of admitting her fear of being outperformed.

Question 9

Mrs.Smith,who is White and unconsciously in favor of racial segregation,tells her friends that most Blacks prefer to live in residential neighborhoods inhabited predominantly by Blacks.According to psychoanalytic theory,Mrs.Smith best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Projection is a defense mechanism where individuals attribute their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or motives to another person. In this case, Mrs. Smith is projecting her own unconscious favoritism towards racial segregation onto Black individuals, suggesting they prefer segregated neighborhoods, which aligns with her own biases rather than their actual preferences.

Question 10

Reaction formation refers to the process by which people

Accepted Answer

Reaction formation involves expressing feelings or behaviors that are the opposite of one's true feelings or impulses. This is done to avoid dealing with the anxiety or guilt associated with the unacceptable impulses. For example, someone who has unconscious homosexual urges may act homophobic and express extreme disgust and aversion towards homosexuals.

Question 11

Hasina was an abused child;as an adult,she is homeless and squanders any money she can find on alcohol.Alfred Adler would have suggested that Hasina suffers from

Accepted Answer

Alfred Adler believed in the concept of an inferiority complex, which refers to the feelings of inadequacy and inferiority that individuals experience as a result of their struggles to cope with the challenges of daily life. Hasina's experiences of abuse and homelessness could lead her to develop a sense of low self-worth and a belief that she is powerless to improve her situation, making her vulnerable to developing an inferiority complex.

Question 12

Children who release unexpressed anger toward their parents by kicking the family pet illustrate the defense mechanism of

Accepted Answer

Displacement is a defense mechanism where an individual shifts their feelings from an object or person causing them stress to a less threatening object or person. In this case, the child is shifting their anger toward their parents onto the family pet.

Question 13

The defense mechanism by which people disguise threatening impulses by attributing them to others is called

Accepted Answer

Projection is the defense mechanism where a person attributes their unwanted feelings or thoughts to another person. This is a way of avoiding personal responsibility for these feelings by projecting them onto another individual.

Question 14

Parents who disguise hostility toward their children by becoming overly protective of them are very likely using the defense mechanism of

Accepted Answer

This behavior is consistent with the defense mechanism of reaction formation, where a person defends against unacceptable feelings or impulses by transforming them into their opposite. In this case, the hostility the parent feels toward their child is transformed into overprotectiveness.

Question 15

The defense mechanism in which self-justifying explanations replace the real,unconscious reasons for actions is

Accepted Answer

Rationalization is the defense mechanism in which self-justifying explanations replace the real, unconscious reasons for actions. Projection involves attributing one's own unacceptable feelings or thoughts to another person. Denial involves refusing to accept the reality of a situation. Displacement involves redirecting one's unacceptable feelings or impulses towards a safer target.

Question 16

Karen Horney,a prominent neo-Freudian,disputed Freud's assumption that women

Accepted Answer

Karen Horney disagreed with Freud's belief that women have weak superegos, which is part of his theory of "penis envy." Instead, she argued that societal pressures and expectations contributed to women feeling inferior and submissive, rather than biological or psychological factors.

Question 17

Which neo-Freudian theorist emphasized the influence of the collective unconscious in personality development?

Accepted Answer

Carl Jung is the neo-Freudian theorist who emphasized the influence of the collective unconscious in personality development. He believed that this unconscious level of the psyche is inherited and provides a shared reservoir of images and symbols that are derived from our species' collective experiences.

Question 18

While Professor Gomez was going through a painful divorce,he tended to create unnecessarily difficult tests and gave his students unusually low grades.A psychoanalyst would be most likely to view the professor's treatment of students as an example of

Accepted Answer

Displacement involves redirecting emotions or reactions from the original source to another target. In this case, Professor Gomez is redirecting his emotional distress from his divorce onto his students by creating difficult tests and giving low grades.

Question 19

Abdul mistakenly believes that his classmates are unusually hostile.In fact,Abdul is the most quarrelsome and aggressive child in the school.According to psychoanalytic theory,Abdul's belief that his classmates are hostile is a

Accepted Answer

According to psychoanalytic theory, projection is a defense mechanism where an individual attributes their own thoughts, feelings, or behaviors onto someone else. In this case, Abdul is projecting his own hostility onto his classmates, believing them to be hostile instead.

Question 20

Which personality theorist would have suggested that many ideas about good and evil that are shared across many different cultures are expressions of universally experienced archetypes?

Accepted Answer

Carl Jung developed the concept of archetypes, which are universally recognized symbols and images that arise from the collective unconscious. According to Jung, these archetypes are inherited predispositions that shape behavior and perception, and they can be seen in commonly shared myths and cultural beliefs, including ideas about good and evil.

Quiz 15: Personality