WGU D564 Final Exam (Latest Update 2026/2027) Theories of Personality | Questions & Answers | 100% Correct | Grade A (Verified Answers) 2026/20
OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT - EXAM
Theories of Personality
Final Exam — Comprehensive Review
75 100% 2026/2027 80%
Questions Verified Answers Edition Passing Score
TOPICS COVERED
• Psychoanalytic & Neo-Freudian Theories • Cognitive & Information-Processing Models
• Trait & Biological Approaches • Personality Assessment & Measurement
• Humanistic & Existential Perspectives • Cultural & Gender Considerations
• Social-Cognitive & Learning Theories • Contemporary Integrative Approaches
COVER PAGE - 1
, SECTION 1: PSYCHOANALYTIC & NEO-FREUDIAN THEORIES Q1-Q15
Q1
A 32-year-old woman in psychoanalysis reports a recurring dream in which she is locked out of her
childhood home. During free association, she connects this to feelings of rejection from her father during
adolescence.
A. The therapist should interpret this as a manifestation of the oral stage fixation
B. The locked door represents a repressed childhood memory that must be recovered through hypnosis
C. The dream reflects unconscious conflicts about intimacy and fear of abandonment rooted in early attachment
D. The patient is experiencing resistance because she refuses to discuss her current romantic relationship
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Freudian dream analysis posits that dreams express unconscious wishes through symbolic content. The locked home
symbolizes barriers to emotional connection, reflecting unresolved attachment conflicts. Resistance would manifest as avoiding
the topic entirely, not by bringing it up in dream content.
Q2
A 28-year-old man consistently forgets appointments with his therapist whenever the discussion turns to
his competitive feelings toward his older brother. According to Freudian theory, this pattern represents a
classic example of which defense mechanism?
A. Sublimation, because he is redirecting aggressive impulses into socially acceptable behavior
B. Repression, because the ego is pushing threatening thoughts into the unconscious mind
C. Displacement, because he is transferring feelings from his brother onto the therapist
D. Intellectualization, because he is using abstract reasoning to avoid emotional content
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Forgetting appointments when a threatening topic arises is repression, where the ego unconsciously excludes
anxiety-producing material from awareness. Displacement involves redirecting emotions to a safer target, while
intellectualization uses abstract analysis to avoid feelings.
, Q3
During a therapy session, a 45-year-old woman suddenly becomes hostile and accuses her therapist of
being judgmental, despite the therapist maintaining a neutral stance. The therapist recognizes this as a
projection of her own harsh self-criticism.
A. The therapist should confront the patient immediately about her distorted perception
B. This is projection, where unacceptable internal feelings are attributed to an external object
C. The patient is demonstrating transference by reenacting a childhood relationship with her mother
D. This represents reaction formation, where opposite feelings are expressed to mask true emotions
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Projection is a defense mechanism where one attributes one's own unacceptable impulses or feelings to another
person. Transference involves redirecting feelings from past relationships onto the therapist. Reaction formation expresses the
opposite of the true feeling.
Q4
Carl Jung's concept of the collective unconscious suggests that certain archetypes appear across all
human cultures. A therapist observes that multiple patients from diverse backgrounds describe similar
symbolic imagery of a wise old man in their dreams.
A. This is evidence of shared cultural upbringing rather than universal archetypes
B. The wise old man represents the anima archetype, which symbolizes the feminine aspect within men
C. This reflects the senex archetype, representing wisdom, guidance, and the Self's quest for meaning
D. The imagery is purely coincidental and has no psychological significance
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Jung identified the senex or wise old man as a universal archetype symbolizing wisdom, spiritual guidance, and the
Self. The anima represents the feminine within men. Jung rejected cultural explanations in favor of inherited collective
unconscious structures.
Q5
A 19-year-old college student engages in excessive studying, competitive sports, and political activism, all
driven by an underlying need to prove intellectual and physical superiority over peers. Adler would
describe this behavior as stemming from which core concept?
A. The pleasure principle, which drives the id to seek immediate gratification
B. An inferiority complex, where compensatory striving masks feelings of inadequacy
C. The actualizing tendency, which motivates self-improvement and personal growth
D. Operant conditioning, where reinforcement shapes competitive behaviors
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Adler's individual psychology emphasizes that feelings of inferiority drive compensatory striving for superiority.
