Question 1

Sally is experiencing hypertension because she feels she must make a sale every time she calls on a customer. To deal with her tension, her social-learning therapist is helping her to be happy if she can make one sale for each ten customers she contacts. According to Rotter, the therapist is trying to help Sally establish a more realistic:

Accepted Answer

The therapist is helping Sally set a more realistic minimal goal level by adjusting her expectations to be satisfied with making one sale for every ten customers, rather than feeling pressured to make a sale with every customer.

Question 2

Emma is a shy individual who feels that people who meet her for the first time will not like her. As a result, she tends to spend her time at social gatherings standing in a corner. Her therapist has asked her to join one of his group counseling sessions. She does so and, with the assistance of the therapist, is able to meet and talk with a number of individuals in the group. According to Rotter, the therapist has helped Emma to establish:

Accepted Answer

The therapist has helped Emma to establish more realistic generalized expectancies about meeting people. This is because Emma's previous belief that people would not like her was based on her own negative thoughts and feelings, rather than on any objective evidence. The therapist has helped Emma to challenge these negative thoughts and feelings, and to develop more positive and realistic expectations about meeting people.

Question 3

A personnel manager is trying to hire individuals that do not steal, cheat, or lie and who respect the rights of others. According to Rotter, the manager should hire individuals who score:

Accepted Answer

According to Rotter, individuals who score high on the Interpersonal Trust Scale are more likely to be trustworthy and respect the rights of others, making them suitable candidates for the manager's criteria.

Question 4

Robin receives a call from an individual who informs her that she has just won $1000, but that she has to buy two one-year magazine subscriptions to be eligible to receive the money. Robin asks several questions and decides not to buy the magazine subscriptions. According to Rotter, Robin would most likely have a:

Accepted Answer

Robin's decision not to buy the magazine subscriptions suggests she is skeptical of the caller's intentions, indicating a low level of trust in others, which aligns with a low score on the Interpersonal Trust Scale.

Question 5

The extent to which people believe that they can influence what happens to them is measured by Rotter's:

Accepted Answer

Rotter's Internal-External Control of Reinforcement Scale measures the degree to which individuals believe that they have control over the events in their lives, distinguishing between internal and external locus of control.

Question 6

In comparison to externals, internals are:

Accepted Answer

Internals are more likely to seek valuable information and be politically active, as they believe they can influence outcomes through their actions.

Question 7

In comparison to externals, internals tend to:

Accepted Answer

Internals, who believe they have control over their own lives, often exhibit greater academic success, better planning and working toward long-term goals, and are more adept at setting achievable goals.

Question 8

You are selling health insurance to employees at a large biofuel manufacturer. To help reduce the amount of health claims your company will have to pay out, you ask the plant's personnel manager to provide you with the employees' scores on the Locus of Control Scale (LOC). You would be best advised to sell policies to those employees who have a(n) _______ LOC.

Accepted Answer

Employees with an internal locus of control believe they can influence their own health outcomes, which may lead to healthier behaviors and potentially fewer health claims.

Question 9

As the director of the counseling services for the local school district, you are trying to decide where you should assign the two new counselors to help reduce the number of suicides in the school district. To help make your decision, you ask the senior counselor at each high school to provide you with the scores on the Locus of Control Scale (LOC) for all of the students at their respective schools. You would be best advised to assign the new counselors to the two high schools where the students have the highest average _______ LOC scores.

Accepted Answer

Students with higher external LOC scores tend to believe that their lives are controlled by external factors, which can be associated with feelings of helplessness and higher risk of mental health issues, including suicide.

Question 10

As a personnel manager consultant, you have been asked to develop a worker-incentive program. To maximize the likelihood of success, you would most likely select individual with a(n) _____ to participate in your program.

Accepted Answer

Individuals with an internal locus of control believe they have control over their own actions and outcomes, making them more likely to respond positively to incentive programs.

Question 11

As a loan officer at a bank, you are asked to process loans to small business owners. To increase the likelihood of the loans being paid off, you would most likely lend money to individuals with a(n):

Accepted Answer

Individuals with an internal locus of control believe they have control over their own success and are more likely to take responsibility for their actions, which can increase the likelihood of them repaying loans.

Question 12

You are a marriage and family therapist who works with couples whose marriages are in trouble. You would most likely provide anger control therapy for:

Accepted Answer

External husbands are more likely to engage in physical aggression, which is a common symptom of anger problems.

Question 13

You are a marriage and family therapist who works with couples whose marriages are in trouble. You would most likely provide sensitivity training and couple's communication training only to:

Accepted Answer

The answer of You are a marriage and family therapist...

Question 14

In your experience as a marriage and family therapist, you have discovered that _____ tend to employ problem-solving methods for dealing with marital stress.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In your experience as a marriage and...

Question 15

It was reported that martial dissatisfaction is lowest for couples when:

Accepted Answer

Marital dissatisfaction is lowest when there is little difference in the locus of control score for the husband and wife, indicating compatibility in their perception of control over life events.

Question 16

In a national probability sample of women who get divorced, it was noted that within the first five-year period, they became:

Accepted Answer

Shortly after a significant life event like divorce, individuals often feel less in control of their lives, leading to a more external locus of control.

Question 17

In a national probability sample of women who get divorced, it was noted that within the second five-year period, they became:

Accepted Answer

The answer of In a national probability sample of women...

Question 18

Jack and Jill's marriage seems to be going downhill. Jack has spent a lot of time agonizing about their decision to get a divorce. It is most likely that

Accepted Answer

Jack's agonizing over the decision to divorce indicates that he has a more internal locus of control, meaning he believes that he has control over his own life and decisions. This is likely to lead to more post-divorce stress, as he may feel responsible for the failure of the marriage.

Question 19

In response to the significant shift of Hong Kong going from a territory of the British to a Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China, it was reported that those individuals who had a ______ Locus of Control Score tended to perceive this shift as a significant threat.

Accepted Answer

Individuals with a high external locus of control believe that external forces, rather than their own actions, determine outcomes. This perception can lead them to view significant changes, like the political shift in Hong Kong, as threats since they feel less control over the situation.

Question 20

A characteristic strength of Rotter's social-cognitive viewpoint is its:

Accepted Answer

Rotter's social-cognitive viewpoint is known for including cognitive factors in the study of personality and using these factors to understand personality, not just predict behavior.

Quiz 10: The Social-Cognitive Viewpoint: Cognitive Processes and Personality