Module 35. Contemporary Perspectives on Personality

personality inventory

A questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors and is used to assess selected personality traits is known as a(n):

Traits

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

2 or 3

According to Hans Eysenck and Sybil Eysenck, variations in human personality can be reduced to _____ dimensions.

William James

According to the text, psychology's concern with people's sense of self dates back at least to:

reciprocal determinism

Albert Bandura proposed the social-cognitive perspective on personality, which emphasizes the interaction of people with their environment. To describe the interacting influences of behavior, thoughts, and environment, he used the term _____.

reciprocal determinism.

Albert Bandura's social-cognitive perspective highlights the importance of:

narcissism

Drew is a young man who considers himself to be very successful, and who enjoys the finer things in life. He does make a lot of money, and spends it on clothes, cars, gambling, and women. Most psychologists would agree that Drew seems to display a high level of _____.

exhibit less activity in a frontal lobe area involved in behavior inhibition.

Eli has always been an extravert. There is some evidence that people like Eli seek stimulation because their normal brain arousal is relatively low. For example, extraverts:

conscientiousness

Frieda is organized, careful, and disciplined. She would likely score very highly on a personality test that measures

neurotic

Garrick is a calm, self-satisfied man who appears to be secure. Which of the following Big Five personality factors would best describe his personality?

The social-cognitive view emphasizes the role of the environment to a greater extent than do the other perspectives.

How does the social-cognitive approach differ from the other perspectives on personality discussed in your textbook?

blame her failure on bad officiating.

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

reciprocal determinism.

Lately, Harold and Grant cannot get along. Harold often expects the worst of people, and yesterday he thought Grant was mad at him. As a result, Harold ignored Grant's phone calls and other attempts at conversation, angering Grant. However, in truth, Harold created the situation to which he was reacting. This is an example of:

conscientiousness

Marnie is organized, careful, and disciplined. She would likely score very highly on a personality test that measures _____

social-cognitive

Of the perspectives on personality described in your textbook, the _____ view pays the MOST attention to the influence of situations on personality.

behavior

Our _________________ is influenced by our biology, our social experiences, and our cognition and personality.

the spotlight effect

People overestimate the degree to which others are noticing and evaluating their appearance, performance, and blunders. Gilovich termed this:

spot light effect

People overestimate the degree to which others notice and evaluate their appearance, performance, and blunders. Thomas Gilovich termed this:

collectivist; Taiwan

Preserving group harmony is especially important in _____ cultures, such as _____

factor analysis

Psychologists use _____ to assess whether a cluster of characteristics that includes ambition, determination, persistence, and self-reliance reflects a single personality trait

factor analysis

Psychologists would use _____ to assess whether a single personality trait is reflected in a cluster of characteristics (e.g., ambition, determination, persistence, and self-reliance).

conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion.

The Big Five personality factors include:

social-cognitive

The _____________ perspective emphasizes that personality is the result of interactions between people and their situations. The way one thinks about a situation affects one's behavior.

social-cognitive

Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Wilson completed his dissertation under the direction of a renowned behaviorist. Since then, he has been teaching courses in learning and conditioning. This semester, he has been asked to teach a course in personality theory. Based on the information given, you might suspect that Dr. Wilson would be MOST sympathetic to the ____ perspective on personality.

narcissism

Vincent is a famous rock musician from the 1980s. Even though he hasn't had a hit song in more than 25 years, he has his own reality television show and a line of cologne. His psychologist thinks he displays excessive self-love and self-absorption, and believes Vincent displays a high level of _____.

the spotlight effect.

When Vanessa noticed she was wearing mismatched socks, she overestimated the extent to which others would also notice. Her reaction best illustrates:

low Conscientiousness; high Agreeableness

With respect to the Big Five theory, careless is to _____ as helpful is to _____.

try out many possible selves.

Your 5-year-old niece loves to pretend she is a scientist. She also enjoys pretending she is a horse trainer. These pretend games allow children to:

Thinking

_____ about our situation refers to the cognitive part of the social-cognitive perspective.