Deck 1: What Is Personality

Question 1

Which of the following is an accurate way of assessing personality?

A) Palm reading
B) Physiognomy
C) Astrology
D) Face reading
E) None of these

Answer 1

None of these

Question 2

Of the following, which is NOT a source of personality theory?

A) Analogy
B) Induction
C) Deduction
D) Conduction

Answer 2

Conduction

Question 3

Which of the following would be an inductive approach to the study of personality?

A) After you spend time developing a theory about personality and people's behaviors at parties, you then go to a party to observe people.
B) After learning about a theory of social interaction in your Sociology class, you decide to apply this information to your psychological understanding of personality and people's experiences at parties.
C) After reading several journal articles about personality and social interaction, you then collect data on this topic.
D) After observing people at a party, you decide that extroverts enjoy parties more than introverts do.
E) After reading Freud's theory, you decide to examine people's behavior at a party.

Answer 3

After observing people at a party, you decide that extroverts enjoy parties more than introverts do.

Question 4

Of the eight perspectives discussed in your text, which of the following is NOT true?

A) They all contribute to our understanding of personality.
B) They each reflect a view of human nature.
C) We should remember not to rely too much on one approach while ignoring others.
D) Very few of the perspectives are still regarded as useful.
E) It is beneficial to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of all eight perspectives.

Question 5

Roots of personality psychology can be traced to the theater because

A) actors often portray "characters" or easily recognizable types of people.
B) Shakespeare was Freud's best (most insightful) disciple.
C) actors have always been considered celebrities.
D) early studies utilized theater-goers as subjects (easily available).
E) drama is an ancient art.

Question 6

An early supporter of psychological testing (and where much testing is still conducted) was

A) preschools.
B) the U.S. armed forces.
C) large corporations.
D) the existential flower-power movement.
E) nurseries.

Question 7

In the 19th century, an important individual in the origin of personality psychology was ________, who is most associated with the theory of evolution.

A) Spinoza
B) Shakespeare
C) Darwin
D) Descartes
E) Leibnitz

Question 8

Which of the following individuals took a comprehensive orientation to the study of personality, including the use of longitudinal research that studies people over time?

A) Lewin
B) Allport
C) Freud
D) Murray
E) Kohler

Question 9

The Gestalt tradition emphasized the idea that

A) "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
B) "two heads are better than one."
C) "you can run, but you can't hide."
D) "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."
E) "all the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely players."

Question 10

Advances in the field of biological science have

A) demonstrated that there really is no such thing as personality.
B) drawn attention away from the field of psychology.
C) enabled modern researchers to disprove all of Freud's theories.
D) localized personality to a single specific brain region.
E) helped researchers to think more clearly about what personality is.

Question 11

Gestalt psychologists hold a fundamental belief that

A) personality is static after the age of six.
B) mental illness is rooted in childhood trauma.
C) everyone is inherently good.
D) people are more than the sum of their parts.
E) life is what you make it.

Question 12

The Barnum effect refers to the tendency to

A) be conditioned through rewards and punishments.
B) show off about one's good qualities.
C) exploit the good qualities of others.
D) view changing situations as a kind of circus.
E) believe vague generalities about one's own personality.

Question 13

A nomothetic approach to personality

A) studies pathetic aesthetics.
B) is the study of what makes each of us unique.
C) seeks to formulate general laws.
D) involves the study of the "no mother" theories of S. Freud.
E) studies ways in which people are similar to animals.

Question 14

If you read your horoscope in the morning newspaper and feel strongly that it is a personal message about how to conduct your day, you may be experiencing the

A) Barnum effect.
B) tendency toward critical thinking.
C) Zodiac Intervention.
D) context of personality.
E) Gullibility Effect.

Question 15

Nomothetic and idiographic approaches to the study of personality are different in that

A) nomothetic approaches rely on experimental methods, while idiographic rely on correlational methods.
B) nomothetic approaches rely on correlational methods, while idiographic rely on experimental methods.
C) nomothetic approaches are seldom used in research, while idiographic approaches are always used.
D) nomothetic approaches tend to be more general, while idiographic focus on the unique aspects of the individual.
E) nomothetic approaches focus on unique aspects of the individual, while idiographic approaches are more general.

Question 16

If we ask everyone in the class to describe the personalities of everyone else they know in the class, and then use these data to form a theory about the personality of college students, we are using

A) conduction.
B) analogy.
C) reducto ad populum.
D) induction.
E) deduction.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a criterion that describes a good theory?

A) Comprehensive
B) Productive
C) Falsifiable
D) Tautological
E) Parsimonious

Question 18

The roots of modern personality psychology can be traced to developments in the 19th century biological sciences based on the work of

A) Descartes.
B) Mead.
C) Darwin.
D) Roosevelt.
E) Newton.

Question 19

Personality psychology that is focused on the study of individual cases is termed

A) idiomatic.
B) autopathic.
C) automatic.
D) idiopathic.
E) idiographic.

Question 20

A correlation coefficient is a mathematical index of

A) the degree to which one variable causes another.
B) the degree of genetic relatedness of two family members.
C) the degree of agreement (or association) between two measures.
D) the degree to which a variable is a reliable measure.
E) none of these options.

Question 21

When two personality measures are negatively correlated, this indicates that

A) the two measures reflect unrelated underlying traits.
B) a high value on one measure is causally related to a low value on the other measure.
C) the measures are most suitable for measuring negative traits.
D) low values on one measure correspond to low values on the other.
E) high values on one measure correspond to low values on the other.

