Question 1

The MMPI was originally developed to identify

Accepted Answer

The MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) is a psychological test originally designed to identify emotional disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. It is one of the most widely used personality assessment tools in the mental health field.

Question 2

Children who have witnessed a parent's murder report memories that most clearly challenge Freud's concept of

Accepted Answer

Freud's concept of repression suggests that memories of traumatic events are pushed into the unconscious mind to protect the individual from psychological harm. However, studies on children who have witnessed a parent's murder have shown that these memories are often vivid and long-lasting, challenging Freud's theory of repression. Witnessing a traumatic event such as a parent's murder can create memories that are too powerful to be repressed, therefore challenging Freud's concept of repression.

Question 3

According to psychoanalytic theory, boys' fear of castration is most closely associated with

Accepted Answer

The fear of castration is a central component of the Oedipus complex, which involves a young boy's unconscious desire for his mother and his fear of punishment from his father. This fear of castration is thought to stem from the boy's realization that his father, who he sees as a rival for his mother's affections, has a penis and he does not. According to Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the fear of castration is closely associated with the Oedipus complex, which is a psychosexual stage in which boys develop unconscious sexual desires for their mothers and view their fathers as rivals for their mothers' affection. The fear of castration arises from the boy's belief that his father will retaliate against him by castrating him if he continues to desire his mother.

Question 4

Freud thought that the part of a dream that we remember is a censored version of

Accepted Answer

According to Freud's theory of psychoanalysis, dreams are a manifestation of our unconscious wishes and desires. However, these wishes are often unacceptable or taboo, so the subconscious censors or distorts them into a form that is more socially acceptable to the conscious mind. Therefore, the part of a dream that we remember is a censored version of these unconscious wishes. According to Freud, the remembered part of a dream represents a censored version of unconscious wishes that are too threatening to be fully expressed.

Question 5

Students perceive themselves as less likely than the average classmate to develop drinking problems or drop out of school. This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

This scenario best illustrates unrealistic optimism, which is the tendency for people to believe that they are less susceptible to harm than others. This bias can lead individuals to engage in risky behaviors because they believe negative outcomes are less likely to happen to them. This scenario describes unrealistic optimism, which is the tendency for people to believe that they are less likely than others to experience negative events or more likely than others to experience positive events.

Question 6

After experiencing prolonged and seemingly inescapable physical abuse from her husband, Kayla became increasingly depressed and hopelessly resigned to her suffering. Her reaction best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Kayla's experience best illustrates learned helplessness, as she has resigned herself to her situation and feels powerless to escape it despite prolonged abuse. Kayla's behavior best illustrates learned helplessness, which refers to the tendency to give up trying to escape from a negative situation after repeated exposure to uncontrollable events. In Kayla's case, the prolonged physical abuse from her husband may have led her to feel like there was no way to escape, leading to feelings of hopelessness and resignation. The other answer choices (A, B, and D) do not accurately describe Kayla's situation.

Question 7

Around the world, people describe others' personality traits in terms that are consistent with a set of factors called

Accepted Answer

The Big Five, also known as the Five-Factor Model, are five broad dimensions of personality traits that are consistently described and recognized across cultures. These dimensions are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. This model has been extensively researched and is considered a robust and reliable framework for understanding personality traits. The Big Five is a set of factors that describe personality traits and are consistently used around the world. The other options - defense mechanisms, psychosexual stages, and hierarchy of needs - do not refer to a set of factors used to describe personality traits.

