Question 1

What research procedure led psychologists to identify the "big five" personality factors (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness)?

Accepted Answer

The "big five" personality factors were identified through research that involved looking for broad dimensions of personality. This approach involved analyzing language and finding adjectives that describe personality traits. The researchers then used factor analysis to identify clusters of traits that did not correlate strongly with each other, leading to the identification of the five broad dimensions of personality.

Question 2

A personality trait is a

Accepted Answer

A personality trait is a relatively stable and enduring predisposition to behave, think, and feel in a consistent way across situations. It is not inherently inconsistent, a defect, or a set of types, but rather a tendency to behave in a particular way.

Question 3

People with a strong belief in a just world usually handle stressful situations __________.

Accepted Answer

People with a strong belief in a just world think that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Therefore, they are more likely to handle stressful situations well as they have confidence that things will eventually turn out in their favor.

Question 4

A measure of personality that produces consistent or repeatable scores has __________, and a measure of personality that predicts something useful, such as actual behavior has __________.

Accepted Answer

Reliability refers to the consistency or repeatability of scores, while validity refers to the accuracy of the measurement in predicting something useful. Therefore, option B is correct, as it correctly pairs reliability with consistency and validity with predicting usefulness. Option A and D both have the correct definition of validity, but they do not accurately pair it with reliability. Option C is incorrect, as utility is not a measure of personality, but rather refers to usefulness or practicality.

Question 5

The big five personality dimensions are:

Accepted Answer

The big five personality dimensions are neuroticism, extraversion, openness to new experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. This is the widely accepted and used model of personality traits in today's psychology. B, C, and D are not recognized as the big five personality dimensions.

Question 6

People who have a strong __________ maintain that life is fair and people usually get what they deserve.

Accepted Answer

The term "just world" refers to the belief that the world operates in a fair and predictable manner, with good things happening to good people and bad things happening to bad people. This belief is often associated with the concept of karma, and reflects a strong sense of moral accountability. While all of the answer choices could be considered desirable traits, only the belief in a just world is directly related to the idea that people get what they deserve.

Question 7

A psychologist wants to determine a parsimonious way to describe personality. She starts with a large number of questions and tries to find the smallest number of traits that will account for the variation in people's answers. Which technique will she use?

Accepted Answer

Factor analysis is a statistical technique used to identify patterns among a large number of variables and find the smallest number of factors that account for the variation in people's answers. It is commonly used in psychology to identify the underlying dimensions or traits that make up an individual's personality. Reaction formation, free association, and the autokinetic effect are not relevant to this process.

Question 8

A psychologist who studies how people's goals in life affect their moods and their reactions to various events would not attempt to draw conclusions meant to apply to everyone. Therefore, this psychologist is using the __________ approach.

Accepted Answer

The idiographic approach focuses on studying individuals and their unique experiences and characteristics, rather than trying to apply generalizations to a larger group. In this case, the psychologist is studying how individual goal-setting affects their unique moods and reactions, indicating an idiographic approach.

Question 9

A personality trait is a __________; a personality state is a __________.

Accepted Answer

A personality trait refers to a consistent pattern of behavior, emotion, and thought that characterizes an individual over time and situations. On the other hand, a personality state is a temporary activation of a behavior, emotion, or thought that is triggered by a particular situation. Therefore, option B accurately distinguishes between personality traits and states.

Question 10

Critics of Maslow's description of self-actualization have argued that his description

Accepted Answer

The answer of Critics of Maslow's description of self-actualization have...

Question 11

Many psychologists believe they can account for the largest proportion of personality differences by means of the following five traits:

Accepted Answer

The Big Five personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to new experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) are widely accepted as the main factors that account for personality differences. Many studies have supported the validity and reliability of these traits in various cultures and age groups. The other answer choices either represent different personality frameworks or are not as widely recognized as the Big Five.

Question 12

Why is it especially difficult to develop good measures of personality?

Accepted Answer

Personality is difficult to measure because we are trying to capture how someone behaves in general, but behavior can change from moment to moment depending on the situation. This makes it challenging to develop measures that accurately capture an individual's personality traits across different contexts. While the other options may also be factors that contribute to the difficulty of measuring personality, they do not fully address the core challenge of capturing stable personality traits that are consistent across different situations.

