Deck 16: Personality Processes: Perception, Thought, Motivation, and Emotion

Question 1

Non-psychoanalytic researchers sometimes use the term ________ to refer to the unconscious.

A) short-term memory
B) consciously inaccessible memory
C) cognitive unconscious
D) unconscious memory

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The phrase "seven, plus or minus two" refers to the ________.

A) number of seconds information can be held in the perceptual buffer
B) capacity of short-term memory
C) number of years information can be stored in long-term memory before it is replaced with new information
D) organizational structure of self-schemas

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What measurement instrument assesses the extent to which people are relatively defensive in their perception of potentially threatening information?

A) the rejection sensitivity scale
B) the perceptual defense scale
C) the perceptual distortion scale
D) the repression-sensitization scale

Answer 3

D

Question 4

An Asian American who has just been primed with the image of a dragon is more likely to interpret ambiguous symbols according to ________.

A) typical American interpretations
B) typical Asian interpretations
C) neither typical American nor typical Asian interpretations
D) his or her more dominant cultural tradition

Question 5

Concepts that are readily available in the mind on such a frequent basis that they become part of one's personality are said to be ________.

A) chronically accessible
B) hypoactivated
C) praxes
D) individuated

Question 6

Someone who frequently attributes hostility to other people might be able to change this aspect of his or her personality. According to the material on priming, what should such a person try to do?

A) Seek out the help of a psychoanalyst.
B) Tell themselves to slow down and think more deliberately.
C) Try to shift attention away from threatening stimuli.
D) Attempt to extinguish the response by providing no contingencies.

Question 7

What theorist is most closely identified with cognitive-experiential self-theory?

A) Sigmund Freud
B) Walter Mischel
C) Carol Dweck
D) Seymour Epstein

Question 8

An individual who likes to watch emotional movies and has extreme reactions to the tragic deaths of celebrities would likely score high on what personality dimension?

A) need for intensity
B) need for closure
C) need for affect
D) need for neurotic responses

Question 9

As a person becomes an expert in an area, he or she will begin to ________ to help organize the information.

A) use larger chunks
B) develop incremental theories
C) use smaller chunks
D) subitize

Question 10

Which theorist developed the concept of personal constructs?

A) Gordon Allport
B) B. F. Skinner
C) George Kelly
D) Walter Mischel

Question 11

Perceptual ________ refers to the process whereby the perceptual system filters out information that might make the individual uncomfortable or distressed.

A) defense
B) screening
C) distortion
D) bias

Question 12

All of the following traditions strongly contributed to the understanding of personality processes EXCEPT ________.

A) the phenomenological approach
B) social learning theory
C) psychoanalysis
D) empirically based test construction methods

Question 13

When an individual who has a good relationship with his or her mother is exposed to the subliminal message "Mommy and I are one," he or she will likely feel ________ without knowing why.

A) anxious
B) sexual arousal
C) guilt
D) better

Question 14

According to most current theories, patterns of priming typically originate in ________.

A) temperament
B) ancestral history (i.e., evolution)
C) life experiences
D) genetic material

Question 15

According to the text, which of the following is NOT a personality process?

A) perception
B) motivation
C) emotion
D) trait development

Question 16

Sally is very concerned with abandonment and her partner's lack of commitment to their relationship. She is high on which personality dimension?

A) rejection priming
B) rejection accessibility
C) rejection sensitivity
D) rejection detection

Question 17

Amy is a generally aggressive and hostile child. Imagine that Suzanne accidentally bumped into Amy in a crowded room. Based on theories related to priming and chronic accessibility, Amy would perceive Suzanne's bump as an ________ and likely respond with ________.

A) accident; aggression
B) accident; an apology
C) intentionally hostile act; an apology
D) intentionally hostile act; aggression

Question 18

What term refers to the idea that the concepts recently activated in the mind influence one's perceptions of the world?

A) conditioning
B) priming
C) perceptual defense
D) repression-sensitization

Question 19

What two types of processes are included in most dual-process models?

