Question 1

What are researchers' current views about human and nonhuman animal personality?

Accepted Answer

A)  No personality traits may be observed in both human and nonhuman animals. 
B)  Only nonhuman animals show the trait of assertiveness,or dominance. 
C)  Only human animals show the trait of agreeableness. 
D)  A few basic personality traits may be observed in both human and nonhuman animals.

Question 2

As part of the general testing done in your psychology class,you turn out to be very high on the trait of self-monitoring,whereas your roommate scores low on this trait.What might one expect regarding the consistency of your and your roommate's behaviors?

Accepted Answer

A)  Your behavior will be more consistent than your roommate's behavior. 
B)  Your roommate's behavior will be more consistent than yours. 
C)  Cannot say; behavioral consistency depends not only on people's level of self-monitoring,but also on their gender. 
D)  Cannot say; behavioral consistency is not related to level of self-monitoring.

Question 3

In Eysenck's hierarchical model of personality,the most general or superordinate traits are:

Accepted Answer

A)  introversion/extraversion,emotional stability,and psychoticism. 
B)  sociability,dominance,and assertiveness. 
C)  conscientiousness,agreeableness,and neuroticism. 
D)  emotionality,sociability,and activity level.

Question 4

According to the cognitive-affective personality system,who is likely to do better on an exam,an optimist or a pessimist,and why?

Accepted Answer

A)  Both will perform equally.Their different personality styles cause them to prepare for the exam differently but equally effectively. 
B)  Optimists will perform better because they believe they will do well. 
C)  Both will perform equally.Optimism and pessimism are not related to test performance. 
D)  Pessimists will perform better because they believe they will fail and thus study harder.

Question 5

In Gray's model,the BAS responds to ________,whereas the BIS responds to ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  genetic factors; environmental factors 
B)  rewards; punishments 
C)  pain; pleasure 
D)  social rejection; social approval

Question 6

The current view of defense mechanisms suggests that they:

Accepted Answer

A)  encourage moral decisions. 
B)  increase psychopathology. 
C)  support self-esteem. 
D)  decrease social interactions.

Question 7

Genetics accounts for about ________ of the difference in individuals' personality traits.

Accepted Answer

A)  20-40 percent 
B)  5-10 percent 
C)  40-60 percent 
D)  70-80 percent

Question 8

What do interactionist theories say about personality?

Accepted Answer

A)  Behavior is based on our social interactions with family and friends. 
B)  Personality interacts with our morals to guide behaviors. 
C)  Behavior is both dependent on situational factors and biological dispositions. 
D)  Our interactions with others change our personality throughout the life span.

Question 9

Someone who is more focused on her own needs than on the needs of anyone else feels that she is more valuable and more special than others and feels angry when challenged,shows behaviors consistent with:

Accepted Answer

A)  no self-esteem. 
B)  an antisocial personality. 
C)  a narcissistic personality. 
D)  multiple personality disorder.

Question 10

According to the ________ approach,the study of personality should focus on how people vary across common traits.

Accepted Answer

A)  idiographic 
B)  nomothetic 
C)  objective 
D)  projective

Question 11

Although specific genes seem to be involved in personality,the effects of these genes on behavior are small.Why?

Accepted Answer

A)  Environmental factors,such as culture,typically override genetic effects. 
B)  Free will is more important in determining behavior. 
C)  Multiple genes interact,and they may act in opposite ways. 
D)  Genetic effects weaken over time.

Question 12

According to sociometer theory,self-esteem can be compared to:

Accepted Answer

A)  a gauge that measures social inclusion or exclusion. 
B)  a ruler that measures one's progress toward one's goals. 
C)  a scale that assesses the good and bad behaviors of other people in one's social group. 
D)  a percentage that reports on the likelihood of developing a psychiatric disorder.

Question 13

According to Freud's topography of mind,information from the unconscious must reach the ________ mind before it reaches the ________ mind.

Accepted Answer

A)  anteconscious; preconscious 
B)  preconscious; postconscious 
C)  conscious; anteconscious 
D)  preconscious; conscious

Question 14

According to your textbook,scoring low on the trait of ________ is associated with relatively high consistency in your behavior across situations.

Accepted Answer

A)  neuroticism 
B)  self-monitoring 
C)  agreeableness 
D)  subjective well-being

Question 15

In a study described in your text,men with higher levels of homophobia who were shown videos of homosexual sex responded with more physiological arousal than did men with lower levels of homophobia.This finding provides evidence in support of:

Accepted Answer

A)  fixation at the oral stage. 
B)  an underdeveloped id. 
C)  reaction formation. 
D)  rationalization.

Question 16

What factor distinguishes the degree of similarity in identical twins versus dizygotic twins over time?

Accepted Answer

A)  Nothing; both types of twins become less similar over time. 
B)  Identical twins raised together become less similar while nonidentical twins raised together become more similar over time. 
C)  Identical twins become more similar over time. 
D)  Fraternal twins become more similar over time,whereas identical twins become less so.

Question 17

Naoko is a college student from Japan.As part of a psychology research study,she has just taken a personality trait assessment.Compared to the average college student in the United States,how is Naoko likely to rate herself on the dimensions of agreeableness and neuroticism?

Accepted Answer

A)  higher on agreeableness and lower on neuroticism 
B)  higher on both dimensions 
C)  lower on both dimensions 
D)  lower on agreeableness and higher on neuroticism

Question 18

Recent psychological research suggests that parental influence on the personality of children is:

Accepted Answer

A)  weaker than had been previously assumed. 
B)  stronger than psychologists had previously believed. 
C)  strongest during the identity development stage of adolescence. 
D)  strong in collectivistic cultures but weak in individualistic cultures.

Question 19

Which personality trait(s)is (are)seen across all cultures?

Accepted Answer

A)  neuroticism 
B)  extraversion 
C)  openness 
D)  all of the possible options are correct

Question 20

According to Gray's model of personality,extraverts are likely to ________ new situations and people and introverts are likely to ________ new situations and people.

Accepted Answer

A)  approach; approach 
B)  avoid; avoid 
C)  avoid; approach 
D)  approach; avoid

Exam 13: Personality