Chapter 13 Psych

The unique way in which each individual thinks, acts, and feels throughout life is called
a) character.
b) personality.
c) temperament.
d) the unconscious.

b Temperament and character are both part of personality. Character refers to value judgments made about a person’s morals, and temperament refers to the enduring characteristics that a person is born with.

One limitation of the trait perspective compared to the other perspectives is there is not much
a) description.
b) research.
c) material.
d) explanation.

a Trait theories are descriptive and deal with the actual end result of personality.

Many have compared Freud’s idea of the mind to an iceberg. If that were the case and you were
standing on the deck of a ship in Alaska, what part of the mind would you see above the water?
a) ego
b) superego
c) id
d) preconscious

a The ego is the part of the mind that is conscious and in view

Information that cannot be recalled even when a person makes a determined effort to retrieve it
would be said by Freud to be residing in the
a) conscious.
b) preconscious.
c) unconscious.
d) superego.

c Freud thought that information sometimes seeped out of the unconscious through our dreams or slips of the tongue, but for the most part, the information was not readily available to our conscious awareness

In Sigmund Freud’s theory, the _____ operates according to the pleasure principle.
a) id
b) ego
c) thanatos
d) superego

a According to Freud, the id represents the most basic part of the personality and operates on the pleasure principle. The ego operates on the reality principle

According to Freud, the last component of an individual’s personality to develop is the
a) ego.
b) superego.
c) id.
d) libido.

b Freud’s theory states that the superego develops during the phallic stage or when an individual is 5-6 years old.

. What is Freud’s term for the executive of the personality that has a realistic plan for obtaining
gratification of an individual’s desires?
a) id
b) ego
c) superego
d) preconscious

b The ego is in charge of reality and decisions and the superego is there for moral judgments, but the ego makes the decisions.

Freud called the developmental stage in which the Oedipus complex occurs the
a) oral stage.
b) anal stage.
c) phallic stage.
d) latency stage.

c The Oedipus complex leads to the development of the superego and occurs during the phallic stage.

Freud believed that the personality characteristics of overeating, gum chewing, being too dependent
or overly optimistic developed due to fixation during the
a) oral stage.
b) anal stage.
c) phallic stage.
d) latency stage.

a Freud described those personality traits as resulting from fixation during the oral stage of development.

Which neo-Freudian viewed personality disturbances as resulting from the feelings of inferiority all
people share?
a) Carl Jung
b) Alfred Adler
c) Carl Rogers
d) Karen Horney

. b Adler viewed personality disturbances as resulting from the feelings of inferiority all people share. Jung focused on archetypes in the collective unconscious.

Karen Horney disagreed with Freud about the unconscious force that influences behavior. She
believed the force was not sexual desire, but rather
a) feelings of inferiority.
b) basic anxiety.
c) the collective unconscious.
d) self-regard.

b Horney believed that basic anxiety was the unconscious driving force behind many of the behaviors people exhibited.

. Which of the following is not a current criticism of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory?
a) the significant impact it has had on culture
b) the lack of empirical evidence
c) observations based on Freud’s personal clients
d) role of women in Freud’s theory

a The impact of Freud’s theory on culture is not considered a criticism

Albert Bandura’s notion that people are affected by their environment but can also influence that
environment is known as
a) self-efficacy.
b) locus of control.
c) phenomenology.
d) reciprocal determinism

d Self-efficacy refers to one’s perception of how effective a behavior will be in any particular circumstance, whereas reciprocal determinism is Bandura’s notion that people are affected by their environment but can also influence that environment.

A baseball player’s son is quite talented; he has received lots of awards over the years. When he gets
up to bat he expects to get a hit, and when he is in the field he expects to make every catch.
According to Bandura, what characteristic does this young man seem to have?
a) self-regard
b) self-centeredness
c) self-efficacy
d) self-actualization

c Self-efficacy refers to one’s perception of how effective a behavior will be in any particular circumstance. Self-actualization has to do with self-fulfillment and reaching one’s full potential.

_____________ theory is called the third force in personality theory.
a) Psychoanalytic.
b) Behaviorist
c) Cognitive
d) Humanistic

d Humanistic theory is called the third force in personality theory; the first two are psychoanalytic theory and behaviorist theory

In Carl Rogers’s theory, our perception of our abilities, behaviors, and characteristics is known as
a) personality.
b) self-regard.
c) self-esteem.
d) self-concept.

d Self-esteem has more to do with one’s sense of worth

Which of the following represents an example of unconditional positive regard?
a) a mother telling her son that she hopes he becomes an engineer like his father
b) a father telling his daughter that he will really only be proud of her if she gets all As like
she did last semester
c) an owner only pays attention to her dog when he is well-behaved
d) a parent telling his son he loves him even though he just wrecked the family car

d Rogers defined unconditional positive regard as being love, affection, and respect with no strings attached.

What did Gordon Allport think about traits?
a) He thought they were like stages.
b) He thought they were wired into the nervous system.
c) He thought they were learned.
d) He thought they were the result of cognitive modeling.

b Allport thought traits were not learned, but rather were wired into the nervous system.

