PSY 100 Ch 12

The text defines personality as:
A. the set of personal attitudes that characterizes a person.
B. an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
C. a predictable set of responses to environmental stimuli.
D. an unpredictable set of responses to environmental stimuli.

B. an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Which of the following places the greatest emphasis on the unconscious mind?
A) the humanistic perspective
B) the social-cognitive perspective
C) the trait perspective
D) the psychoanalytic perspective

D) the psychoanalytic perspective

Which of the following is the correct order of psychosexual stages proposed by Freud?
A) oral; anal; phallic; latency; genital
B) anal; oral; phallic; latency; genital
C) oral; anal; genital; latency; phallic
D) anal; oral; genital; latency; phallic
E) oral; phallic; anal; genital; latency

A) oral; anal; phallic; latency; genital

According to Freud, defense mechanisms are methods of reducing:
A) anger.
B) fear.
C) anxiety.
D) lust.

C) anxiety.

Neo-Freudians such as Adler and Horney believed that:
A) Freud placed too great an emphasis on the conscious mind.
B) Freud placed too great an emphasis on sexual and aggressive instincts.
C) the years of childhood were more important in the formation of personality than
Freud had indicated.
D) Freud’s ideas about the id, ego, and superego as personality structures were
incorrect.

B) Freud placed too great an emphasis on sexual and aggressive instincts.

Research on locus of control indicates that internals are ________ than externals.
A)more dependent
B)more intelligent
C)better able to cope with stress
D)more sociable

C)better able to cope with stress

People’s tendency to accept stock, positive descriptions is called
a. the Barnum effect
b. an external locus of control
c. a fixation
d. the self-serving bias

a. the Barnum effect

With regard to personality, it appears that:
A) there is little consistency of behavior from one situation to the next and little consistency of traits over the life span.
B) there is little consistency of behavior from one situation to the next but significant consistency of traits over the life span.
C) there is significant consistency of behavior from one situation to the next but little consistency of traits over the life span.
D) there is significant consistency of behavior from one situation to the next and significant consistency of traits over the life span.

B) there is little consistency of behavior from one situation to the next but significant

The humanistic perspective on personality:
A) emphasizes the driving force of unconscious motivations in personality.
B) emphasizes the growth potential of "healthy" individuals.
C) emphasizes the importance of interaction with the environment in shaping personality.
D) describes personality in terms of scores on various personality scales.

B) emphasizes the growth potential of "healthy" individuals.

According to Rogers, three conditions are necessary to promote growth in personality. These are:
A) honesty, sincerity, and empathy.
B) high self-esteem, honesty, and empathy.
C) high self-esteem, genuineness, and acceptance.
D) high self-esteem, acceptance, and honesty.
E) genuineness, acceptance, and empathy.

E) genuineness, acceptance, and empathy.

Regarding the self-esteem, psychologists who study the self have found that self-affirming thinking:
A) is generally maladaptive to the individual because it distorts reality by overinflating self-esteem.
B) is generally adaptive to the individual because it maintains self-confidence and minimizes depression.
C) tends to prevent the individual from viewing others with compassion and understanding.
D) tends not to characterize people who have experienced unconditional positive regard.

B) is generally adaptive to the individual because it maintains self-confidence and minimizes depression.

Which of Freud’s ideas would not be accepted by most contemporary psychologists?
A) Development is essentially fixed in childhood.
B) Sexuality is a potent drive in humans.
C) The mind is an iceberg with consciousness being only the tip.
D) Repression can be the cause of forgetting.

A) Development is essentially fixed in childhood

Projective tests such as the Rorschach inkblot test have been criticized because:
A) their scoring system is too rigid and leads to unfair labeling.
B) they were standardized with unrepresentative samples.
C) they have low reliability and low validity.
D) it is easy for people to fake answers in order to appear healthy.

C) they have low reliability and low validity.

A major criticism of trait theory is that it:
A) places too great an emphasis on early childhood experiences.
B) overestimates the consistency of behavior in different situations.
C) underestimates the importance of heredity in personality development.
D) places too great an emphasis on positive traits.

B) overestimates the consistency of behavior in different situations.

