Question 1

Juanita likes to spend more time alone.She prefers to lead a predictable and well-organized life.According to Hans Eysenck's personality taxonomy,Juanita would most likely score high on the trait of:

Accepted Answer

Introversion is characterized by a preference for solitary activities, being cautious, and avoiding social situations. Juanita's preference for spending more time alone suggests that she is more introverted. The other options, such as conscientiousness, agency, and psychoticism, do not necessarily fit with her description of preferring a predictable and well-organized life.

Question 2

Psychologists Simpson and Gangestad developed the concept of sociosexuality based on the evolutionary theory.They developed the sociosexual orientation hypothesis based on this concept.They most likely employed the _____ approach to developing the hypothesis.

Accepted Answer

Theoretical approach refers to developing a hypothesis or theory based on existing theories or concepts. In this case, Simpson and Gangestad developed the sociosexual orientation hypothesis based on the concept of sociosexuality, which is rooted in evolutionary theory. Therefore, they most likely employed the theoretical approach.

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true about factor analysis?

Accepted Answer

Factor analysis essentially identifies clusters of personality items that covary but tend to deviate from other groups of items. It does not require an existing theory of personality or start with the notion that traits are categories of acts. It also does not believe that trait terms have become encoded within natural language.

Question 4

A problem with factor analysis is that:

Accepted Answer

A crucial step in factor analysis is selecting the initial items that are used to measure the construct being studied. If the initial selection is not carefully chosen, the results of the factor analysis may not accurately reflect the underlying factors being studied. Therefore, the statement that researchers need to pay close attention to their initial selection of items is correct. However, the other three answer choices are incorrect.

Question 5

Fiona is an excessive worrier.She always seems tense and has trouble sleeping.Her friends report that she has very low self-esteem and is usually moody.According to Hans Eysenck's personality taxonomy,Fiona would most likely score high on the trait of:

Accepted Answer

Neuroticism is a personality trait associated with anxiety, worry, and emotional instability. Fiona's excessive worrying, trouble sleeping, low self-esteem, and moodiness are all consistent with high levels of neuroticism.

Question 6

Who among the following developed a model of personality that included three main traits?

Accepted Answer

Hans Eysenck developed a model of personality that included three main traits: extraversion/introversion, neuroticism/emotional stability, and psychoticism. Raymond Cattell also developed a model of personality with 16 factors, Jerry Wiggins developed a model with two main dimensions (agency and communion), and Timothy Leary was a psychologist who focused on personality as influenced by LSD and other psychedelic drugs.

Question 7

A problem with the lexical approach is that:

Accepted Answer

The lexical approach to personality assumes that all important personality characteristics are embedded in language. However, one criticism is that it may not fully explore or capture the nuances of personality nouns, as it primarily focuses on adjectives.

Question 8

According to Hans Eysenck's personality taxonomy,a worrier would most likely score high on the trait of:

Accepted Answer

According to Eysenck's personality theory, neuroticism is the personality trait related to anxiety, fearfulness, and emotional instability. Worriers would score high on this trait as they are prone to worry and anxiety. Extraversion, psychoticism, and quarrelsomeness are not directly related to worrying behavior.

Question 9

Jerry is a loner,and he likes to catch flies and pull their wings off.He is also addicted to violent movies.According to Hans Eysenck's personality taxonomy,Jerry is most likely to score high on the personality trait of:

Accepted Answer

Psychoticism is associated with aggression, cruelty, and a lack of empathy. Jerry's behavior of catching flies and pulling their wings off, as well as his addiction to violent movies, suggests that he has a tendency towards cruelty and aggression.

Question 10

Which of the following is useful in reducing the number of personality traits to a more manageable number?

Accepted Answer

Factor analysis is a statistical method that is commonly used to identify the underlying factors or dimensions that can help reduce the number of personality traits to a more manageable number. This method allows researchers to identify clusters of related traits and group them into broader domains or factors, such as extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness. This approach helps simplify and organize the complexity of personality traits, making it easier to understand and measure individual differences in personality.

Question 11

Which of the following approaches uses the statistical procedure of factor analysis?

Accepted Answer

The statistical approach uses statistical procedures to analyze data, including factor analysis. The lexical approach examines words and definitions in dictionaries, the theoretical approach focuses on the underlying concepts and theories related to a construct, and the act frequency approach looks at how often people engage in a particular behavior or activity. None of these approaches necessarily involve factor analysis as a statistical tool.

Question 12

Which of the following taxonomies was developed based on the traits that were believed to be highly heritable and had a likely psychophysiological foundation?

Accepted Answer

Eysenck's personality taxonomy was developed based on the belief that certain traits were highly heritable and had a psychophysiological foundation. These traits included extraversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability, and psychoticism/superego functioning.

Question 13

According to Hans Eysenck's personality taxonomy,a person who is antisocial and lacks empathy would most likely score high on the trait of:

Accepted Answer

According to Eysenck's personality taxonomy, psychoticism is a trait that includes attributes like aggressiveness, impulsiveness, and lack of empathy. Individuals with high scores on psychoticism are often antisocial and show little concern for others' feelings. Therefore, a person who is antisocial and lacks empathy would most likely score high on the trait of psychoticism.

Question 14

Which of the following is a criticism of the theoretical approach?

Accepted Answer

The criticism is that the theoretical approach is limited by the quality and comprehensiveness of the theory it is based on.

Question 15

The five-factor model was originally based on a combination of the _____ approaches.

Accepted Answer

The five-factor model was originally based on lexical approaches (which identify personality traits based on common language descriptors) and statistical approaches (which use factor analysis to identify underlying dimensions of personality traits).

Question 16

Which of the following is a feature of the theoretical approach?

Accepted Answer

The theoretical approach involves the use of a theory to identify and determine the variables or traits that are important. The theory helps to guide research and identify what aspects of personality should be studied and measured. The other options (A, C, and D) do not accurately reflect the primary purpose of the theoretical approach.

Question 17

_____ is a statistical approach that identifies groups of items that are similar to each other.

Accepted Answer

Factor analysis is a statistical technique used to identify groups of items that have similar response patterns. It is commonly used in psychology and social sciences to identify underlying factors or dimensions that explain the correlations among a set of variables. The technique is based on the assumption that a large number of observed variables can be explained by a smaller number of underlying factors.

Question 18

Who among the following was raised in Germany and intended to study physics but began to study psychology almost by chance?

Accepted Answer

Hans Eysenck was raised in Germany and intended to study physics, but due to the limited number of physics programs available during the aftermath of World War II, he began to study psychology almost by chance.

Question 19

Factor loadings indicate the _____ between an item and an underlying factor.

Accepted Answer

Factor loadings represent the correlation between an item and an underlying factor. It indicates how well an item represents the factor it is supposed to measure. The higher the factor loading, the stronger the correlation between the item and the factor.

Question 20

A Freudian scholar develops measures to assess "the oral personality" and "the anal personality." The scholar is most likely to use the _____ approach to identify important individual differences.

Accepted Answer

The theoretical approach involves developing measures based on a specific theory, in this case, Freudian theory, which includes concepts like the oral and anal personality.

Quiz 3: Traits and Trait Taxonomies