Ch01
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. What is the relationship between theory and each of the following terms:
(a) philosophy, (b) speculation, (c) hypothesis, and (d) taxonomy?
2. What is the relationship between theory and observation?
3. List and briefly discuss six criteria for a useful theory.
4. The word personality comes from the Latin word "persona", meaning
A. that which one truly is.
B. the evil side of people.
C. theatrical mask.
D. soul.
5. Psychologists generally agree that personality
A. refers mostly to surface traits.
B. is largely inherited.
C. can be explained by several different theories.
D. can best be explained by a single theory.
6. The word "theory" is most closely associated with
A. philosophy.
B. science.
C. armchair speculation.
D. taxonomy.
7. Theories are built primarily on
A. scientific observations.
B. philosophical speculation.
C. unique definitions of terms.
D. sociological models.
,8. A set of related assumptions from which, by logical deductive reasoning, testable hypotheses can be
drawn is
A. a philosophy.
B. the definition of theory.
C. the definition of taxonomy.
D. an armchair speculation.
9. Statements formed in an if-then framework are most likely
A. taxonomies.
B. philosophies.
C. theories.
D. definitions of personality.
10. What is the proper place of theory within science?
A. Theories enable scientists to know how they should live their lives.
B. Theories are tools used by scientists to give meaning to observations.
C. Theory building is the ultimate aim of science.
D. Theories play no role in scientific pursuits.
11. Which statement best characterizes the relationship between a theory and a hypothesis?
A. A theory is narrower than a hypothesis.
B. A theory is directly verifiable, a hypothesis is not.
C. A theory is logically deduced from a specific hypothesis.
D. A theory may generate one or more hypotheses.
12. An educated guess that can be scientifically tested is a definition of
A. theory.
B. hypothesis.
C. philosophy.
D. taxonomy.
13. A taxonomy is best defined as
A. an educated guess.
B. a set of if-then statements.
C. the study of the nature of reality.
D. a classification system.
14. The basic data of science are
A. observations.
B. facts.
C. theories.
D. hypotheses.
15. What is the relationship between theory and observation?
A. They are mutually exclusive.
B. Several theories make up an observation.
C. Several observations make up a theory.
D. There is a mutual and dynamic interaction between them.
16. A theory may be set aside when it
A. generates testable hypotheses.
B. explains a set of observations.
C. is proven by experimentation.
D. loses its usefulness.
,17. The ultimate value of any theory depends on its
A. usefulness.
B. truthfulness.
C. reliability.
D. simplicity.
18. The personalities, cognitive processes, developmental histories, and social experiences of personality
theorists help shape their theories. The discipline that deals with these factors is called
A. personology.
B. psychology.
C. sociology.
D. the psychology of science.
E. psychobiology.
19. According to the authors of the text, personality theories
A. are former principles that have been proven true.
B. originate from the historical, social, and psychological world of their originators.
C. are useful tools of science to the extent that they are value free.
D. should not be open to falsification.
20. Descriptive research
A. is designed to test hypotheses.
B. contributes to expanding a theory.
C. is that which uses an experimental design.
D. is expressed by if-then statements.
21. The two MOST important functions of a theory are its
A. internal consistency and accuracy.
B. logic and its consistency with established theories.
C. ability to generate research and organize observations.
D. ability to be proven true and to become a doctrine.
22. A useful theory must be falsifiable, which means that
A. it will eventually be proven false.
B. it must be precise enough to suggest research that may either support or fail to support its major tenets.
C. it should be flexible enough to encompass opposing data into its framework.
D. it must be either true or false.
23. Which of these is NOT a function of a useful theory?
A. It will generate research.
B. It will be consistent with one's philosophy of life.
C. It organizes observations.
D. It serves as a guide to action.
24. Which statement is most nearly true?
A. A theory can be a practical guide for a psychotherapist.
B. Theory and practice are mutually exclusive.
C. Other things being equal, the more complex a theory. the better.
D. A good theory gives opposing answers to a single question.
25. Part of the internal consistency of a theory is
A. a taxonomy.
B. a set of operational definitions.
C. its agreement with older, more established theories.
D. its empirical validity.
, 26. A researcher uses the number of times a person smiles at others as a measure of friendliness. This an
example of
A. an operational definition.
B. hypothesis testing.
C. parsimony.
D. internal consistency.
27. A useful theory should be parsimonious, meaning that it should be
A. based on empirical research.
B. complex.
C. simple.
D. verifiable.
28. Which of the following is NOT a dimension used by the authors to assess a theorist's concept of
humanity?
A. determinism versus free choice
B. order versus disorder
C. pessimism versus optimism
D. conscious versus unconscious
29. The variety of personality theories now is due to
A. the different personal and philosophical perspectives that each theorist has of
human nature.
B. the use of different terminology for the same basic concepts.
C. different translations of theories originally written in other languages.
D. the reluctance of psychologists to accept any theory except their own.
30. Personality theorists have evolved different systems because
A. they have different conceptions as to the nature of humanity.
B. they have had a variety of childhood and professional experiences.
C. they begin with different assumptions concerning personality.
D. Any or all the above are correct.
31. Personality theorists who adopt a teleological approach generally believe that people's behavior is a
function of
A. early childhood experiences.
B. genetic makeup.
C. environment.
D. people's expectations of future events.
E. a and c
32. A reliable test
A. is always valid.
B. measures what it purports to measure.
C. correlates positively with its validity.
D. yields consistent results.
33. If scores on an instrument that measures introversion correlate highly with a number of other measures of
introversion—for example, shyness and inhibition—then that instrument is said to have
A. discriminant validity.
B. convergent validity.
C. divergent validity.
D. test-retest reliability.
E. concurrent reliability.
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. What is the relationship between theory and each of the following terms:
(a) philosophy, (b) speculation, (c) hypothesis, and (d) taxonomy?