Question 8

The stability of personality during adulthood best illustrates the value of

Accepted Answer

Trait theories emphasize that personality traits are relatively stable across time and situations. This suggests that personality is consistent and enduring, supporting the idea of stability during adulthood. Unconditional positive regard (choice A) is a concept associated with humanistic psychology, which focuses on the individual's growth and self-actualization, but does not directly relate to the stability of personality over time. Similarly, an internal locus of control (choice B) refers to the individual's belief in his or her ability to control outcomes, but does not necessarily relate to the consistency of personality traits. Factor analysis (choice C) is a statistical technique used in psychological research to identify underlying factors that explain variability in data, but it is not directly related to the stability of personality traits. Trait theories focus on identifying and describing stable patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion that make up an individual's personality. The fact that personality tends to remain relatively stable during adulthood provides evidence in support of the validity of trait theories. Unconditional positive regard (A) is a concept within humanistic psychology that refers to accepting and valuing individuals regardless of any perceived flaws or mistakes. An internal locus of control (B) refers to the belief that one's own actions and decisions are the primary determinants of their life outcomes, rather than external factors such as luck or fate. Factor analysis (C) is a statistical technique used to identify patterns and relationships between variables. While it has been used in personality research, it does not specifically demonstrate the stability of personality over time.

Question 9

We can better predict drivers' behavior at traffic lights from knowing the color of the lights than from knowing the drivers' personalities. This best illustrates the importance of

Accepted Answer

The scenario suggests that situational influences, such as the color of traffic lights, have a greater impact on drivers' behavior than their personalities. This highlights the importance of considering situational factors when attempting to understand and predict behavior. This question is asking about the importance of situational influences in predicting drivers' behavior at traffic lights. The answer is D because the color of a traffic light is a situational influence that has a strong impact on drivers' behavior, while drivers' personalities are not necessarily predictive of their behavior in this specific context. Collectivism, the spotlight effect, and self-transcendence are not directly relevant to this question.

Question 10

During a phone call to the Psychic Network, Mark was told that "you often worry about things much more than you admit, even to your best friends." Mark's amazement at the psychic's apparent understanding of his personality best illustrates

Accepted Answer

The psychic's statement is an example of the Barnum effect, which refers to the tendency for people to accept general and vague statements as applying specifically to them. The statement made by the psychic is broad enough to apply to many people, and Mark's amazement suggests that he attributed personal relevance to it. The statement made by the psychic is an example of the Barnum effect, which refers to the tendency for people to believe vague and general statements about themselves to be true. In this case, the statement could apply to a large number of people and is not specific to Mark's personality. The psychic could have made the same statement to anyone who called in, but because it seems tailored to Mark's personality, he is amazed by it. The other options are not relevant to the situation described.

Question 11

Card players who attribute their wins to their own skill and their losses to bad luck best illustrate

Accepted Answer

This scenario describes the self-serving bias, which is the tendency to attribute one's successes to internal factors (such as one's own skill) and one's failures to external factors (such as bad luck). The statement suggests that the card players are exhibiting self-serving bias. This bias involves attributing successes to internal and stable factors, such as skill, while attributing failures to external and unstable factors, such as luck.

Question 12

Carl Jung emphasized the importance of ________ in personality functioning.

Accepted Answer

Carl Jung believed that the collective unconscious, a repository of ancestral experiences and symbols shared among all humans, played a significant role in personality functioning. He believed that individuals' experiences and behavior are influenced not only by their personal unconscious but also by inherited, universal symbols and archetypes stored in the collective unconscious. Carl Jung's theory emphasized the importance of the collective unconscious in personality functioning, which includes universal archetypes and symbols that are inherited and influence behavior and experiences.

Question 13

According to Maslow, the desire for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self refers to the motive for

Accepted Answer

Maslow believed that once basic needs are met, individuals strive for self-actualization, which includes a desire for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self, or self-transcendence. Maslow believed that as individuals satisfy their basic physiological and psychological needs, they strive for self-actualization, which involves fulfilling their potential and achieving personal growth. Beyond self-actualization, Maslow identified a higher level of motivation called self-transcendence, which involves the desire to connect with something beyond the self, such as a greater purpose, meaning, or spirituality. Therefore, the desire for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self is best described as the motive for self-transcendence.

