Theories of Personality Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
This course offers a comprehensive exploration of major theories and perspectives on personality development and structure. Students will examine the classic frameworks, such as psychoanalytic, humanistic, trait, social-cognitive, and behavioral approaches, as well as contemporary models that integrate biological, cultural, and environmental factors. The course emphasizes the application of these theories to understand individual differences, motivation, behavior, and psychological well-being, while fostering critical analysis of their assumptions, strengths, and limitations. Through case studies and empirical research, students will gain insight into how personality theories inform assessment, therapy, and everyday interactions.
Recommended Textbook
Personality Theory and Research 12th Edition by Daniel Cervone
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15 Chapters
1423 Verified Questions
1423 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Personality Theory: From Everyday Observations to Systematic Theories
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/23286
Sample Questions
Q1) The role of genetic factors in personality is most clearly seen in A) temperament.
B) beliefs and values.
C) career choice.
D) cognitive style.
Answer: A
Q2) In its description of the "toolkit" metaphor, the textbook notes that the idea that a theory could be wrong makes little sense. Instead, in evaluating theories, we might be better off asking how _______ they are.
A) Conceptual
B) Useful
C) Psychoanalytic
D) Theoretical
Answer: B
Q3) An important aspect of cultural influences on personality is that A) often we are unaware of the influence.
B) we can always evaluate its influence.
C) it is the same for all individuals.
D) it is only important for a few aspects of our functioning.
Answer: A
Page 3
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Chapter 2: The Scientific Study of People
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87 Verified Questions
87 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The question of whether a test really measures a psychological quality of interest is a question of A) ethics.
B) construct validity.
C) internal reliability.
D) test-retest reliability.
Answer: B
Q2) The question of whether different items on a test correlate with one another is a question of A) validity.
B) construct validity.
C) internal reliability.
D) test-retest reliability.
Answer: C
Q3) Experimenter expectancy effects represent A) an unintended source of error.
B) an intended influence on subject behavior.
C) a contribution toward greater reliability.
D) a contribution toward greater validity.
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: A Psychodynamic Theory: Freuds
Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality
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114 Verified Questions
114 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not true?
A) the unconscious cannot be observed directly.
B) the unconscious is fluid.
C) the unconscious includes repressed wishes.
D) the unconscious tracks time and space.
Answer: D
Q2) Relative to those low on repression, repressors
A) recall negative emotions and early memories.
B) recall negative emotions but not early memories.
C) recall early memories but not negative emotions.
D) have trouble recalling negative emotions and early memories.
Answer: D
Q3) Libido is
A) the energy of the life instinct.
B) the energy of the death instinct.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Freuds Psychodynamic Theory: Applications,
Related Theoretical Conceptions, and Contemporary Research
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124 Verified Questions
124 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Recent developments in traditional psychoanalytic theory have emphasized
A) disturbances in the development of sense of self and more scientific concepts.
B) the importance of social and interpersonal factors.
C) the importance of feminist objections to analytic theory.
D) disturbances in later years and recent developments in biology.
Q2) Which of the following is not a contrast emphasized by Jung?
A) persona-private self.
B) anima-animus.
C) introversion-extroversion.
D) complex-simple.
Q3) A limitation of psychoanalytic theory is that it does not encompass a broad range of phenomena.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following is not a concept emphasized by Jung?
A) blank screen.
B) collective unconscious.
C) libido.
D) archetypes.
6
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Chapter 5: A Phenomenological Theory: Carl Rogers
Person-Centered Theory of Personality
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117 Verified Questions
117 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The view that one should be true to oneself is violated in A) incongruence.
B) congruence.
C) consistency.
D) self-ideal self discrepancy.
Q2) For Rogers, the source of most concepts is (are) A) novels.
B) experiments.
C) psychological tests.
D) therapy.
Q3) Rogers' concept for the experiencing of a stimulus without bringing it into awareness is
A) incongruence.
B) subception.
C) self-actualization.
D) defensiveness.
Q4) As was true for Freud, Rogers felt that the most important determinants of behavior are unconscious.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: A Phenomenological Theory - Applications and Evaluation of Rogers Theory
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131 Verified Questions
131 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following concepts is illustrated by the quote, "I became completely 'lost' in what I was doing, unaware of time, other obligations, or other people"?
A) Existentialism.
B) Broadening.
C) Resilience.
D) Flow.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a basic psychological need, as specified by self-determination theory?
A) Autonomy
B) Certainty
C) Competence
D) Relatedness
Q3) The major prediction of terror management theory is that if one manipulates the degree to which one is thinking about ______, there should be differences in the degree that people need ____________.
A) the self; their cultural worldviews
B) death; their cultural worldviews
C) the self; unconditional positive regard
D) death; unconditional positive regard
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Chapter 7: Trait Approaches to Personality - Allport,
Eyesneck and Cattell
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107 Verified Questions
107 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) To Allport, the trait with the most pervasive influence is A) central.
B) cardinal.
C) secondary.
D) primary.
Q2) According to Allport, to account for behavior one had to consider A) traits.
B) situation characteristics.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).
Q3) Which of the following statements is false?
A) Extraverts are more sexually active than introverts.
B) Introverts do better in school than extraverts.
C) Introverts tend to be more suggestible than extraverts.
D) Extraverts enjoy aggressive humor more than introverts.
Q4) Evidence in support of the biological basis for Eysenck's dimensions comes from A) cross-cultural research.
B) stability of individual differences.
C) twin and adoption studies.
D) all of the above.
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Chapter 8: Trait Theory: the Five-Factor Model: Applications and Evaluation of the Trait Approach
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91 Verified Questions
91 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a pair?
A) Eysenck - EPI, EPQ.
B) Cattell - 16PF.