For humanistic psychologists, many of our behaviors and perceptions are ultimately shaped by whether our ________ is ________ or ________.
A) ego; strong; weak
B) locus of control; internal; external
C) personality structure; introverted; extraverted
D) self-concept; positive; negative

D) self-concept; positive; negative

In studying personality, a trait theorist would most likely:
A) use a projective test.
B) observe a person in a variety of situations.
C) use a personality inventory.
D) use the method of free association.

C) use a personality inventory.

Id is to ego as ________ is to ________.
A) reality principle; pleasure principle
B) pleasure principle; reality principle
C) conscious forces; unconscious forces
D) conscience; "personality executive"

B) pleasure principle; reality principle

Which of the following is a major criticism of the social-cognitive perspective?
A) It focuses too much on early childhood experiences.
B) It focuses too little on the inner traits of a person.
C) It provides descriptions but not explanations.
D) It lacks appropriate assessment techniques.

B) It focuses too little on the inner traits of a person.

Recent research has provided more support for defense mechanisms such as ________ than for defense mechanisms such as ________.
A) displacement; reaction formation
B) reaction formation; displacement
C) displacement; regression
D) displacement; projection

B) reaction formation; displacement

Some contemporary researchers are focusing their work on
a. basic dimensions of personality
b. promoting positive aspects of life
c. classic theories of behavior
d. negative states

b. promoting positive aspects of life

Which perspective on personality emphasizes the interaction between the individual and the environment in shaping personality?
A) psychoanalytic
B) trait
C) humanistic
D) social-cognitive

D) social-cognitive

According to Freud’s theory, personality arises in response to conflicts between:
A) our unacceptable urges and our tendency to become self-actualized.
B) the process of identification and the ego’s defense mechanisms.
C) the collective unconscious and our individual desires.
D) our biological impulses and the social restraints against them.

D) our biological impulses and the social restraints against them.

Although lacking in validity and reliability, the _____ is considered by many to be a helpful diagnostic tool.
a. Rorschach inkblot test
b. MMPI
c. Locus of Control Scale
d. Kagan Temperament Scale

a. Rorschach inkblot test

Seligman has found that humans and animals who are exposed to aversive events they cannot escape may develop:
A) an internal locus of control.
B) a reaction formation.
C) learned helplessness.
D) neurotic anxiety.
E) displacement.

C) learned helplessness.

Research has shown that individuals who are made to feel insecure are subsequently:
A) more critical of others.
B) less critical of others.
C) more likely to display a self-serving bias.
D) less likely to display a self-serving bias.

A) more critical of others.

An example of the self-serving bias described in the text is the tendency of people to:
A) see themselves as better than average on nearly any desirable dimension.
B) accept more responsibility for successes than failures.
C) be overly critical of other people.
D) be overly sensitive to criticism.
E) do both a. and b.

A) see themselves as better than average on nearly any desirable dimension.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a(n):
A) projective personality test.
B) empirically derived and objective personality test.
C) personality test developed mainly to assess job applicants.
D) personality test used primarily to assess locus of control.

B) empirically derived and objective personality test.

Trait theory attempts to:
A) show how development of personality is a lifelong process.
B) describe and classify people in terms of their predispositions to behave in certain ways.
C) determine which traits are most conducive to individual self-actualization.
D) explain how behavior is shaped by the interaction between traits, behavior, and the environment.

B) describe and classify people in terms of their predispositions to behave in certain ways.

With which of the following statements would a social-cognitive psychologist agree?
A) People with an internal locus of control achieve more in school.
B) "Externals" are better able to cope with stress than "internals."
C) "Internals" are less independent than "externals."
D) All of the above are true.

A) People with an internal locus of control achieve more in school.

Which of the following statements about self-esteem is not correct?
A) People with low self-esteem tend to be negative about others.
B) People with high self-esteem are less prone to drug addiction.
C) People with low self-esteem tend to be nonconformists.
D) People with high self-esteem suffer less from insomnia.
E) People with high self-esteem are more persistent at difficult tasks.

C) People with low self-esteem tend to be nonconformists.