How many source traits did Raymond Cattell discover through the process of factor analysis?
a) 5
b) 16
c) 200
d) 4,500

b Cattell proposed that there were 16 source traits of personality.

What psychoanalytic theorist most notably influenced the Big Five theory of personality?
a) Freud
b) Jung
c) Erikson
d) Horney

b Freud’s views are not involved in trait theory, but Jung’s theory mentioned extroversion, which is one of the Big Five traits

The fact that an outgoing extravert might be very talkative at a party but very quiet at a funeral is an
example of
a) trait-situation interaction.
b) cross-cultural similarities.
c) source trait reliability.
d) neuroticism

a The trait-situation interaction focuses on the interaction of source traits with the specific environment or situation that a person is in.

What major conclusion about personality traits emerged from the Minnesota twin study?
a) Identical twins are more similar than any other type of sibling.
b) Siblings reared apart were much more similar than identical twins.
c) Fraternal twins reared together were much more similar than identical twins.
d) Personality scores for twins were not related in either case.

a Identical twins, who share the same genes, are more similar in personality than are any other type of siblings

Which of the following countries would not be considered a collectivist country according to the
studies by Geert Hofstede?
a) Japan
b) United States
c) Mexico
d) Korea

b The Hofstede study found that the United States could be described as more of an individualistic culture.

Which of the following terms describes the cultural personality of the United States according to
Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural personality?
a) individualistic
b) high in power distance
c) low in individualism
d) high in uncertainty avoidance

a Americans expect power to be well-distributed rather than held by an elite few; democracies are typically low in power distance

Which of the following is considered an advantage in the use of interviews for personality
assessment?
a) halo effect
b) answers are based on self-report
c) bias of the interviewer
d) natural flow of the questions

d The natural flow of the interview process is one of the advantages of this method

Which personality test relies on the interpretation of inkblots to understand personality?
a) MMPI
b) 16PF
c) TAT
d) Rorschach

d The Rorschach is a projective test that relies on the use of inkblot interpretation

Which of the following is not a criticism of projective tests?
a) They are a projection of the person’s unconscious concern.
b) They are low in reliability.
c) Their interpretation is more an art than a science.
d) They lack validity.

a The reason a psychologist would use a projective test is to get a "projection" of that individual’s unconscious concerns.

The most commonly used personality inventory is the
a) MMPI-2.
b) MBTI.
c) TAT.
d) CPI.

a The MMPI-2 is used more than any other inventory

Which of the following is an advantage to using personality inventories?
a) observer bias
b) their standardization
c) biases of interpretation
d) their reliance on self-report

b The fact that personality inventories are standardized represents one of the greatest advantages to using this assessment technique

Darla tries to save money by bringing her lunch to work. However, on four out of five work days
last week, she threw away her sandwich from home and instead went out to lunch with her work
colleagues. To justify the added expense of the restraunt meals, Darla tells herself that the time
spent "networking" with her colleagues will help to improve her chances for promotion at work.
Which of the following psychological defense mechanisms best describes Darla’s behavior?
a) Projection
b) Displacement
c) Rationalization
d) Repression

c The psychological defense mechanism of rationalization is defined as making up acceptable excuses for unacceptable behavior

agreeableness

the emotional style of a person which may range from easy-going, friendly, and likeable to grumpy, crabby, and unpleasant.

anal stage

second stage occurring from about 1 or 1.5 years of age, in which the anus is the erogenous zone and toilet training is the source of conflict.

archetypes

Jung’s collective, universal human memories

basic anxiety.

anxiety created when a child is born into the bigger and more powerful world of older children and adults

behavioral genetics

field of study devoted to discovering the genetic bases for personality characteristics.

character

value judgments of a person’s moral and ethical behavior

collective unconscious

Jung’s name for the memories shared by all members of the human species.

compensation (substitution)

defense mechanism in which a person makes up for inferiorities in one area by becoming superior in another area

conditional positive regard

positive regard that is given only when the person is doing what the providers of positive regard wish.

conscience

Part of the superego that produces guilt, depending on how acceptable behavior is.

conscientiousness

the care a person gives to organization and thoughtfulness of others, dependability

denial

psychological defense mechanism in which a person refuses to acknowledge or recognize a threatening situation

direct observation

assessment in which the professional observes the client engaged in ordinary, day-to-day behavior in either a clinical or natural setting.

displacement

redirecting feelings from one threatening target to a less threatening one.

ego

part of the personality that develops out of a need to deal with reality, mostly conscious, rational and logical.

expectancy

a person’s subjective feeling that a particular behavior will lead to a reinforcing consequence

extraversion

dimension of personality referring to one’s need to be with other people

extraverts

people who are outgoing and sociable.

five-factor model (Big Five)

model of personality traits that describes five basic trait dimensions.

fixation

disorder in which the person does not fully resolve the conflict in a particular psychosexual stage, resulting in personality traits and behavior associated with that earlier stage

frequency count

assessment in which the frequency of a particular behavior is counted

fully functioning person

a person who is in touch with and trusting of the deepest, innermost urges and feelings.

