Question 1

Participants in one study recalled words better when they had been asked first whether the word described them (rather than, for example, if the word had been printed in large letters). Researchers interpret this to mean that
A) the participants had to think about the word more when asked if it described them.
B) the self-description questions generated more interest for the participants than the other questions.
C) the self-description questions generated a stronger emotional reaction for the participants than the other questions.
D) the participants processed the information in a self-referencing manner.

Accepted Answer

The finding that participants remembered words better when they were asked whether the word described them suggests that they were processing the information in a self-referencing manner. By considering the relevance of the word to themselves, they were engaging in a deeper level of semantic processing. The other answer choices are possible explanations for the effect, but D is the most directly supported by the data presented.

Question 2

Greater recall for words that describe one's self than another, like a celebrity, is called the
A) locus of control effect.
B) memory facilitation.
C) self-reference effect.
D) personal construct effect.

Accepted Answer

The self-reference effect is the phenomenon where people tend to have greater recall for information that is related to themselves compared to information that is not related to themselves. This effect has been consistently demonstrated in memory research.

Question 3

Participants in one study were divided into those with and without a well-developed "independence" schema. Later, participants were asked about their own level of independence. Compared to aschematics, participants with a strong independence schema
A) took longer to answer because they had more information to process.
B) took longer to answer because it was more important to them to give a correct answer.
C) took less time to answer.
D) took the same amount of time to answer, but were more confident of their answers.

Accepted Answer

Participants with a strong independence schema already have a well-developed understanding of what independence means to them, making it easier for them to quickly answer questions related to their own level of independence. Therefore, they took less time to answer compared to those without a well-developed independence schema.

Question 4

According to cognitive theorists, one of the two important functions of our possible selves is to
A) reduce anxiety associated with our unacceptable behavior.
B) provide incentives for future behavior.
C) make sense out of all the impinging information we face daily.
D) help us find a romantic partner.

Accepted Answer

According to cognitive theorists, one of the two important functions of possible selves is to provide incentives for future behavior. Possible selves act as a motivator for individuals to attain their desired self-concept, which encourages them to engage in behaviors that align with their ideal self. Therefore, choice B, providing incentives for future behavior, is the correct answer.

Question 5

Albert Ellis's goal in rational emotive behavior therapy is to
A) help clients repress negative emotion.
B) teach clients more effective social skills.
C) help clients get in touch with their true emotions.
D) help clients replace irrational beliefs with rational ones.

Accepted Answer

The goal of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is to help clients replace irrational beliefs with rational ones. By identifying and challenging irrational beliefs, clients can learn to think more realistically and effectively cope with negative emotions and problematic behaviors. Ellis believed that individuals often contribute to their own psychological distress by maintaining unrealistic beliefs, and that by replacing these beliefs with more rational ones, individuals can improve their emotional well-being.

Question 6

Your self-schema consists of those aspects of your behavior that are
A) innate.
B) most important to you.
C) similar to your parents.
D) unique to you alone.

Accepted Answer

Your self-schema is based on the aspects of your behavior that are most important to you, such as your values, beliefs, and self-concept. It is not necessarily innate, similar to your parents, or completely unique to you alone.

Question 7

According to Ellis, people have psychological problems due to faulty reasoning based on
A) self-defeating thoughts.
B) irrational beliefs.
C) skewed personal constructs.
D) activating experiences.

Accepted Answer

Ellis believed that people have psychological problems due to irrational beliefs. He believed that faulty reasoning and irrational beliefs lead to negative emotions and maladaptive behaviors. Choices A, C, and D are not specifically mentioned by Ellis as the main cause of psychological problems.

Question 8

In addition to allowing for rapid processing of schema-relevant information, self-schemas provide a framework for
A) organizing and storing relevant information.
B) self-understanding.
C) processing unconscious feelings.
D) recalling life events.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In addition to allowing for rapid processing...

Question 9

A primary way in which psychologists assess an individual's self-schema would be to
A) examine how that person perceives and uses information presented to them.
B) use neuroimaging studies to assess how the brain functions in different situations.
C) engage in naturalistic observations of the individual in different settings.
D) employ a personality questionnaire like the MMPI.