C) Five-factor model - NEO-PI.
D) all of the above are pairs.
Q2) According to the Five-Factor Model, personality disorders are best understood as A) stereotypes.
B) distinct categories.
C) extremes of traits.
D) all of the above.
Q3) According to the Big Five, intelligence is a major component of personality. A)True
B)False
Q4) If research suggests that some traits are universal, whereas others are unique to specific cultures, then the fundamental lexical hypothesis is completely invalid. A)True B)False
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Chapter 9: Biological Foundations of Personality
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124 Verified Questions
124 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a superfactor according to Clark and Watson?
A) PE.
B) NE.
C) C.
D) DvC.
Q2) Sheldon's work on the relation of body type to temperament
A) is the basis of all contemporary research on the topic.
B) yielded strong, convincing results.
C) a and b.
D) yielded results that are now recognized as weak, and are not important to the contemporary field.
Q3) Recent research suggests that children from the same family are so different because of
A) different genes.
B) nonshared environmental influences.
C) both a and b.
D) neither a nor b.
Q4) Children evoke different parental reactions based on constitutional differences.
A)True
B)False
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Behaviorism and the Learning Approaches to Personality
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86 Verified Questions
86 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) For Skinner, depression may be viewed as a result of A) punishment.
B) withdrawal of positive reinforcers.
C) intermittent reinforcement.
D) all of the above.
Q2) Operant conditioning differs from classical conditioning in that it shapes rather than creates behavior.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The case of Albert involved a conditional emotional reaction.
A)True
B)False
Q4) According to Skinner
A) exploration of motivation is a worthy endeavor.
B) feelings are causes of behavior.
C) both (a) and (b).
D) neither (a) nor (b).
Q5) Explain why Skinner argued against the idea that people have free will.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: A Cognitive Theory of Personality: George a Kellys
Personal Construct Theory of Personality
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76 Verified Questions
76 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) If an anticipated event does not occur the person
A) may develop a new construct.
B) may loosen a construct.
C) may reorganize the construct system.
D) may do any of the above.
Q2) The value of constructs is that they
A) help us to gratify our instincts.
B) help us to impose order and regularity on the world.
C) are associated with affect and motivation.
D) all of the above.
Q3) For Kelly, the idea that people think in terms of constructs is
A) a core construct.
B) a peripheral construct.
C) a submerged construct.
D) a loose construct.
Q4) For Kelly, theories are
A) part of the discovery of truth.
B) valid or invalid.
C) modifiable.
D) maintained until an inaccurate prediction.
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Chapter 12: Social Cognitive Theory: Bandura and Mischel
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87 Verified Questions
87 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/23297
Sample Questions
Q1) The point of Cervone and Peake's research on anchoring, self-efficacy, and behavior was that
A) people are highly motivated to perform well in academic settings.
B) self-efficacy judgments causally influence behavior.
C) self-efficacy should be assessed in a context-specific manner.
D) self-efficacy judgments may change over time.
Q2) In research conducted by Bandura and Cervone, on factors that increase motivation, results indicated that motivation is most strongly enhanced when people A) are working toward specific goals, but do not receive any feedback on their performance, since the feedback can distract them from performing at their best.
B) receive feedback on their performance but do not receive any specific goals to work toward, since goals can distract people from performing at their best.
C) do not receive either goals or feedback on their performance.
D) none of the above.
Q3) What are the core personality variables in social cognitive theory? How do these contrast with the sort of personality variables found in trait theory (e.g., in the Big Five model)?
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Chapter 13: Social-Cognitive Theory: Extensions,
Applications, and Evaluation
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91 Verified Questions
91 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A limitation of social cognitive theory is that is
A) relatively neglects some important areas.
B) is not grounded in research.
C) has failed to foster therapeutic applications.
D) has given no attention to issues of development.
Q2) Bandura's research on treatments for phobia reveals that the psychological mechanism mediating treatment effects is
A) self-efficacy.
B) goals.
C) standards.
D) implicit beliefs.
Q3) Possible selves are thought of as schemas.
A)True
B)False
Q4) RET stands for Ellis'
A) reticent patient.
B) rational emotive therapy.
C) right expectations therapy.
D) rational, elegant thinking.
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Chapter 14: Personality in Context: Interpersonal Relations,
Culture, and Development Across the Course of Life
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69 Verified Questions
69 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/23299
Sample Questions
Q1) The overall design and operating characteristics of personality systems are termed, by Cervone,
A) the architecture of personality.
B) knowledge.
C) appraisal.
D) social cognition.
Q2) Are all personality variables global, or context-free? What are some examples of contextualized personality variables?
Q3) The idea that personality and culture are mutually constitutive means that A) personality influences culture.
B) culture influences personality.
C) personality and culture make each other up.
D) personality and culture are independent forces.
Q4) Susan Andersen and colleagues explain transference in terms of A) personality traits.
B) basic social-cognitive processes.
C) psychodynamic transfer of energy.
D) genetic influences.
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Chapter 15: An Overview of Personality Theory, Assessment, and Research
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49 Verified Questions
49 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following had the least to say about psychopathology?
A) Allport.
B) Eysenck.
C) Kelly.
D) Bandura.
Q2) The observations of different theories are inconsistent with one another.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following would appear to be least compatible with one another?
A) Bandura - five-factor theory.
B) Mischel - personal construct theory.
C) social cognitive theory - phenomenological theory.
D) Freud - Jung.
Q4) The text argues that one way of resolving different views of personality processes is to recognize that
A) Freud was right all along.
B) the notion of "processes" should be jettisoned.
C) a person may possess a multiplicity of motivational processes that come into play at different points in their life.
D) trait concepts are superior to motivational process concepts.
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