Theories of Personality 541
Test Yourself
Pick the best answer.
- If you are describing characteristics of your child such as irritability
or adaptability, psychologists would say you are not describing their
personality but rather their
a. character.
b. consciousness.
c. mood.
d. temperament.
- According to Freud, the works off of the plea-
sure principle, while the is often perceived as
the executive director of your personality.
a. id; ego
b. ego; superego
c. superego; id
d. superego; ego
- You are shocked to hear that two of your coworkers who seemingly
hated one another are now getting married. According to Freud,
what defense mechanism best explains their prior behavior?
a. projection
b. reaction formation
c. repression
d. regression
- Four-year-old Brandon has watched his father as he has mowed the
lawn. This year, Brandon has asked for a lawn mower of his own for
his birthday. Freud would say that Brandon is beginning the process
of _____ as a way of resolving his Oedipal conflict.
a. compensation
b. identification
c. sublimation
d. denial
- Your professor explains how all females have an inner masculine
side that adds to their personality. This concept is known as a(n)
a. anima.
b. animus.
c. shadow.
d. source trait.
- According to Adler, firstborn children with younger siblings tend to be
a. overachieving.
b. competitive.
c. pampered.
d. filled with feelings of inferiority.
- Karen Horney’s study of one’s personality focused on
a. anxiety during childhood.
b. biological changes during adolescence.
c. trait-based characteristics that were present in infancy.
d. environmental influences through adulthood. - Candice believes that fate will help her find the right man with whom
to live her life. According to Rotter, she has a(n)
a. external locus of control.
b. internal locus of control.
c. strong self-efficacy.
d. perceived sense of control.
- Keisha works hard at her job because she believes it will increase
her chances for a promotion. According to Julian Rotter’s theory,
her effort is an example of what he calls
a. reinforcement value.
b. expectancy.
c. archetypes.
d. latency stage.
- What is a primary advantage of the social-cognitive view of person-
ality over the psychodynamic view?
a. The social cognitive view tries to explain how people become the
people they are.
b. The social cognitive view stresses the importance of early child-
hood in personality development.
c. The social cognitive view is fully able to explain all the complexi-
ties of human behavior.
d. The social cognitive view has concepts that can be tested scientifically. - Which perspective of psychology focuses on the role of each person’s
conscious life experiences and choices in personality development?
a. trait
b. behavior
c. humanistic
d. psychodynamic
- An old motto of the U.S. Army was, “Be all you can be.” This con-
cept fits well with Carl Rogers’s theory of
a. unconditional positive regard.
b. empathy.
c. self-actualizing tendency.
d. the real versus the ideal self. - According to Rogers, a mismatch between the real and ideal self
a. typically motivates individuals to close the gap.
b. can result in anxiety and neurotic behavior.
c. causes one to better understand their unconscious motives.
d. causes an increase in unconditional positive regard. - Dr. Hill is constantly late for meetings. She often arrives to her
classes 5 to 10 minutes late and leaves students waiting at her door
during office hours for up to 30 minutes. Using the five-factor model,
which dimension would show a very low score for Dr. Hill?
a. self-sufficiency
b. openness
c. agreeableness
d. conscientiousness
- To explain an individual’s personality, trait theorists would look to
a. early childhood emotional traumas.
b. the kind of love, warmth, and affection given to the person by his
or her parents.
c. the early experiences of rewards and punishments for certain
behavior.
d. the constellation of personality characteristics possessed by the
person. - Studies of the hereditability of personality traits have found
a. little evidence to support the belief that personality can be
passed on by genetics.
b. evidence to support the belief that personality can be passed on
by genetics but only in highly developed countries.
c. strong evidence to support some personality traits can be
passed on by genetics.
d. strong evidence that personality is passed on exclusively by
genetics. - As examples of what might be required as parts of specific projec-
tive tests, the ___ asks clients to look at a picture and
tell a story while the ____ asks clients to report everything
they see in an ambiguous figure.
a. Rorschach; Thematic Apperception Test
b. MMPI-2-RF; Thematic Apperception Test
c. MMPI-2-RF; NEO-PI-3
d. Thematic Apperception Test; Rorschach - Which type of assessment would be the most reliable?
a. subjective test
b. projective test
c. personality inventory
d. observational study
- The _____ is based on the five-factor model, while
____ is based on the work of Raymond Cattell.
a. NEO-PI-3; 16PF
b. MBTI; NEO-PI-3
c. MMPI-2-RF; MBTI
d. 16PF; MMPI-2-RF
- Personality neuroscience is an emerging field offering evidence of a
possible relationship between various aspects of personality with
a. brain structure and function.
b. the structure and function of individual neurons.
c. skull shape and size.
d. neuroticism.