Module 39. Contemporary Perspectives On Personality

Juanita is a young doctor preparing to take her surgical skills exam. In order to avoid being overconfident and failing, many researchers would recommend that she:

ask other doctors to score her abilities

The Big Five personality factor _____ involves these endpoints: organized versus disorganized and careful versus careless.

conscientiousness

Kevin is 18 years old and believes that he is less likely to get into a serious car accident or die at an early age than peers his age. He may be illustrating:

excessive optimism

Dr. Starr is attempting to develop a new personality test. As part of the process, she needs to identify clusters of related items. For this she will need to apply:

factor analysis

As a psychologist, Calvin asks one of his clients to complete the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). After he scores the MMPI, he notices that the client endorsed answers that make her seem healthier than she seems to be. These answers may be detected on the _____ scale.

lie

According to social-cognitive psychologists, the BEST way to predict future behavior is through:

past behavior patterns in similar situations

John daydreams of being a firefighter. He is envisioning a(n):

possible self

Alexis imagines that the self she wants to be is a great athlete, well loved, and well educated. She also imagines the self she fears becoming: homeless, lonely, and unemployed. These visions BEST reflect the concept of:

possible selves

Sarah's optimism is both a contributor to and a product of her successful career accomplishments. This BEST illustrates the concept of:

reciprocal determinism

These theorists believe that people learn many of their behaviors either through conditioning or by observing and imitating others.

social-cognitive

This is overestimating others' noticing and evaluating one's appearance, performance, and blunders.

spotlight effect

_____ is NOT one of the Big Five personality factors.

stability

Marcus is applying for a new job. They have asked for copies of his transcripts, a list of personal references, and letters of recommendations from his past employers. He also has to complete a face-to-face interview. Which of these is the BEST indicator of his potential performance at this new job? -the recommendations from his past employers -his transcripts -his list of personal references -the interview

the recommendations from his past employers

If the self-serving bias is evident in the way that an athlete explains her success or failure, she might:

blame her failure on bad officiating

When personality traits were measured in several age groups and then measured again seven years later, researchers found a correlation of +0.3 for young children, +0.54 for collegians, and +0.73 for 70-year-olds. This suggests that:

correlations were strongest for comparisons done in adulthood

Clusters of behavior tendencies that occur together are called:

factors

Sherry has to give her first speech in her communications class, and she is very anxious. Her adviser informs her of the spotlight effect and encourages her to _____ in order to decrease her anxiety.

imagine herself in the role of a spectator

Stable personality differences are found:

in many types of species

Garrick is a calm, self-satisfied man who appears to be secure. Garrick is MOST likely low on the Big Five factor of:

neuroticism

Scores on measures of extraversion are _____ correlated with measures of sales performance.

not

When Paul noticed that he had spilled coffee on his new shirt, he overestimated the likelihood that other people at the meeting would notice. Paul's reaction BEST illustrates the _____ effect.

spotlight

According to Gordon Allport, personality should be described in terms of:

traits