Accepted Answer

Psychologists typically assess an individual's self-schema by examining how that person perceives and uses information presented to them. This can be done through interviews, questionnaires, or other methods of self-report, where the individual's cognitive processes regarding self-relevant information can be observed and analyzed. Neuroimaging studies, naturalistic observations, and personality questionnaires may provide useful information, but they are not primary ways to assess an individual's self-schema.

Question 10

Cognitive personality researchers have looked at each of the following kinds of mental representations except one. Which one?
A) Self-schemas
B) Possible selves
C) Personal constructs
D) Self-efficacy

Accepted Answer

The four kinds of mental representations mentioned are all studied in cognitive personality research. Self-efficacy refers to one's belief in their ability to successfully perform a specific task or achieve a specific goal, and it has been extensively studied in personality psychology. Therefore, the correct answer is D.

Question 11

Many different therapies fall within the broad cognitive approach, but each cognitive therapy identifies as the cause of behavioral problems and disorders.
A) a loss of freedom
B) early childhood experiences with caregivers
C) inappropriate behaviors
D) inappropriate thoughts

Accepted Answer

The cognitive approach believes that thought processes are at the root of behavioral problems and disorders. Therefore, inappropriate thoughts, such as negative self-talk or cognitive distortions, are seen as the cause of these issues. A loss of freedom or early childhood experiences may be factors that contribute to the development of these thoughts, but they are not identified as the direct cause in cognitive therapy. Inappropriate behaviors are seen as a symptom of underlying thoughts and beliefs.

Question 12

Self-schemas help us to do all of the following except one. Which one?
A) Process self-relevant information
B) Organize information
C) Describe oneself
D) Avoid stereotyping

Accepted Answer

Self-schemas do not necessarily help us to avoid stereotyping, as our personal beliefs and experiences may influence our schemas and lead to biases or assumptions about certain groups of people. However, self-schemas do aid in processing self-relevant information, organizing information, and describing oneself.

Question 13

Possible selves serve which of the following functions?
A) Provide plans for how to perform behaviors
B) Cause us to feel bad about past behaviors
C) Help us interpret the personalities of others
D) All of these are correct

Accepted Answer

Possible selves primarily serve the function of providing plans for how to perform behaviors. They help us envision potential future selves and guide our actions towards achieving those selves. They do not necessarily cause us to feel bad about past behaviors or help us interpret the personalities of others.

Question 14

Albert Ellis describes an A-B-C reasoning process that creates unnecessary emotional problems. Which step in this reasoning process does he draw to the client's attention during rational emotive behavior therapy?
A) The activating experience, such as failing a test.
B) The unstated belief, such as "I should be good at everything I do."
C) The emotional consequence, such as depression.
D) The childhood experiences that made the person vulnerable to emotional problems.

Accepted Answer

Ellis draws the client's attention to the unstated belief (B) during the rational emotive behavior therapy. He believes that this belief, which is usually irrational and unrealistic, leads to negative emotional consequences (C) in response to activating experiences (A). Childhood experiences (D) can contribute to vulnerability to emotional problems, but they are not the focus of the A-B-C reasoning process or the therapy.

Question 15

When practicing rational emotive behavior therapy, a therapist will typically
A) look for the childhood experiences that contributed to the current problem.
B) examine the logic the client uses that leads him or her to the emotional reaction.
C) wait for the client to discover the source of the problem rather than suggest what the source might be.
D) affirm to the client that he or she has good reasons to feel the way he or she does.

Accepted Answer

Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) focuses on examining and altering irrational beliefs and thoughts that lead to negative emotions and behaviors. The therapist will work with the client to identify the specific irrational beliefs and challenge them with logic and evidence. The therapist does not typically focus on childhood experiences or affirming the client's emotional reactions, and may suggest potential sources of the problem but ultimately encourages the client to discover them on their own. Therefore, choice B is the best answer as it describes a key aspect of the REBT approach.

Question 16

One study of the self-schema presented students with 40 questions for which they pressed yes or no. Researchers found that participants were more likely to remember the information when
A) the words had the ability to generate emotions.
B) participants were asked about a rhyme.
C) a self-referent question was difficult to answer.
D) the question was related to themselves.