Question 14

The social-cognitive perspective highlights the interaction of personal traits with our environment, a process that Albert Bandura called

Accepted Answer

The social-cognitive perspective emphasizes the idea of reciprocal determinism, which refers to the interaction between personal traits, behavior, and the environment. This concept was developed by Albert Bandura, who stressed the importance of both personal agency and environmental influence in shaping behavior. Choice A, free association, is a psychoanalytic concept related to the unconscious mind. Choice B, self-actualization, is a humanistic concept that focuses on fulfilling one's potential. Choice D, reaction formation, is a defense mechanism in which a person expresses the opposite of their true feelings. These concepts are not central to the social-cognitive perspective. The term that Albert Bandura called to describe the interaction of personal traits with the environment is reciprocal determinism. This is a key concept in the social-cognitive perspective, which emphasizes the importance of both personal factors (such as cognition and personality) and external factors (such as social context and cultural norms) in shaping behavior. Reciprocal determinism suggests that individuals are not just shaped by their environments, but also actively shape their environments through their behavior and choices.

Question 15

Bonnie is afraid to express anger at her overbearing and irritating supervisor at work, so she is critical of her children instead. A psychoanalyst would suggest that Bonnie's reaction to her children illustrates

Accepted Answer

Displacement is the unconscious redirecting of feelings or impulses from their original source onto a substitute target. In this case, Bonnie is unable to express her anger towards her supervisor so she displaces it onto her children by being overly critical of them. Displacement is the unconscious shifting of a thought, feeling, or impulse from one object to another more acceptable object. In this case, Bonnie is unable to express her anger towards her supervisor, so she displaces it onto her children by being critical of them instead.

Question 16

Abraham Maslow suggested that individuals who are open, spontaneous, and not paralyzed by others' opinions illustrate

Accepted Answer

Maslow's concept of self-actualization describes individuals who are able to express their true selves, without being inhibited by external pressures or expectations. This includes being open, spontaneous, and authentic. Maslow proposed that self-actualization is the ultimate goal of human development, and individuals who are open, spontaneous, and not paralyzed by others' opinions are said to be self-actualized. These individuals are highly autonomous and rely on their own values and judgement to guide their behaviour, rather than being influenced by external factors such as social norms or the opinions of others.

Question 17

Who emphasized the importance of unconditional positive regard in healthy personality development?

Accepted Answer

Carl Rogers emphasized the importance of unconditional positive regard in healthy personality development. Carl Rogers emphasized the importance of unconditional positive regard in healthy personality development.

Question 18

Although Alex has frequently been caught stealing money and other valuables from friends as well as strangers, he does not feel guilty or remorseful about robbing these people. Alex most clearly demonstrates a(n)

Accepted Answer

A weak superego is indicative of a lack of moral compass or conscience, which may explain why Alex does not feel guilty or remorseful about his actions. Alex's lack of guilt or remorse despite his frequent stealing behavior suggests a weak superego, which is responsible for regulating moral and ethical behavior.

Question 19

Bryce often acts so daring and overly confident that few people realize he is actually riddled with unconscious insecurity and self-doubt. Bryce best illustrates the use of a defense mechanism known as

Accepted Answer

Bryce's behavior of acting overly confident despite his true feelings of insecurity and self-doubt is an example of reaction formation. This defense mechanism involves expressing feelings or behaviors that are the opposite of one's true feelings in order to protect oneself from anxiety or guilt. In this case, Bryce is overcompensating for his insecurities by projecting a facade of confidence and daring.

Question 20

Although she is intelligent and a good athlete, Abigail believes that her low grades in school and losing the quarter-mile race are reflections of her own intellectual and athletic incompetence. Her conclusion best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Abigail's belief that her low grades and athletic losses are due to her own incompetence is an example of a pessimistic attributional style, which involves attributing negative outcomes to internal, stable, and global factors. Abigail's belief that her low grades and losing the race reflect her own incompetence suggests a pessimistic attributional style. This is the tendency to attribute negative outcomes to internal, stable, and global factors, rather than external, unstable, or specific factors.

Quiz 13: Emotion