A) conscious and rational
B) conscious and unconscious
C) short-term and long-term memories
D) impulsive and reactive

Question 20

Which of the following is a characteristic of the rational system?

A) It operates through logic.
B) It operates through emotion, insight, and wisdom.
C) It operates through unconscious processes.
D) It resembles Freud's primary processes thinking.

Question 21

In cognitive-experiential self-theory, the ________ system dominates when you are emotional and the ________ system dominates when you are calm.

A) cognitive; experiential
B) experiential; cognitive
C) experiential; rational
D) self; cognitive

Question 22

Which of the following is the typical way that primary goals, as defined by McClelland, are assessed?

A) having participants list all personally meaningful goals
B) completing a standard goal questionnaire
C) using the Thematic Apperception Test
D) using the Implicit Association Test

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of idiographic goals?

A) They are conscious at least some of the time.
B) They are common goals that essentially everyone pursues.
C) They are assumed to be changeable over time.
D) They are assumed to function independently of each other.

Question 24

Goals that are unique to the individuals pursuing them are called ________ goals.

A) strategic
B) judgment
C) nomothetic
D) idiographic

Question 25

A need for ________ is NOT one of the primary goals proposed by David McClelland.

A) achievement
B) autonomy
C) affiliation
D) power

Question 26

Which two dimensions are included in the goal circumplex model?

A) agency vs. communion; extrinsic vs. intrinsic
B) self-transcendence vs. physical self; extrinsic vs. intrinsic
C) agency vs. communion; approach vs. avoidance
D) mastery vs. performance; extrinsic vs. intrinsic

Question 27

Mrs. Khoury enjoys running the office. She likes telling other employees what to do and strives to be promoted to vice president of her company. According to McClelland's view of motivations, Mrs. Khoury is high in ________ motivation.

A) narcissism
B) affiliation
C) power
D) dominance

Question 28

What idiographic goal term refers to long-term goals that organize broad areas of a person's life?

A) current concerns
B) personal projects
C) development goals
D) personal strivings

Question 29

Jeff has decided to go on a diet, but unfortunately Jeff's mother has made his favorite dessert, apple pie. After a big dinner, his mother brings out the pie and Jeff cannot resist having two pieces. In Epstein's terminology, Jeff's ________ won out over his ________.

A) subjective stimulus values; self-regulatory systems
B) affective system; cognitive system
C) experiential system; rational system
D) phenomenology; consciousness

Question 30

A ________ goal is one in which an individual is interested in self-improvement, and a ________ goal is one in which an individual seeks to validate a personal attribute.

A) intrinsic; extrinsic
B) judgment; development
C) extrinsic; intrinsic
D) development; judgment

Question 31

Essential goals that almost everyone pursues are called ________ goals.

A) development
B) judgment
C) nomothetic
D) idiographic

Question 32

A ________ is a desired end state, and ________ are the means that the individual uses to achieve this end state.

A) goal; strategies
B) strategy; goals
C) self-concept; self-schemas
D) motivation; needs

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT one of the five types of goals that emerge repeatedly in studies of nomothetic goals?

A) enjoyment
B) esteem
C) avoidance of negative affect
D) learning

Question 34

What goal-related term describes the ongoing motivation that persists in the mind until the goal is either attained or abandoned?

A) current concerns
B) personal projects
C) judgment goals
D) personal strivings

Question 35

According to the goal circumplex model, goals related to helping one's community are high on what dimension?

A) agency
B) extrinsic
C) self-transcendence
D) mastery

Question 36

Mrs. Garcia often invites her family and friends to her house for lunches and parties. She is also involved with the people in her church group and in the Parent-Teacher Association at her child's school. According to McClelland's view of motivations, Mrs. Garcia is high in ________ motivation.

A) achievement
B) affiliation
C) power
D) connectedness

Question 37

Given that Rory works hard on his golf game and pursues excellence, he should score high in which of McClelland's primary goals?