Question 22

A high, negative correlation between sleep deprivation and anxiety would indicate that

A) the more sleep deprived a person is, the more likely he or she is to be anxious.
B) the less sleep deprived a person is, the less likely he or she is to be anxious.
C) the more sleep deprived a person is, the less likely he or she is to be anxious.
D) anxiety leads to sleep deprivation.
E) sleep deprivation prevents anxiety.

Question 23

The term temperament, as used in personality psychology, refers to

A) an individual's characteristic emotional and motivational nature.
B) the patterns of behavior that are considered appropriate within a cultural group.
C) the extent to which an individual is warm vs. cool toward others.
D) the extent to which an individual is moody or overly sensitive.
E) none of these.

Question 24

Darwin's evolutionary theory influenced the development of the field of personality psychology through

A) its focus on how a species on an isolated island may differ from its mainland counterpart.
B) its focus on divine intervention as a mechanism of population change.
C) the idea that people are subject to the laws of nature, like other animals.
D) the introduction of fossil evidence as a source of data.
E) the idea that extinct populations can provide important data.

Question 25

Margaret Mead's view on the role of culture in personality was influenced by her findings from several different cultures that

A) in none of the cultures did the females have the characteristics that our culture identifies as "masculine."
B) in every culture, strong maternal characteristics were seen in all women.
C) sexual aggressiveness is a dominant feature of behavior across cultures.
D) in some cultures, both the males and the females had the characteristics that our culture identifies as "masculine or feminine."
E) in every culture, the males had the characteristics that our culture identifies as "masculine."

Question 26

With respect to unconscious forces, personality psychology as a field

A) ignores unconscious forces, focusing only on the conscious forces that people can describe and report.
B) focuses on unconscious forces, because conscious forces are subject to bias in self-report.
C) has developed a clear understanding of the ways in which unconscious forces influence people.
D) struggles to understand how and to what extent unconscious forces play a role in human behavior.
E) explains unconscious forces as showing the hand of God in humankind.

Question 27

An approach to personality would be called nomothetic if it

A) focuses on characterizing the life-course of individuals.
B) emphasizes a historical perspective.
C) seeks to formulate laws that hold across individuals.
D) seeks to characterize the uniqueness of each individual.
E) is based on detailed and reliable testing systems.

Question 28

If a theory is classified as "falsifiable," this means that the theory

A) could be claimed to be true based on misleading or counterfeit data.
B) has been stolen from another researcher.
C) represents the null hypothesis.
D) could be shown to be wrong by some type(s) of data.
E) has been shown to be wrong.

Question 29

Research suggests that pets

A) have personalities only their owners can detect.
B) demonstrate no awareness of their own existence.
C) do not have personalities.
D) cannot, in any valid way, be described in terms of personality traits.
E) are not emotionally connected to their owners.

Question 30

What is the definition of the inductive approach?

A) Reasoning from data obtained by observation to theory
B) Reasoning from theory to empirical observation
C) Reasoning from data to empirical testing
D) Reasoning from empirical observation to experimental data
E) Reasoning from theory to data

Question 31

An early representation of personality psychology can be traced back to what?

A) Early Eastern societies
B) The theater
C) Wilhelm Wundt
D) The American Indians
E) The British colonists

Question 32

Which of the following statements is true of the unconscious?

A) It has been scientifically proven that the unconscious doesn't exist.
B) The unconscious is a complete mystery; nothing is known about it.
C) Every approach to psychology ignores the unconscious.
D) Personality psychology struggles to understand how and to what extent the unconscious plays a role in behavior.
E) Personality psychology struggles to prove that the unconscious plays a role in behavior.

Question 33

According to Allport, what is the method by which personality should be studied?

A) Nomothetic
B) Idiographic
C) Inductive
D) Deductive
E) Allport argued against the study of personality.

Question 34

The ________ effect refers to the tendency to believe that vague generalities are a good description of one's personality.

A) Flynn
B) passive
C) believability
D) Hayflick
E) Barnum effect

Question 35

An approach to psychology in which the conclusions follow logically from premises or assumptions is called a(n) __________ approach.

Question 36

An approach to psychology in which concepts are developed based on carefully collected observations is called a(n) __________ approach.

Question 37

__________, neo-analytic/ego, biological, behaviorist, cognitive, trait, humanistic/existential, and interactionist are the eight __________ on personality.

Question 38

__________ theory was historically important to personality psychology because it freed thinking from assumptions of divine control.

Question 39

__________ science searches for universal laws that can be applied to all people.

Question 40

__________ science involves the study of individual cases.

Question 41

The tendency to believe vague generalities about one's personality is called the __________ effect.

Question 42

One of the basic issues in personality psychology is the fact that there are inconsistencies in every person's behaviors. Attempts to understand these inconsistencies usually focus on the importance of the person versus the __________.

Question 43

During World War I, the __________ began widespread use of personality assessments.

Question 44

Describe one way in which religious beliefs and one way in which theater influenced the development of personality theory.

Question 45

How does Darwin's theory of evolution help to explain the presence of personality characteristics?

Question 46

Describe Margaret Mead's contribution to the field of personality psychology.

Question 47

Discuss the sources of theories about personality. Define two primary sources discussed in the text and use an example to illustrate your understanding of each.

Question 48

Discuss the usefulness of studying eight perspectives of personality psychology. Which personality theory is correct and why?