Accepted Answer

The study found that participants were more likely to remember information when the question was related to themselves, which is known as the self-referent effect.

Question 17

A researcher examines not only how people think of themselves today but also the kind of person they want to become or are afraid of becoming. The researcher is probably investigating
A) stereotypes.
B) self-esteem.
C) possible selves.
D) personal constructs.

Accepted Answer

The researcher is examining the concept of "possible selves," which refers to the various identities or selves people envision for their future or fear becoming. This is not related to stereotypes, self-esteem, or personal constructs.

Question 18

When cognitive psychotherapists teach clients how to handle recurring problems, it is often an attempt to eliminate
A) emotional consequences.
B) the ideal self.
C) self-defeating thinking.
D) negative personal constructs.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive psychotherapists aim to help clients identify and change self-defeating thinking patterns that contribute to their negative emotions and problems. By teaching them effective coping strategies, cognitive psychotherapists seek to eliminate the negative impact of these recurring problems.

Question 19

Which part of the A-B-C process would be saying to yourself, "It is necessary that I get perfect grades in school."?
A) Activating experience
B) Irrational Belief
C) Emotional Consequence
D) Self-defeating thinking

Accepted Answer

This is an example of an irrational belief, which is the B component of the A-B-C process. A person may believe that getting perfect grades is necessary for their self-worth or success, but this belief is not necessarily rational or helpful.

Question 20

Participants in one study were asked to respond with a yes or no to questions on a series of words. When later asked to recall as many of the words as possible, participants recalled words best when they had been asked
A) "Is the word printed in big letters?"
B) "Does it rhyme with another word?"
C) "Does it mean the same as another word?"
D) "Does it describe you?"

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is explained by the levels-of-processing effect, which suggests that deeper levels of analysis, such as how personally relevant a word is (e.g., "Does it describe you?"), lead to more enduring memory. Asking if a word describes you requires self-referential processing, which is a deeper level of processing compared to the physical (size of letters), phonemic (rhyming), or simple semantic (meaning) processing, thereby enhancing recall.

Quiz 15: The Cognitive Approach: Theory, Application, and Assessment

Participants in one study recalled words better when they had been asked first whether the word described them (rather than, for example, if the word had been printed in large letters) . Researchers interpret this to mean that

Greater recall for words that describe one's self than another, like a celebrity, is called the

Participants in one study were divided into those with and without a well-developed "independence" schema. Later, participants were asked about their own level of independence. Compared to aschematics, participants with a strong independence schema

According to cognitive theorists, one of the two important functions of our possible selves is to

Albert Ellis's goal in rational emotive behavior therapy is to

Your self-schema consists of those aspects of your behavior that are

According to Ellis, people have psychological problems due to faulty reasoning based on

In addition to allowing for rapid processing of schema-relevant information, self-schemas provide a framework for

A primary way in which psychologists assess an individual's self-schema would be to

Cognitive personality researchers have looked at each of the following kinds of mental representations except one. Which one?

Many different therapies fall within the broad cognitive approach, but each cognitive therapy identifies as the cause of behavioral problems and disorders.

Self-schemas help us to do all of the following except one. Which one?

Possible selves serve which of the following functions?

Albert Ellis describes an A-B-C reasoning process that creates unnecessary emotional problems. Which step in this reasoning process does he draw to the client's attention during rational emotive behavior therapy?

When practicing rational emotive behavior therapy, a therapist will typically

One study of the self-schema presented students with 40 questions for which they pressed yes or no. Researchers found that participants were more likely to remember the information when

A researcher examines not only how people think of themselves today but also the kind of person they want to become or are afraid of becoming. The researcher is probably investigating

When cognitive psychotherapists teach clients how to handle recurring problems, it is often an attempt to eliminate

Which part of the A-B-C process would be saying to yourself, "It is necessary that I get perfect grades in school."?

Participants in one study were asked to respond with a yes or no to questions on a series of words. When later asked to recall as many of the words as possible, participants recalled words best when they had been asked