Psychology of Personality Final Exam Review
According to situationists, the upper limit of personality coefficients is estimated as ________.
.30 to .40
monozygotic (MZ) twins share ___ percent of the genes that vary across individuals, and dizygotic (DZ) twins share, on average, ____ percent of the genes that vary across individuals
100/50
According to the studies of non-twin relatives, the average heritability coefficient for most traits is about
20
Different informants may not agree about the personality of a common target individual because _____.
All of the above
Personality is an individuals characteristic patterns of
All of the above
In 1996, Charles Whitman killed his wife, mother, and 14 more people at the University of Texas before he was killed by the police. An autopsy revealed a tumor affecting Whitman's
Amygdala
Evidence from research and from brain damage case studies suggests that the ___ is/are the location of cognitive control, serving to anticipate and plan the future and help regulated emotions in response to it.
Frontal lobes
A projective test yields _____ data
B data
The thematic apperception test and the Rorschach test elicit _____ data.
B data
When a researcher examines the association between behaviors at a party on Friday night and how many times someone volunteers to answer questions in class on Monday, she is looking at the association between _____ and _____
B data; B data
The field of study that attempts to explain individual differences in behavior (I.e personality traits) are shared by biological relatives is called ____
Behavioral genetics
Which of the following behaviors would be the easiest to predict accurately?
David will generally be on time for work most days next week.
What is the oldest brain-imaging technique?
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Faking responses in order to influence test results is most difficult on ________ constructed tests.
Empirically
Because Jesse's teacher believes that he is intelligent, she challenges him with extra assignments and generally encourages his curiosity. At the end of the school year, Jesse performs better on the school's achievement test than any other student. Jesse's enhanced performance is likely due to the ________.
Expectancy effect
A researchers asks participants to imagine that they have been excluded from their circle of friends and then takes images of their brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning technology. The images generated in this study would be considered _____ data.
Experimental B
Which trait is associated with attractiveness?
Extraversion
The chemicals that are released from the hypothalamus, the gonads, and the adrenal cortex are called ____, whereas the chemicals released by bio electrical impulses throughout the brain are called ____.
Hormones ; neurotransmitters
The factor analytic technique of a test construction is designed to ____.
Identify groups of test items that seem to be alike.
Which of the following is the best example of a situationist argument?
Knowing Robert's extraversion doesn't really let us predict his behavior.
Records of employee absenteeism are what type of data?
L data
_____ data are fairly easily verifiable, concrete, real-life outcomes of possible psychological significance
L data
A researcher who starts with an interest in delinquency and then identifies the traits associated with that category of behavior is taking a
Many trait approach
What does the acronym MMPI stand for?
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
If a test consists of a list of True/False questions and is graded using a computer-scored answer sheet, then it is a(n) ________.
Objective test
The Big Five are believed to be orthogonal factors of personality. What does orthogonal mean?
People's scores on one of the factors do not predict their scores on any of the other factors.
What is the best way for a researcher to judge the face validity items on a measure ?
Read and consider the content of the items.
If you were shown an inkblot and asked to describe what you saw, you would be taking the ________.
Rorschach test
Dr. García wants to measure the earliest autobiographical memories of the participants in her project. She would most likely obtain ____ data.
S data
Which kind of data is the least expensive to collect ?
S data
When a psychologist asks a question because he or she wants to know the answer, the question elicits ____. When a psychologist asks a questions because he or she wants to see how an individual will respond to that stimulus, the test elicits _____.
S data ; B data
In order to examine the relationship between early life experiences and adult criminality, Dr. Robbins asks his research participants to fill out questionnaires describing their early life. He then obtains copies of their arrest records from the county courthouse. The questionnaires used in Dr. Robins study would be ____ data, whereas the arrest records would be _____ data.
S data ; L data
What is the technical name of drugs like Prozac?
SSRI
Personality assessment refers to ____.
The measurement of any characteristic pattern of behavior, thought, or emotion.
If Dr. O'Connell wants to learn about Laura, why might Dr. O'Connell want to avoid using S data ?
The person supplying the S data may not want to or be able to provide accurate reports about Laura
Which of the following psychologists is often credited with starting the person-situation debate?
Walter Mischel
Which of the following behaviors is an example discussed in the textbook of the many-trait approach?
