Burger 9e TB Chapter 7 PDF

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Chapter 7The Trait Approach:Theory, Application, and Assessment Typology systems make each of the following assumptions except one. Which one? A. Each person belongs in one personality category. B. All people within a personality category are basically alike. C. People in one personality category ar...

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Chapter 7 The Trait Approach: Theory, Application, and Assessment

1.

Typology systems make each of the following assumptions except one. Which one? A. Each person belongs in one personality category. B. All people within a personality category are basically alike. C. People in one personality category are distinctly different from people in other categories. D. Not all people can be classified into a type category, but most of them can. ANS: D

2.

REF: 152

Which of the following assumptions underlies the trait approach to personality? A. Each person belongs in one and only one personality category. B. We can place a person somewhere along a continuum of behaviors. C. People in one personality category are distinctly different from people in other categories. D. Personality can change as a function of the situation the person is in. ANS: B REF: 153

3.

The trait approach is built on the assumption that personality characteristics are relatively stable over time and that A. B. C. D.

personality characteristics are relatively stable over situations, too. through trait descriptions we can make comparisons across people. the typical behavior of a person with one trait is different from that of another. while explanation is not possible, trait researchers focus on describing personality. ANS: A

4.

REF: 153

If we say Ted is high on the personality trait of assertiveness, we would expect that he will act assertively A. B. C. D.

all of the time. more often than someone low in assertiveness. in some situations that call for assertiveness, but not in others. because he puts himself in situations that call for assertion. ANS: B REF: 153

5.

Which of the following statements is true about the trait approach?

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A. B. C. D.

No major schools of psychotherapy have evolved from the trait approach. The trait approach is the best approach for predicting change in personality. Most trait researchers do not focus on predicting behavior. Trait theorists place emphasis on identifying the mechanisms that determine behavior. ANS: A

6.

Which approach to personality has relatively little to say about why people behave the way they do? A. B. C. D.

Trait Psychoanalytic Behavioral/social learning Cognitive ANS: A

7.

REF: 154

REF: 154

Which of the following is true about the trait approach to personality? A. Trait researchers generally are not interested in understanding and predicting the behavior of a single individual. B. It is not easy to make comparisons across people with the trait approach. C. The trait approach has been responsible for generating a number of useful approaches to psychotherapy. D. Trait theorists place a greater emphasis on discovering the mechanisms underlying behavior than do theorists from other approaches to personality. ANS: A

8.

Traits were introduced into the field of personality psychology by A. B. C. D.

Gordon Allport Raymond Cattell Carl Jung Henry Murray ANS: A

9.

REF: 154

REF: 155

According to Allport, which of the following is true about central traits? A. B. C. D.

They are basically the same for all people. They are useful when examining personality through the nomothetic approach. They are useful when examining personality through the idiographic approach. They are comprised of a number of secondary traits. ANS: C REF: 155-156

10.

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The idiographic approach to personality has advantages. For example, A. B. C. D.

researchers can compare all people on measures of a certain trait. it reveals common traits. the person rather than the researcher determines what traits to examine. it provides information about the relationship between traits and behavior. 2

ANS: C REF: 155 11.

A man is said to have one personality trait that dominates his personality. Allport would identify this personality trait as a A. B. C. D.

common trait. central trait. cardinal trait. secondary trait. ANS: C REF: 156

12.

A psychologist collects data from a large number of people. She places each person on a continuum ranging from high to low conscientiousness and makes predictions about how people in the high range will act compared to those in the low range. This psychologist is using which approach to understanding personality? A. B. C. D.

Type approach Nomothetic approach Idiographic approach Common trait approach ANS: B REF: 155

13.

People with traits that dominate their personality can be described with a A. B. C. D.

cardinal trait. central trait. idiographic map. secondary trait. ANS: A

14.

Allport called the five to 10 traits that best describe an individual’s personality A. B. C. D.

central traits. common traits. cardinal traits. the Big Five. ANS: A

15.

REF: 155

Which theorist had a strong influence on Henry Murray’s theorizing about personality? A. B. C. D.

Gordon Allport Alfred Adler Sigmund Freud Carl Jung ANS: D

16.

REF: 156

REF: 156

Which theorist identified psychogenic needs as the basic elements of personality?

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A. B. C. D.

Gordon Allport Raymond Cattell Carl Jung Henry Murray ANS: D

17.

Which of the following is not a psychogenic need? A. B. C. D.

dominance affiliation autonomy nutrition ANS: D

18.

REF: 156

REF: 156

Sometimes a man with a high need for Affiliation will engage in social interactions, but sometimes he will not. According to Murray, what determines the man's affiliation behavior? A. B. C. D.

Whether or not he has recently spent time with people The strength of his need for Affiliation relative to other needs The need for Affiliation levels of other people His need for Power ANS: B REF: 158

19.

According to Murray, we need to know all of the following pieces of information except one in order to predict a woman's achievement behavior. Which one? A. B. C. D.

