Midterm

According to the text, personality's greatest strength, understanding whole persons, is also its greatest weakness. Which term describes this fundamental observation? a. Funder's First Law b. One Big Theory c. psychological triad d. pigeonholing

a. Funder's First Law

What is one of personality psychology's biggest advantages over other areas of psychology? a. It has a mission to account for the psychology of whole persons. b. It uses more rigorous methods. c. It focuses on the two most important aspects of the psychological triad. d. It created the One Big Theory to explain whole persons.

a. It has a mission to account for the psychology of whole persons

A behavioroid measure is a combination of which two types of data? a. S and B b. L and B c. I and B d. S and L

a. S and B

The personality paradigm that focuses on rewards and punishments is known as the ________ paradigm. a. behaviorist b. trait c. phenomenological d. psychoanalytic

a. behaviorist

One critique of personality psychology is that it "pigeonholes" people. What does "pigeonholing" someone mean? a. categorizing and labeling people b. psychoanalyzing people c. statistically analyzing results d. prescribing medication

a. categorizing and labeling people

________ theories of personality apply the insights and methods derived from the study of perception, memory, and thought to the study of personality. a. Cognitive b. Trait c. Phenomenological d. Psychoanalytic

a. cognitive

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

a. discovering how conscious awareness produces uniquely human characteristics.

I data are ________. a. judgments made by knowledgeable observers b. direct observations of the subject in some predefined context c. easily observable, real-life outcomes d. self-judgments

a. judgments made by knowledgeable observers.

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

a. limit inquiry to certain kinds of observations and patterns.

Why haven't personality psychologists combined all paradigms into "One Big Theory"? a. Applying principles of associationism helps reduce negative behaviors, making the cognitive approach the best one. b. A theory that tries to explain everything would probably not provide the best explanation for any one thing. c. The different basic approaches to psychology address the same sets of questions. d. The manageability of research programs would be lost.

b. A theory that tries to explain everything would probably not provide the best explanation for any one thing.

According to Funder, in what way do personality psychologists appreciate individual differences? a. They categorize and label people; that is, they pigeonhole them. b. Because they assess people, they appreciate rich individual differences. c. They psychoanalyze people, because there are important differences in the unconscious. d. They try to break down individuals and study their components, rather than studying whole persons.

b. Because they assess people, they appreciate rich individual differences

According to the text, personality's greatest strength, understanding whole persons, is also its greatest weakness. Which term describes this fundamental observation? a. One Big Theory b. Funder's First Law c. psychological triad d. pigeonholing

b. Funder's First Law

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

b. Great strengths are usually great weaknesses.

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic approaches to personality? a. phenomenological b. assessment c. learning d. psychoanalytic

b. assessment

The goal of the dissertation in the process of scientific education is to demonstrate that the future scientist ________. a. can apply the technical knowledge learned in graduate school b. can contribute something new to the field c. has read all of the known articles about a given a topic d. has memorized all of the known facts about a given topic

b. can contribute something new to the field

Which part of the psychological triad corresponds to cognitions about the self? a. disorders b. thoughts c. traits d. behaviors

b. thoughts

Personality psychologists who adhere to the ________ approach focus on identifying, conceptualizing, and measuring the ways in which people differ psychologically from one another. a. phenomenological b. trait c. psychoanalytic d. cognitive

b. trait

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

b. understand everything about a person all at once.

According to Funder, in what way do personality psychologists appreciate individual differences? a. They psychoanalyze people, because there are important differences in the unconscious. b. Because they assess people, they appreciate rich individual differences. c. They categorize and label people; that is, they pigeonhole them. d. They try to break down individuals and study their components, rather than studying whole persons.

c. because they assess people, they appreciate rich individual differences.