habits

in behaviorism, sets of well-learned responses that have become automatic

halo effect

tendency of an interviewer to allow positive characteristics of a client to influence the assessments of the client’s behavior and statements

humanistic perspective

the "third force" in psychology that focuses on those aspects of personality that make people uniquely human, such as subjective feelings and freedom of choice.

id

part of the personality present at birth and completely unconscious.

ideal self

one’s perception of who one should be or would like to be.

identification

defense mechanism in which a person tries to become like someone else to deal with anxiety

interview

method of personality assessment in which the professional asks questions of the client and allows the client to answer, either in a structured or unstructured fashion.

introversion

dimension of personality in which people tend to withdraw from excessive stimulation

introverts

people who prefer solitude and dislike being the center of attention.

latency

fourth stage occurring during the school years, in which the sexual feelings of the child are repressed while the child develops in other ways.

locus of control

the tendency for people to assume that they either have control or do not have control over events and consequences in their lives.

neo-Freudians

followers of Freud who developed their own, competing psychodynamic theories

neurotic personalities

personalities typified by maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships in Horney’s theory.

neuroticism

degree of emotional instability or stability.

Oedipus complex/Electra complex

situation occurring in the phallic stage in which a child develops a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent and jealousy of the same sex-parent. Males develop an Oedipus complex and females develop an Electra complex.

openness

one of the five factors, willingness to try new things and be open to new experiences

oral stage

first stage occurring in the first year of life, and in which the mouth is the erogenous zone and weaning is the primary conflict

personal unconscious

Jung’s name for the unconscious mind as described by Freud

personality

the unique and relatively stable ways in which people think, feel, and behave.

personality inventory

paper and pencil or computerized test that consists of statements that require a specific, standardized response from the person taking the test.

phallic stage

third stage occurring from about 3 to 6 years of age, in which the child discovers sexual feelings.

pleasure principle

principle by which the id functions; the immediate satisfaction of needs without regard for the consequences

positive regard

warmth, affection, love, and respect that come from significant others in one’s life.

projection

psychological defense mechanism in which unacceptable or threatening impulses or feelings are seen as originating with someone else, usually the target of the impulse or feelings. Also defined as a defense mechanism involving placing, or "projecting," one’s own unacceptable thoughts onto others, as if the thoughts actually belonged to those others and not to oneself.

projective tests

personality assessments that present ambiguous visual stimuli to the client and ask the client to respond with whatever comes to mind

psychoanalysis

Freud’s term for both the theory of personality and the therapy based on it.

psychological defense mechanisms

unconscious distortions of a person’s perception of reality that reduce stress and anxiety.

psychosexual stages

five stages of personality development proposed by Freud and tied to the sexual development of the child.

rating scale

assessment in which a numerical value is assigned to specific behavior that is listed in the scale.

reaction formation

psychological defense mechanism in which a person forms an opposite emotional or behavioral reaction to the way he or she really feels to keep those true feelings hidden from self and others

real self

one’s perception of actual characteristics, traits, and abilities

reality principle

principle by which the ego functions; the satisfaction of the demands of the id only when negative consequences will not result.

reciprocal determinism

Bandura’s explanation of how the factors of environment, personal characteristics, and behavior can interact to determine future behavior

regression

psychological defense mechanism in which a person falls back on childlike patterns of responding in reaction to stressful situations

repression

psychological defense mechanism in which the person refuses to consciously remember a threatening or unacceptable event, instead pushing those events into the unconscious mind.

Rorschach inkblot test

projective test that uses 10 inkblots as the ambiguous stimuli

self

an individual’s awareness of his or her own personal characteristics and level of functioning.

self-actualizing tendency

the striving to fulfill one’s innate capacities and capabilities.

self-concept

the image of oneself that develops from interactions with important, significant people in one’s life.

self-efficacy

individual’s perception of how effective his or her efforts to accomplish a goal will be in any particular circumstance

social cognitive learning theorists

theorists who emphasize the importance of both the influences of other people’s behavior and of a person’s own expectancies of learning

social cognitive view

learning theory that includes cognitive processes such as anticipating, judging, memory, and imitation of models.

source traits

the more basic traits that underlie the surface traits, forming the core of personality.

subjective

referring to concepts and impressions that are only valid within a particular person’s perception and may be influenced by biases, prejudice, and personal experiences.

sublimation

channeling socially unacceptable impulses and urges into socially acceptable behavior

superego

part of the personality that acts as a moral center.

surface traits

aspects of personality that can easily be seen by other people in the outward actions of a person.

temperament

the enduring characteristics with which each person is born

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

projective test that uses twenty pictures of people in ambiguous situations as the visual stimuli

trait

a consistent, enduring way of thinking, feeling, or behaving

trait theories

theories that endeavor to describe the characteristics that make up human personality in an effort to predict future behavior

trait-situation

interaction the assumption that the particular circumstances of any given situation will influence the way in which a trait is expressed.

unconditional positive regard

positive regard that is given without conditions or strings attached.

unconscious mind

level of the mind in which thoughts, feelings, memories, and other information are kept that are not easily or voluntarily brought into consciousness.