Passage Trait Theorists Believe That All People Have Certain Traits, or or Characteristic

Passage
Trait theorists believe that all people have certain traits, or characteristic ways of thinking and behaving, that largely account for personality.  Psychobehavioral researchers conducted a pair of studies to determine whether individuals could intentionally alter one of their respective personality traits.In Study 1, participants were asked to select one personality trait they wished to increase from among the following: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, or emotional stability.  Participants first completed a short survey that measured baseline personality trait expression scores (pretest) .  Participants in the experimental group (n = 125) then developed their own intervention plan intended to increase the selected personality trait whereas the control group (n = 125) did not implement any changes to daily activities.  At the end of the study, all participants completed the same self-report survey to reassess their personality trait expression scores (posttest) .  Results were calculated by subtracting pretest from posttest scores for each person (change score) , and then comparing the mean change scores for the experimental and control groups.  Results showed significantly greater change scores for experimental group participants who elected to increase their emotional stability, relative to control subjects who selected this trait.  The change scores did not differ significantly between the experimental and control groups that selected any of the other four traits (ie, openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, or agreeableness) .In Study 2, the same basic methodology was used on a new cohort with several adjustments to the Study 1 design.  Instead of asking participants in the experimental condition to formulate their own intervention plans, licensed therapists trained participants in practices to redirect thought processes, emotional responses, and behaviors associated with the selected personality trait.  The experimental group participants carried out these practices for the course of the study whereas the control group participants implemented no changes.  In contrast to the self-reports used in Study 1, personality trait expression scores (both pre and post) were determined by assessments made by researchers.  Results from Study 2 showed significantly greater increases in all five personality trait expression scores for experimental versus control participants.
-A researcher interested in whether there is a correlation between the personality trait of neuroticism and somatic symptom disorder is most likely to assess if:

A) delusions increase as agreeableness scores increase.
B) delusions increase as emotional stability scores decrease.
C) anxiety about illness increases as agreeableness scores decrease.
D) anxiety about bodily symptoms increases as emotional stability scores decrease.

Correct Answer:

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