Question 1

Professor Santos has just developed a new personality test to measure aggression. He finds that he gets the same results when he gives the test to students in September and then again in January. This test is

Accepted Answer

The test yields consistent results over time, indicating it is high in reliability.

Question 2

As a Freudian therapist, you notice that one of your patients has an obsession with sucking his thumb. He does this frequently when he is at your office. You might conclude that this patient is fixated at the

Accepted Answer

The oral stage is the first stage in Freud's psychosexual development theory, where pleasure centers on the mouth. Thumb sucking is a behavior associated with this stage, indicating a possible fixation.

Question 3

You are observing the overall arousal level in an individual's cortex. It seems to be the case that this person is overaroused-the overall level is way above optimum. According to Eysenck's approach to personality traits and biological factors, this person is likely to be

Accepted Answer

The answer of You are observing the overall arousal level...

Question 4

You overhear two therapists discussing personality. Therapist A is fairly negative and talks about the need to control unconscious demons. Therapist B is fairly positive and talks about self-actualization. Most likely, Therapist A believes in , while Therapist B believes in _.

Accepted Answer

Therapist A's focus on controlling unconscious demons aligns with the psychodynamic approach, while Therapist B's focus on self-actualization aligns with the humanistic approach.

Question 5

If you wanted to give a personality test to people as a screening device for hiring in any industrial or business setting, which of the following would you choose?

Accepted Answer

The MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2) is a widely used and researched personality test that is often used in occupational settings for screening purposes due to its comprehensive assessment of personality traits and psychopathology.

Question 6

Your friend Julie always puts salt on her food whether it needs it or not. She doesn't even taste it first. If you had to predict, you would probably say that Julie was

Accepted Answer

Julie adding salt without tasting suggests she is low in self-monitoring, as she does not adjust her behavior based on the situation or feedback.

Question 7

As a therapist, you are evaluating a patient's degree of self-efficacy. Which of the following would you believe to be the most important area to investigate?

Accepted Answer

Previous performance attainments are considered the most important source of self-efficacy, as they provide direct evidence of capability and success in similar tasks.

Question 8

Professor Santos has just developed a new personality test to measure aggression. He finds that people who show both verbal and physical aggression score high on the test. Others score low. This test is

Accepted Answer

The test is high in validity because it accurately measures what it is intended to measure, which is aggression, as indicated by high scores for those who exhibit both verbal and physical aggression.

Question 9

Let's say that you have achieved a state of self-actualization. According to Roger's humanistic theory, we would describe you as a

Accepted Answer

A fully functioning person is someone who has achieved self-actualization and is living in a state of congruence.

Question 10

You are about to see a therapist for the first time. You do not know much about this person, except that she uses the Rorschach inkblots. What kind of therapist are you seeing?

Accepted Answer

The Rorschach inkblot test is a projective psychological test traditionally used by psychodynamic therapists to assess underlying thought disorder and to get an x-ray view of how a person's mind operates.

Question 11

You are about to see a therapist for the first time. You do not know much about this person, except that she believes in object relations. What kind of therapist are you seeing?

Accepted Answer

Object relations theory is a branch of psychodynamic theory that emphasizes the importance of early relationships and their impact on psychological development.

Question 12

As a Freudian therapist, you notice that one of your patients has never developed mature social or sexual relationships. You might conclude that this patient has never reached the

Accepted Answer

The genital stage is the final stage in Freud's psychosexual development theory, where mature sexual and social relationships are developed. If a patient has not developed these, they may not have reached this stage.

Question 13

You are observing the overall arousal level in an individual's cortex. It seems to be the case that this person is underaroused-the overall level is way below optimum. According to Eysenck's approach to personality traits and biological factors, this person is likely to be

Accepted Answer

According to Eysenck's theory, extraverts have lower baseline levels of cortical arousal, which leads them to seek out more stimulating environments to reach an optimal level of arousal.

Question 14

George really hates his brother. But he is not allowed to express this. So, instead he showers his brother with exaggerate love. According to Freud, this reflects the defence mechanism of

Accepted Answer

Reaction formation is a defense mechanism where a person behaves in a way that is opposite to their true feelings, often to hide or suppress those feelings. In this case, George expresses exaggerated love to mask his hatred.

Question 15

Susan believes that she can succeed at most, if not all, aspects of her job. She has confidence in her abilities. According to Bandura's social cognitive approach, Susan is

Accepted Answer

According to Bandura's social cognitive theory, self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task. Susan's confidence in her abilities aligns with high self-efficacy.

Question 16

Your Freudian therapist wants to give you some personality tests at the beginning of a therapy session. Which of the following is she likely to choose?

Accepted Answer

Freudian therapists often use projective tests like the Rorschach Inkblot Test to explore unconscious processes and internal conflicts, which align with Freudian theory.

Question 17

Santiago does not pay much attention to politics. He believes that the world is run by powerful people and there really isn't much he can do about it. According to Rotter's theory on locus of control we would expect Santiago to have

Accepted Answer

Santiago's belief that powerful people control the world and that he cannot influence it suggests an external locus of control, where he perceives outcomes as being outside his personal control.

Question 18

Steph does not like her friend Julie. But she has been punished for expressing this attitude. So she claims that it is not she who hates Julie, but Julie hates her. According to Freud, this reflects the defence mechanism of

Accepted Answer

Projection is a defense mechanism where an individual attributes their own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else. In this case, Steph is projecting her dislike onto Julie by claiming that Julie hates her instead.

Question 19

You are developing a personality test for friendliness. As you design the test, you choose items that were answered differently by friendly people in previous research. You are using the

Accepted Answer

The empirical approach involves selecting test items based on how well they differentiate between groups known to differ on the trait being measured, such as friendliness.

Question 20

Psychodynamic therapists prefer to administer projective tests of personality over other types of tests. Why?

Accepted Answer

Projective tests are ambiguous and allow patients to project their own thoughts, feelings, and desires onto the test material, which aligns with the psychodynamic focus on exploring the unconscious mind.

Quiz 14: Personality