PSYC 387 PRACTICE QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
1. Why have personality psychologists not combined all paradigms into "One Big Theory"?
a. A theory that tries to explain everything would probably not provide the best explanation for
any one thing.
b. The manageability of research programs would be lost.
c. The different basic approaches to psychology address different sets of questions.
d. a and c - Answers D
. Personality psychology's biggest advantage over other areas of psychology is that:
Topic: n/a
a. It employs a diverse set of research methods.
b. The psychology of whole persons is taken into account.
c. It does not need to rely on scientific evidence as much.
d. The information it uses to construct theories is easier to collect. - Answers B
3. A psychologist who is concerned primarily with how a person's genes, physiology, and brain
anatomy are related to their personality follows the ___________ approach.
Topic: n/a
a. biological
b. humanitarian
c. psychoanalytical
d. behavioral - Answers A
When patterns of behavior are extreme, unusual, and problematic, personality psychology
overlaps with:
Topic: n/a
a. Cognitive psychology.
b. Clinical psychology.
c. Social psychology.
d. Biological psychology. - Answers B
,How people feel, think, and behave are parts of:
Topic: n/a
a. The study of social-person cognition.
b. Psychological conflict.
c. The psychological triad.
d. The sensation-perception-cognition triad. - Answers C
A psychologist who is concerned primarily with a person's conscious experiences follows the
___________ approach.
Topic: n/a
a. phenomenological
b. superego
c. learning-cognitive
d. psychoanalytic - Answers A
Personality psychology's unique mission is to:
Topic: n/a
a. Explain whole persons.
b. Examine a person's behavior and consciousness.
c. Explore brain structure for clues about behavior.
d. a and b
e. b and c - Answers A
Which of the following answers is an example of a basic approach, or paradigm, of personality
psychology?
Topic: n/a
a. The psychoanalytic approach
b. When one theory must be used to explain a certain aspect of another theory
c. When two theories overlap each other
d. Funder's First Law - Answers A
,How do clinical psychology and personality psychology overlap?
Topic: n/a
a. Clinical psychologists and personality psychologists do not overlap because clinical
psychologists are not interested in personality.
b. Clinical and personality psychology do not overlap because personality psychologists have
never had clinical training.
c. Clinical and personality psychology share a common responsibility to understand every
feature of an individual, not just single aspects about them.
d. Clinical and personality psychology are the same thing. - Answers C
Personality psychology draws heavily from which other branch(es) of psychology?
Topic: n/a
a. Developmental psychology
b. Biological psychology
c. Social psychology
d. All of the above - Answers D
The three parts of the psychological triad:
Topic: n/a
a. Are not related to one another.
b. Are not always consistent at all times.
c. Are always consistent with one another.
d. Are called the id, the ego, and the superego. - Answers B
When defining personality, we could say that an individual's personality is best described as:
Topic: n/a
a. How they interact in a social setting combined with how the individual reasons and solves
complex problems.
b. How they express their emotions through verbal and nonverbal communication.
c. Their characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior together with the
psychological mechanisms—hidden or not—behind those patterns.
, d. Their behavioral patterns only. - Answers C
The trait approach to personality psychology best describes what situation?
Topic: n/a
a. A psychologist studying the ways in which people alter their behaviors because of rewards or
punishments
b. A psychologist focusing on ways that people differ from one another in behavior and
disposition, and how these differences might be measured
c. A psychologist trying to understand personality in terms of anatomy, physiology, inheritance,
and evolution
d. A psychologist studying the role of gene expression in babies, children, and young adults -
Answers B
A personality psychologist that is concerned primarily with people's unconscious mind and
internal conflict follows what approach?
Topic: n/a
a. Trait approach
b. Biological approach
c. Social approach
d. Psychoanalytic approach - Answers D
Behaviorism, social learning theory, and cognitive personality psychology comprise which of the
following approaches to psychology?
Topic: n/a
a. Learning and cognitive approach
b. Social learning approach
c. Trait approach
d. Biological approach - Answers A
Personality psychology emphasizes individual differences. How does this focus serve as one of
the discipline's strengths?
