Question 1

Which view most directly promotes the use of case studies?
A) introspection
B) cognitive
C) personology
D) correlational

Accepted Answer

Personology emphasizes the study of individuals and their unique psychological dynamics, often through detailed case studies, to understand personality and behavior.

Question 2

If a research finding is statistically significant, it:
A) is unlikely to have occurred by chance.
B) will have wide-ranging effects.
C) is important to humanity.
D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

Statistical significance refers to the likelihood that a result or relationship is caused by something other than mere random chance. It does not necessarily imply that the finding is of wide-ranging effects or of importance to humanity, which are considerations beyond the statistical analysis itself.

Question 3

A perfect positive correlation is indicated by an r value of:
A) 0.0
B) 1.0
C) 10.0
D) 100.0

Accepted Answer

A

Question 4

Experience sampling studies are similar to case studies in that they both:
A) typically involve repeated measurements.
B) typically use external observers.
C) typically require people to think back far in time.
D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

Experience sampling studies and case studies both often involve repeated measurements to gather detailed information over time. Unlike case studies, experience sampling does not necessarily rely on external observers and does not require participants to recall past events over a long period.

Question 5

To test whether research findings can be attributed to chance, researchers use:
A) random numbers tables.
B) descriptive statistics.
C) inferential statistics.
D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics are used by researchers to test if their findings can be attributed to chance. This branch of statistics allows them to make inferences about a population based on a sample, including testing hypotheses and making predictions.

Question 6

Psychologists describe correlations by referring to their:
A) direction and duration.
B) duration and strength.
C) direction and strength.
D) none of the above

Accepted Answer

Correlations are described by their direction (positive or negative) and their strength (how closely the two variables are related).

Question 7

A correlation of __________means two variables are not related at all.
A) .5
B) .0
C) -.5
D) -1.0

Accepted Answer

A correlation of 0 means there is no linear relationship between the two variables. Positive or negative values indicate the direction and strength of a linear relationship, but 0 indicates no linear relationship at all.

Question 8

Most personality research has been done:
A) in the United States or western Europe.
B) on college students.
C) on white, middle- to upper-middle-class people.
D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

Most personality research historically has been conducted in the United States or Western Europe, often on college students, and typically on white, middle- to upper-middle-class individuals. This has led to concerns about the generalizability of research findings across different cultures and socioeconomic groups.

Question 9

Henry Murray used the term__________ to describe efforts to understand the whole person.
A) biographical research
B) personology
C) introspection
D) macro-assessment

Accepted Answer

Henry Murray introduced the term "personology" to describe his approach to understanding the whole person, emphasizing a comprehensive analysis of an individual's life and personality.

Question 10

Looking inward to your own experience is called:
A) inspection.
B) self-monitoring.
C) introspection.
D) personal case study.

Accepted Answer

Introspection refers to the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT true of the case study method?
A) Case studies are rich in detail.
B) Case studies are often clinical studies.
C) Case studies can be used to generate theories.
D) Case studies are conducted in settings carefully created and controlled by the researcher.

Accepted Answer

Case studies are typically conducted in natural settings rather than in environments controlled by the researcher, which distinguishes them from experiments that often involve controlled conditions.

Question 12

What prevents the results of a single case study from being applied to many people?
A) lack of test-retest reliability
B) lack of generality
C) general scoring error
D) singular inconsistency

Accepted Answer

Case studies often focus on a single subject or a small group, making their findings specific to those individuals and not necessarily applicable to a larger population. This lack of generality prevents the results from being widely applied.

Question 13

A__________ is a dimension, along which variations exist. There are always at least two__________ along each dimension.
A) level, constructs
B) value, variables
C) variable, observations
D) variable, values

Accepted Answer

A variable is a dimension along which variations exist, and there are always at least two values along each dimension.

Question 14

Which of the following is one way to organize information about a correlation?
A) a scatterplot
B) a horizontal plot
C) a pie chart
D) none of the above

Accepted Answer

A scatterplot is a common way to visually represent the relationship between two variables, showing how one variable is affected by another, which is useful for identifying correlations.

Question 15

Correlational research cannot tell us:
A) how strongly two variables go together.
B) why two variables go together.
C) whether two variables go together.
D) in what direction two variables go together.

Accepted Answer

Correlational research is designed to identify the relationship between two variables, including their strength and direction, but it cannot establish causation, meaning it cannot explain why two variables go together.

Question 16

The strength of a correlation refers to its:
A) directionality.
B) degree of accuracy in prediction.
C) positivity as opposed to negativity.
D) level of statistical significance.

Accepted Answer

The strength of a correlation indicates how closely two variables are related in terms of the degree to which one can predict the other. It does not refer to the direction of the relationship (positive or negative), its statistical significance, or its directionality in terms of cause and effect.

Question 17

In addition to statistical significance, psychologists often talk about the __________significance of research results.
A) scientific
B) humanitarian
C) practical
D) therapeutic

Accepted Answer

Psychologists often discuss the practical significance of research results to determine if the findings have real-world applications or implications that matter in everyday life or in specific professional practices.

Question 18

Which of the following is the strongest plausible correlation coefficient?
A) 1.68
B) -.63
C) .42
D) .56

Accepted Answer

Correlation coefficients range from -1 to 1, where -1 indicates a perfect negative correlation, 1 indicates a perfect positive correlation, and 0 indicates no correlation. Therefore, -.63 is the strongest plausible correlation given the options, as 1.68 is outside the possible range.

Question 19

When low values on one dimension are associated with high values on another dimension, the correlation between the two variables is termed:
A) inadequate.
B) inverse.
C) qualified.
D) substantive.

Accepted Answer

When low values on one dimension are associated with high values on another dimension, this relationship is described as an inverse correlation. This means as one variable increases, the other decreases, and vice versa.

Question 20

A scatterplot with many points in the lower right quadrant of the plot, many points in the upper left quadrant, and very few points in the other quadrants would indicate a:
A) positive correlation.
B) negative correlation.
C) inverse correlation.
D) none of the above

Accepted Answer

A positive correlation indicates that as one variable increases, the other variable also tends to increase. In a scatterplot, this would be represented by points that are mostly in the upper right and lower left quadrants, indicating that higher values of one variable are associated with higher values of the other variable, and lower values of one variable are associated with lower values of the other variable.

Quiz 2: Methods in the Study of Personality

Which view most directly promotes the use of case studies?

If a research finding is statistically significant, it:

A perfect positive correlation is indicated by an r value of:

Experience sampling studies are similar to case studies in that they both:

To test whether research findings can be attributed to chance, researchers use:

Psychologists describe correlations by referring to their:

A correlation of __________means two variables are not related at all.

Most personality research has been done:

Henry Murray used the term__________ to describe efforts to understand the whole person.

Looking inward to your own experience is called:

Which of the following is NOT true of the case study method?

What prevents the results of a single case study from being applied to many people?

A is a dimension, along which variations exist. There are always at least two along each dimension.

Which of the following is one way to organize information about a correlation?

Correlational research cannot tell us:

The strength of a correlation refers to its:

In addition to statistical significance, psychologists often talk about the __________significance of research results.

Which of the following is the strongest plausible correlation coefficient?

When low values on one dimension are associated with high values on another dimension, the correlation between the two variables is termed:

A scatterplot with many points in the lower right quadrant of the plot, many points in the upper left quadrant, and very few points in the other quadrants would indicate a: