Personality Psych (Stein) Quiz Questions & Study Guide

Preference for consistency

People are not the same throughout each situation

Maturity principle

People become better equipped to deal with the demands of life as they acquire experiences and skills

Mean-level change

changes in a group's average scores over time

Many-trait approach

"Who does that" - Look at a bunch of traits to examine one life outcome - Examines correlations between one behavior and many traits - Ex. Serial killers - Studies show that you use different words when you write freestyle -- People who are depressed use different words than those who are not depressed - Studies show that your traits can often correctly determine your political affiliation -- Conservatives - value loyalty, authority and respect and purity -- Liberal - carefree and independent -- Authoritarian - like strong leaders, by the book type of person

Measurement error (error variance)

- "Will it always be the same?" - We want to ask the same question in different ways to ensure that the person's answers are consistent - This lessons error variance

Personal-environment transactions (reactive)

- *Different people respond differently to the same situation - Ex: Extrovert finds parties enjoyable, an introvert does not

Personal-environment transactions (evocative)

- *Something about your behavior changes the situation you are in - Aspect of individual's personality leads to behavior that changes the situations he or she experiences - Ex: conscientious person tells group "its time to get to work"; disagreeable person starts argument over minor matter

Personal-environment transactions (active)

- *You see out compatible environments - Person seeks out compatible environments and avoids incompatible ones - Ex: Aggressive person goes to bar where fights are frequency; introvert avoids social gatherings

Q-sorting (California Q-set)

- 100 question of personality descriptors - Sort into a forced symmetrical, and normal distribution - Compare characteristics within an individual

Response set

- A bias in responding to test items that are unrelated to the personality characteristic being measured - Non-content responding --> bored - Extreme responding - someone will always respond on either end --> throw out this data because the person may not be honest

Fish and water effect

- A fish doesn't realize its wet - As aspect of your own personality becomes invisible to yourself --> so you don't recognize that as being a part of your personality

Statistical significance

- A result that would occur not only by chance less than 5% of the time - Significance means not likely to occur by chance

Correlation coefficient

- A statistical measure of how closely two variables are associated - Can range from +1.0 to -1.0 -- +1.0 = perfect positive correlation, when one variable increases, so does the other -- -1.0 = perfect negative correlation , as one variable increases, the other decreases - Can never have a positive negative or positive correlation in psychology - Strength of coefficient is determined by a scatter plot - Correlation does not show causation

Acquiescence

- Acquiescence bias - a category of bias in which respondents to a survey have a tendency to agree with all the questions or the indicate a positive connotation - Acquiescence is sometimes referred to as "yea-saying" and is the tendency of a respondent to agree with a statement when in doubt

Life narratives (actor, agent, author)

- Actor - learning new skills for new roles - Agent - plan for the future and strive for outcomes - Author - narrative you can tell "tell me your live story" - native identity

Changes in Five-factor traits over lifespan

- Agreeableness: goes up - Extroversion: goes down - Neuroticism: goes down - Openness: goes up - Conscientiousness: goes really up

Spearman-Brown principle

- The more error-filled your measurements are, the more of them you need - The "truth" will be somewhere near the average

Definitions of Personality

- An individual's characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms - hidden or not - behind those patterns - An individual's unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

- Asks strange, weird questions but they really differentiate between people with different disorders - Designed for the use in clinical assessment of individuals with psychological difficulties, but also has other uses such as for employment screens

Omnibus inventories

- Assess multiple personality traits in one test - If a test has multiple sub-scales that assess many personality traits or constructs in a single test and are therefore considered omnibus inventories

Aggregation

- Averaging - Most useful way to enhance the reliability of measurement in any domain

Natural B-data

- Based on real life - Diary and experience sampling methods - EAR: electronically activated recorder

Errors

- Because informants are only human, their judgments will sometimes be mistaken - No person can every remember anything that the other person has done - You are likely to remember only the most outrageous behaviors that the other person did (ex. being clumsy but the person isn't normally clumsy) and then people tend to run with that and imply a general personality trait where none may actually exist - Mistake occur more or less randomly because memory isn't perfect

Learning and Cognitive approach

- Behaviorism - Social learning theory - draws inferences about the ways that mental processes such as observation and self-evaluation determine which behaviors are learned and how they are performed - Cognitive personality psychology - focuses on the cognitive processes, applying insights and methods derived from the study of perception, memory and thought

Implicit personality theories

- Beliefs about what traits tend to go together - These theories are too similar to a schema - Implicit theories can influence the impressions of other more than people's actual traits

Effect size

- Can be used for prediction - Interpreting correlations -- Look at actual effect size size --> THE SIZE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS

Factors that improve reliability

- Care with research procedure - Standardized research protocol - Measure something important - Aggregation

Evocation

- Certain personality traits may evoke specific responses from others - Why does everyone disappoint me? - Evoke responses from people based on who we are

Cumulative continuity principle

- Consistency of personality increases with age - Environment also becomes more stable as we age-settled down - Psychological maturity - self-control, interpersonal sensitivity, emotional stability - Personality traits increase in rank order consistency as people get older -- You don't change as much as you grow older

Walter Mischel

- Ddint agree with cross-situational consistency - Personality psychologists should abandon their efforts to explain behavior with traits focusing instead on situations

B-data disadvantages

- Difficult and expensive - Uncertain interpretation

Good judge

- Early findings: depends on the context or trait: intelligent and conscientious - Accuracy of men versus women: mixed findings - High in communion (invested in developing and maintaining relationships) -- Attributionally complex individuals, open, positive, expressive and socially skilled - We can tell the difference between people who we can and cannot judge accurately - meta-accuracy - Someone who is good at detecting and utilizing behavioral information

Goal of psychological science

- Emphasis on method - Emphasis on thinking and seeking new knowledge and coming up with new ways to figure something out - Learn how to explore the unknown - Research is exploring the unknown - "Describe, explain, predict, and control behavior"

Personality judgements

- Everyone does it, all the time - First impressions matter a lot

Narcissism

- Excessive self-love which can be so extreme that it can get classified as a personality disorder • Charming, make a good first impression • Manipulative, overbearing, vain, etc. • Many negative behaviors and attributes • Not all of narcissism is bad • They act like this (according to one theory) because they follow an ill-advised strategy for dealing with life in which they seek to defend an unrealistically inflated self-concept through means such as bragging, that are ultimately unsuccessful • They crave feelings of power, prestige, success, and glory

Source of real-life expectancies

- Expectancies are likely to be correct - Especially strong when held by more than one important person for a long period of time - Lee Jussim (1991) asked "where do expectancy effects generally come from?" -- Self-fulfilling prophecies might have the effect of slightly magnifying or even just maintaining behavioral tendencies that a participant has all along

Laboratory B-data

- Experiments -- Make a situation happen and record behavior -- Examine reactions to situations -- Represent real-life contexts that are difficult to observe directly - Psychological measures: -- biological "behavior" --- Ex. blood pressure, heart rate, sweat rate, etc.

Five-Factor (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism)

- Extraversion: warm, assertive, active, react less to sensory stimuli, more popular • Mate poaching, argumentative, need to be in control poor time management - Neuroticism: emotional instability, hostile, negative reactions to stress. • When too low, you're not motivated - Conscientiousness: competent, dutiful, stubborn • More likely to feel guilty, less popular, less creative - Agreeableness: likeable, warm, cooperative • Too agreeable and people take advantage of you - Openness: creative, open-minded, liberal, very risky behaviors, drug use • Most controversial because it is not seen across all or most cultures ○ Some may see openness s intelligence, etc. not the same way we see it

Personality assessment

- The measure of individual characteristics of a person, (often through personality tests, interviews, and other measures) - The most commonly used are personality tests

Phenomenological approach

- Focusing on people's conscious experience of the world, their phenomenology - Two approaches: -- Humanistic psychology - how conscious awareness can produce unique human attributes such as existential anxiety, creativity, and free will. --- Tries to understand the meaning and basis of happiness -- Cross-cultural psychology - emphasizes the degree to which psychology and the very experience of reality might be different in different cultures

Trait Approach

- Focusing your efforts on ways that people differ psychologically and how these differences may be conceptualized, measured, and followed over time - Main concern = how people are different from one another

Empirical method steps

- Gather lots of items - Administer items to people already divided into groups - Compare the answers of the different groups - Cross- validation

Factor analysis method Steps

- Generate a long list of objective items - Administer these items to a large number of people - Analyze with a factor analysis - Consider what the items that group together have in common and name the factor

Funder's first law

- Great strengths are usually great weaknesses, and surprisingly often the opposite is true as well - If an approach can describe one idea really well, then they might not be able to describe other theories very well

Informant data (I-data)

- Having someone who knows the person describe them - Judgments by knowledgeable "informants" about general attributes of the individual's personality - They are JUDGMENTS - they derive from somebody observing somebody else in whatever context they happen to have encountered them in and then rendering a general opinion on the basis of such observation - I-data is judgmental, subjective and irreducibility human

Self-report data (S-Data)

- Having the person describe themselves - Self-judgments - Research shows that the way people describe themselves lines up pretty well with how other people describe them - This data is used because nobody knows you better than you do - S-data can refect complex aspects of character that no other data source could access

Physical factors affecting personality development

- Height, Weight, physical defects, health and strength affect Personality - Biological Factors consist of the nervous system, glands and blood chemistry which determines our characteristics and habitual modes of behavior - These factors form the biological basis of our personality

Implicit Appreciation Test (IAT)

- How quickly participants respond to instructions to discriminate between terms that apply to "me" and "others", and between terms that are relevant or not, to the trait being measured - Classification task - Measures strength of automatic associations between target and attribute categories - Automatic attitude activation - Attitudes are activated automatically on encounter with attitude-objects - Self esteem IAT - Target = me Vs. not me - Attribute = positive vs. negative

Factor Analysis (correlation matrices)

- Identifies groups of items that covary or go together, but tend to not covary with other groups of items - Provides means for determining which personality variables share some property or belong within the same group - Useful in reducing the large array of diverse traits into smaller, more useful set of underlying factors

Objective tests

- If a test consists of a list of questions to be answered yes or no, true or false, or on a numerical scale, and especially if the test uses a computer scored answer sheet - Comes from the idea that the questions making up a test seem more objective and less open to interpretation than the pictures used in projective tests

Lexical hypothesis

- In every language, there tends to be words that mean the same thing • They must be important words because otherwise they wouldn't be multiple of them in a language ○ Synonym frequency

Correlational studies

- Indicates relationship patterns not causes - Correlation - A statistical measure of how closely two variables are associated - Correlation coefficient ranges from -1.0 to +1.0 - The strength is determine by a scatter plot

Temperament

- Individual differences the emerge very early in life, are heritable -- Positive emotionality, negative emotionality, effortful control - Temperament factors include activity level, smiling and laughter, fear, distress to limitations, soothability, and the duration of orienting - Biologically defined

Life-outcome data (L-data)

- Information that can be gleaned from the events, activities, and outcomes in a person's life that are available to public scrutiny. - For example, marriages and divorces are a matter of public record. Personality psychologists can sometimes secure information about the clubs, if any, a person joins; how many speeding tickets a person has received in the last few years; whether the person owns a handgun. - These can all serve as sources of information about personality.

Personality tests in the workplace problems

- Interest tests - Fields may not evolve - Increasing difficulty of women and minorities joining non-traditional fields

Longitudinal studies

- Investigation of same groups of individuals over time -- People become more agreeable, conscientious and emotionally stable; and self-esteem (up to ago 50) and age development increases --> bias -- Confirms the maturity principle - environment or genes? --> probably both -- Findings refer to mean levels of traits

Type I errors

- Involves deciding that one variable has no effect on, or a relationship with, another variable when it really does not - The p-level addresses only the probability of this kind of error

Empirical method (implications of ignoring item content, or face validity)

- Items can seem absurd or contrary - Responses are difficult to fake (because the participants don't really know what you are looking for so they cant sway their answers to one side) - Tests are only as good as the criteria by which they are developed and cross-validated - Can cause problems with public relations or the law - Low content validity

Case studies

- Provide rich, contextualized practice relevant information - Captures complexity (multiple methods) - Tells a story, shows process unfolding over time - Case study research is usually interested in a specific phenomenon and wishes to understand it completely, not by controlling variable but rather by observing all of the variables and their interacting relationships

Good target

- Judgeability -- Those whose behaviors are more predictable from personality judgments -- Stable, well-organized, and consistent behavior -- Psychologically well adjusted - otherwise they may not be able to predict someone's behavior in certain situations -- Extraverted -- Agreeable -- Related to psychological health and happiness - Someone who behaves in accordance with her personality (relevance) in a wide range of situations (availability)

Self-fulfilling prophecies

- Judgments of others can affect you through "self-fulfilling prophecies" - Most commonly known as expectancy effects - Intellectual and social

S-data advatages

- Large amount of information - Access to thoughts, feelings, and intentions -- Nobody else knows everything about you than you do - Some S data is true by definition -- Ex: self esteem - they have to take how much self-esteem you think you have as true because only you know how much self-esteem you have - Causal force - a persons determination to be a particular way because they think they are that way - Simple and easy - researchers don't have to recruit others, they really only need you to tell them about yourself

I-data advantages

- Large amounts of information - you can ask multiple acquaintances of one person - Real world bias - Common sense - Some I-data is true by definition (eg. likability, sense of humor) -- A person cant rate themselves on these things, they need others to rate them - Causal force - a persons determination to be a particular way because they think they are that way

I-data disadvantages

- Limited behavioral information - you may be a different person in different environments (ex. work you compared to home you compared to school you) - Lack of access to private experience - no other person knows everything about you - Error - Bias

Factors that undermine reliability

- Low precision - State of the participant - State of the experimenter - Variation in the environment

Self-esteem variability

- Magnitude of short term changes in ongoing self-esteem - Self-esteem variability is an indicator of vulnerability to stressful life events - Self-esteem variability is related to the extent to which one's self-view can be influenced by events, particularly social events

S-data disadvantages

- Maybe they cant tell you -- Ex: a manipulative person who doesnt see themselves as manipulative (but others see it), so they cant tell you that they are manipulative because they dont see it themselves - Maybe they wont tell you -- People like to keep some aspects of their intentions and experiences private - Too simple and easy -- S-data is so cheap that it is probably overused

Personality tests in the workplace

- Most employers receive overall test scores, however, not the applicant's answers to specific questions - Two main concerns that the employers must satisfy to use for employment selection - Test must predict performance of a specific job or jobs like the one people are being selected for - Test must not be biased or have "undue impact" on a people from protected groups such as women and minorities

L-data disadvantages

- Multi-determination - this data has so many causes so it is difficult to come to a conclusion - Lack of possible psychological relevance

Null hypothesis

- Null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) - Problems with NHST: -- Significant doesn't necessarily mean strong or important -- The logic is difficult to describe (and understand) -- The criterion for significance is an arbitrary rule of thumb - Chances of significance vary from sample size

L-data advantages

- Objective and verifiable - Intrinsic importance - Psychological relevance

Behavior observation data (B-data)

- Observe what the person does and try to measure their behavior as directly an objectively as possible - This data is self-reports (s-data) but self-judgments

Ethics in research

- One concern is that psychological research may be used for harmful purposes - Another concern is that if studies on racial and sex differences will do more harm than good - There is also concern that there is untruthfulness in scientific data

Rorschach Inkblot test

- Participants are shown an inkblot with a vague image - They are asked "what do you see" - There continues to be critics and advocates for the utility of this test; however, no sound empirical data exists

Expectancy effect (aka. behavioral confirmation)

- People become what others expect them to be - If others expect you to be sociable, aloof, or even intelligent, you may become just that

Historical approach to psychology

- Personality psych emphasized grand theories about human nature, e.g., universal account of the fundamental psychological processes and characteristics of our species - Freud's theories are a good example - Textbooks taught the grand theories but they are outdated today

Individual uniqueness

- Personality psychology's real mission is to appreciate the ways in which each individual is unique - This field is very sensitive to the fact that everyone is different and unique - How we are "like no others" - Refers to the fact that every individual has personal and unique qualities not shared by any other person in the world - Individuals can be studied nomothetically (as a group) or ideographically (how we are different than other people)

Social Clock

- Places pressure on people to accomplish certain things by certain ages - Women who followed either the feminine or masculine social clock reported higher contentment (a state of happiness and satisfaction) than women who followed neither

Plasticity and stability

- Plasticity: openness and extraversion - Stability: conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability

Personality change 4: Behaviors and life experiences

- Positive: exercise, starting college or a job, beginning a serious relationship - Negative: trying drugs, onset of chronic disease - Becoming unemployed --> especially for men - Negative life events - Travel --> inspirational/ transcendental experiences - Peace corps

Interactionism

- The effect of a personality variable may depend on the situation, or vice versa - Certain types of people go to or find themselves in different types of situations - People change as they are put in different situations - Ex. Stanford Prison Experiment

Personality development

- Rank order consistency - Mean level stability - How a person views her or her life, and how its trajectory fits into goals and dreams - Themes differ - consistent with culture and identity - Related to personality: agency (challenging oneself), redemption (bad event turned out for the best)

Cattell's 16 factors

- Raymond B. Cattel reduced many different traits to sixteen trait clusters - All important individual differences have been encoded in language - Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16FQ) - Named these with letters to reduce bias because the word may not mean what you think it means

Factor analysis method uses

- Reduce list of traits to an essential few - Refine personality tests

Reliability

- Reliable data are measurements that reflect what you are trying to assess and are not affected by anything else - A reliable test measures a variable(s) consistently

Personality consistency/inconsistency

- Research indicates consistency over time for broad traits - Although consistent over time, how a trait is manifested in behavior might change over time -- The behavior might change but the trait is still there - Focus on the rank order differences between people Mischel's critique encouraged debate in personality psychology about the importance of traits compared to situations in causing behavior - Both sides tempered views: -- Trait psychologists acknowledged the important of situation -- Situationists acknowledge the importance of traits - Debate led to two lasting changes: -- Focus on person-situation interaction -- Practice of aggregation

How to reduce the problem of response sets

- Reverse-code some items - Use neutral wording - Include lie scales - Use several different methods of assessment

Scientific theories

- Scientific methods are used to test personality theories -- Importance of data and statistics to test theories -- Superiority over conclusions from astrology, palm-reading, etc. -- Scientific theories need to be distinguished from beliefs --- Beliefs are based on leaps of faith --- Theories are based on systematic observations - Disadvantages of theories: -- No theory explains all that there is to be known about a given phenomenon -- Theories affect what new information is published, biasing the knowledge we have about personality - Advantages of theories: -- Theories allow us to summarize the results of many research studies and integrate numerous principles of learning -- Theories provide starting points for conducting new research -- Theories offer us a way for describing why things happen

Shyness

- Shy people are common (1 in 4 people consider themselves shy) - They are often lonely and deeply wish to have friends and normal social interactions -- But they are scared of the process of social involvement that they become isolated - They spend a lot of time by themselves so they end up denying themselves the opportunity to develop normal social skills -- When they do venture out, they don't know what to do or say --- The negative responses that come from this only make people shyer - Others don't see them as shy --> they are seen as cold and aloof which makes them even more isolated and shy

The California Psychological Inventory (CPI)

- Similar to the MMPI - Designed for use with "normal" or non-disturbed individuals

Aggregation (in terms of traits)

- Single behavior or occasion may be influenced by extenuating circumstances unrelated to personality - Implies that traits are only one influence of behavior - Implies that traits refer to the person's average level - Personality psychologists will never be good at predicting single acts or single occasions

Deception in research

- Sometimes you need to use deception in your research otherwise the fact that the participant knows your goals will skew the results - Ex: Stanley Millgram - participants thought there were giving electric shocks on the other person but the other person was just an actor and didnt get shocked - If deception is to be used, there are ethical guidelines that need to be followed - Without deception, some topics simply cannot be investigated -- Ex: bystander intervention, obedience, aggression

Counterbalance

- Switching the order of conditions - It is important to establish significant differences between groups exposed to altered conditions - Give half of the participants the measure and then the stimulus --> reverse the order for the other half -- This keeps from the stimulus coming first or the measure coming first and disrupting data

Selection

- Tendency to choose or select situations in which one finds oneself as a function of personality - Extroverts tend to go to parties, introverts tend to stay at home - You tend to select situations that go with the character traits you have

Faking responses

- The "good" or "correct" answer - The participant will choose the answer that they think will reflect the most well on them

Essential-trait approach

- The 5 factor theory --> used most often in research • Which traits are the most important and which traits really matter? • Theoretical approached to reducing the many to a few • We then have to form an organized scheme of these traits - taxonomy

Good information: amount or quantity

- The acquaintanceship effect and a boundary - If judges are given more information, this will improve the agreement between their judgments and the target individual's self-judgments, but it does not affect their agreement of each other - Affects self- other agreement but not consensus -- Initial impressions are based on stereotypes and other misleading cues They tend to agree with each other even if they are wrong

Validity

- The degree to which a measurement actually reflects what the thing being studied actually does - A "slippery slope" -- For a measurement to be valid, it must be reliable -- Invokes the idea of an "ultimate truth" - A valid test measures or predicts what it claims to measure or predict - Face validity - the test appears to measure what it is supposed to measure

Generalizability

- The degree to which the measure maintains its validity across contexts - Generalizability over participants - The burden of proof - Avoid simplistic generalizations to members of other cultures and people in different times (including differences) - Those who question the generalization of a study should then propose when, how, and why it is not generalizable

Construct validity

- The extent to which a test truly measures a theoretical construct - construct validation

Factor analysis method limitations

- The quantity of information is limited by the quality of items - Difficulty and subjectivity of deciding how items are conceptually related - Factors done always make sense

Face validity

- The questionnaires used to gather S data have what is called face validity - They are indented to measure what they seem to measure, on their face

Individual differences

- The ways in which each person is like some other person (ex. extraverts, sensation seekers, high esteem persons) - People differ in the number of traits and differences can be accurately measured - According to trait psychologists, every personality is the product of a combination of a few basic, primary traits

Roots of personality

- Theater and self-presentation - "All of the world's a stage and men and women are merely players" - William Shakesphere - The relative self - unaware of its own absolute being. It can only make sense of itself in relation to others

Relative consistency

- There is not doubt that people change their behavior from one situation to the next - The concept of the personality trait involves individual differences - It is individual differences in behavior that are maintained across situations, not how much a behavior is performed

Effect size in consistency

- They describe the difference or relationship between two groups or measurements - We want this to remain consistent across all groups measured?

Cross-situational consistency of traits

- Trait psychologists assumed cross-situational consistency - If we look at you in different situations, we should see the same traits - If situations mainly controlled how people behave, then the existence or relevance of traits are questionable

Studying the trait approach

- Traits are the differences between people - Most research within the trait approach relies on correlation designed -- Traits should be able to predict behavior - Focus is on individual differences -- Strength: assesses and attempts to understand how people differ -- Weaknesses: neglects aspects of personality common to all people and how each person is unique

Biological approach

- Trying to understand the mind in terms of the body - Addressing biological mechanisms (such as anatomy, physiology, genetics, and evolution) and their relevance for personality

Projective test disadvantages

- Validity exercise is scarce - Expensive and time consuming - A psychologist cannot be sure about what they mean - Other, less expensive tests work as well or better

Manipulation

- Various means by which people influence the behavior of others; tactics of manipulation vary with personality - Manipulate situations that we are in into situations that make us more comfortable

Human Nature

- We desire to be accepted by others because it raises our self esteem - How we are "like all others" - Traits and mechanisms of personality are typical of our species and possessed by nearly everyone

B-data advantages

- Wide range of contexts (both real and contrived) - Appearance and objectivity

Expectancy effects (intellectual, social)

- You change depending on how/what people judge you as - Studies suggest that expectancy effects are especially strong when more than one important person in an individual's life holds the same expectancy for a long time - Intellectual expectancy effects -- The controversial experiment where Rosenthal and Jacobson told teachers that certain students (picked at random) were late bloomers --- The students picked actually increased their IQ points because they were expected to be more intelligent even as late bloomers so they were affected by the judgement of others (their teacher) (in a good way) -- Climate - the way the teachers project a warmer emotional attitude toward the students they expect to do well -- Feedback - the way the teachers give feedback that is more differentiated - varying according to the correctness or incorrectness of a student's responses -- Input - the way the teachers attempt to teach more material and more difficult material -- Output - how teachers give them extra opportunities to show what they have learned - Snyder, Tanke, and Berscheid (1977) - self-fulfilling prophecies -- Picture and phone call experiment -- Attractive females are expected to be warm and friendly, and those considered attractive are treated in such a manner that they indeed respond that way -- This study suggests that our behavior with other people is influenced by how they expect us to act, sometimes based on superficial cues such as what we lok like Snyder says that to some extent, we will actually become what other people perceive, or even misperceive, us to be

Basic approaches to personality (paradigm)

- You need to limit what you choose to look at because if you look at everything about a person all at once, you will become overwhelmed - Limit yourself to certain kinds of observations, certain kinds of patterns, and certain ways of thinking about these patterns

Reputation

- You reputation wont change because people don't change their first opinions --> confirmation bias - If you wanna change your reputation, you need to move somewhere else

Projective tests

- You show them ambiguous stimuli and ask what they see, for example: inkblot and ask them what they see - B data (because someone else is interpreting your answers)

The idea that personality traits influence which situations people put themselves in is known as A. situational selection. B. aggregation. C. evocation. D. manipulation.

A. situational selection.

Mischel thought that _____ were most important in determining behavior. A. situations B. intellectual abilities C. traits D. attitudes

A. situations

Recent research on the good judge of personality indicated that the good judge was ________. A. extraverted B. narcissistic C . agreeable D. a high self-monitor

C. agreeable

What trait refers to individual differences in the willingness to engage in sexual relations with minimal acquaintanceship? A. sociosexuality B. socio-openness C. sexual constraint D. sexual openness

A. sociosexuality

The number between -1 and +1 that indexes the linear association between any two variables is called ________. A. the correlation coefficient B. the p-value C. the probability value D. the significance level

A. the correlation coefficient

Which of the following characteristics seems to predict increased con-sistency? A. sociability B. neuroticism C. preference for consistency D. none of these attributes

C. preference for consistency

Though some researchers disagree, after over 60 years of research, most per-sonality psychologists think there are how many essential personality factors? A. 6 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5

D. 5

Steps to personality change

1. Precondition 1: Changing trait related behaviors is considered desirable and necessary 1. Precondition 2: Changing trait-related behaviors is (considered) feasible 2. Self-regulated behavioral changes 3. Precondition 3: Self-regulated changes become habitual 4. Trait change

Discriminant validity

A measure is related to what it should NOT be related to

Convergent validity

A measure is related to what it should be related to

Cross-cultural research on the Five-Factor (Big-Five)

4-5 of the factor appear different languages and cultures

Boundary condition

A boundary on the expectancy effect - A circumstance under which strangers could provide personality judgements with a predictive validity equal to those offered by close acquaintances -- Ex: the spouse and students can predict accurately how the professor will act in class the next day even though the spouse has never seen the professor lecture and the students have never seen the professor in any other situation

Behavioroid measure

A combination of S and B data

Right-wing authoritarianism

A personality that is made up of three characteristics (conventionalism, authoritarian submission and authoritarian aggression)

Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT)

A projective test designed to reveal a person's social drives or needs by their interpretation of a series of pictures of emotionally ambiguous situations

Experimental studies

A research method in which the investigator varies some factors, keeps others constant, and measures the effects on randomly assigned subjects

Moderator variables

A variable that affects the relationship between two other variables - A moderator of accuracy is a variable that changes the correlation between a judgement and its criterion -- The judge -- The target -- The trait -- The information in which a judgement is based

The most important and generally useful way to enhance reliability is to ________. A. aggregate your measurements B. measure something that is important C. use the smallest possible number of items D. maximize error variance

A. aggregate your measurements

What is the best approach to test construction? A. a combination of all three approaches B. the rational method C. the empirical method D. the factor analytic method

A. a combination of all three approaches

According to situationists, the upper limit of personality coefficients is estimated as ________. A. .30 to .40 B. .50 to .60 C. .70 to .80 D. .10 to .20

A. .30 to .40

Your grade point average best indicates your average performance in your college classes over time. This illustrates the concept of A. aggregation. B. amalgamation. C. aggrandizement. D. amelioration.

A. aggregation.

Which of the following ideas would be supported by an object relations theorist? A. A person's pattern of relating to others is laid down in early childhood. B. The way a person relates to others changes constantly throughout a lifetime. C. A person's true sense of how they relate to others does not appear until late adulthood. D. Relationship patterns tend to be inconsistent in most people over a lifetime.

A. A person's pattern of relating to others is laid down in early childhood.

What is the best summary of the current state of knowledge about personality types? A. Although types add little for psychometric purposes of measurement and prediction, they still may have value as aids in education and theorizing. B. Knowing a person's personality type adds to our ability to predict his or her behavior beyond what can be predicted by knowing how the person stands on the traits that define the typology. C. Compared to the trait approach, the typological approach is completely useless for ex-plaining or describing people or behavior. D. There are five basic personality types, each corresponding to one of the Big Five per-sonality traits.

A. Although types add little for psychometric purposes of measurement and prediction, they still may have value as aids in education and theorizing.

A researcher wants to conduct a significance test for the correlation between extraversion and happiness. What is the null hypothesis in this analysis? A. Extraversion is uncorrelated with happiness. B. Extraversion is negatively correlated with happiness. C. Extraversion is positively correlated with happiness. D. Extraversion is the same construct as happiness.

A. Extraversion is uncorrelated with happiness.

A researcher wants to conduct a significance test for the correlation between extraversion and happiness. What is the null hypothesis in this analysis? A. Extraversion is uncorrelated with happiness. B. Extraversion is positively correlated with happiness. C. Extraversion is the same construct as happiness. D. Extraversion is negatively correlated with happiness.

A. Extraversion is uncorrelated with happiness.

Eysenck's taxonomy has been criticized on which one of these issues? A. Eysenck failed to include some important personality traits in his model. B. Eysenck did not take the physiological substrates of traits into consideration in his model. C. There is a dispute about whether or not personality traits are arranged hierarchically. D. The traits in Eysenck's model are not heritable in the population.

A. Eysenck failed to include some important personality traits in his model.

Which name is most associated with the reinforcement sensitivity theory? A. Gray B. Eysenck C. Zuckerman D. Pavlov

A. Gray

_____ is the process in which boys imitate and take on the values of their father. A. Identification B. Fixation C. Penis envy D. Castration anxiety

A. Identification

What intervention has been developed to (temporarily) change levels of narcis-sism? A. Individuals were told to practice perspective taking and empathy. B. Individuals were given psilocybin mushrooms. C. Individuals were instructed to work for a charity for at least 10 hours per week. D. Individuals were told to practice mindfulness meditation.

A. Individuals were told to practice perspective taking and empathy.

Jung's concept of the collective unconscious differs from Freud's concept of the unconscious in that A. Jung's theory includes archetypes that are common to all people and were formed in the beginning of time. B. Jung's theory of the unconscious was proven wrong by Freud. C. Jung believed that the unconscious was personal to each individual. D. Jung's theory of the unconscious included separate sections for different aspects of life such as family, work, etc

A. Jung's theory includes archetypes that are common to all people and were formed in the beginning of time.

Maria is in her late 20s and is a manager at an advertising company. Maria is following the ________. A. Masculine Social Clock B. Feminine Social Clock C. Neither Social Clock D. Occupational Achievement Clock

A. Masculine Social Clock

Which of the following does NOT describe a type of person-situation in-teraction? A. People generally prefer situations that are pleasant. B. People choose the situations they occupy. C. People change the situations they occupy. D. People react differently to the same situation.

A. People generally prefer situations that are pleasant.

_____ tend to take more risks and engage in more exciting activities. A. People who score high on sensation seeking B. People who score high on introversion C. People with weak nervous systems D. People who score high on Type A personality

A. People who score high on sensation seeking

Dr. Garcia wants to measure the earliest autobiographical memories of the participants in her project. She would most likely obtain ________ data. A. S B. B C. L D. I

A. S

_____ usually is/are defined as the individual differences that show up early in life and are likely to be heritable and involved in behaviors linked with emotionality. A. Temperament B. Traits C. Individual differences D. Types

A. Temperament

If a psychologist describes a research result as statistically significant, what does he or she typically mean? A. The result is unlikely to have occurred by chance. B. The result will likely revolutionize the field. C. The result is large and dramatic. D. The result is important.

A. The result is unlikely to have occurred by chance

If a psychologist describes a research result as statistically significant, what does he or she typically mean? A. The result is unlikely to have occurred by chance. B. The result is important. C. The result will likely revolutionize the field. D. The result is large and dramatic.

A. The result is unlikely to have occurred by chance.

What is the purpose of using twins as a source of data in personality studies? A. To study the effects that both nature and nurture have in the development of personality B. To show that nature is more powerful than nurture in the development of personality C. To show that nurture is more powerful than nature in the development of personality D. To concentrate only on nature in the development of personality

A. To study the effects that both nature and nurture have in the development of personality

Which approach is concerned with identifying the number of fundamental individual differences? A. Trait B. Biological C. cultural D. psychoanalytic

A. Trait

What term describes computer-assisted methods to measure thoughts and feelings that occur during normal daily activities? A. ambulatory assessment B. experiential assessment C. digitally assisted experimental assessment D. projective assessment

A. ambulatory assessment

The MMPI was designed to ________. A. assess individuals with psychological disorders B. assess Jung's psychological types C. assess normal individuals D. identify the Big Five personality factors

A. assess individuals with psychological disorders

Tom was a sickly child and always felt helpless. According to Adler, as an adult Tom will probably ________. A. attempt to overcompensate B. be a complete invalid C. lose all interest in his social environment D. become obsessed with his persona

A. attempt to overcompensate

Wording of items is sometimes reversed to A. avoid the acquiescence response-set bias. B. save space on a questionnaire. C. keep participants from becoming bored. D. avoid reversal errors.

A. avoid the acquiescence response-set bias.

the Big Five factors comprise a person's A. basic tendencies. B. external influences. C. situational adaptations. D. objective autobiography.

A. basic tendencies.

The Barnum effect refers to the tendency to A. believe vague generalities about one's own personality. B. view changing situations as a kind of circus. C. be conditioned through rewards and punishments. D. show off about one's good qualities.

A. believe vague generalities about one's own personality.

The ________ signal shows differences in brain activity levels in one condition versus another condition in an fMRI experiment. A. blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) B. perfusion imaging (PI) C. transcranial differential (TD) D. electroencephalographic (EEG)

A. blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD)

Correlation cannot provide any information about A. causality. B. directionality. C. significance. D. generalizability

A. causality.

Correlation cannot provide any information about A. causality. B. directionality. C. significance. D. generalizability.

A. causality.

According to a recent study, which trait has been linked to a decrease in life sat-isfaction following a bout of unemployment? A. conscientiousness B. self-monitoring C. narcissism D. agreeableness

A. conscientiousness

An assumption made by all trait theories is that there is a degree of ____ in personality over time. A. consistency B. directionality C. faking D. instability

A. consistency

In simple language, questions about reliability concern ________, whereas questions about validity concern ________. A. consistency; accuracy B. accuracy; consistency C. stability; dependability D. consistency; dependability

A. consistency; accuracy

The statement "There is no such thing as objective reality, only human ideas or perceptions of reality" would most likely be made by a ________. The statement "The absence of perfect, infallible criteria for truth does not force us to conclude that all interpretations of reality are equally likely to be correct" would most likely be made by a ________. A. constructivist; critical realist B. critical realist; empiricist C. constructivist; empiricist D. empiricist; critical realist

A. constructivist; critical realist

For trait psychologists, any meaningful way in which people _____ may potentially be identified as a personality trait. A. differ from each other B. change continually over time C. are similar to each other D. change across situations

A. differ from each other

The finding that more observable traits yield better interjudge agreement sug-gests that peer judgment is based more on ________ than on ________. A. direct behavioral observation; a manufactured reputation B. expectancies; the target's self-judgments C. stereotypes; expectancies D. a manufactured reputation; direct behavioral observation

A. direct behavioral observation; a manufactured reputation

Discriminant validity is established when a test A. does not correlate with measures of unrelated constructs. B. yields similar results over time and situation. C. has items that do not correlate with one another. D. correlates with theoretically related constructs.

A. does not correlate with measures of unrelated constructs.

According to Dan McAdams, the narrative theme of "agency" organizes the life story around ________. A. episodes of challenging oneself and then accomplishing one's goals B. a high-point, a low-point, and a turning point C. individuals who had a particular influence in the trajectory of one's life D. an event that seemed terrible at the time but had positive consequences in the end

A. episodes of challenging oneself and then accomplishing one's goals

A form of person-situation interaction is ____. A. evocation B. faking C. situationalism D. infrequency

A. evocation

The main difference between evocation and manipulation is that A. evocation is not intentional, but manipulation is. B. manipulation is the result of personality by evocation is not. C. evocation is the result of personality but manipulation is not. D. manipulation is not intentional but evocation is.

A. evocation is not intentional, but manipulation is.

A scientist who studies how patterns of behavior characteristic of the entire hu-man species originated because of the survival value they had for our ancestors is called ________. A. evolutionary psychologists B. heritability scientist C. behavioral geneticist D. behavioral Darwinist

A. evolutionary psychologists

A person who tends to happy and experience positive affect in life would have this combination of five factor traits: A. high extraversion and low neuroticism. B. high conscientious and high agreeableness. C. high intellect and low neuroticism. D. high extraversion and high neuroticism

A. high extraversion and low neuroticism.

Kara is extremely sensitive to the feedback of other people. She most likely has a/an A. high level of self-esteem variability. B. extremely rigid sense of self-esteem. C. low mean level of self-esteem. D. overall low level of self-esteem.

A. high level of self-esteem variability.

Luciano is a risk-taker and enjoys riding motorcycles and driving fast cars. He enjoys taking physical risks compared to Nicole who shuns physical risks and takes extreme precautions even when crossing the road. This scenario illustrates the dimension of ____. A. individual differences B. group uniqueness C. group differences D. individual similarities

A. individual differences

What are the two primary criteria for evaluating personality judgments? A. interjudge agreement and behavioral prediction B. internal consistency and behavioral prediction C. predictive validity and behavioral prediction D. interjudge agreement and internal consistency

A. interjudge agreement and behavioral prediction

Personality changes are typically _____ to the person and are relatively ____ over time. A. internal; enduring B. internal; temporary C. external; temporary D. external; enduring

A. internal; enduring

Jay is interested in investigating unconscious conflict in a sample of college interns. Jay will most likely use the methods and theories associated with the ______ approach to personality. A. intrapsychic B. Trait C. biological D. social and cultural

A. intrapsychic

The genital character type ________. A. is psychologically well-adjusted B. tends to be sexually promiscuous C. operates according to the pleasure principle D. is dependent on other people

A. is psychologically well-adjusted

The strongest advantage of the experimental method is that ________. A. it allows the assessment of causality B. it can take advantage of extreme levels of the independent variable C. participants are always randomly sampled from the general population D. it allows the study of naturally occurring individual differences that already exist in the participants

A. it allows the assessment of causality

The intentional use of certain tactics to coerce, influence, or change others is known as ____. A. manipulation B. selection C. transference D. evocation

A. manipulation

Which Big Five domain captures a tendency to experience negative emotions? A. neuroticism B. conscientiousness C. openness D. extraversion

A. neuroticism

A judge may see a target's behavior, pay attention to the behavior, and use the behavior in his or her judgment about the target's personality. However, for the personality judgment to be accurate, the ________. A. observed behavior must be relevant to the trait being judged B. personality trait must be cross-situationally consistent C. behavior must be unusual and distinctive D. judge must have observed the behavior on multiple occasions

A. observed behavior must be relevant to the trait being judged

What term refers to personality inventories that are designed to measure a wide range of traits? A. omnibus inventories B. Big Seven inventories C. big bandwidth inventories D. high-fidelity inventories

A. omnibus inventories

One strength of experience-sampling data is that A. one is able to detect rhythms over time in behavior or feelings. B. it is easier to collect than other self-report data. C. it is free of biases associated with other self-report data. D. it is a completely objective form of self-report data.

A. one is able to detect rhythms over time in behavior or feelings.

Which of the following traits is largely independent of integrity tests? A. openness B. agreeableness C. conscientiousness D. emotional stability

A. openness

According to Freud, the id operates according to the ___. A. pleasure principle B. reality principle C. false consensus effect D. transference effect

A. pleasure principle

Low levels of cortisol are associated with which psychological disorder? A. post-traumatic stress syndrome B. Type A personality C. antisocial personality disorder D. social phobia

A. post-traumatic stress syndrome

An important characteristic of factor analysis is that it ____. A. provides a means for organizing the thousands of personality traits B. determines which traits have a rare property C. classifies traits into a larger group of covert factors D. dictates which variables are important to measure

A. provides a means for organizing the thousands of personality traits

_______ is the maintenance of individual position within a group. A. rank order consistency B. mean level stability C. mean level change D. rank order change

A. rank order consistency

When people maintain their position in a group over time, they display A. rank order stability. B. personality coherence. C. possible selves. D. mean level stability.

A. rank order stability.

Paul used to abuse alcohol and at his lowest point, his father helped him become sober. Now Paul and his father are closer than they ever have been. Paul's story is an example of a(n) ________ story. A. redemptive B. interpersonal C. communion D. agency

A. redemptive

Judgments other people make of your personality are known as your ________. A. reputation B. realistic accuracy model signal C. identity D. self-concept

A. reputation

Responding to items of a personality test in a manner that is unrelated to the characteristics being assessed is an example of a(n) _____. A. response set B. lack of validity C. unreliable test D. discriminant

A. response set

In high school Jane was made fun of for being a geek. As an adult, she is a molec-ular biologist who now proudly wears the "geek" badge of honor. Jane's experience is an ex-ample of which of the principles of personality development? A. role continuity principle B. maturity principle C. identity development principle D. plasticity principle

A. role continuity principle

Attractive females are expected to be warm and friendly, and those females who are considered to be attractive are treated in such a manner that they indeed respond in warm and friendly ways. According to Snyder, Tanke, and Berscheid (1977), this effect is a type of ________. A. self-fulfilling prophecy B. judgability phenomena C. sex discrimination D. accuracy moderator

A. self-fulfilling prophecy

A yearly family trip to Uncle Earl and Aunt Eunice's farm would be considered part of the _____ environment. A. shared common family B. nonshared family C. phenotypic family D. family experiential

A. shared common family

Many psychologists tend to use college students as participants in their research and then assume that what they learn applies to people in general. However, this common practice may limit ________. A. the generalizability of their findings B. the internal validity of their studies C. the ecological reliability of their research D. the construct validity of their studies

A. the generalizability of their findings

Self-esteem variability appears to be strongly related to the extent to which one's self-view can be influenced by A. the outcome of social events. B. the self-esteem of others in the environment. C. the mean level of self-esteem. D. levels of monoanalyse oxide.

A. the outcome of social events.

Traits that lead to mating benefits rather than survival benefits are probably A. the result of sexual selection. B. the result of survival selection. C. byproducts of adaptation. D. evolutionary noise.

A. the result of sexual selection.

A woman who mates with an unstable but attractive man seems to follow a dif-ferent reproductive strategy than most other women. This idea is called ________. A. the sexy son hypothesis B. evolutionary roaming C. taking the reproductive high road D. the adaptive option proposal

A. the sexy son hypothesis

In the past, some psychologists have concluded that shared family environments have little or no effect on personality development. Recent research has cast doubt on such conclusions by finding that ________. A. the shared environment was related to certain aspects of personality when personality was measured through direct behavioral observation B. molecular geneticists identified the specific alleles associated with each of the Big Five personality traits C. the shared environment was related to personality when personality was measured through self-report data D. the shared family environment actually has a larger effect on personality than does the shared nonfamily environment (i.e., school)

A. the shared environment was related to certain aspects of personality when personality was measured through direct behavioral observation

What might be an effect of expectancies in real life? A. to create new behavioral tendencies B. to magnify or maintain existing behavioral tendencies C. to enhance reputations D. to diminish or punish existing behavioral tendencies

A. to create new behavioral tendencies

If I describe Juan as "possessive" or Anita as "friendly," I am employing the use of A. trait-descriptive adjectives. B. inner qualities of personality. C. inner psychological states. D. strategies to attain goals.

A. trait-descriptive adjectives.

A high heritability coefficient can result when the trait ________ across individu-als or when genes are important in ________ sense. A. varies greatly; an absolute B. varies greatly; a very limited C. does not vary; an absolute D. does not vary; a very limited

A. varies greatly; an absolute

Vicki has been your friend for several years. Generally she is a very friendly, outgoing, and sociable person. Based on what you know about Vicki's personality you predict that she A. will be as friendly, outgoing, and sociable as she is now in the future. B. will have far lower amounts of these traits in the future. C. was probably a unfriendly, nonsocial, and withdrawn child. D. will have greater amounts of these traits in the future.

A. will be as friendly, outgoing, and sociable as she is now in the future.

A problem with factor analysis is that A. you can only identify traits that you include in your analysis. B. it leads to an unmanageable number of traits. C. it reduces the number of traits being studied. D. factor loadings are like correlations.

A. you can only identify traits that you include in your analysis.

I data essentially measure ________. A. your reputation B. work productivity (in industrial psychology) C. your internal states or emotions D. your level of self-awareness

A. your reputation

In line with the ________ process, if someone is high on conscientiousness, she will most likely select environments that promote achievement and order. A. reactive person-environment transaction B. active person-environment transaction C. heterotypic continuity D. evocative person-environment transaction

B. active person-environment transaction

Personality change 3: Targeted interventions

Address certain personality traits - Increasing self-control: relaxation, learning to think differently about temptations and frustrations, mindfulness meditation, set realistic goals that are compatible with personal values - Does changing the behavior change the trait?

Experimental group

Any condition of an experiment in which participants are exposed to an independent variable

Configural properties

Arrangement of features on the face

Type II errors

Deciding that one variable does not have effect on, or a relationship with, another variable when it really does

What is the best approach to test construction? A. the empirical method B. a combination of all three approaches C. the factor analytic method D. the rational method

B. a combination of all three approaches

Freudian slips are A. a motivated loss of coordination. B. a result of the motivated unconscious. C. social accidents that are usually acceptable. D. only observed in heterosexual men.

B. a result of the motivated unconscious.

Why haven't personality psychologists combined all paradigms into "One Big The-ory"? A. The different basic approaches to psychology address the same sets of questions. B. A theory that tries to explain everything would probably not provide the best explana-tion for any one thing. C. Applying principles of associationism helps reduce negative behaviors, making the cog-nitive approach the best one. D. The manageability of research programs would be lost.

B. A theory that tries to explain everything would probably not provide the best explana-tion for any one thing.

What is a reasonable argument for the idea that personality change is maladaptive? A. Someone who changes their personality frequently is perceived as unattractive and therefore may not acquire many relationship partners. B. Having a disorganized, unsteady personality can cause others to find it difficult to make sense of or relate to that person. C. Personality instability causes borderline personality disorder. D. Personality stability causes others to consider that person as "too perfect."

B. Having a disorganized, unsteady personality can cause others to find it difficult to make sense of or relate to that person.

A salesperson has been married for 10 years, but her husband has never seen her do her job. According to the textbook, which of the following statements is true regarding the accurate prediction of her behavior during her work? A. None of the above are true. B. Her customers will be about as accurate as her husband in predicting her behavior at work. C. Her husband will be much more accurate than her customers in predicting her behavior at work. D. Her customers will be much more accurate than her husband in predicting her behavior at work.

B. Her customers will be about as accurate as her husband in predicting her behavior at work.

Which of the following is an example of an unstructured questionnaire? A. True/False B. Open-ended C. Forced choice D. Rorschach test

B. Open-ended

What paradox is central to the study of personality development? A. Some people's personalities change dramatically over the life span, and some people don't change at all. B. People change throughout their lives yet fundamental personality traits maintain rank-order stability in relation to others in their age group. C. People's personality changes both across their entire lives and in response to specific events. D. People develop their personalities according to both nature and nurture.

B. People change throughout their lives yet fundamental personality traits maintain rank-order stability in relation to others in their age group.

Which reason describes why averaged (aggregated) behaviors are more strongly related to personality traits than individual behaviors? A. Trait variation is mostly random when aggregated. B. Random variations tend to cancel out when aggregated. C. Trait variation is mostly specific when aggregated. D. Random variations tend to multiply when aggregated.

B. Random variations tend to cancel out when aggregated.

If you were shown an inkblot and asked to describe what you saw, you would be taking the ________. A. CPI B. Rorschach test C. Thematic Apperception Test D. MMPI

B. Rorschach test

Your responses to the personality test item "I am an intelligent person" would be ________ data, whereas your score on an intelligence test that reflects the number of problems you got right would be ________ data. A. B; L B. S; B C. I; B D. S; L

B. S; B

Imagine that Sally thinks she can judge Charlie's personality better than Lucy's personality. According to a recent study, which statement is most correct? A. Sally will be equally accurate in her judgments of Charlie and Lucy. B. Sally will be more accurate in her judgments of Charlie. C. Lucy will report a fairly negative view of Sally, if she is asked. D. Sally will be more accurate in her judgments of Lucy.

B. Sally will be more accurate in her judgments of Charlie.

Which formula in psychometrics quantifies the principle of aggregation? A. kappa B. Spearman-Brown C. alpha D. Kaiser-Guttman

B. Spearman-Brown

Which of the following approaches would utilize the technique of factor analysis? A. Lexical approach B. Statistical approach C. Act frequency approach D. Theoretical approach

B. Statistical approach

What was the boundary on the acquaintanceship effect identified by Colvin and Funder (1991)? A. Judgments made by acquaintances who have known the target for 5 years are as valid as judgments made by parents and acquaintances who have known the target for 20 years. B. The advantage of close acquaintances vanishes when the criterion is the ability to pre-dict behavior in a situation similar to one that strangers have seen but acquaintances have not. C. Strangers' judgments, based on a 5-minute videotape of the target's behavior, demon-strated these judges' ability to generalize to situations and contexts that were very different from the videotaped interactions. D. Strangers' judgments are more accurate than acquaintances' judgments when the crite-rion is self-other agreement.

B. The advantage of close acquaintances vanishes when the criterion is the ability to pre-dict behavior in a situation similar to one that strangers have seen but acquaintances have not.

What is a key strength of longitudinal personality development studies? A. They are easy and quick to complete. B. They are not biased by the cohort effect. C. They are typically high powered with many thousand participants. D. They are not affected by attrition

B. They are not biased by the cohort effect.

What is a key strength of longitudinal personality development studies? A. They are easy and quick to complete. B. They are not biased by the cohort effect. C. They are typically high powered with many thousand participants. D. They are not affected by attrition.

B. They are not biased by the cohort effect.

Why do men tend to experience more jealousy over sexual infidelity? A. They desire sex more than women B. They are unsure of paternity. C. They want to make sure that the women love them. D. They worry that women will take away reosurces.

B. They are unsure of paternity.

A recent study found that women are more accurate than men in judging others. What was the explanation for this finding? A. Men are biased to see everyone more negatively. B. Women are better than men at knowing what the average person is like. C. Women are better than men at figuring out what is unique about each person. D. Men are biased to see everyone more positively.

B. Women are better than men at knowing what the average person is like.

The process by which a person seeks out compatible environments and avoids incompatible ones is called ________. A. reactive personal-environment transaction B. active person-environmental transaction C. evocative person-environment transaction D. heterotypic continuity

B. active person-environmental transaction

In the last month, Oscar learned to drive and began working at his first job. These new developments are helping him to see himself as an ________. A. agent B. actor C. artist D. author

B. actor

A fundamental assumption of psychoanalytic psychologists is that there are areas of the mind that A. are unique to humans. B. are outside of awareness. C. are not used. D. developed by chance.

B. are outside of awareness.

According to Bowlby, the basis of love is ________. A. fear B. attachment C. friendship D. security

B. attachment

The concept of aggregation suggests that traits are A. blended concepts. B. average tendencies. C. internal causes. D. mere descriptions.

B. average tendencies.

In his book, Personality and Assessment, Mischel argues that ________. A. personality traits transcend the immediate situation and moment, and they provide the most consistent guide to a person's actions B. behavior is too inconsistent to predict using broad personality traits C. traits are the only factors that influence human behavior D. situations do not reliably predict consistent behavioral trends

B. behavior is too inconsistent to predict using broad personality traits

What event is likely to contribute to personality changes well into adulthood? A. beginning a serious relationship B. caring for a spouse with a terminal illness C. going through the natural aging process D. entering college

B. caring for a spouse with a terminal illness

According to a new theoretical model for personality change, if individuals ________, the trait change will follow. A. change their life goals B. change the relevant behaviors C. change their mindset D. change the relevant environmental factors

B. change the relevant behaviors

A good judge of personality seems to be high in ________. A. absorption B. communion C. agency D. self-monitoring

B. communion

Archetypes are A. images embedded in the personal unconscious. B. components of the collective unconscious. C. basic values acquired during childhood. D. culturally acquired complexes.

B. components of the collective unconscious.

Integrity tests administered in employment screening provide good measures of ________. A. agreeableness B. conscientiousness C. sociability D. intelligence

B. conscientiousness

An assumption made by all trait theories is that there is a degree of ____ in personality over time. A. instability B. consistency C. faking D. directionality

B. consistency

A research strategy that involves gathering as many different measure-ments as you can of a particular construct and determining if those measurements corre-late is called ________. A. aggregation validation B. construct validation C. internal validation D. generalization

B. construct validation

Bob's therapist started to develop feelings of anger toward Bob during their therapy sessions. What term describes this process? A. transference B. countertransference C. displacement D. regression

B. countertransference

Both Freud and Erikson believed that each stage represented a conflict, a ___ that needed to be resolved. A. confirmatory bias B. developmental conflict C. psychosexual crisis D. self-serving bias

B. developmental conflict

Trait psychologists are primarily interested in determining the ways in which people are ___. A. changing across situations B. different from each other C. similar to each other D. dynamically changing over time

B. different from each other

What is a primary goal of the phenomenological approach to personality? A. understanding mental conflicts B. discovering how conscious awareness produces uniquely human characteristics C. measuring and conceptualizing individual differences D. applying principles of associationism to help reduce negative behaviors

B. discovering how conscious awareness produces uniquely human characteristics

Which neurotransmitter is the foundation of plasticity? A. serotonin B. dopamine C. monoamine oxidase D. oxytocin

B. dopamine

Which of the following traits would be hardest to judge? A. physical appearance B. emotional stability C. extraversion D. social dominance

B. emotional stability

A researcher using factor analysis to identify basic traits is likely to favor the ________ approach. A. single-trait B. essential-trait C. many-trait D. typological

B. essential-trait

People tend to blame negative experiences on ________ rather than recognizing the role of ________. A. luck; their own personality B. external factors; their own personality C. their own personality; external factors D. external factors; luck

B. external factors; their own personality

The psychological goal of attachment is to ________. A. manipulate others B. feel secure C. avoid conflict with authority figures D. possess the parent sexually

B. feel secure

In order for a person to develop an inferiority complex, he or she must ________. A. have a particularly strong superego B. have feelings of inferiority as a child. C. developed narcissistic tendencies as a child. D. actually have some disability that makes him or her inferior to others

B. have feelings of inferiority as a child.

Someone with excess cortisol production might be at risk for ________. A. aggression B. heart disease C. an increase in brain size D. sexual dysfunction

B. heart disease

Research on helping and altruism suggest that people A. help anyone in real need regardless of genetic relatedness. B. help others by how closely they are genetically related to them. C. help all genetically relatives roughly the same. D. always help assist genetically related relatives when asked.

B. help others by how closely they are genetically related to them.

A person who tends to happy and experience positive affect in life would have this combination of five factor traits: A. high intellect and low neuroticism. B. high extraversion and low neuroticism. C. high conscientious and high agreeableness. D. high extraversion and high neuroticism

B. high extraversion and low neuroticism.

Mischel has pointed out that personality psychologists are NOT very good at predicting A. how personality traits direct individuals to specific situations. B. how a particular individual will behave in a specific situation. C. the effects of personality test scores on an individual. D. the effects of important situations on most individuals.

B. how a particular individual will behave in a specific situation.

he most controversial thing that has arisen from the study of behavioral genetics is that it has led to ________. A. the chance that the public will think twins are the same in every way B. ideas such as eugenics and cloning C. the chance that the public will think criminality is unchangeable D. heated debates between behavioral geneticists and evolutionary psychologists

B. ideas such as eugenics and cloning

Factor analysis can ________. A. give psychological meaning to groups of traits B. identify groups of items that go together C. tell which items best differentiate normal and abnormal populations D. unquestionably determine the basic dimensions of personality

B. identify groups of items that go together

Andy, aged 12, starts smoking due to the influence of his older brother. On being caught by his parents, he states that he should not be held responsible for this behavior as he was under the influence of his brother. Andy is most likely in a period of ____. A. moratorium B. identity confusion C. negative identity D. identity foreclosure

B. identity confusion

A major study done at the University of Minnesota, studying identical twins raised apart, has found A. personality is located in the genes, regardless of the environment. B. impressive similarities in personality between people who have the same genetic makeup. C. similarities in physical appearance but not personality. D. same sex and opposite sex twins have similar personalities.

B. impressive similarities in personality between people who have the same genetic makeup.

Personality is likely to have the least effect on behavior A. in ambiguous situations. B. in strong situations. C. when behaviors are aggregated. D. when people are older.

B. in strong situations.

What term did Freud use to describe the psychological respite or time out that occurs before the genital stage? A. moratorium stage B. latency stage C. exploratory stage D. rest period

B. latency stage

_____ refer to examinations of the same group of individuals over time. A. experimental studies B. longitudinal studies C. correlation studies D. case studies

B. longitudinal studies

Becoming an author enables you to form a(n)________. A. sense of purpose B. narrative identity C. intellectual identity D. well-rounded personality

B. narrative identity

A conflict between the id and the ego results in _____ anxiety. A. objective B. neurotic C. moral D. social

B. neurotic

Nicole is a high-school student. She constantly worries about her grades and experiences difficulty falling asleep. She tends to overeat when she is stressed. If Nicole were to take Eysenck's personality test, she would score high on ___. A. emotional stability B. neuroticism C. psychoticism D. extraversion

B. neuroticism

Some psychologists maintain that your relationships with other people are based on the images of them that you hold in your mind. Psychologists who emphasize this idea are known as ________ theorists. A. Eriksonian B. object relations C. Adlerian D. ego

B. object relations

The ego operates A. on the pleasure principle. B. on the reality principle. C. on the anxiety principle. D. with primary process thinking.

B. on the reality principle

Which factor in the Five Factor Model is the least defined? A. neuroticism B. openness C. conscientiousness D. extroversion

B. openness

Which of the Big Five traits appears to have the most inconsistency in terms of cross-cultural replication? A. agreeableness B. openness C. psychoticism D. extraversion

B. openness

Two of the most lasting changes that trait psychologists have embraced have been the notion of ____ and the practice of ____. A. person-person interaction; estimation B. person-situation interaction; aggregation C. person-person interaction; aggregation D. person-environment interaction; estimation

B. person-situation interaction; aggregation

One problem with the lexical strategy is that ___. A. it is culturally specific B. personality is conveyed through different parts of speech C. it fails to identify individual differences D. the focus is on the least important attributes

B. personality is conveyed through different parts of speech

A person who is antisocial and lacks empathy would score high on the trait of A. neuroticism. B. psychoticism. C. extraversion. D. introversion

B. psychoticism.

Recent feedback regarding fMRI research suggests that results from such studies might be misleading and exaggerated due to ________. A. uncooperative subject participation B. questionable analytic techniques C. unreliable machine hardware D. fraudulent data collection practices

B. questionable analytic techniques

Bored people may seek out mild stimulation to A. avoid a much higher level of stimulation. B. reach an optimal level of arousal. C. dampen their nervous systems. D. to reduce tension in their systems.

B. reach an optimal level of arousal.

What are the steps in the Realistic Accuracy Model (RAM) of personality judg-ment? A. recall/activation/matching/detection B. relevance/availability/detection/utilization C. recall/adjustment/manipulation D. realism/accuracy/manipulation

B. relevance/availability/detection/utilization

Jane recently completed a new test that was designed to measure her IQ. She took the test twice and each time received the same score. The test administrator told her that her scores indicate she is extremely intelligent. However, Jane scored well below average when she completed the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), two well-established intelligence tests. Based on this pattern of results, it appears that the new measure of IQ was a ________. A. more accurate measure of intelligence than the Stanford-Binet or the WAIS B. reliable but not valid measure of intelligence C. valid but unreliable measure of intelligence D. valid measure of intelligence

B. reliable but not valid measure of intelligence

Gray suggests that a person with a strong BIS should A. score high on extraversion. B. score low on extraversion and high on neuroticism. C. score high on extraversion and low on neuroticism. D. score high on extraversion and neuroticism.

B. score low on extraversion and high on neuroticism.

Cattell's taxonomy included _____ traits. A. three B. sixteen C. two D. five

B. sixteen

Vince is watching his school's team play in the championship basketball game. He is wildly cheering his team on to victory, talking to everyone around him, even though they are strangers, and shouting at the referees for making bad calls on his team. From psychologist Walter Mischel's perspective, Vince is primarily behaving due to A. the extremely strong effects of the six tacos he ate for lunch. B. the extremely strong effects of the immediate situation. C. his extremely strong long-term commitment to the basketball team. D. his extremely strong competitiveness and extraversion.

B. the extremely strong effects of the immediate situation.

What does Freud mean by identification? A. successful recognition and classification of different objects in the child's world B. the process by which a child takes on attitudes and values of the same-sex parent C. the ability of a child to recognize attachment figures in his or her world D. the child's ability to have empathy and to identify with another person's situation

B. the process by which a child takes on attitudes and values of the same-sex parent

An important difference between projective techniques and self-report measures is the much greater reliance of the self-report measures on A. a procedure for administering the test. B. the willingness of the examinee to disclose personal information overtly. C. a trusting relationship between the examiner and the test-taker. D. the interpretation skills of the examiner.

B. the willingness of the examinee to disclose personal information overtly.

The trait approach focuses on A. the emotional consequences of traits. B. understanding the ways individuals differ from one another. C. the outer nature of traits. D. the biological nature of traits.

B. understanding the ways individuals differ from one another.

During old age, individuals tend to have goals that focus on ________. A. what can earn them the most money B. what is emotionally meaningful C. staying as busy as possible D. traveling around the world

B. what is emotionally meaningful

A researcher computes a correlation coefficient between variables X and Y using a handheld calculator. Which of the following values would automatically tell the researcher that he or she made a mistake? A. 0 B. 0.75 C. 2.50 D. -0.98

C. 2.50

According to situationists, the upper limit of personality coefficients is estimated as ________. A. .50 to .60 B. .70 to .80 C. .30 to .40 D. .10 to .20

C. .30 to .40

Which of the following statements best describes a social desirability response set? A. ) A bias to pick the response option of "yes" or "agree" or "very true of me" B. A bias to pick response options that make the respondent appear eccentric or unusual C. A bias to pick responses that the respondent believes are expected by society D. A bias to pick responses randomly

C. A bias to pick responses that the respondent believes are expected by society

Which of the following statements best describes a social desirability response set? A. A bias to pick responses randomly B. ) A bias to pick the response option of "yes" or "agree" or "very true of me" C. A bias to pick responses that the respondent believes are expected by society D. A bias to pick response options that make the respondent appear eccentric or unusual

C. A bias to pick responses that the respondent believes are expected by society

Which of the following statements best describes a social desirability response set? A. A bias to pick the response option of "yes" or "agree" or "very true of me" B. A bias to pick response options that make the respondent appear eccentric or unusual C. A bias to pick responses that the respondent believes are expected by society D. A bias to pick responses randomly

C. A bias to pick responses that the respondent believes are expected by society

_____ refers to adding up or averaging several single observations of behavior to assess personality. A. Evocation B. Situational selection C. Aggregation D. Manipulation

C. Aggregation

How should you act in everyday life according to the "transparent self" theory of psychological health? A. Adopt a public persona and always follow that identity to keep your inner self private. B. Make sure to act like everyone else around you to blend in with the crowd. C. Conceal very little from those around you; show your true self. D. Act like a chameleon, changing from one situation to the next, and keep your inner self private.

C. Conceal very little from those around you; show your true self.

What does recent research suggest about the validity of first impressions? A. First impressions based on the shape of the target's mouth have a surprising amount of validity. B. First impressions based on face judgments have no validity. C. First impressions based on configural properties of faces may have some validity. D. First impressions based on the size of the target's nose have a surprising amount of va-lidity.

C. First impressions based on configural properties of faces may have some validity.

_____ involves letting one's mind wander and saying everything that comes to mind without censorship. A. The inkblot test B. Dream analysis C. Free association D. Identification

C. Free association

According to the text, personality's greatest strength, understanding whole per-sons, is also its greatest weakness. Which term describes this fundamental observation? A. pigeonholing B. psychological triad C. Funder's First Law D. One Big Theory

C. Funder's First Law

Personality psychology has a variety of theoretical perspectives that are some-times seen as competing with each other. Regarding this diversity, what is a major theme of this textbook? A. The personality puzzle will never be solved. B. The One Big Theory (OBT) can account for everything in personality. C. Great strengths are usually great weaknesses. D. A single basic approach must be chosen on the basis of rigorous data analysis.

C. Great strengths are usually great weaknesses.

Shortly after joining the cross-country team, Patrick's friends have noticed that he is irrationally aggressive and erratic. What is a reasonable conclusion Patrick's friends can draw about his behavior? A. He's undergoing catharsis therapy. B. He is going through puberty. C. He has started using anabolic steroids. D. He has started taking an SSRI to help with his anxiety.

C. He has started using anabolic steroids.

Imagine your new roommate makes her bed carefully each morning. What might you infer with some accuracy about her personality? A. She is extremely extraverted. B. She is open to experience. C. She is conscientious. D. She is depressed.

C. She is conscientious.

Which of the following does NOT fall within the biological approach? A. Evolution B. Genetics C. Subjective experience D. Psychophysiology

C. Subjective experience

Which term applies to the tendency to believe that vague generalities are a good description of one's personality? A. The active effect B. The believability effect C. The Barnum effect D. The passive effect

C. The Barnum effect

What is the best description of the acquaintanceship effect? A. People judge their friends more favorably than they judge their enemies. B. The longer you have known someone, the less accurate your judgment of his or her personality. C. The more information you have about someone, the more accurate your judgment of his or her personality. D. Your acquaintances are more accurate than you are when judging your personality.

C. The more information you have about someone, the more accurate your judgment of his or her personality.

Which of the following is the biggest concern that Funder has about the use of deception in psychological research? A. None of the above; Funder has few concerns about the use of deception in re-search. B. Most experiments that involve deception are too silly to warrant such an extreme method. C. The use of deception may harm the credibility of psychology and psychological researchers. D. Most experiments that involve deception cause too much harm to participants.

C. The use of deception may harm the credibility of psychology and psychological researchers.

Which of the following is NOT a reason that older people believe their personalities are more consistent than those of younger people? A. They are more mature. B. Their social roles are more stable. C. They have more wealth accumulated. D. They have more responsibilities.

C. They have more wealth accumulated.

In making an overall judgment of your personality, which person should be most accurate? A. a trained clinical psychologist B. a classmate who has seen you most recently C. a lifelong best friend D. a teacher

C. a lifelong best friend

What is the correct order of narrative identity development over the life course, according to Dan McAdams? A. agent, actor, author B. agent, author, actor C. actor, agent, author D. author, agent, actor

C. actor, agent, author

Wording of items is sometimes reversed to A. avoid reversal errors. B. save space on a questionnaire. C. avoid the acquiescence response-set bias. D. keep participants from becoming bored.

C. avoid the acquiescence response-set bias.

The field of study that attempts to explain how individual differences in behavior (i.e., personality traits) are shared by biological relatives is called ________. A. behavioral Darwinism B. heritability science C. behavioral genetics D. evolutionary biology

C. behavioral genetics

An advantage of the physiological approach to personality is that physiology A. is easy to measure. B. is the same for all people. C. can be measured mechanically and reliably. D. is the most important part of personality.

C. can be measured mechanically and reliably.

According to a new theoretical model for personality change, if individuals ________, the trait change will follow. A. change the relevant environmental factors B. change their life goals C. change the relevant behaviors D. change their mindset

C. change the relevant behaviors

Allen has just begun his first professional job. Allen will most likely display an in-crease in which trait? A. agreeableness B. extraversion C. conscientiousness D. openness to experience

C. conscientiousness

Erikson's view is distinct from Freudian theory in that he believed psychological development ________. A. involves the investment of the libido at each stage B. occurs primarily in early childhood C. continues to change throughout the life span D. depends on the resolution of the Oedipal complex

C. continues to change throughout the life span

Factor loadings indicate the _____ between an item and a factor. A. deviation B. analysis C. correlation D. kurtosis

C. correlation

If a researcher wants to know whether or not people who score high on extraversion also score high on activity level, the researcher should use the _____ method. A. ANOVA B. case study C. correlational D. experimenta

C. correlational

If a researcher wants to know whether or not people who score high on extraversion also score high on activity level, the researcher should use the _____ method. A. ANOVA B. case study C. correlational D. experimental

C. correlational

An "acquiescence response set" refers to the tendency of people filling out questionnaires to A. select the answer option that they think the examiner expects. B. have a bias to select the last answer option. C. have a bias toward saying "yes" or "agree" to questions. D. agree to fill out questionnaires even when they would prefer not to.

C. have a bias toward saying "yes" or "agree" to questions.

A researcher interested in predicting patterns of helping behavior using the con-cept of inclusive fitness would want to know ________. A. how strongly helping behavior in biological parents correlates with helping behavior in their offspring B. monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) correlations for helping behavior C. how much genetic material you share with someone you might help D. the similarity between adopted siblings on measures of helping behavior

C. how much genetic material you share with someone you might help

____ tests are designed to predict a tendency toward theft or other forms of counterproductive behaviors in work settings, such as absenteeism. A. social desirability B. intelligence C. integrity D. personnel selection

C. integrity

I data are ________. A. direct observations of the subject in some predefined context B. self-judgments C. judgments made by knowledgeable observers D. easily observable, real-life outcomes

C. judgments made by knowledgeable observers

What is a primary goal of the trait approach to personality? A. understanding the mind in terms of biological mechanisms B. applying principles of associationism to help reduce negative behaviors C. measuring and conceptualizing individual differences D. understanding mental conflicts

C. measuring and conceptualizing individual differences

The Minnesota Twin Study suggests that personality similarities are greatest among _____. A. dizygotic twins separated at birth B. monozygotic twins separated at birth C. monozygotic twins living together D. dizygotic twins living together

C. monozygotic twins living together

Which trait is associated with obsessive effort into hairstyles and clothing? A. authoritarianism B. conscientiousness C. narcissism D. self-monitoring

C. narcissism

Chemicals that facilitate communication between neurons are called ________. A. inhibitory communicators B. synapses C. neurotransmitters D. hormones

C. neurotransmitters

"Reliability" refers to the ability A. of a personality test to measure other personality traits. B. to assign a personality test score to a person. C. of the personality test to produce the same test score for an individual at other testings. D. to measure what the personality test purports to measure.

C. of the personality test to produce the same test score for an individual at other testings.

Which factor in the Five Factor Model is the least defined? A. neuroticism B. conscientiousness C. openness D. extroversion

C. openness

A fundamental problem for the trait approach is that ________. A. situations do not affect behavior B. correlational methods do not clearly indicate effect size C. people are inconsistent D. individual differences cannot be measured reliably

C. people are inconsistent

According to Freud, the vast number of memories, dreams, and thoughts that people could easily bring to mind if they desired comprises the information stored in the ___ mind. A. subconscious B. superconscious C. preconscious D. unconscious

C. preconscious

According to Walter Mischel, psychologists are not very good at ____. A. recognizing the influence of broad traits on people B. demonstrating the influence of personality on behavior C. predicting how an individual will behave in particular situations D. identifying individual differences in behavior over time

C. predicting how an individual will behave in particular situations

Jason is playing with his brother's new skateboard when he runs it into a wall and breaks it into pieces. Psychoanalysts would maintain that the destruction of the skateboard was ________. A. just an accident B. a conscious free choice made by Jason right before he ran it into the wall C. probably determined by some unconscious desire in Jason to ruin his brother's new toy D. caused by the environmental conditions

C. probably determined by some unconscious desire in Jason to ruin his brother's new toy

An important characteristic of factor analysis is that it ____. A. classifies traits into a larger group of covert factors B. dictates which variables are important to measure C. provides a means for organizing the thousands of personality traits D. determines which traits have a rare property

C. provides a means for organizing the thousands of personality traits

One difference between the neo-Freudians and Freud is that nearly all neo-Freudians ________. A. place more emphasis on early childhood development B. emphasize the importance of unconscious processes in the determination of behavior C. put more emphasis on interpersonal relationships D. adhere to evolutionary theory and emphasize the importance of sex as a motivator

C. put more emphasis on interpersonal relationships

Dr. Akita is designing a test to measure sociability. She writes items that seem di-rectly and obviously related to sociability, such as "I like to go to parties" and "I enjoy the company of other people." Dr. Akita is using the ________ method of test construction. A. empirical B. factor analytic C. rational D. projective

C. rational

Making excuses or acceptable explanations for unacceptable behavior is an example of A. reaction formation. B. displacement. C. rationalization. D. projection.

C. rationalization

Sandy is afraid that her lack of diligence and timeliness will cause her to get fired from her job. What is the first thing she must do to increase her level of conscientiousness? A. talk to her boss to get his perspective B. recognize that particular aspects of her job are likely causing her to be late and lazy C. recognize her specific problem areas and want to change D. change herself immediately without much thought

C. recognize her specific problem areas and want to change

According to theory and research people with strong BAS are more sensitive to ____________while people with a strong BIS are more sensitive to ____________. A. disgusting smells; pleasant smells B. smell; taste C. reward; punishment D. punishment; reward

C. reward; punishment

A shift in one's goals is related to a change in one's ________. A. age B. personality trait levels C. social roles D. life-narrative

C. social roles

Implicit personality theories are essentially A. bad personalities. B. cardinal traits. C. stereotypes. D. ethics.

C. stereotypes.

According to the text, the personality one begins with is known as one's ________. A. social clock B. trait structure C. temperament D. rank-order consistency

C. temperament

A trait approach to personality is primarily focused on A. the developmental process. B. the role of the unconscious. C. the characteristics of the person. D. the characteristics of the social situation. E. the role of genetics

C. the characteristics of the person.

A trait approach to personality is primarily focused on A. the developmental process. B. the role of the unconscious. C. the characteristics of the person. D. the characteristics of the social situation. E. the role of genetics.

C. the characteristics of the person.

Jimmy is a 5-year-old boy. When his parents leave him with a babysitter, he latches onto his stuffed animal, Tim. In the terminology of the object relations theorist D. W. Winnicott, Tim is a(n) ________. A. ego object B. archetype C. transitional object D. institutional object

C. transitional object

According to Freud, the ego ________. A. emerges during the resolution of the Oedipal/Electra complexes B. follows the pleasure principle C. tries to satisfy urges while acknowledging the constraints of the real world D. acts like your conscience by avoiding bad behavior and striving for morally correct be-havior

C. tries to satisfy urges while acknowledging the constraints of the real world

According to the theoretical model cited in the text, what is the correct order of steps necessary to accomplish self-regulated personality trait change? A. changing one's behavior, asking for outside help, believing change is possible, wanting to change B. changing one's behavior, allowing the behaviors to become habitual, wanting to change, believing change is possible C. wanting to change, believing change is possible, self-regulating behavioral change, be-havior change becoming habitual D. believing change is possible, wanting to change, asking for outside help, changing one's behavior

C. wanting to change, believing change is possible, self-regulating behavioral change, be-havior change becoming habitual

According to the theoretical model cited in the text, what is the correct order of steps necessary to accomplish self-regulated personality trait change? A. changing one's behavior, asking for outside help, believing change is possible, wanting to change B. changing one's behavior, allowing the behaviors to become habitual, wanting to change, believing change is possible C. wanting to change, believing change is possible, self-regulating behavioral change, behavior change becoming habitual D. believing change is possible, wanting to change, asking for outside help, changing one's behavior

C. wanting to change, believing change is possible, self-regulating behavioral change, be-havior change becoming habitual

As described in the text, according to some motivation researchers, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) measures ________, whereas questionnaire-based measures predict ________. A. what people want; actual performance B. how motives are expressed; actual performance C. what people want; how motives are expressed D. what people need; what people want

C. what people want; how motives are expressed

I data essentially measure ________. A. work productivity (in industrial psychology) B. your internal states or emotions C. your reputation D. your level of self-awareness

C. your reputation

Personality change 1: Psychotherapy and psychiatric drugs

Can produce long-term behavior change - Neuroticism would change

Situational specificity

Certain situations can invoke behavior that is out of character for the individual

Reverse scoring

Changing the order of question answers to make sure participants are reading the questions - Used to minimize response sets

Redemption stories

Characters are delivered from negative events to a positive state

Mean Level Stability

Constancy of level in population

Constructivist view

Constructivism - personality is just a construct and we cant tell if were right or wrong - Thinks that there is no concrete reality - All that does exist are human ideas, or constructions, of reality - There is no way to tell if one person's construction is right or wrong

Critical realist view

Critical realism - the absence of infallible criteria does not mean that all interpretations are equally correct - All information that we get can be helpful in determining one's personality

Which situation best describes the actions of the superego? A. A baby cries because she is hungry B. A boy decides to go to the beach instead of doing his homework. C. A teacher shows up to work because she can't afford to lose her job D. A married man away from home on a business trip declines an invitation to the hotel room of an attractive female colleague because his religious beliefs deem adultery an immoral act

D. A married man away from home on a business trip declines an invitation to the hotel room of an attractive female colleague because his religious beliefs deem adultery an immoral act

Which of these questions does personality psychology ask? A. How and why do individuals behave the way they do? B. How are we unique as individuals? C. What psychological forces make people who they are? D. All of these

D. All of these

What is the best summary of the current state of knowledge about personality types? A. Compared to the trait approach, the typological approach is completely useless for ex-plaining or describing people or behavior. B. Knowing a person's personality type adds to our ability to predict his or her behavior beyond what can be predicted by knowing how the person stands on the traits that define the typology. C. There are five basic personality types, each corresponding to one of the Big Five per-sonality traits. D. Although types add little for psychometric purposes of measurement and prediction, they still may have value as aids in education and theorizing.

D. Although types add little for psychometric purposes of measurement and prediction, they still may have value as aids in education and theorizing.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) yields what kind of data? A. L B. S C. I D. B

D. B

Critiques of the Five-Factor model argue that ____. A. It cannot be replicated. B. It lacks empirical evidence. C. A smaller number of factors can capture the most important personality traits. D. It leaves out important aspects of personality.

D. It leaves out important aspects of personality.

Which of the following is NOT a currently discussed explanation for narcissistic behavior? A. Narcissists are struggling to maintain an unrealistic self-concept. B. Narcissists are motivated by power and prestige and use certain strategies to attain these goals. C. Narcissists have trouble controlling impulses. D. Narcissists are actually shy and timid but believe that these traits reflect personal weaknesses.

D. Narcissists are actually shy and timid but believe that these traits reflect personal weaknesses.

_____ is the concept that refers to the idea that a person may act in a certain way only in particular circumstances. A. Faking response B. Aggregation C. Extreme responding D. Situational specificity

D. Situational specificity

What is the technique of "free association?" A. A defense mechanism as defined by Freud B. How the id, ego and super ego communicate with each other C. How friends associate with each other when they get together D. Spontaneous and free-flowing association of thoughts and feelings

D. Spontaneous and free-flowing association of thoughts and feelings

According to a recent study, which of the following is accurate about people who describe themselves as "a good judge of personality"? A. Such people are quite high in narcissism. B. Such people are much better than others at judging personality. C. Such people are quite high in self-esteem. D. Such people are no more accurate than others at judging personality.

D. Such people are no more accurate than others at judging personality.

According to a recent study, which of the following is accurate about people who describe themselves as "a good judge of personality"? A. Such people are quite high in narcissism. B. Such people are quite high in self-esteem. C. Such people are much better than others at judging personality. D. Such people are no more accurate than others at judging personality.

D. Such people are no more accurate than others at judging personality.

Which of the following is NOT a major limitation of the factor analytic approach? A. The results are only as good as the items that are included in the analysis. B. Usually the factors that emerge do not make sense in even well designed research. C. It is up to psychologists to label the factors. D. The factors are only as good as the criterion groups used to validate the measure

D. The factors are only as good as the criterion groups used to validate the measure

Which of the following is NOT a major limitation of the factor analytic approach? A. The results are only as good as the items that are included in the analysis. B. Usually the factors that emerge do not make sense in even well designed research. C. It is up to psychologists to label the factors. D. The factors are only as good as the criterion groups used to validate the measure.

D. The factors are only as good as the criterion groups used to validate the measure.

An early representation of personality psychology can be traced back to what? A. The Native Americans B. The British colonists C. Wihelm Wundt D. Theater

D. Theater

How might a behavior geneticist explain the statistically significant finding that television watching is heritable? A. There is an active gene that causes individuals to watch TV. B. Parents encourage their children to watch TV because of its inherit tendency to keep them well-informed about the world around them, which helps secure their reproductive suc-cess. C. Individuals form TV watching habits if they grow up with parents who often watch TV. D. There are related heritable propensities, such as sensation seeking or lethargy that might lead one to watch TV more often.

D. There are related heritable propensities, such as sensation seeking or lethargy that might lead one to watch TV more often.

A researcher asks participants to imagine that they have been excluded from their circle of friends and then takes images of their brains using functional mag-netic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning technology. The images generated in this study would be considered ________ data. A. L B. I C. experience sampling D. experimental B

D. experimental B

Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons that accuracy matters? A. When we understand people better, we have better relationships with them. B. Personality judgments matter for things like promotion at our jobs. C. We can't escape personality judgment; friends and others will form impressions of us. D. Your reputation doesn't matter much for your well-being and happiness.

D. Your reputation doesn't matter much for your well-being and happiness.

Reliability is ________ for validity. A. a necessary and sufficient condition B. not at all relevant C. a sufficient condition D. a necessary but not sufficient condition

D. a necessary but not sufficient condition

Research has shown that when people use words such as ________ to describe their life story, they are described by acquaintances as more intelligent. A. smart B. mindfully C. positivity D. absolutely

D. absolutely

Psychologists counteract ____ by intentionally reverse-scoring some of the questionnaire items. A. random assignment B. extreme responding C. social desirability D. acquiescence

D. acquiescence

Psychologists counteract ____ by intentionally reverse-scoring some of the questionnaire items. A. social desirability B. extreme responding C. random assignment D. acquiescence

D. acquiescence

In line with the ________ process, if someone is high on conscientiousness, she will most likely select environments that promote achievement and order. A. reactive person-environment transaction B. evocative person-environment transaction C. heterotypic continuity D. active person-environment transaction

D. active person-environment transaction

Roots of personality psychology can be traced to the theater because A. Shakespeare was Freud's best (most insightful) disciple. B. early studies utilized theater-goers as subjects (easily available) . C. actors have always been considered celebrities D. actors often portray "characters" or easily recognizable types of people.

D. actors often portray "characters" or easily recognizable types of people.

The most important and generally useful way to enhance reliability is to ________. A. measure something that is important B. maximize error variance C. use the smallest possible number of items D. aggregate your measurements

D. aggregate your measurements

In order to improve personality research, researchers can ________. A. check for factors that predict consistency B. predict behavioral trends rather than single acts C. measure behavior in real life D. all of the above

D. all of the above

Which of the following is an ethical issue involved in the research pro-cess? A. how research findings are used B. which research topics are studied C. how truthful researchers are when describing their work D. all of the above

D. all of the above

What term describes computer-assisted methods to measure thoughts and feelings that occur during normal daily activities? A. digitally assisted experimental assessment B. projective assessment C. experiential assessment D. ambulatory assessment

D. ambulatory assessment

Horney argued that girls may avoid achievement because they have A. poor attachments. B. low social power. C. high levels of narcissism. D. an unconscious fear of success

D. an unconscious fear of success

Which brain region is important for detecting a discrepancy between the actual world and expectations about the world? A. amygdala B. hippocampus C. right frontal lobe D. anterior cingulate

D. anterior cingulate

Unlike manipulation, selection involves _____. A. changing social situations B. coercing and influencing people C. altering environments that are already inhabited D. choosing existing environments

D. choosing existing environments

Which trait is linked to reduced creativity in group problem-solving tasks? A. narcissism B. self-monitoring C. openness D. conscientiousness

D. conscientiousness

The field of personality have been criticized for ___. A. developing a unifying theory of personality B. addressing the ways in which individuals differ C. being based on beliefs rather than theories D. containing too many independent areas of investigation

D. containing too many independent areas of investigation

The observation "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it is probably a duck" illustrates the method of ________. A. procedural judgment B. moderator variables C. constructivist accuracy D. convergent validation

D. convergent validation

The neurotransmitter ______ appears to be associated with pleasure. A. glutamate B. glycine C. acetylcholine D. dopamine

D. dopamine

Abed is a stable, well-adjusted person. His behavior is fairly consistent and pre-dictable; essentially, "what you see is what you get." Abed would most likely be ________. A. someone who scores high on commonality B. a narcissist C. a good judge of personality D. easy to judge accurately

D. easy to judge accurately

What is the oldest brain-imaging technique? A. magnetoencephalography (MEG) B. positron emission tomography (PET) C. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) D. electroencephalography (EEG)

D. electroencephalography (EEG)

Julie does not like to attend parties because she is shy and convinced that people will not like her. When Julie does go to a party, she avoids eye contact, gives abrupt responses to other people's questions, and quickly withdraws from interactions. As a result, she spends most of the evening in a corner by herself, convinced that no one at the party likes her. This is an example of ________. A. the effects of low self-monitoring B. an internal locus of control C. the causal force of I data D. expectancy effects

D. expectancy effects

Jane feels inferior to the people around her, but she tries to act like she is pow-erful and in control. Adler would say that Jane is ________. A. reacting to her social interest B. expressing her animus C. developing a persona D. experiencing the masculine protest

D. experiencing the masculine protest

When Andrew argues some interpretations of reality are more correct than oth-ers, he is advocating the ________ philosophical position. A. positivist B. constructivist C. empiricist D. realist

D. realist

If you are interested in defining, as simply as possible, what makes a "good friend," you might list all of the things you value in a friend, and then use a statistical procedure based on correlations to narrow all of these down into just a few basic categories or dimensions. This type of analysis is called A. temporal analysis. B. regression analysis. C. multi-directional analysis. D. factor analysis. E. item response analysis.

D. factor analysis.

Dr. Winters is considered one of the most prominent obstetricians in town. She has just delivered her one thousandth baby. Dr. Winters feels that this delivery is just as emotionally satisfying as the first. She is successfully progressing through the _____ stage of development in Erikson's model of development. A. autonomy versus shame and self-doubt B. identity versus role confusion C. integrity versus despair D. generativity versus stagnation

D. generativity versus stagnation

Modern developmental psychology has been most influenced by Erikson's idea that psychological development ________. A. is influenced by parents B. is dependent on physical maturation C. occurs in stages D. happens across the life span

D. happens across the life span

Which of the following characteristics is NOT associated with conscientiousness? A. educational level B. longevity C. avoidance of risks D. high IQ

D. high IQ

Mischel has pointed out that personality psychologists are NOT very good at predicting A. the effects of personality test scores on an individual. B. how personality traits direct individuals to specific situations. C. the effects of important situations on most individuals. D. how a particular individual will behave in a specific situation.

D. how a particular individual will behave in a specific situation.

The factor analytic technique of test construction is designed to________. A. identify items that mean the same thing to the respondent as they do to the re-searcher B. create projective tests C. identify individuals who are attempting to lie or sabotage a test D. identify groups of test items that seem to be alike

D. identify groups of test items that seem to be alike

A person who is sociable, outgoing, venturesome, and easily bored A. has a Type A personality. B. is an introvert. C. would score high on harm avoidance. D. is an extravert.

D. is an extravert.

What term refers to brain regions that have been injured, removed, or de-stroyed? A. afferent areas B. tomographs C. efferent areas D. lesions

D. lesions

The human nature level of personality analysis addresses how every human is A. like some others. B. like no others. C. somewhat like other mammals. D. like all others.

D. like all others.

The purpose of a basic approach (or paradigm) is to ________. A. resolve contradictions in data B. integrate diverse perspectives C. expand the range of data you consider D. limit inquiry to certain kinds of observations and patterns

D. limit inquiry to certain kinds of observations and patterns

A researcher seeks to understand the reasons that a person uses drugs. Which ap-proach is the researcher most likely to adopt? A. typological B. single-trait C. essential-trait D. many-trait

D. many-trait

Javier commonly asserts his dominance to his peers by picking fights or showing off how much weight he can lift at the gym. What kind of overcompensating behavior is Javier displaying? A. organ inferiority B. basic mistrust C. inferiority complex D. masculine protest

D. masculine protest

Across a wide variety of cultures, ________ are more likely than ________ to place a higher value on physical attractiveness. A. women; men B. introverts; extraverts C. extraverts; introverts D. men; women

D. men; women

A variable that affects the relation between two other variables is known as a ________. A. catalyst B. transmitter C. residual D. moderator

D. moderator

Becoming an author enables you to form a(n)________. A. well-rounded personality B. sense of purpose C. intellectual identity D. narrative identity

D. narrative identity

Factor analyses have revealed a broader personality factor called stability. Which of the following Big Five factors are subfactors of this factor? A. extraversion, openness, conscientiousness B. neuroticism, openness, agreeableness C. extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness D. neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness

D. neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness

What term refers to personality inventories that are designed to measure a wide range of traits? A. big bandwidth inventories B. high-fidelity inventories C. Big Seven inventories D. omnibus inventories

D. omnibus inventories

A fundamental problem for the trait approach is that ________. A. situations do not affect behavior B. correlational methods do not clearly indicate effect size C. individual differences cannot be measured reliably D. people are inconsistent

D. people are inconsistent

Which of the following is NOT true about what Harlow learned that baby monkeys in his experiment? Baby monkeys A. prefer real mothers to fake mothers. B. need a responsive mother to develop normally. C. prefer cloth to wire fake mothers. D. prefer fake mothers who provided food.

D. prefer fake mothers who provided food.

Which of the following is one of the basic approaches to personality? A. applied B. psychological triad C. ethnographical assessment D. psychoanalytic

D. psychoanalytic

Which of the following is NOT part of the psychological triad? A. feelings B. Thoughts C. behavior D. psychological health

D. psychological health

At the heart of aggregation is the idea that ________. A. random errors never cancel each other out B. reliable errors cancel each other out C. a sufficiently precise measure has no reliable error D. random errors cancel each other out

D. random errors cancel each other out

In an attempt to stifle the expression of an unacceptable urge, a person may continually display a flurry of behavior that indicates the opposite impulse, referring to the tactic known as ____. A. displacement B. sublimation C. repression D. reaction formation

D. reaction formation

Which of the following sampling methods affords a researcher the great-est generalizability? A. recruiting all the executives at a large company to participate B. randomly selecting a sample of both high school and college students C. randomly selecting a sample of introductory psychology students D. selecting participants using a random telephone dialing system

D. selecting participants using a random telephone dialing system

According to DeYoung's theory, which neurotransmitter is the foundation of sta-bility? A. monoamine oxidase B. oxytocin C. dopamine D. serotonin

D. serotonin

According to Charles Darwin, the evolution of characteristics due to their mating benefits is known as ___. A. ascribed selection B. natural selection C. artificial selection D. sexual selection

D. sexual selection

Which of the following describes someone high in sociosexuality? A. a man who women would describe as "husband material" B. a very sensitive and even effeminate man C. someone who consistently follows sex role norms D. someone who buys flashy jewelry in order to attract a mate

D. someone who buys flashy jewelry in order to attract a mate

Most researchers define _____ as the individual differences that emerge very early in life, are likely to have a heritable basis, and are often involved with emotionality and arousability. A. intimacy B. achievement C. affiliation D. temperament

D. temperament

Erikson's stage of Trust vs. Mistrust is best described as A. the first stage, in which a baby trusts the mother and mistrusts the father. B. the second stage, in which a child learns to trust themselves and mistrust the world. C. the second stage, in which a child learns to either trust or mistrust his/her abilities. D. the first stage, in which a baby learns to either trust or mistrust that his/her needs will be taken care of.

D. the first stage, in which a baby learns to either trust or mistrust that his/her needs will be taken care of.

If a trait is highly heritable, A. all members of the population will possess the trait. B. all children in the family will possess the trait. C. all family members will possess the trait. D. the more closely family members are genetically related; the more similar they will be on the trait.

D. the more closely family members are genetically related; the more similar they will be on the trait.

Self-esteem variability appears to be strongly related to the extent to which one's self-view can be influenced by A. the mean level of self-esteem. B. levels of monoanalyse oxide. C. the self-esteem of others in the environment. D. the outcome of social events.

D. the outcome of social events.

In a series of studies about intellectual expectancies, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) found that schoolchildren randomly identified as "bloomers" showed an average IQ in-crease of about 15 points by the end of the school year. These studies demonstrated ________. A. the accuracy of lay judgments of personality B. the good target moderator of accuracy C. that formal training designed to develop self-efficacy can impact performance D. the power of expectancies

D. the power of expectancies

In a series of studies about intellectual expectancies, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) found that schoolchildren randomly identified as "bloomers" showed an average IQ in-crease of about 15 points by the end of the school year. These studies demonstrated ________. A. the good target moderator of accuracy B. that formal training designed to develop self-efficacy can impact performance C. the accuracy of lay judgments of personality D. the power of expectancies

D. the power of expectancies

As a result of Timothy's genes, he went through puberty later than his peers. Be-cause he was much smaller than other boys, they tended to pick on him, and he fought back to protect himself. As a young adult, Timothy is more aggressive than his peers. This scenario illus-trates that his aggression is ________. A. the result of his social environment in adulthood because genes cannot affect behavior in adulthood B. completely the result of his genetic inheritance C. completely the result of his early social environment `

D. the result of an interaction between the genetic expression and the resulting social en-vironment

The sole basis on which items are selected for empirically derived person-ality scales is whether ________. A. they are correlated with other items on the scales B. the respondent will be willing and able to give an accurate self-assessment for them C. their content adequately reflects the construct to be measured D. they are answered differently by different kinds of people

D. they are answered differently by different kinds of people

What term refers to images of very thin slices of the brain? A. magnetic images B. sonographs C. X-rays D. tomographs

D. tomographs

The ____ approach deals centrally with the ways in which individuals differ from one another. A. cognitive B. psychoanalytic C. biological D. trait

D. trait

If a patient falls in love with her (or his) psychoanalyst, she (or he) is probably experiencing A. countertransference. B. catharsis. C. sublimation. D. transference.

D. transference.

The _____ is the part of the mind about which the conscious mind has no awareness. A. ego B. superego C. conscious D. unconscious

D. unconscious

In observing human behavior, it is impossible to ________. A. find patterns across different kinds of observation B. make any real progress toward solving the personality puzzle C. choose to limit what you look at in a person D. understand everything about a person all at once

D. understand everything about a person all at once

According to the theoretical model cited in the text, what is the correct order of steps necessary to accomplish self-regulated personality trait change? A. believing change is possible, wanting to change, asking for outside help, changing one's behavior B. changing one's behavior, allowing the behaviors to become habitual, wanting to change, believing change is possible C. changing one's behavior, asking for outside help, believing change is possible, wanting to change D. wanting to change, believing change is possible, self-regulating behavioral change, be-havior change becoming habitual

D. wanting to change, believing change is possible, self-regulating behavioral change, be-havior change becoming habitual

Personality change

Desire for change is typical, and usually in the socially desirable direction - usually from exploration to emotional well being - Four potential methods of change - Two defining qualities -- Internal - changes are internal to a person, not changes in the external surrounding -- Enduring - changes are enduring over time, not temporary

Integrity tests

Different for honest and dishonest people

Interjudge agreement

Do others agree with the judgements we make

Which of the following are examples of the power of situational factors in determining behavior? A. "good" people engaging in illegal activities during the 1960s B. decent Germans cooperating with the diabolical plans of the Nazis C. panic arising when a movie theater catches fire D. students in the 1960s getting involved in illegal forms of protest E. all of these

E. all of these

Heterotypic continuity

Effects of fundamental tendencies change with age - But the way they express it changes over time -- The behavior changes but the idea or whatever doesnt

Single trait approach

Examines correlations between one trait and many behaviors - Examines the link between personality and behavior by asking "What do people like that do?" - Studying a single trait and seeing the different behaviors that come from it - Self-monitoring

Behaviorist approach

Focus is on the overt (done or shown openly) behavior and the ways it can be affected by rewards and punishments

Rational method

Four conditions for validity: - Items mean the same thing to their test taker and creator - Capability for accurate self-assessment - Willingness to make an accurate and un-distorted report - Items must be valid indicators of the construct

Self-monitoring

High = you don't really a person's real personality because they act differently in different situations, care about other people's opinions that why they change the way they act - Ex: actors, and people who act different when at a party vs. when they are at a research seminar Low scorer = don't care about other people's opinions - You know exactly what their personality is because they act the same in every situation

Psychological Triad

How people - Feel - Think - Behave These are the things that personality psychology addresses

Situationalism

If behavior varies across situations, then situational differences and not personality traits determine behavior

Realistic Accuracy Model (RAM)

In order to get from an attribute of an individual's personality to an accurate judgment of that trait, four things must happen - The person being judge must do something relevant -- Something informative about the trait being judged - The information must be available to the judge - The judge must detect this information - The judge must utilize this information correctly - These are 4 ways at accuracy can be improved - Accurate judgment of personality is difficult because if the person being judged and the judge doesn't see it, the judge will judge their personality inaccurately because they do not have all the facts - Moderators of accuracy must be the result of something that happens at one (or more) of these four stages

Functional equivalency

Individual behavior that are similar in their deeper meaning

Acquaintanceship effect

Judgments by close acquaintances agreed more with self-judgments than those by strangers who had watched a 5 min videotape

Rank Order Consistency/ Rank Order Stability

Maintenance of an individual's position within the group - Ex: If a person is the most extroverted in a group, 10 years later, the level may change but they will still be the most extroverted

Cohort effects

Many contribute to age differences in cross-sectional studies - Studying people of different ages for the same things (not the best because people of different ages have different life experiences) - Changes (ex. personality) over time that are attributable to living in different time periods rather than to "true" change - Research by Jean Twenge - there is an emerging epidemic of narcissism with college students

Social desirability scale

Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale was designed to measure social desirability independent of psychopathology - It assess whether respondents are responding truthfully responding or are misrepresenting themselves in order to manage their self-preservation

Eysenck (Extraversion, Neuroticism, Psychoticism)

Model of personality based on traits that Eysenck believed were highly heritable and had psychophysiological foundation - He believed you could only determine traits if you have a biological basis for them - Extraversion - they need more outside stimulus for their cortical arousal ○ Introverts need less stimulus - Neuroticism - sympathetic nervous system ○ High scorers are moody, worriers, anxious, depressed, etc. - Psychoticism - low sympathetic nervous system ○ Defects in the prefrontal cortex ○ Don't care about others, lack empathy - Biological underpinnings limitations ○ Many other personality traits show moderate heritability ○ Eysenck may have missed important traits

Structured interviews

More valid, but usually do not reveal individual nuances

Geographical differences in personality

NJ is more neurotic

Agency stories

Organizes the life story around episodes of challenging oneself and then accomplishing goals

Identity development principle

People seek to develop a stable sense of who they are, and then strive to act consistently with this self view

Self-verification

People work hard to bring others to treat them in a manner that confirms their self-conception

P-value (p-level in notes)

Probability level of obtaining a result from a statistical test if there really is no difference between groups or no relationship between variables

Experience sampling

Research method that involves having people wear beepers, usually for a period of 1 week - When they are beeped at random times during the day, they record a variety of characteristics of their experience at that moment

Taxonomy

Scheme of traits

Constructs

Scientific terms/concepts that are the building blocks of psychological theories

Causal force

Self-verification - your view of the person you think you are has more important effects on the goals you set for yourself

Strong situation

Situations in which nearly all people react in similar ways - Ex: funerals

Typology approach

Stems from a doubt and a hope - The doubt is whether it is really valid to compare people with each other quantitatively on the same trait dimension Focuses on identifying types of individuals

Picture Story Exercise (PSE)

Stories from ambiguous pictures reveal unconscious needs and motives, focus on achievement, power and intimacy

Cross-sectional studies

Survey different people at the same time

Role continuity principle

Taking on roles or images such as being a "jock" or a "brain" can lead personality to be consistent over time

Consensus

The agreement among judges - The judge's first impressions of their target agree with each other because they are based on superficial stereotypes and other potentially misleading cues - Because these stereotypes are shared among judges, the judges tend to agree with each other even if they are largely wrong

Accuracy

The agreement between the judges descriptions and the target's own self descriptions - After observing the target for a period of time, the judges begin to discard the stereotypes they had in the beginning (the ones they used to make their first impressions) and they began to see the person as they really are

Control group

The condition of an experiment in which participants are not exposed to the independent variable

Good traits

The good trait: easy to observe, highly visible - Talkative, sociable - traits that are easy to observe - Some people think based on socially constructed reputations -- Evidence against the idea (observable data yields more consensus) that peer judgements are socially constructed and agreement is based on communication - Possible evolutionary basis (sociosexuality) A trait that is displayed in a wide range of contexts (availability) and is easy to see (detection)

Random assignment

The procedure of assigning subjects to groups

Construct validation

The process of testing the assumptions behind a construct such as intelligence or sociability

Maturity

The state of being fully grown or developed

Bias

The systematic tendency to see someone in more negative or more positive terms than they really deserve

Group differences

The ways in which the people of one group differ from the people in another group (ex. cultural differences, age differences)

Understanding the whole person

The whole person is how all other areas of psychology come together

HEXACO (honesty-humility)

There is more to personality - The big 5 and Honesty-Humility - Too broad for conceptual understanding ○ Broken down into facets

Orthogonality of Big-Five

Traits are not related to each other - Scoring high on one doesn't mean you will score a certain way on the others

Evaluating personality judgments

Two views: - Constructivism - personality is just a construct and we cant tell if were right or wrong - Critical realism - the absence of infallible criteria does not mean that all interpretations are equally correct -- All information that we get can be helpful in determining one's personality

Unstructured interviews

Typically yield rich information, but validity is questionable

Ambulatory assessment

Using computer assisted methods to assess behavior, thoughts, and feelings

Personality change 2: General interventions

Usually aimed at important outcomes

First impressions

We treat people based on their first impressions - Mostly automatic - Some validity based on the face -- Configurational properties - arrangements of features -- Extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience -- Low verses high agreeableness, extraversion (emotional stability in males)

Convergent validation

We want to validate our judgements using behavioral data - Duck test: if it walks, looks and quacks like a duck, its probably a duck - Interjudge agreement - do others agree with us - Behavioral prediction and predictive validity

Quality of information

Weak versus strong situations - Weak situations - a situation in which people do different things -- Strong situations - in which social norms restrict what people do -- Weak situations are better to judge personality because strong situations elicit the same response from everyone Best situation: one that brings out the trait you want to judge - Listening to thoughts and feelings produced more accurate social impressions (or at-least impressions that were more in accord with speakers' self-assessments prior to the interviews and with the assessments of their close friends) rather than watching someone do their daily activities -- You can sit next to someone everyday in class and know nothing about them Unstructured versus structured situations - Unstructured situations - good quality information comes from these situations because its is when you act the most you -- Structured situations - when you aren't fully yourself --- In class, at work, etc.

Accuracy on first impressions

When looking at someone's face, we are somewhat accurately able to detect differences between someone who is extremely extraverted and someone who is extremely introverted or any other trait - Accurate discrimination in the middle range (where most people are found) is more difficult

Barnum effect

When you tell someone something so vague that anyone can apply it to themselves - Ex: horoscopes

Predictive validity

When your prediction of someone and their personality is confirmed by their behavior - Ex. You think someone is conscientious (judgment/prediction) and they are always on time to class (confirmed by behavior)

Sociosexuality

Willingness to engage in a sexual relationship with minimal acquaintance - By looking at someone, we can tell how willing they are to have a one-night stand -- Unconsciousness thought