A) achievement
B) domination
C) mastery
D) performance

Question 38

According to distinctions between types of idiographic goals, a ________ is something you think about, whereas a ________ is something you do.

A) judgment goal; development goal
B) current concern; personal project
C) long-term goal; short-term goal
D) current concern; personal striving

Question 39

According to research and theory about goals, it is most advantageous to have the ability to ________.

A) focus primarily on general, long-term goals
B) shift between short- and long-term goals
C) focus primarily on very specific goals
D) set general goals that are separate from your daily activities

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT a type of idiographic goal?

A) current concerns
B) personal projects
C) developmental goals
D) personal strivings

Question 41

Which of the following is the NOT one of the basic stages of emotion?

A) appraisal
B) motives
C) facial expressions
D) scripts

Question 42

What term describes someone who is low in emotional intelligence?

A) anhedonic
B) eudonic
C) dysthymic
D) alexithymic

Question 43

Steven believes that intelligence and ability can change with experience. Steven has a(n) ________ theory of ability.

A) entity
B) incremental
C) schematic
D) flexible

Question 44

A person with a developmental goal will most likely respond to failure with a(n) ________ pattern of behavior.

A) helpless
B) mastery-oriented
C) anxiety-driven
D) pessimistic

Question 45

What are the two basic dimensions of the emotional circumplex model proposed by Averill?

A) aroused-unaroused and negative-positive
B) agency-communion and negative-positive
C) strong-weak and aroused-unaroused
D) aroused-unaroused and agency-communion

Question 46

When researchers say "preferences need no inferences" with respect to emotion, what are they really arguing?

A) Appraisal does not need to come first in the emotion process.
B) Appraisal must come first in the emotion process.
C) Personality traits are more important than situations for determining emotions.
D) Attitudes are more important than personality traits for determining emotions.

Question 47

An individual who experiences powerful feelings of both joy and sadness would score high on what personality dimension?

A) neuroticism
B) affect variability
C) affect intensity
D) affect instability

Question 48

Your expectations about sequences of events that should occur in certain situations are called cognitive ________.

A) schemas
B) expectancies
C) scripts
D) projects

Question 49

Sharon believes that intelligence and ability are innate and you cannot do anything to change them. Sharon has a(n) ________ theory of ability.

A) entity
B) incremental
C) schematic
D) rigid

Question 50

What dimension is not typically included in the definition of happiness used by contemporary researchers?

A) eudaimonia
B) general life satisfaction
C) low levels of negative emotion
D) domain-specific satisfactions

Question 51

According to the theory surrounding the Big Five, what term describes the generalized scripts that are produced by the Big Five traits?

A) if . . . then patterns
B) personal projects
C) performance goals
D) characteristic adaptations

Question 52

What term describes a person who typically expects the worst so that they can be surprised or even relieved when the worst does not happen?

A) defensive optimists
B) defensive pessimists
C) strategic pessimists
D) reverse optimists

Question 53

A person with a judgment goal will respond to failure with a(n) ________ pattern of behavior.

A) helpless
B) mastery-oriented
C) anxiety-driven
D) pessimistic

Question 54

Some research suggests that pessimism might prove more adaptive than optimism in ________.

A) individualistic cultures
B) collectivistic cultures
C) handling the diagnosis of a chronic disease
D) handing the diagnosis of a terminal disease

Question 55

Research has examined the degree to which individuals' optimistic and pessimistic strategies persist across various contexts. The results of this research suggest that ________.

A) correlations of strategy use across contexts range from about .30 to .40
B) correlations of strategy use across contexts are essentially zero
C) the correlation of strategy use across contexts is about .30 for optimism but about -.30 for pessimism
D) the correlation of strategy use across contexts is about -.30 for optimism but about .30 for pessimism

Question 56

I am preparing for a test in psychology, and I tell you, "I'm sure that I'm going to fail. I'm going to study all night, and I'll just be happy with anything higher than a C." You are preparing for the same test and you say, "Oh, come on. We've been going to lecture and keeping up with the reading-we just need to review everything tonight and I'm sure we'll do well on the test." What would research concerning pessimistic and optimistic strategies predict about our outcomes?