Topic: n/a
1. Why have personality psychologists not combined all paradigms into "One Big Theory"?
a. A theory that tries to explain everything would probably not provide the best explanation for
any one thing.
b. The manageability of research programs would be lost.
c. The different basic approaches to psychology address different sets of questions.
d. a and c - Answers D
. Personality psychology's biggest advantage over other areas of psychology is that:
Topic: n/a
a. It employs a diverse set of research methods.
b. The psychology of whole persons is taken into account.
c. It does not need to rely on scientific evidence as much.
d. The information it uses to construct theories is easier to collect. - Answers B
3. A psychologist who is concerned primarily with how a person's genes, physiology, and brain
anatomy are related to their personality follows the ___________ approach.
Topic: n/a
a. biological
b. humanitarian
c. psychoanalytical
d. behavioral - Answers A
When patterns of behavior are extreme, unusual, and problematic, personality psychology
overlaps with:
Topic: n/a
a. Cognitive psychology.
b. Clinical psychology.
c. Social psychology.
d. Biological psychology. - Answers B
,How people feel, think, and behave are parts of:
Topic: n/a
a. The study of social-person cognition.
b. Psychological conflict.
c. The psychological triad.
d. The sensation-perception-cognition triad. - Answers C
A psychologist who is concerned primarily with a person's conscious experiences follows the
___________ approach.
Topic: n/a
a. phenomenological
b. superego
c. learning-cognitive
d. psychoanalytic - Answers A
Personality psychology's unique mission is to:
Topic: n/a
a. Explain whole persons.
b. Examine a person's behavior and consciousness.
c. Explore brain structure for clues about behavior.
d. a and b
e. b and c - Answers A
Which of the following answers is an example of a basic approach, or paradigm, of personality
psychology?
Topic: n/a
a. The psychoanalytic approach
b. When one theory must be used to explain a certain aspect of another theory
c. When two theories overlap each other
d. Funder's First Law - Answers A
,How do clinical psychology and personality psychology overlap?
Topic: n/a
a. Clinical psychologists and personality psychologists do not overlap because clinical
psychologists are not interested in personality.
b. Clinical and personality psychology do not overlap because personality psychologists have
never had clinical training.
c. Clinical and personality psychology share a common responsibility to understand every
feature of an individual, not just single aspects about them.
d. Clinical and personality psychology are the same thing. - Answers C
Personality psychology draws heavily from which other branch(es) of psychology?
Topic: n/a
a. Developmental psychology
b. Biological psychology
c. Social psychology
d. All of the above - Answers D
The three parts of the psychological triad:
Topic: n/a
a. Are not related to one another.
b. Are not always consistent at all times.
c. Are always consistent with one another.
d. Are called the id, the ego, and the superego. - Answers B
When defining personality, we could say that an individual's personality is best described as:
Topic: n/a
a. How they interact in a social setting combined with how the individual reasons and solves
complex problems.
b. How they express their emotions through verbal and nonverbal communication.
c. Their characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior together with the
psychological mechanisms—hidden or not—behind those patterns.
, d. Their behavioral patterns only. - Answers C
The trait approach to personality psychology best describes what situation?
Topic: n/a
a. A psychologist studying the ways in which people alter their behaviors because of rewards or
punishments
b. A psychologist focusing on ways that people differ from one another in behavior and
disposition, and how these differences might be measured
c. A psychologist trying to understand personality in terms of anatomy, physiology, inheritance,
and evolution
d. A psychologist studying the role of gene expression in babies, children, and young adults -
Answers B
A personality psychologist that is concerned primarily with people's unconscious mind and
internal conflict follows what approach?
Topic: n/a
a. Trait approach
b. Biological approach
c. Social approach
d. Psychoanalytic approach - Answers D
Behaviorism, social learning theory, and cognitive personality psychology comprise which of the
following approaches to psychology?
Topic: n/a
a. Learning and cognitive approach
b. Social learning approach
c. Trait approach
d. Biological approach - Answers A
Personality psychology emphasizes individual differences. How does this focus serve as one of
the discipline's strengths?
Topic: n/a
