Question 1

Who is more likely to possess a self-construal based on social norms and relationships,Chihiro from Japan or Lucy from the United States,and why?

Accepted Answer

A)  Chihiro; because Easterners have a more independent sense of self 
B)  Chihiro; because Easterners have a more interdependent sense of self 
C)  Lucy; because Westerners have a more independent sense of self 
D)  Lucy; because Westerners have a more interdependent sense of self

Question 2

Reaction formation and displacement are similar in that they are both:

Accepted Answer

A)  identified by Freud as being harmful for mental health. 
B)  products of a conflict between the ego and the superego. 
C)  personality traits. 
D)  defense mechanisms.

Question 3

When Jon scored a 95 on his first psychology exam,he reported that he had spent a great deal of time studying.When he scored a 60 on his second psychology exam,he stated that the exam was poorly written.These responses are an example of:

Accepted Answer

A)  social comparisons. 
B)  self-evaluative maintenance. 
C)  self-serving bias. 
D)  none of the above.

Question 4

Tory was asked,"Do you consider yourself smart?" Tory immediately answered,"I think I am just as smart as anyone else." Tory's ability to answer effortlessly and automatically,without having to think much about the question,shows that:

Accepted Answer

A)  she has low self-esteem and is providing a reactive,defensive response. 
B)  she has high self-esteem and is responding in a genuine,confident way. 
C)  her self-schema includes information about her level of intelligence. 
D)  she does not value intelligence very highly.

Question 5

Marta has a successful job,is married to a handsome and kind person,and has three intelligent children.What would you predict about Marta's self-esteem based on this information?

Accepted Answer

A)  She will have high self-esteem but only in specific situations. 
B)  She will have high self-esteem in general because she is successful in many areas of her life. 
C)  She will experience moderate self-esteem compared to her peers but much higher self-esteem than people in general. 
D)  We could predict very little about Marta's self-esteem based on this information.

Question 6

Which of the following is true about Freud's ideas about personality?

Accepted Answer

A)  They are well-supported by research. 
B)  They emphasize the physical influences on behaviors. 
C)  They focus on conscious processes of which people are aware. 
D)  They influenced early psychological thinking about personality.

Question 7

Bruno is shy in most situations,would prefer to read than go to a party,likes working with computers,and spends minimal time worrying about the future.Bruno's many characteristics are referred to as his:

Accepted Answer

A)  dispositional array. 
B)  personality. 
C)  ego. 
D)  existential self.

Question 8

People who are very ________ may seek out so much environmental stimulation that they get into trouble,and people who are very ________ may be so overstimulated by their environments that they feel chronically overwhelmed and uncomfortable.The brain structure that is responsible for consistent differences in understimulation or overstimulation in personality is the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  extraverted; introverted; descending reticular activating system 
B)  extraverted; introverted; ascending reticular activating system 
C)  introverted; extraverted; descending reticular activating system 
D)  introverted; extraverted; ascending reticular activating system

Question 9

Most people feel they are ________,and this view is ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  about average; accurate 
B)  about average; inaccurate 
C)  above average; inaccurate 
D)  below average; inaccurate

Question 10

The cocktail party phenomenon provides evidence that:

Accepted Answer

A)  most people prefer being around others to being alone. 
B)  when people gossip about others,they tend to do so in small groups rather than in large groups. 
C)  people process information relevant to the self automatically and deeply. 
D)  the behavioral inhibition system of extraverts is inactive during social situations.

Question 11

Janine loves to get attention in social situations.She often talks about herself and her many achievements (which she usually exaggerates),and she believes others should perceive her as especially interesting and important.Janine may have:

Accepted Answer

A)  a social-evaluation phobia. 
B)  high self-esteem. 
C)  a narcissistic personality. 
D)  a reactive self-concept.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT an aspect of temperament identified by Buss and Plomin?

Accepted Answer

A)  activity level 
B)  emotionality 
C)  sociability 
D)  agreeableness

Question 13

When Pearl was a college student,she worried constantly about many things,such as dating,friendships,and her achievement in school.Now that she is older,she still worries,but now it's about things like her health,her family's health,and the state of world affairs.This change in the focus of her worrying is called a:

Accepted Answer

A)  functional adjustment. 
B)  peripheral adaptation. 
C)  characteristic adaptation. 
D)  five-factor deviation.

Question 14

Two nontwin infants are adopted by the same family.Research suggests that their personality characteristics will be:

Accepted Answer

A)  quite similar. 
B)  similar to those of their same-sex adoptive parent. 
C)  highly similar to their adoptive parents but not their biological parents. 
D)  different from each other and different from their adoptive parents.

Question 15

Walter Mischel has argued that trait theories have difficulty predicting behavior because:

Accepted Answer

A)  the typical trait measures are characterized by low reliability. 
B)  our behavior is more responsive to situational variables than such theories assume. 
C)  the traits identified thus far relate more to conscious motives than to unconscious ones. 
D)  they depend on self-report rather than on more objective methods of assessment.

Question 16

Cognitive-social theories of personality emphasize:

Accepted Answer

A)  the effect of past patterns of reinforcement on behavior. 
B)  biological factors as determinants of personality. 
C)  the role of expectancies in guiding our behavior. 
D)  the unconscious processes that dictate our actions in social situations.

Question 17

Bandura's cognitive-social theory of personality sees ________ as an important determinant of behavior.

Accepted Answer

A)  self-efficacy 
B)  stereotypes 
C)  attributional style 
D)  biological predispositions

Question 18

In 1890,William James argued that "by age 30,the character [personality] has set like plaster and will never soften again." Has psychological research supported his assertion?

Accepted Answer

A)  Yes,but his conclusion applies only within Western cultures. 
B)  Generally yes,but he underestimated the age at which change is reduced. 
C)  No,recent evidence indicates that dramatic changes occur at all ages. 
D)  No,because it all depends on whether the individual stays in the same environment.

Question 19

The better-than-average effect applies to:

Accepted Answer

A)  almost no one. 
B)  about 10 percent of the population. 
C)  about 30 percent of the population. 
D)  most of the population.

Question 20

Joellie is a competent woman with high self-esteem.She was given a big project at work and was sure that she could complete it on time.Months later,she was not finished with the project and began to blame the project manager."Why did you give me such a hard task? It's not my fault it isn't finished.The project management was terrible,and the project was doomed to fail from the beginning." Joellie is showing evidence of:

Accepted Answer

A)  a self-serving bias. 
B)  self-esteem disengagement. 
C)  self-sabotage. 
D)  impression management bias.

Exam 13: Personality