The Oedipus and Electra complexes have their roots in the:
A) anal stage.
B) oral stage.
C) latency stage.
D) phallic stage.
E) genital stage.

D) phallic stage.

Which of the following is a common criticism of the humanistic perspective?
A) Its concepts are vague and subjective.
B) The emphasis on the self encourages selfishness in individuals.
C) Humanism fails to appreciate the reality of evil in human behavior.
D) All of the above are common criticisms.

D) All of the above are common criticisms.

In studying personality, a social-cognitive theorist would most likely make use of:
A) use a projective test.
B) observing behavior in different situations.
C) use a personality inventory.
D) use the method of free association.

B) observing behavior in different situations.

A major difference between the psychoanalytic and trait perspectives is that:
A) trait theory defines personality in terms of behavior; psychoanalytic theory, in terms of its underlying dynamics.
B) trait theory describes behavior but does not attempt to explain it.
C) psychoanalytic theory emphasizes the origins of personality in childhood sexuality.
D) all of the above are differences.

D) all of the above are differences.

The Big Five personality factors are:
A) emotional stability, openness, introversion, sociability, locus of control.
B) neuroticism, extraversion, openness, emotional stability, sensitivity.
C) neuroticism, gregariousness, extraversion, impulsiveness, conscientiousness.
D) emotional stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness.
E) emotional stability, extraversion, openness, locus of control, sensitivity.

D) emotional stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness.

Which of the following was not mentioned in the text as a criticism of Freud’s theory?
A) The theory is sexist.
B) It offers few testable hypotheses.
C) There is no evidence of anything like an "unconscious."
D) The theory ignores the fact that human development is lifelong.

C) There is no evidence of anything like an "unconscious."

According to Freud, ________ is the process by which children incorporate their parents’ values into their ________.
A) reaction formation; superegos
B) reaction formation; egos
C) identification; superegos
D) identification; egos

C) identification; superegos

Which of the following refers to the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs?
a. the spotlight effect
b. projection
c. rationalization
d. the false consensus effect

d. the false consensus effect

In promoting personality growth, the person-centered perspective emphasizes all but:
A) empathy.
B) acceptance.
C) genuineness.
D) altruism.

D) altruism.

Research on the Big Five personality factors provides evidence that:
A) some tendencies decrease during adulthood, while others increase.
B) these traits only describe personality in Western, individualist cultures.
C) the heritability of individual differences in these traits generally runs about 25 percent or less.
D) all of the above are true.

A) some tendencies decrease during adulthood, while others increase.

redirecting impulses to a less threatening object

displacement

test consiting of a series of inkblots

Rorschach

the conscious executive of personality

ego

personality inventory

MMPI

disguising an impulse by imputing it to another person

projection

switching an unacceptable impulse into its opposite

reaction formation

the unconscious repository of instinctual drives

id

a statistical technique that identifies clusters of personality traits

factor analysis

personality structure that corresponds to a person’s conscience

superego

providing a self-justifying explanations for an action

rationalization

personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli

projective test

the process by which children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos

identification

the repository of universal memories proposed by Jung

collective unconcious

the process by which the ego seeks to gratify impulses of the id in nondestructive ways

reality principle

stages of development proposed by Freud

psychosexual stages

the id’s demand for immediate gratification

pleasure principle

developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate the group of interest

empirically derived test

the two-way interactions of beahvior with personal and environmental factors

reciprocal determinism

questionnaire used to assess personality traits

personality inventory

a boy’s exual desires toward the opposite-sex parent

Oedipus complex

information that is retirevable but currently not in conscious awareness

preconscious

Freud’s theory that emotional disorders spring from unconscious dynamics, which he sought to analyze through free association and dreams.

psychoanalysis

composed of pleasure-seeking psychic impulses, a reality-oriented executive, and an internalized set of ideals.

personality

applies principles of learning, cognition, and social behavior to personality, with particular emphasis on the ways in which personality influences and is influences by interactions with the environment

social-cognitive perspective

helps people cope with life

personal control

center of personality, the organizer of thoughts, feelings, and actions

self

leads us to percieve ourselves favorably, often causing us to overestimate our abilities and underestimate our faults

self-serving bias