A) I will get a higher grade on the test than you will.
B) You will get a higher grade on the test than I will.
C) We will get about the same grades on the test.
D) I will be happier with my grade than you will.

Question 57

Laura attends church regularly because she finds personal meaning and spiritual fulfillment in the rituals and discussions. Jeanne attends church regularly because she knows that many influential business leaders from the community also attend that church. Laura and Jeanne have ________.

A) the same strategies, leading to different behaviors
B) the same strategies, leading to the same behavior
C) different strategies, leading to different behaviors
D) different strategies, leading to the same behavior

Question 58

Research by Julie Norem indicates that defensive pessimists and eternal optimists likely ________.

A) use different strategies but obtain similar ends
B) have similar specific goals but different general goals
C) use the same strategies but obtain different ends
D) have different learning goals but similar performance goals

Question 59

A strong, consistent, and stable tendency to experience positive and energizing emotions is the fundamental feature of what trait?

A) neuroticism
B) extraversion
C) openness
D) achievement motivation

Question 60

According to research on goals across the life span, individuals who are near the end of their lives typically shift goals from ________.

A) exploring the world to having emotionally meaningful experiences
B) having emotionally meaningful experiences to accepting decay
C) getting along to going at it alone
D) the development type to the judgment type

Question 61

People with more generally negative views of others are more accurate in their person perceptions.

Question 62

According to the textbook, shy people might have defense mechanisms that work too well.

Question 63

Bicultural individuals often have difficulty quickly switching cultural frames of reference.

Question 64

It seems to be easy to hold seven familiar phone numbers in short-term memory even though the actual phone numbers contain a total of 49 digits.

Question 65

Emotions can be considered a kind of declarative knowledge using the language of cognitive psychology.

Question 66

In most dual-process models, conscious thought is faster than unconscious thought.

Question 67

The memories of chronically hostile individuals as opposed to chronically agreeable individuals show no differences.

Question 68

People seem to be able to physically react to evocative words, even if they cannot consciously read the word.

Question 69

Freud's secondary process thinking resembles Epstein's rational system.

Question 70

What piece of advice about increasing happiness would be reasonable in light of research evidence?

A) Stop trying to increase your happiness because happiness is genetically determined.
B) Wait until one reaches the age of 60, when happiness naturally increases.
C) Spend money to give yourself interesting experiences.
D) Avoid caffeine and other stimulants that can lead to mood fluctuations.

Question 71

Which statement is TRUE regarding the association between political ideology and happiness?

A) Those without political ideologies are the happiest.
B) Thinking like a liberal reduces negative emotions.
C) Thinking like a conservative increases positive emotions.
D) Thinking like a conservative reduces negative emotions.

Question 72

People often report two or more personal strivings that are inconsistent with each other.

Question 73

It is probably easier to tutor someone with a judgment goal than it is to tutor someone with a development goal.

Question 74

People seem to know that it is irrational to be more upset about running 30 minutes late and missing a plane by a minute (i.e., the plane departure was delayed) than about being 30 minutes late and missing a plane by 30 minutes (i.e., the plane took off as scheduled).

Question 75

Priming "Mommy and I are one" to individuals who have unpleasant relationships with their mothers seems to promote temporary well-being.

Question 76

According to a recent study of blogs, the expression of happiness seems to peak in the life span between the ages of ________.

A) 14 and 18
B) 50 and 60
C) 18 and 25
D) 70 and 80

Question 77

Short-term memory is limited to "seven, plus or minus two" chunks of information.

Question 78

Personal projects are similar to the concept of life tasks.

Question 79

The experiential system is more recent in evolutionary terms than the rational system.

Question 80

People can talk much more easily about explicit goals than implicit goals.