Excessive achievement-seeking masks underlying inadequacy. The pleasure principle is Freudian, actualizing tendency is
Rogers, and operant conditioning is Skinnerian.
OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT - EXAM
Theories of Personality
Final Exam — Comprehensive Review
75 100% 2026/2027 80%
Questions Verified Answers Edition Passing Score
TOPICS COVERED
• Psychoanalytic & Neo-Freudian Theories • Cognitive & Information-Processing Models
• Trait & Biological Approaches • Personality Assessment & Measurement
• Humanistic & Existential Perspectives • Cultural & Gender Considerations
• Social-Cognitive & Learning Theories • Contemporary Integrative Approaches
COVER PAGE - 1
, SECTION 1: PSYCHOANALYTIC & NEO-FREUDIAN THEORIES Q1-Q15
Q1
A 32-year-old woman in psychoanalysis reports a recurring dream in which she is locked out of her
childhood home. During free association, she connects this to feelings of rejection from her father during
adolescence.
A. The therapist should interpret this as a manifestation of the oral stage fixation
B. The locked door represents a repressed childhood memory that must be recovered through hypnosis
C. The dream reflects unconscious conflicts about intimacy and fear of abandonment rooted in early attachment
D. The patient is experiencing resistance because she refuses to discuss her current romantic relationship
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Freudian dream analysis posits that dreams express unconscious wishes through symbolic content. The locked home
symbolizes barriers to emotional connection, reflecting unresolved attachment conflicts. Resistance would manifest as avoiding
the topic entirely, not by bringing it up in dream content.
Q2
A 28-year-old man consistently forgets appointments with his therapist whenever the discussion turns to
his competitive feelings toward his older brother. According to Freudian theory, this pattern represents a
classic example of which defense mechanism?
A. Sublimation, because he is redirecting aggressive impulses into socially acceptable behavior
B. Repression, because the ego is pushing threatening thoughts into the unconscious mind
C. Displacement, because he is transferring feelings from his brother onto the therapist
D. Intellectualization, because he is using abstract reasoning to avoid emotional content
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Forgetting appointments when a threatening topic arises is repression, where the ego unconsciously excludes
anxiety-producing material from awareness. Displacement involves redirecting emotions to a safer target, while
intellectualization uses abstract analysis to avoid feelings.
, Q3
During a therapy session, a 45-year-old woman suddenly becomes hostile and accuses her therapist of
being judgmental, despite the therapist maintaining a neutral stance. The therapist recognizes this as a
projection of her own harsh self-criticism.
A. The therapist should confront the patient immediately about her distorted perception
B. This is projection, where unacceptable internal feelings are attributed to an external object
C. The patient is demonstrating transference by reenacting a childhood relationship with her mother
D. This represents reaction formation, where opposite feelings are expressed to mask true emotions
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Projection is a defense mechanism where one attributes one's own unacceptable impulses or feelings to another
person. Transference involves redirecting feelings from past relationships onto the therapist. Reaction formation expresses the
opposite of the true feeling.
Q4
Carl Jung's concept of the collective unconscious suggests that certain archetypes appear across all
human cultures. A therapist observes that multiple patients from diverse backgrounds describe similar
symbolic imagery of a wise old man in their dreams.
A. This is evidence of shared cultural upbringing rather than universal archetypes
B. The wise old man represents the anima archetype, which symbolizes the feminine aspect within men
C. This reflects the senex archetype, representing wisdom, guidance, and the Self's quest for meaning
D. The imagery is purely coincidental and has no psychological significance
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Jung identified the senex or wise old man as a universal archetype symbolizing wisdom, spiritual guidance, and the
Self. The anima represents the feminine within men. Jung rejected cultural explanations in favor of inherited collective
unconscious structures.
Q5
A 19-year-old college student engages in excessive studying, competitive sports, and political activism, all
driven by an underlying need to prove intellectual and physical superiority over peers. Adler would
describe this behavior as stemming from which core concept?
A. The pleasure principle, which drives the id to seek immediate gratification
B. An inferiority complex, where compensatory striving masks feelings of inadequacy
C. The actualizing tendency, which motivates self-improvement and personal growth
D. Operant conditioning, where reinforcement shapes competitive behaviors
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Adler's individual psychology emphasizes that feelings of inferiority drive compensatory striving for superiority.
Excessive achievement-seeking masks underlying inadequacy. The pleasure principle is Freudian, actualizing tendency is
Rogers, and operant conditioning is Skinnerian.
