Question 1

The cocktail party phenomenon provides evidence that:

Accepted Answer

The cocktail party phenomenon refers to the tendency of people to automatically and deeply process information that is personally relevant to them, even when they are in a crowded and noisy social situation. This provides evidence that people automatically process information relevant to the self.

Question 2

Dara recently was in a car accident,and her doctor told her she may have mild frontal lobe damage.How will frontal lobe damage likely affect Dara?

Accepted Answer

Frontal lobe damage can lead to decreased self-awareness, as this area of the brain is responsible for decision-making, planning, and self-awareness. However, it is unlikely to affect fear or vision unless there is additional damage to other parts of the brain. There may also be difficulty with communication between the left and right hemispheres, but this is not a guaranteed outcome.

Question 3

The fact that age-related changes in personality are similar across cultures:

Accepted Answer

The fact that age-related changes in personality are similar across cultures indicates that such changes are not entirely a function of the environment. This suggests that there may be certain biological or genetic factors that contribute to these changes in personality. However, it does not rule out the possibility of environmental factors also playing a role in shaping personality changes.

Question 4

Peggy is in a room crowded with people.Everyone is talking,and she has a hard time hearing people close by her.Suddenly,from the other side of the room,she hears someone whisper,"Peggy." Peggy's ability to hear her name is due to the:

Accepted Answer

The ability to hear one's own name amidst a crowded or noisy environment is known as the cocktail party phenomenon. It is the brain's ability to selectively attend to specific stimuli, in this case, Peggy's name. The other options (self-awareness, filtering, and name-relevance phenomenon) are not related to this specific scenario.

Question 5

Tory was asked,"Do you consider yourself smart?" Tory immediately answered,"I think I am just as smart as anyone else." Tory's ability to answer effortlessly and automatically,without having to think much about the question,shows that:

Accepted Answer

Tory's effortless and automatic response suggests that her self-schema includes information about her intelligence. She seems to have a strong understanding of her own capabilities and is comfortable with her level of intelligence. This response does not necessarily indicate low self-esteem, an unconscious differentiation between the "I" and "me," or a lack of value for intelligence.

Question 6

When individuals from a number of different cultures were assessed on the trait of conscientiousness,it was found that:

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that conscientiousness tends to increase with age across different cultures, indicating a general trend of maturation and increased responsibility as people grow older.

Question 7

One plausible explanation for the apparent stability in personality after age 50 is that:

Accepted Answer

As individuals age, they often experience fewer major life changes and transitions (such as starting a new job or moving to a new city) that can impact their personality. Additionally, older adults often have more stability in their personal relationships, living situations, and daily routines. All of these factors may contribute to the perceived stability of personality after age 50.

Question 8

When the "I" thinks about the "me," this capacity is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Self-awareness refers to the ability of an individual to be conscious of their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. When the "I" thinks about the "me," it reflects a self-awareness that allows individuals to have knowledge and understanding of themselves as an object of their own attention. Self-schema, self-esteem, and self-concept are related constructs but do not specifically capture this capacity for self-awareness.

Question 9

How is brain functioning related to remembering information about the self?

Accepted Answer

When self-relevant information is retrieved, the frontal lobes are more active, particularly the medial prefrontal cortex. This area plays a key role in processing information about the self and encoding it into long-term memory.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

While self-esteem can influence a person's success, there are many other factors that contribute to success in life. Self-esteem is important for personal well-being, but it is not the sole factor that determines a person's success in life.

Question 11

When Pearl was a college student,she worried constantly about many things,such as dating,friendships,and her achievement in school.Now that she is older,she worries about things such as her health,her family's health,and the state of world affairs.This change in the focus of her worrying is called a:

Accepted Answer

The change in focus of Pearl's worrying from concerns about dating, friendships, and school achievements to concerns about health, family's health, and world affairs is an example of characteristic adaptation. Characteristic adaptation refers to the changes that individuals make in response to their life circumstances, such as changes in values, goals, and priorities. It is a common phenomenon as people grow and experience different life stages. The other options, such as personality trait shift, peripheral adaptation, and five-factor deviation are not relevant to the scenario described.

Question 12

The cognitive knowledge structure that guides attention and affects behavior is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

The cognitive knowledge structure that guides attention and affects behavior is known as self-schema. Self-awareness refers to the ability to recognize oneself as an individual, self-esteem refers to one's overall evaluation of oneself, and self-evaluative mechanism is not a commonly used term in the field of psychology.

Question 13

Which of the following constructs is most clearly knowledge based?

Accepted Answer

A self-schema is a cognitive representation of the self, based on experiences and knowledge. It is a mental structure that organizes information about the self, including beliefs, attitudes, and memories. Therefore, it is the construct that is most clearly knowledge-based, as it involves the processing and integration of information to form a mental model of the self. The other constructs listed (the self, self-esteem, and self-evaluation) are also related to the self, but they involve feelings, perceptions, and evaluations, rather than knowledge per se.

Question 14

Across cultures,people become _____ neurotic,_____ extraverted,and _____ conscientious as they age.

Accepted Answer

As people age, they generally become less neurotic, less extraverted, and more conscientious across cultures.

Question 15

_____ consists of interrelated knowledge about the self.

Accepted Answer

Self-schema refers to the cognitive structures that help individuals organize and interpret information about themselves, forming an interrelated network of knowledge about the self.

Question 16

In 1890,William James argued that "by age 30,the character [personality] has set like plaster and will never soften again." Has psychological research supported his assertion?

Accepted Answer

Psychological research has shown that there is some truth to William James' assertion that personality is relatively stable after a certain age, but he underestimated the age at which change is reduced. Studies have found that personality traits do tend to become more stable by the age of 30, but continue to change, albeit at a slower pace, throughout adulthood. Some changes may be influenced by life events or environmental factors, but there is also evidence of intrinsic maturation and growth that can lead to changes in personality over time. The extent to which personality is stable or malleable also varies across different cultures, which suggests that socialization and environmental factors play a role in shaping personality throughout the lifespan.

Question 17

If the planet was attacked by a strange virus that caused people to lose the use of their frontal lobes,people would:

Accepted Answer

The frontal lobes are responsible for higher cognitive functions such as self-awareness, decision-making, and social behavior. Losing the use of the frontal lobes would impair self-awareness.

Question 18

Janie is very high on the personality dimension openness to experience.She likes to skydive,learn foreign languages,and travel to exotic countries.As Janie gets older,she may be less likely to skydive,but may still enjoy unusual vacations.McCrae and Costa would call this change in Janie's typical activities a:

Accepted Answer

According to McCrae and Costa's Five Factor Model of Personality, characteristic adaptations refer to the way individuals adjust their behavior to fit specific situational demands. Janie's shift from skydiving to exotic vacations as she ages can be explained as a characteristic adaptation, as she still seeks out novel experiences but adjusts her activities to fit her changing abilities and preferences. This is not a central trait change because her openness to experience remains consistent, and it is not a peripheral function because her activities are still related to her personality trait. It is also not a five-factor deviation as this refers to a pattern of extreme or unusual scores on all five factors.

Question 19

In which of the following questions will the word kind be processed most efficiently and automatically?

Accepted Answer

The word "kind" is a personal trait, and answering the question "Are you kind?" requires quick self-reflection and self-assessment, making it the most efficient and automatic processing option. The other questions involve thinking about someone else's trait, which requires more cognitive effort and time.

Question 20

Which of the following statements is most accurate regarding personality stability?

Accepted Answer

Personality has a biological basis in infant temperament, which influences personality throughout the life span, suggesting a degree of stability.

Quiz 13: Personality