Question 13

A trait is a

Accepted Answer

A trait is a consistent long-lasting tendency in behavior, reflecting a characteristic way of approaching or responding to situations. It is a relatively stable and enduring quality that distinguishes one individual from another.

Question 14

As opposed to a trait, a state is more

Accepted Answer

A state is a temporary condition that may change over time. It is not a permanent characteristic of an individual, like a trait might be. The other options (physiological, biological, cultural) are not directly related to the concept of a state.

Question 15

As opposed to a trait, a state is more

Accepted Answer

A state is a temporary condition or feeling, as opposed to a trait which is a more permanent characteristic.

Question 16

Nomothetic laws apply to __________; idiographic laws apply to __________.

Accepted Answer

Nomothetic laws apply to people in general, offering broad, general principles that apply to large groups of individuals. Idiographic laws, on the other hand, focus on the unique aspects of individuals, detailing the specific characteristics and experiences that make each person unique.

Question 17

The approach to the study of individual differences that concentrates on intensive studies of individuals is the __________ approach.

Accepted Answer

The idiographic approach focuses on the unique characteristics and experiences of individuals through intensive case studies, while the trait approach looks at the traits that distinguish individuals from one another. The nomothetic approach aims to identify general laws or principles that apply to groups of individuals. Locus of control refers to an individual's belief about whether they have control over the outcomes of their actions or if external factors are responsible. Therefore, the best choice is A) idiographic approach.

Question 18

Researchers have identified several different measures of self-esteem. Examining the actual questions suggests that these different questionnaires are measuring

Accepted Answer

If different measures of self-esteem are measuring different things, then they would have low validity as they are not accurately measuring self-esteem. Therefore, option D is the best answer.

Question 19

Psychologists have developed several measures of self-esteem and have created programs designed to help people increase their self-esteem. The results of this research has revealed that

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that artificially inflating self-esteem can sometimes lead to decreased performance, as individuals may become overconfident and less motivated to improve.

Question 20

A psychologist wants to measure someone's personality. Which procedure is most commonly used?

Accepted Answer

The most commonly used procedure to measure personality is through self-report questionnaires or questionnaires completed by someone who knows the person well. This allows for a standardized and systematic approach to gathering information about a person's traits, behaviors, and emotions, which can be used to make inferences about their overall personality. Behavioral observations and analyzing dreams and fantasies can also provide insight into personality, but are less commonly used and can be more subjective in interpretation. Having someone draw a picture of themselves and their family may provide some insight into their self-concept, but is not a well-validated method for measuring personality.

Quiz 14: Personality

What research procedure led psychologists to identify the "big five" personality factors (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness) ?

A personality trait is a

People with a strong belief in a just world usually handle stressful situations __________.

A measure of personality that produces consistent or repeatable scores has , and a measure of personality that predicts something useful, such as actual behavior has .

The big five personality dimensions are:

People who have a strong __________ maintain that life is fair and people usually get what they deserve.

A psychologist wants to determine a parsimonious way to describe personality. She starts with a large number of questions and tries to find the smallest number of traits that will account for the variation in people's answers. Which technique will she use?

A psychologist who studies how people's goals in life affect their moods and their reactions to various events would not attempt to draw conclusions meant to apply to everyone. Therefore, this psychologist is using the __________ approach.

A personality trait is a ; a personality state is a .

Critics of Maslow's description of self-actualization have argued that his description

Many psychologists believe they can account for the largest proportion of personality differences by means of the following five traits:

Why is it especially difficult to develop good measures of personality?

A trait is a

As opposed to a trait, a state is more

As opposed to a trait, a state is more

Nomothetic laws apply to ; idiographic laws apply to .

The approach to the study of individual differences that concentrates on intensive studies of individuals is the __________ approach.

Researchers have identified several different measures of self-esteem. Examining the actual questions suggests that these different questionnaires are measuring

Psychologists have developed several measures of self-esteem and have created programs designed to help people increase their self-esteem. The results of this research has revealed that

A psychologist wants to measure someone's personality. Which procedure is most commonly used?