Exam #2 answers

- Early research on divorce patterns showed that there was a greater risk of marital breakup among people who lived together before they got engaged, known as the __________ effect. - Later research has demonstrated that this effect disappears when you statistically control for __________.

- Cohabitation - Age at marriage

Health benefits to marriage include:

- Lower mortality risk - Lower cancer and heart attack risk - Lower dementia risk

Best reflects the state of the evidence on rank-order trait stability and individual level change in personality traits?

- Trait stability steadily increases with age throughout adulthood and becomes highly consistent after age 50 - 10-30% of individuals (a fluid minority) show significant personality trait changes over time

In the United States, approximately ____% of young children (ages 0-5) are routinely cared for by a grandparent; ________ is one of the strongest predictors of their level of involvement.

25%; geographical proximity

According to most recent national prevalence estimates, approximately ____% of adults (ages 18+) in the United States are currently married.

50%

Ng & Feldman's (2010) large meta-analysis of studies on aging and overall job satisfaction showed that:

Age was only weakly correlated (r = ~.20) to job satisfaction

In the U.S., how does a college degree influence an individual's earning potential?

All college graduates have higher earning potential than high school graduates.

Which of the following statements about same-sex families is accurate?

Although same-sex couples use different conflict strategies than heterosexual couples, the types of things they argue about are very similar.

Longitudinal research that has followed families through the transition to parenthood has consistently shown:

Approximately 50% of couples show a decline in marital satisfaction that persists until the child's teen years

According to socioemotional selectivity theory, as people grow older, family and long-term friends become more important. This is because older adults

Are more focused on the emotional functions of relationships

Men who become most confident about their roles as fathers are those who:

Are regarded as competent by their wives.

Which of the following statements is most accurate?

Being liked depends more strongly on being agreeable and nice for women than it does for men

A study of Canadian parents showed that the greatest difficulty in adapting to the empty nest was experienced by parents who:

Believe that the world is a dangerous and threatening place.

Monica is an executive chef who strives for excellence in everything she does. Although some might perceive her as a control freak or a workaholic, Monica sees herself as purposeful and determined. By all accounts, Monica is efficient and effective at getting things done. Monica would best be described as "high" in what trait?

Conscientiousness

The way that our government reports the percentage of our labor force that is employed vs. unemployed can be misleading because _____________________ are not included in the calculations

Discouraged workers, or people who have not looked for a job in months because they believe none are available

Young women of color who have poor relationships with their parents are at increased risk for:

Dissatisfaction during the transition to parenthood

True or false: The United States is one of 45 countries worldwide that have legalized marriage for same-sex couples.

False

True or false: Using mean-level scores to determine whether there is stability in personality traits over time can be misleading. This is because mean-level scores can mask considerable rank-order change within samples.

False

John Gottman's "Magic Ratio" for relationship success is...

For every one negative feeling/interaction between partners, there should be five positive feelings or interactions

People who feel that their occupation is a "calling" are likely to believe that it:

Fulfills their purpose in life.

In adulthood, people have a tendency to choose friends that are similar to themselves. This concept is known as:

Homophily

According to research described in class, a common source of tension in adult parent-child relationships is referred to as:

Individual tension (characterized by concerns over habits and general lifestyle)

In Amato & Previti's (2003) qualitative study that examined people's reasons for divorcing (discussed in class), the category that received the most overall responses was:

Infidelity

Lena is a single mother in her early thirties and recently, she and her partner have been talking about getting married. Lena is a little concerned because her parents are divorced, and she doesn't want to end up like them. Lena is considering moving in with her partner to help her see what marriage will be like, but she's concerned because she's never lived with a romantic partner before. What might research say about Lena?

Lena has a number of high-risk factors for divorce, cohabitation might actually be protective for her.

Which of the following types of social networks in older age is most likely to lead to social isolation and loneliness?

Local, self-contained support network

"Important reasons for getting married" by most participants?

Love & commitment

In the Family Life Cycle Model, the Childbearing Phase is characterized by:

Managing the birth of the first child and adjusting to new role conflicts (e.g., wife/mother; husband/father; work/family)

According to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), what type of behavior by an employer would explicitly be prohibited under most circumstances?

Mentioning age limitations in job recruitment materials.

When researchers have examined the relationship between personality traits and aging in cultures around the world, they have found

Neuroticism is not consistently linked with aging, and may be strongly influenced by culture

In their meta-analysis of 92 longitudinal studies on aging and the stability of personality, Roberts and colleagues revealed that, across many of these studies, most personality change . . . ?

Occurred during young to middle adulthood (ages 20-40)

According to the intergenerational stake hypothesis,

Parents are more emotionally invested in the parent-child relationship than their children are

According to research presented in class, which phase of the "grandparent career" has been described as the most rewarding?

Phase 1: Birth to Adolescence

Married couples who are best friends with each other may show _________, in which they try to take on the positive qualities of the other couple.

Platonic couple love

The concept of emotional labor applies most closely to which type of job industry?

Service

Research on age and job performance shows that older workers are typically better in which regard than are younger workers?

Taking fewer voluntary absences for personal reasons.

Which of the following statements about divorce is true?

The 50% divorce rate statistic is misleading because people who are 'divorce prone' inflate the overall statistics.

The psychoanalytic approach to personality emphasizes the importance of unconscious processes and internal conflict, whereas the trait approach emphasizes

The description and measurement of specific personality differences among individuals

The "sandwich generation" refers to

The family situation in which mid-life adults care for their aging parents and their own children at the same time

The Five Factor model of personality fits into which overall category of psychological theories?

Trait

Which of the following is NOT a criticism of the trait perspective?

Trait theories address how psychological growth and change occurs

Which of the following gender differences in friendship functions have been observed?

Women engage in more gift giving behavior than men

A behavioral health specialist working on a cardiologist's hospital team is called in to conduct a session with a new patient. After determining that the patient fits the Type A Behavior Pattern, what would be the best way for her to try to help this patient decrease his future heart disease risk?

Work on reducing his hostility

Reaching a point in your vocational development where you no longer feel that you are growing might keep you at:

a career plateau.

The majority of retirees are said to experience a(n) ______________ retirement, because they typically do not exit the labor force in an all-or-nothing fashion.

blurred

According to ___________ theory, retirees maintain a sense of identity and therefore do not experience retirement in a negative manner.

continuity

A woman felt that her relationship with her partner took a turn for the worse when, after having their first child, she had to take on more of the "feminine" household tasks. This is an example of _____________, a factor that can contribute to reduced marital satisfaction among women in the transition to parenthood.

doing gender

In a study of workplace bullying, behaviors involving ____________ were found to be most stressful of all forms of bullying.

intimidation & harassment

In one study examining tension between parents and their adult children, the researchers found that ________ were more bothered by tension, and tension was more intense with _________.

parents; daughters

According to the correspondence principle, personality __________ is enhanced over adulthood because people selectively experience life events that reinforce their existing personalities.

stability

In 2020, a woman marrying for the first time at 28 years of age would be approximately ___________ compared to the median woman in the U.S. for age at first marriage.

the same age