Question 1

How do the idiographic and nomothetic approaches to studying personality differ?

Accepted Answer

A)  The first focuses on the characteristics specific to given people, while the latter looks at similarities across people. 
B)  The first uses projective reports, while the latter employs case reports. 
C)  The first uses research methods, while the latter employs psychobiography. 
D)  They employ essentially the same methods but make different assumptions about personality dynamics.

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 while your roommate scores low on this trait. What should others expect regarding the consistency in your and your roommate's behaviours?

Accepted Answer

A)  Your behaviour will be more consistent than your roommate's behaviour. 
B)  Your roommate's behaviour will be more consistent than yours. 
C)  It depends strongly on your and the roommate's gender. 
D)  Research has found that self-ratings on this trait do not predict behavioural consistency or inconsistency.

Question 3

Dr. Heinz's theory of personality relies heavily on Freud's ideas. Which of these techniques would Dr. Heinz be LEAST likely to use with someone?

Accepted Answer

A)  the Rorschach ink blot test 
B)  the Thematic Apperception Test 
C)  the California Q-Sort 
D)  dream analysis

Question 4

A science teacher takes her class to a wildlife refuge so they can observe and record monkeys in their natural habitats. The teacher states that monkeys, like humans, have different personalities. The students think it is ridiculous to think that animals have "personality." Who is correct?

Accepted Answer

A)  The students are right; humans have personality and animals do not. 
B)  The students are mostly right; people may "perceive" that animals have personality, but in fact humans only "project" personality characteristics onto animals. 
C)  The teacher is right; but monkeys only show their personality differences in basic survival behaviours like eating and sleeping. 
D)  The teacher is right; monkeys show differences on basic human personality dimensions, like extroversion and agreeableness.

Question 5

Who is most likely to adopt a nomothetic approach to the study of personality?

Accepted Answer

A)  a psychodynamic theorist 
B)  a trait theorist 
C)  a humanistic theorist 
D)  a narrative therapist

Question 6

A plausible explanation for the apparent stability in personality after the age of 50 is that:

Accepted Answer

A)  environments affect personality and older individuals' environments are usually stable 
B)  older adults actively seek to meet society's expectations 
C)  brain chemistry is highly stable after this age 
D)  stereotypes of the elderly convince others that older adults have stable personalities

Question 7

Dara recently was in a car accident and her doctor told her she may have mild frontal lobe damage. How will frontal lobe damage likely impact Dara?

Accepted Answer

A)  She will not experience fear. 
B)  She will be less self-aware. 
C)  She will experience a visual impairment. 
D)  Her left and right hemispheres will not be able to communicate.

Question 8

In Eysenck's view, people who score high on the neuroticism scale tend to:

Accepted Answer

A)  be aggressive and impulsive 
B)  experience little variation in mood or emotion 
C)  experience much mood variability 
D)  be self-centred

Question 9

Temperamental differences in humans are primarily a function of:

Accepted Answer

A)  exposure to different early environments 
B)  different parenting styles 
C)  underlying differences in biological processes 
D)  gender differences

Question 10

Ahmed states that he has high self-esteem and is happy with his life. Based on this information, it is possible to predict:

Accepted Answer

A)  that he has a high level of achievement in other areas of his life 
B)  that he has a moderate level of achievement in other areas of his life 
C)  that he has a low level of achievement in other areas of his life 
D)  very little about other areas of his life

Question 11

Your professor believes that both emotions and expectations related to what might happen in the future strongly affect behaviour. In addition, events in the environment affect one's current expectations and emotions. From a theory of personality perspective, your professor is acting most like a ____________ theorist.

Accepted Answer

A)  psychodynamic 
B)  cognitive-social 
C)  humanistic 
D)  trait

Question 12

In Freud's structural model of personality:

Accepted Answer

A)  the superego dominates other structures in determining behaviour 
B)  the ego operates according to the reality principle 
C)  the ego eventually becomes unresponsive to the id because of mental habituation 
D)  the superego is the realistic, rational portion of the mind

Question 13

In terms of the number of structures (e.g., the id) that Freud believed made up the mind, which other theory is most similar?

Accepted Answer

A)  the Five-Factor Theory 
B)  Eysenck's Hierarchical Model of Personality 
C)  Tellegen's Two-Factor Theory 
D)  Allport's model consisting of a limitless number of personality traits

Question 14

A widely held stereotype of Canadians' personalities is that they are low in neuroticism and high in agreeableness compared to people of other cultures. Research suggests that Canadians are:

Accepted Answer

A)  similar to other cultures in neuroticism and agreeableness 
B)  indeed less neurotic and more agreeable than people of other cultures 
C)  less neurotic but they are actually less agreeable than people of other cultures 
D)  more agreeable but they are actually more neurotic than people of other cultures

Question 15

If in your development you had become fixated at the anal stage (according to Freud's theory) which of the following would likely characterize your behaviour?

Accepted Answer

A)  You would be sexually attracted to the opposite-sex parent. 
B)  You would be overly inclined to seek pleasure and avoid pain. 
C)  You would be concerned with control and with rules. 
D)  Your self-esteem would be dependent on others' views of you.

Question 16

Katya prefers to be in calm and quiet environments. She feels both nervous and exhausted when she is in loud places with noisy people. In fact, she admits she would rather spend almost all of her time alone. In Katya, the ____________ is more active than the ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  BIS; BAS 
B)  BAS; BIS 
C)  BIS; reticular formation 
D)  BAS; reticular formation

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT an aspect of temperament?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 19

Psychologists would label a disposition to act in a certain way over time and various situations:

Accepted Answer

A)  an unconscious process 
B)  a genetic disposition 
C)  a personality trait 
D)  a normative behaviour

Question 20

Linden is a very resilient woman who uses her positive emotions to help her arrive at novel solutions to solve life problems and deal with setbacks and negative life experiences. Linden's behaviour is most directly explained by:

Accepted Answer

A)  implicit personality theory 
B)  personality centred approach 
C)  broaden-and-build theory 
D)  Eysenck's hierarchical model

Exam 13: Personality