PPE3003 - EXAM 1 UPDATED ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. personality psychology is the scientific study of
Answer:
what it means to be a person
Question:
2. there are more than _____________ descriptor words in the English language to describe people/ what
does this tell us
Answer:
20,000/ tells us that we try to understand and describe those we interact with as well as ourselves - we use
personality to explain the world
Question:
3. define personality
Answer:
the set of psychological traits and mechanisms that influence a person's adaptation to their environment
Question:
4. psychological traits
Answer:
characteristics which describe why people are similar or different from each other
Question:
5. psychological mechanisms
Answer:
the processes of personality; inputs, decision rules, and outputs
Question:
6. example of input, decision rules, and outputs
Answer:
input: invitation to party --- decision rule: extraverted person ---- output: go to party/ vice versa for those
that are not extraverted
Question:
7. what is a central feature of personality
Answer:
adaptive functioning - most personality traits are adaptations
Question:
8. personality traits are used to ______, __________, and ___________
Answer:
describe, explain, and predict behavior
,Question:
9. what are the three levels of personality
Answer:
human nature, individual and group differences, uniqueness
Question:
10. human nature
Answer:
the traits and mechanisms of personality that are typical for our species and possessed by nearly everyone:
EX: need to belong/ capacity for love
Question:
11. individual differences
Answer:
ways in which each person is like some other people (extraverts, attention seekers) and unlike others EX:
variation in need to belong, men more physically aggressive than women
Question:
12. uniqueness
Answer:
exactly what it sounds like, the qualities that make someone unlike others EX: shawn's unique way of
expressing love
Question:
13. a fissure in the field of personality psychology/ historical vs. modern
Answer:
historical: grand theories of human nature (Freud) modern: focus on individual and group differences
Question:
14. what are the 6 domains of personality research
Answer:
dispositional, biological, intrapsychic, cognitive - experimental , social and cultural, adjustment
Question:
15. dispositional
Answer:
how do people differ?
Question:
16. biological
Answer:
how do genetics, physiology, and evolution impact personality?
Question:
17. intrapsychic
, Answer:
what are the mental mechanisms of personality?
Question:
18. cognitive- experimental
Answer:
how do subjective thoughts and experiences affect personality?
Question:
19. social and cultural
Answer:
how does the social and cultural context affect personality?
Question:
20. adjustment
Answer:
how does personality affect the way we adjust to life events?
Question:
21. what are the three fundamental questions about traits
Answer:
what is a trait? what are the most important personality traits? how should we organize the most important
traits?
Question:
22. what are the two ways to conceptualize a traits/ what do each encompass
Answer:
1. traits as internal properties= desires, needs, and wants that explain a persons behavior
2. traits as descriptive summaries = trait which merely describes expressed behavior, labeling a pattern of
behavior without identifying an internal cause for it
Question:
23. internal properties
Answer:
desires are not always manifested in behavior
- traits are assumed to exist even in the absence of observable behavioral expressions
Question:
24. descriptive summaries
Answer:
ex: george has the trait of jealousy, this trait describes his expressed behavior
- describes a general trend of his behavior but there are no assumptions made on what causes it
- from this perspective we dont claim he behaves in this way bc he is a jealous person but rather it could be
due to social situations
Question:
25. what are ways in which we can identify the most important traits
CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. personality psychology is the scientific study of
Answer:
what it means to be a person
Question:
2. there are more than _____________ descriptor words in the English language to describe people/ what
does this tell us
Answer:
20,000/ tells us that we try to understand and describe those we interact with as well as ourselves - we use
personality to explain the world
Question:
3. define personality
Answer:
the set of psychological traits and mechanisms that influence a person's adaptation to their environment
Question:
4. psychological traits
Answer:
characteristics which describe why people are similar or different from each other
Question:
5. psychological mechanisms
Answer:
the processes of personality; inputs, decision rules, and outputs
Question:
6. example of input, decision rules, and outputs
Answer:
input: invitation to party --- decision rule: extraverted person ---- output: go to party/ vice versa for those
that are not extraverted
Question:
7. what is a central feature of personality
Answer:
adaptive functioning - most personality traits are adaptations
Question:
8. personality traits are used to ______, __________, and ___________
Answer:
describe, explain, and predict behavior
,Question:
9. what are the three levels of personality
Answer:
human nature, individual and group differences, uniqueness
Question:
10. human nature
Answer:
the traits and mechanisms of personality that are typical for our species and possessed by nearly everyone:
EX: need to belong/ capacity for love
Question:
11. individual differences
Answer:
ways in which each person is like some other people (extraverts, attention seekers) and unlike others EX:
variation in need to belong, men more physically aggressive than women
Question:
12. uniqueness
Answer:
exactly what it sounds like, the qualities that make someone unlike others EX: shawn's unique way of
expressing love
Question:
13. a fissure in the field of personality psychology/ historical vs. modern
Answer:
historical: grand theories of human nature (Freud) modern: focus on individual and group differences
Question:
14. what are the 6 domains of personality research
Answer:
dispositional, biological, intrapsychic, cognitive - experimental , social and cultural, adjustment
Question:
15. dispositional
Answer:
how do people differ?
Question:
16. biological
Answer:
how do genetics, physiology, and evolution impact personality?
Question:
17. intrapsychic
, Answer:
what are the mental mechanisms of personality?
Question:
18. cognitive- experimental
Answer:
how do subjective thoughts and experiences affect personality?
Question:
19. social and cultural
Answer:
how does the social and cultural context affect personality?
Question:
20. adjustment
Answer:
how does personality affect the way we adjust to life events?
Question:
21. what are the three fundamental questions about traits
Answer:
what is a trait? what are the most important personality traits? how should we organize the most important
traits?
Question:
22. what are the two ways to conceptualize a traits/ what do each encompass
Answer:
1. traits as internal properties= desires, needs, and wants that explain a persons behavior
2. traits as descriptive summaries = trait which merely describes expressed behavior, labeling a pattern of
behavior without identifying an internal cause for it
Question:
23. internal properties
Answer:
desires are not always manifested in behavior
- traits are assumed to exist even in the absence of observable behavioral expressions
Question:
24. descriptive summaries
Answer:
ex: george has the trait of jealousy, this trait describes his expressed behavior
- describes a general trend of his behavior but there are no assumptions made on what causes it
- from this perspective we dont claim he behaves in this way bc he is a jealous person but rather it could be
due to social situations
Question:
25. what are ways in which we can identify the most important traits