The strength of her need for Achievement Where her need for Achievement fits on her hierarchy of needs The press Her fear of failure ANS: D

20.

A researcher compares the speeches of American presidents to determine the presidents’ needs for Achievement. The researcher’s research was influenced by which personality theorist’s work? A. B. C. D.

Gordon Allport Raymond Cattell Carl Jung Henry Murray ANS: D

21.

REF: 158

REF: 156

Murray referred to each environmental force that activates a need as a(n) A. trigger. B. repressor. C. press. 4

D. itch. ANS: C REF: 158 22.

Raymond Cattell argued that in their efforts to understanding the basic structure of personality, psychologists should A. begin with a theory about the basic structure of personality. B. examine personality characteristics shared by everyone as well as those found in only a few people. C. allow empirical data analyses to describe the basic structure of personality to us. D. examine only one type of personality data. ANS: C REF: 159

23.

In his quest to understand the basic structure of personality, Cattell relied heavily on A. B. C. D.

the idiographic approach. factor analysis. the examination of central traits. case studies. ANS: B REF: 159

24.

Personality psychologists use factor analysis to help them determine A. B. C. D.

a person’s central traits. which personality traits correlate together. the stability of personality traits over time and situations. the validity of personality trait measures. ANS: B REF: 159

25.

A psychologist examines six personality tests. She suspects that four of the tests are really measuring the same personality trait and that the other two measure another personality trait. What kind of research should the psychologist conduct to test her hypothesis? A. B. C. D.

A field study A case study Factor analysis Idiographic research ANS: C REF: 159

26.

According to Cattell, which of the following traits ultimately constitute the human personality? A. B. C. D.

Cardinal Source Secondary Factor ANS: B REF: 160

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27.

Why were pioneers in the study of personality traits limited in what they could discover? A. B. C. D.

There were not as many sophisticated statistical tests in those days. They had to calculate the factor analyses by hand. Their data set was limited. all of the above ANS: D

28.

REF: 160-161

Recent research on the “Big Five” personality factors uses an approach to understanding personality similar to that advocated by A. B. C. D.

Gordon Allport. Raymond Cattell. Carl Jung. Henry Murray. ANS: B REF: 160

29.

Recently, many researchers using factor analysis have uncovered what they believe to be the number of basic personality factors. How many of these factors did they find? A. B. C. D.

Three Five Sixteen Sixteen to 20 ANS: B REF: 161

30.

Karen always approaches tasks in an organized, faithful manner. She persists at a difficult job longer than most people and generally accomplishes more. Karen is probably high in A. B. C. D.

agreeableness. openness. conscientiousness. extraversion. ANS: C REF: 163

31.

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Andrew has strong opinions and enjoys a good argument in which he can stand up for his beliefs. He prefers to work where he can compete with others, rather than an organization that stresses cooperation. Andrew would probably score low on a measure of A. B. C. D.

conscientiousness. agreeableness. introversion. openness. ANS: B REF: 163

32.

Alicia has an active imagination and a strong intellectual curiosity. She likes new ideas and unconventional ways of looking at problems. Alicia is probably high in

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A. B. C. D.

agreeableness. neuroticism. conscientiousness. openness. ANS: D

33.

People high on the __________ dimension are helpful and sympathetic to others. A. B. C. D.

agreeableness openness conscientiousness psychoticism ANS: A

34.

REF: 163

REF: 163

Which of the following is true about the five-factor model? A. Few have criticized it for its lack of predictive value. B. Hypotheses about the origin of the Big Five factors were generated after the results of the research were seen. C. Trait theorists would be better off focusing their research on the five main traits. D. Both b and c ANS: B REF: 163

35.

Tonya often becomes upset over daily stressors. More than most people, she experiences such emotions as sadness, anger and anxiety. This description of Tonya is best accounted for by which of the factors in the five-factor model? A. B. C. D.

Agreeableness Neuroticism Extraversion Openness ANS: B REF: 161

36.

Compared to most of us, individuals who score high on Openness are more likely to A. B. C. D.

tell a stranger all about themselves. change their self-concept. make friends easily. consider new ideas. ANS: D

37.

REF: 163

Which of the following statements is true about research on the Big Five? A. There are very few findings support general trends in Big Five scores over the lifespan. B. Different findings may reflect differences in how broadly investigators conceive the personality structure. C. All studies using factor analysis include the same kind of data. D. Controversy surrounds the inconsistent findings for the Big Five over different 7

populations. ANS: B REF: 165 38.

According to the “person by situation” approach, A. B. C. D.

personality is more important than the situation in determining behavior. there is little evidence for cross-situational consistency. behavior is determined by an interaction of personality and the situation. personality researchers need to measure behavior in more than one way. ANS: C REF: 168

39.

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Critics of the trait approach to personality have raised each of the following points except one. Which one? A. Personality researchers do not measure behaviors correctly. B. There is little evidence for cross-situational consistency. C. Psychologists place too much emphasis on personality test scores when making psychological diagnoses. D. Trait measures do not predict behavior well. ANS: A

40.