In a priming study, participants solved puzzles that included words such as gray, wise, retired, and Florida. After solving these puzzles, participants were observed as they walked down a hallway. The observation of participants' speed of walking would be considered ________ data. a. experience sampling b. L c. experimental B d. projective

c. experimental B

The unique mandate of personality psychologists is to attempt to ________. a. determine the effect of the social environment on behavior b. prevent or treat psychological personality disorders c. explain whole, functioning persons and real life concerns d. identify and measure individual differences in ability and behavior

c. explain whole, functioning persons and real life concerns.

What two topics are covered under the phenomenological approach? a. trait and cross-cultural perspectives on personality b. humanistic and social-learning perspectives on personality c. humanistic and cross-cultural perspectives on personality d. cross-cultural and cognitive perspectives on personality

c. humanistic and cross-cultural perspectives on personality

Jeff suspects that his roommate's sexist jokes may indicate that his roommate has some hidden, unconscious hostility toward women or that he feels very insecure around women. Jeff's analysis suggests a ________ approach to personality. a. behaviorist b. phenomenological c. psychoanalytic d.

c. psychoanalytic

Personality psychologists adhering to the ________ approach focus on psychic energy, the workings of the unconscious mind, and the nature and resolution of internal mental conflict. a. cognitive b. trait c. psychoanalytic d. phenomenological

c. psychoanalytic

Which of the following is NOT part of the psychological triad? a. thoughts b. behavior c. psychological health d. feelings

c. psychological health

What is a primary goal of the biological approach to personality? a. applying principles of associationism to help reduce negative behaviors b. understanding mental conflicts c. understanding the heritability of behavior and personality d. measuring and conceptualizing individual differences

c. understanding the heritability of behavior and personality.

Funder writes that there are good reasons why personality psychologists have distinct theories versus One Big Theory. Which is NOT one of those reasons? a) One Big Theory would undermine the smaller theories b) There is, for now, no accepted One Big Theory. c) There is a trade off between depth and breadth in theories. d) Each theory offers a different perspective on personality.

d) Each theory offers a different perspective on personality.

Personality is an individual's characteristic patterns of ________. a. behavior b. emotion c. thought d. all of the above

d. all of the above

Which of the following is an expression of Funder's First Law? a. People vary in terms of their trait levels. b. There are no perfect indicators of personality. c. Individual differences should not be put into the "error" term in statistical analysis. d. Characteristics that are strengths in one sense are weaknesses in other ways.

d. characteristics that are strengths in one sense are weaknesses in other ways

Advocates of any particular basic approach to personality historically ________. a. claimed that approaches cannot be compared with each other b. proudly asserted that they have deliberately limited what they have chosen to look at c. admitted that other approaches have their good points d. claimed that their approach explains everything worth explaining

d. claimed that their approach explains everything worth explaining

Personality psychology emphasizes how people are ________, whereas subfields such as cognitive and social psychology emphasize how people are ________. a. motivated by unconscious forces; motivated by conscious forces b. similar to each other; different from each other c. essentially good; essentially bad d. different from each other; similar to each other

d. different from each other; similar to each other

The unique mandate of personality psychologists is to attempt to ________. a. determine the effect of the social environment on behavior b. prevent or treat psychological personality disorders c. identify and measure individual differences in ability and behavior d. explain whole, functioning persons and real life concerns

d. explain whole functioning persons and real life concerns

If test scores decrease as anxiety increases, then ________. a. test scores and anxiety are unrelated b. test scores and anxiety are positively correlated c. the correlation between test scores and anxiety must be 1.0 d. test scores and anxiety are negatively correlated

d. test scores and anxiety are negatively correlated

Match the most relevant term with each definition. Thoughts, feelings, and behavior A basic approach to personality Labeling and categorizing people Great strengths are often great weaknesses. A framework that can predict everything about human behavior a. One Big Theory b. Funder's Second Law c. Pigeonholing d. Paradigm e. Psychological triad f. Funder's First Law

e. psychological triad d. paradigm c. pigeonholing f. Funder's First Law a. One Big Theory