Word use
According to the text, what is the best approach to the test construction?
a combination of all three approaches
What might be the evolutionary function of crying, according to recent research described in the text?
a way to elicit social support
Nerves that send messages from the body to the brain are called ________, whereas nerves that carry messages from the brain to the body are called ________.
afferent nerves and efferent nerves
Increasing the number of items on a test makes it a better instrument according to which principle ?
aggregation
Different informants may not agree about the personality of a common target individual because
all of the above
In order to improve personality research, researchers can
all of the above
The situationist argument holds that ________.
all of the above
What term refers to different forms of the same gene?
allele
Which of these brain structures is thought to play a role in judging whether stimuli offer threats or rewards?
amygdala
When gathering data or clues about personality, the best policy is to
collect as many clues as possible
A long life is associated with what trait?
conscientiousness
The avoidance of drug abuse is associated with what trait?
conscientiousness
Which trait has been consistently linked to a range of health outcomes?
conscientiousness
The number between -1 and +1 that indexes the linear association between any two variables is called
correlation coefficient
The projections from nerves that receive stimulation are called ____
dendrites
To obtain S data, a psychologist can ____.
develop a questionnaire
Sally is a strong proponent of the lexical hypothesis. Where would she likely begin her search for the essential traits of personality?
dictionary
Good coping is positively associated with what trait?
emotional stability
Studies focused on ________ are interested in learning how early experiences shape genetic expression.
epigenetics
Which hormone is associated with the fight-or-flight response ?
epinephrine/adrenaline
A researcher who tries to discover the most important or basic personality traits that exist is taking a ____ approach
essential-trait
The field of study that attempts to explain how patterns of behavior characteristic of entire human species originated because of the survival value they had for our ancestors is called
evolutionary psychology
Attractiveness is associated with what trait?
extraversion
Happiness is associated with what trait?
extraversion
Which Big Five domain captures a tendency to experience positive emotions?
extraversion
What brain region appears to be important for the abilities to plan ahead, to anticipate consequences, and to engage in moral reasoning
frontal lobes
What brain region is responsible for both an individuals strong time management skill and ability to consistently do the morally right thing?
frontal lobes
What part of Phineas Gage's brain was damaged in his accident?
frontal lobes
The ___ refers to the underlying genetic structure that leads to the observable ___
genotype; phenotype
According to the evolutionary theory, a mans greatest worry is that
he is not the biological father of the children that he is supporting
People who adjust their behavior to best fit the situation are called ________, and people whose behavior is guided by their personality are called ________.
high self-monitors; low self-monitors
The lower your score is on measures of psychological health and well-being, the _
higher your score is on neuroticism
If a trait is influenced by genes, then it ought to be more highly correlated across pairs of ________ than across pairs of ________.
identical twins; fraternal twins
Which of the following would NOT be a pronounced symptom in a patient who suffers frontal lobe damage?
impaired language abilities
Low self monitors are more likely than high self monitors to be described as
independent
According to the textbook, there are no perfect ____ of personality, only _____
indicators; clues
The case of railroad worker Phineas Gage illustrates that ________.
injuries to the brain can affect personality and behavior
Nerve fibers that organize and regulate transmissions between nerves are called
interneurons
I data are ___.
judgments made by knowledgeable observers
What term refers to brain regions that have been injured, removed, or destroyed?
lesions
Someone who is ___ is likely to express his or her personality consistently from one situation to the next.
low in self-monitoring
What is a primary goal of the trait approach to personality?
measuring and conceptualizing individual differences
Across a wide variety of cultures, ________ are more likely than ________ to place a higher value on physical attractiveness.
men and women
Which Big Five domain captures a tendency to experience negative emotions
neuroticism
Chemicals that facilitate communication between neurons are called
neurotransmitters
Which of the following would be an example of natural B data ?
observations of the number of times a subject told a joke in a day
Which of the big five traits appears to be the most complex and difficult to grasp
openness
During the prehistoric era of human development, women were most likely to calm everyone down and band people together when faced with a threat. According to S. E. Taylor, what hormone is associated with this response?
oxytocin
We would expect a newlywed couple to have high levels of which hormone
oxytocin
Which hormone is associated with the tend-and-befriend response
oxytocin
Researchers must use clues to personality in their research because
personality is something hidden that resides inside an individual
Dr. Akita is designing a test to measure sociability. She writes items that seem directly 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.
rational
The basis of the ________ method of test construction is to come up with items that seem directly, obviously, and logically related to what it is you wish to measure.
rational
The reason that objective tests include so many items is to increase the ________ of the test.
reliability
The neurotransmitter dopamine is associated with systems that
respond to reward
The idea that feelings of the self-esteem evolved to gauge social acceptance is known as the ___ theory
sociometer
A recent study indicates that a serotonin-related genetic allele seems to influence the development of depression in conjunction with
stressful life events
A psychologist administering the TAT asks respondents to
tell stories about pictures that the psychologist shows them
A major disadvantage of L data is ______.
that the data are influenced by multiple factors besides just personality
As a result of Timothy's genes, he went through puberty later than his peers. Because 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 illustrates that his aggression is ________.
the result of an interaction between the genetic expression and the resulting social environment
The sole basis on which items are selected for empirically derived personality scales is whether ________.
they are answered differently by different kinds of people
What technique can be used to temporarily knock out regions of the brain without having to create lasting lesions
transcranial magnetic stimulation
Mani is seriously depressed at age 18. Research using the Q-sort suggests that as a child, he probably would have been described as ________.
undercontrolled