2. What is the relationship between theory and observation?
3. List and briefly discuss six criteria for a useful theory.
4. The word personality comes from the Latin word "persona", meaning
A. that which one truly is.
B. the evil side of people.
C. theatrical mask.
D. soul.
5. Psychologists generally agree that personality
A. refers mostly to surface traits.
B. is largely inherited.
C. can be explained by several different theories.
D. can best be explained by a single theory.
6. The word "theory" is most closely associated with
A. philosophy.
B. science.
C. armchair speculation.
D. taxonomy.
7. Theories are built primarily on
A. scientific observations.
B. philosophical speculation.
C. unique definitions of terms.
D. sociological models.
,8. A set of related assumptions from which, by logical deductive reasoning, testable hypotheses can be
drawn is
A. a philosophy.
B. the definition of theory.
C. the definition of taxonomy.
D. an armchair speculation.
9. Statements formed in an if-then framework are most likely
A. taxonomies.
B. philosophies.
C. theories.
D. definitions of personality.
10. What is the proper place of theory within science?
A. Theories enable scientists to know how they should live their lives.
B. Theories are tools used by scientists to give meaning to observations.
C. Theory building is the ultimate aim of science.
D. Theories play no role in scientific pursuits.
11. Which statement best characterizes the relationship between a theory and a hypothesis?
A. A theory is narrower than a hypothesis.
B. A theory is directly verifiable, a hypothesis is not.
C. A theory is logically deduced from a specific hypothesis.
D. A theory may generate one or more hypotheses.
12. An educated guess that can be scientifically tested is a definition of
A. theory.
B. hypothesis.
C. philosophy.
D. taxonomy.
13. A taxonomy is best defined as
A. an educated guess.
B. a set of if-then statements.
C. the study of the nature of reality.
D. a classification system.
14. The basic data of science are
A. observations.
B. facts.
C. theories.
D. hypotheses.
15. What is the relationship between theory and observation?
A. They are mutually exclusive.
B. Several theories make up an observation.
C. Several observations make up a theory.
D. There is a mutual and dynamic interaction between them.
16. A theory may be set aside when it
A. generates testable hypotheses.
B. explains a set of observations.
C. is proven by experimentation.
D. loses its usefulness.
,17. The ultimate value of any theory depends on its
A. usefulness.
B. truthfulness.
C. reliability.
D. simplicity.
18. The personalities, cognitive processes, developmental histories, and social experiences of personality
theorists help shape their theories. The discipline that deals with these factors is called
A. personology.
B. psychology.
C. sociology.
D. the psychology of science.
E. psychobiology.
19. According to the authors of the text, personality theories
A. are former principles that have been proven true.
B. originate from the historical, social, and psychological world of their originators.
C. are useful tools of science to the extent that they are value free.
D. should not be open to falsification.
20. Descriptive research
A. is designed to test hypotheses.
B. contributes to expanding a theory.
C. is that which uses an experimental design.
D. is expressed by if-then statements.
21. The two MOST important functions of a theory are its
A. internal consistency and accuracy.
B. logic and its consistency with established theories.
C. ability to generate research and organize observations.
D. ability to be proven true and to become a doctrine.
22. A useful theory must be falsifiable, which means that
A. it will eventually be proven false.
B. it must be precise enough to suggest research that may either support or fail to support its major tenets.
C. it should be flexible enough to encompass opposing data into its framework.
D. it must be either true or false.
23. Which of these is NOT a function of a useful theory?
A. It will generate research.
B. It will be consistent with one's philosophy of life.
C. It organizes observations.
D. It serves as a guide to action.
24. Which statement is most nearly true?
A. A theory can be a practical guide for a psychotherapist.
B. Theory and practice are mutually exclusive.
C. Other things being equal, the more complex a theory. the better.
D. A good theory gives opposing answers to a single question.
25. Part of the internal consistency of a theory is
A. a taxonomy.
B. a set of operational definitions.
C. its agreement with older, more established theories.
D. its empirical validity.
, 26. A researcher uses the number of times a person smiles at others as a measure of friendliness. This an
example of
A. an operational definition.
B. hypothesis testing.
C. parsimony.
D. internal consistency.
27. A useful theory should be parsimonious, meaning that it should be
A. based on empirical research.
B. complex.
C. simple.
D. verifiable.
28. Which of the following is NOT a dimension used by the authors to assess a theorist's concept of
humanity?
A. determinism versus free choice
B. order versus disorder
C. pessimism versus optimism
D. conscious versus unconscious
29. The variety of personality theories now is due to
A. the different personal and philosophical perspectives that each theorist has of
human nature.
B. the use of different terminology for the same basic concepts.
C. different translations of theories originally written in other languages.
D. the reluctance of psychologists to accept any theory except their own.
30. Personality theorists have evolved different systems because
A. they have different conceptions as to the nature of humanity.
B. they have had a variety of childhood and professional experiences.
C. they begin with different assumptions concerning personality.
D. Any or all the above are correct.
31. Personality theorists who adopt a teleological approach generally believe that people's behavior is a
function of
A. early childhood experiences.
B. genetic makeup.
C. environment.
D. people's expectations of future events.
E. a and c
32. A reliable test
A. is always valid.
B. measures what it purports to measure.
C. correlates positively with its validity.
D. yields consistent results.
33. If scores on an instrument that measures introversion correlate highly with a number of other measures of
introversion—for example, shyness and inhibition—then that instrument is said to have
A. discriminant validity.
B. convergent validity.
C. divergent validity.
D. test-retest reliability.
E. concurrent reliability.