Critics of the trait approach have argued that there is A. B. C. D.

little consistency of behavior across situations. no valid prediction of behavior from test scores. too much reliance on situational factors rather than the traits themselves. all of the above ANS: A

41.

REF: 167-169

REF: 167

Many researchers fail to produce strong links between personality traits and behavior. Epstein has argued that the reason for this failure is because A. B. C. D.

researchers don’t perform the correct statistical analysis. researchers don’t measure personality traits correctly. researchers don’t measure behavior correctly. none of the above ANS: C REF: 169

42.

Psychologists often use personality traits to predict behavior in the workplace. This research has benefited recently by looking at A. B. C. D.

the Big Five personality dimensions. psychogenic needs. central traits. the idiographic approach. ANS: A

REF: 169

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43.

One team of researchers improved its ability to predict behavior from personality measures by dividing participants into traited and untraited groups. This approach is similar to that advocated earlier by A. B. C. D.

Gordon Allport. Raymond Cattell. Carl Jung. Henry Murray. ANS: A

44.

Julie sets high goals for herself at work. She is more committed to reaching these goals than most employees. She is organized, works hard, and remains persistent in the face of obstacles to reaching her work goals. Julie would probably score high on a measure of A. B. C. D.

extraversion. agreeableness. openness. conscientiousness. ANS: D

45.

REF: 172

Among the Big Five personality dimensions, individual differences in _________ typically are the best predictors of job performance. A. B. C. D.

Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness ANS: D

46.

REF: 170

REF: 173

According to critics of the five-factor model of personality, A. knowing how sociable a person is allows for a better prediction of behavior than knowing how extraverted that person is. B. researchers need to use factor analysis in order to determine the number of basic personality factors. C. although Extraversion is a basic personality factor, there is no evidence that Neuroticism is. D. factor analytic researchers should all use the same personality tests so that they can produce the same results. ANS: A

47.

REF: 173

Rather than examine a large number of personality variables that may or may not be related to how well people perform in the workplace, many researchers now address the questions of job performance and personality A. by using the personality dimensions identified in the five-factor model. B. by categorizing workers by personality types. C. by using the several psychogenic needs developed by Murray.

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D. by responses to work interests on self-report inventories. ANS: A 48.

REF: 173

Test-takers who “fake good” A. B. C. D.

are able to fool most test givers with their inaccurate responses. are not likely to be detected unless they admit that they are faking their test answers. are trying to present a better image than is accurate. are not aware that they are distorting their responses to create a false image. ANS: C REF: 177

49.

Each of the following is true about the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) except one. Which one? A. B. C. D.

It is among the most widely used psychological tests. It provides a pattern of scores on a number of scales. It provides test givers with an overall mental health score for each test-taker. It is a self-report inventory. ANS: C REF: 175

50.

A psychologist knows the man he is testing wants to be admitted into the psychiatric ward of the hospital. With which problem should the psychologist be concerned? A. B. C. D.

Faking good Faking bad Social desirability Acquiescence response ANS: B REF: 177

51.

Sometimes test makers include the same test questions more than once on the test. This is done to detect which potential problem? A. B. C. D.

Faking good Faking bad Carelessness and sabotage Social desirability ANS: C REF: 177

52.

Social desirability scales measure the extent to which a person A. B. C. D.

possesses socially desirable characteristics. understands the rules of social interaction. tries to present him- or herself in a desirable light. is able to understand the meaning of the test items. ANS: C REF: 178

53.

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A woman indicates on a test that she agrees with the statement, “I am confident in my

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abilities.” Later on the same test she agrees with the statement, “I have doubts about my abilities.” This woman’s responses may indicate the presence of which potential problem? A. B. C. D.

Faking good Faking bad Social desirability Acquiescence response ANS: D

54.

Sometimes test makers reverse the direction of the test items. That is, whereas sometimes agreeing with an item indicates a high score on the trait being measured, sometimes disagreeing with the item indicates a high score. Test makers do this to control for which potential problem? A. B. C. D.

Faking Carelessness and sabotage Social desirability Acquiescence response ANS: D

55.

REF: 180

REF: 180

Test makers often examine the correlation between scores on the new test and scores on a measure of social desirability. They do this to A. B. C. D.

make certain they are measuring something that is socially appropriate. establish the discriminant validity of the new scale. ensure that people are not offended by items on the new scale. establish the face validity of the new scale. ANS: B REF: 178

56.

One strength of the trait approach to personality is that it A. B. C. D.

predicts behavior in many situations. is not necessary to job counselors to do their work. does not rely on intuition but instead on objective measures. explains the development of personality traits. ANS: C REF: 180

57.

58.

Discuss several ways in which the trait approach differs from other approaches to personality. Distinguish the special features of the trait and what it emphasizes, including the advantages of studying personality through the trait approach. REF: 150-154 Discuss the contributions of Gordon Allport to understanding personality and distinguish between nomothetic and idiographic approaches to personality. Give three kinds of personality traits proposed ...