Psy 228 exam 4 Complete Questions And 100% A+ Guaranteed Pass.

Who was Walter Mischel and when was he active? - correct answer 1960s-70s. Fully explain Michel's argument against the usefulness of personality traits to explain or account for behavior. - correct answer Behavior varies highly across situations. Hence, it makes no sense to think of behavior in terms of broad personality traits. Mischel examined the size of relationships between personality traits and actual behavior in specific situations. Average correlation: about r = .30 - .40 Hence, on average, a single personality trait accounts for about 9 - 16% of the variance in behavior, within specific situations. Mischel claimed we therefore cannot reliably predict behavior from personality traits. Fully explain the five main criticisms of Mischel's argument. (1) - correct answer 1. his argument assumes a simple model of personality, in which a single personality trait attempts to predict a specific behavior in a specific situation. It is well understood that personality is far more complicated. Behavior is multiply determined. Fully explain the five main criticisms of Mischel's argument. (2) - correct answer 2. although behavior does vary highly across situations, people maintain some degree of consistency, as well. Situational approaches ignore that consistency within individuals, across situations (i.e., individual differences). Fully explain the five main criticisms of Mischel's argument. (3) - correct answer 3. Mischel presumes that simple correlations between two variables of r = .30 - .40 are small and unimportant. Actually, correlations of that size are often quite meaningful. Cholesterol intake and mortality risk. Air bag use and automobile death rate. Furthermore, complex models using multiple personality traits often yield substantially larger correlations with specific behaviors. Fully explain the five main criticisms of Mischel's argument. (4) - correct answer 4. the goal of personality traits is to predict general behavioral tendencies, over time and across situations. The goal is not necessarily to predict specific behaviors in specific situations. Fully explain the five main criticisms of Mischel's argument. (5) - correct answer 5. situations are generally no better at predicting specific behaviors than are traits, overall. Average effect size is also about r = .30 Explain the conditions under which situational factors become so powerful as to override or minimize the importance of personality factors as explanations for behavior. - correct answer Examples: Most people experience fear reactions to snakes in the wild. Most people experience fear and excitement and seek safety during a disaster. Most people experience sympathy toward a child who is being harmed. In such situations, the influence of individual differences is minimized. Explain the role of trait relevance within the context of person-situation interactionism. - correct answer Recall from Gordon Allport that not all traits are equally important for all people. Those traits that most well define the person tend to best predict his/her behavior. Certain situations provide greater opportunity for the expression of some traits, compared to other situations. Explain the concept of aggregat - correct answer The ability of traits to predict behavior is greatly increased when we aggregate or average, across multiple situations or over time. What is the current status of the person-situation debate, in accounting for human behavior. - correct answer At present, it is generally agreed that a combination of personality (trait) factors and situational factors, combined, represent a more comprehensive view of human behavior. Explain the relative strengths of the interactionist approach in personality theory. - correct answer Recognizes that behavior varies across situations. Often studies personality, over time. Can encourage integration of personality & situational approaches. Explain the relative weaknesses of the interactionist approach in personality theory. - correct answer Difficult to study all possible situational variants. May overlook biological factors. Extreme positions may neglect the complexity of the relationship between personality and situational factors. Describe the constructs of masculinity - correct answer characteristics generally associated with being male. Describe the constructs of femininity - correct answer characteristics generally associated with being female. Explain the main ways in which men and women, on average, tend to differ constitutionally. - correct answer Men tend to be physically stronger than women. But females tend to be constitutionally stronger than males. Male children more susceptible to disease. Females exhibit earlier neurological maturity, from birth through puberty. Women have greater life expectancy. Describe the research findings of Vogel et al. (1972), regarding trait differences and gender. - correct answer Asked male and female Ss to rate men and women, generally, on various personality characteristics. e.g., dominance, submissiveness, passive, sociable, emotional, nurturant. Male and female Ss both tended to rate men and women as being different on many such traits. Male and female Ss both tended to rate the more "masculine" traits as more desirable than the "feminine" traits. Describe the research findings of Seem & Clark (2006), which bear upon this same area. - correct answer replication. The effects have weakened somewhat. But the effects still exist. Hence, ppl perceive gender differences in personality. Describe the main gender differences in the area of cognitive abilities. - correct answer Males: Greater spatial abilities. Slightly better mathematical skills. Females: Greater verbal abilities. Begin talking earlier. Have larger vocabularies. Have better reading & writing skills (in elem. school). Earn higher grades in school. Attend college in higher numbers (58% vs. 42%). Describe the main gender differences in the areas of aggressive behavior and nonverbal communication. - correct answer Males are generally more aggressive than females. Verbally. Physically. Males commit more violent crimes. Females better at nonverbal communication. More sensitive to nonverbal cues. Fully describe the psychoanalytic perspective on gender development. - correct answer Based on Freud's stages of psychosexual development. Masculine vs. feminine personality traits are acquired through identification w/ same-sex parent. Fully describe the psychoanalytic perspective on gender development. (boys) - correct answer During Phallic Stage, boy develops desire for his mother. Aspires to replace his father. Fears retribution from father: "ca