PPE 3003 FINAL
Definition of Theory (CH.1) - correct answer-Set of principles that must:
•Be testable and capable of stimulating research
•Be able to clarify and explain data by organizing those data into coherent framework
•Help understand behavior
Formal vs. Personal Theories - correct answer-Personal: Based on intuition and common
sense (belief based)
Formal: Based on stated propositions and logical case (evidence based)
Principles of measurement reliability & validity - correct answer-Reliability: degree to which a
test produces stable and consistent results
Validity: extent to which an assessment device measures what it is meant to measure
5 Methods of Personality Assessment - correct answer-1) Projective Tests: assessment
device in which subjects are presumed to project personal needs, fears, and values onto
their interpretation or description of an ambiguous stimulus. (ex. Rorschach, word
association)
- A: used for assessment and diagnostic purposes
- D: low reliability and validity
2) Self-report or objective inventories: assessment technique in which subjects answer
questions about their behaviors and feelings.
-A: designed to be scored objectively and quickly
-D: Not suited for people who possess limited reading skills; tendency to give most socially
desirable answers
3) Clinical interviews: a distinct form of interviewing that involves a face-to-face verbal and
nonverbal exchange between a clinician and client designed to gather data that is needed
for diagnosis and treatment of the client.
-A: problem areas can be explored in detail
-D: can be subjective
4) Behavioral assessment procedures: evaluates a person's behavior in a given situation
-A: provides valuable insight
-D: less systemic
5) Thought and experience sampling procedures: a person's thoughts are recorded
systematically to provide a sample over a period of time
-A: Determines how context influences thought and mood
-D: Participant may forget to record activities; Emotions and mood affect nature of
information reported
,4 Research Methods of Personality - correct answer-Clinical Method (case study): A detailed
history of an individual that contains data from a variety of sources.
-A: Provides an in-depth view of one's personality
-D: No precision and control of the experimental and correlational methods; Subjective;
Accuracy of childhood memories cannot be checked
Experimental Method: Involves determining effects of variables or events on behavior
-A: Well controlled and systematic
-D: Safety and ethical reasons restrict control over some aspects of personality and
behavior; Dependent variable is influenced by the subject's attitude
Virtual Research Method (online test administration): Psychological tests, opinion surveys,
and subject responses to experimental stimuli
-A: Fast responses; Inexpensive; Reaches broad range of subjects
-D: Sample may not represent the population; Online test-takers may have different
characteristics from non-responders; Honesty and accuracy of data is questionable
Correlational Method: Measures the degree of relationship between two variables
-A: Helps make predictions in the real world
-D: Cause and effect conclusions may be flawed
Race and Gender Differences - correct answer-Personality theorists traditionally consisted of
white men of European and American heritage
- ignored ethnic and gender influences
Cross-cultural assessment - correct answer-Conclusion shows that personality is formed by
genetic and environmental influences
Individualism vs. Collectivism - correct answer-Impacts child-rearing practices and self
enhancement -- Tendency to promote oneself aggressively and be conspicuous
Psychoanalysis (CH.2) - correct answer-Sigmund Freud's theory of personality and system
of therapy for treating mental disorders
Instincts - correct answer-mental representations of internal stimuli, such as hunger, that
drive a person to take certain actions.
Life Instincts - correct answer-The drive for ensuring survival of the individual and the
species by satisfying the needs for food, water, air, and sex.
Death Instincts - correct answer-the unconscious drive toward decay, destruction, and
aggression
Levels of Personality - correct answer-Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious
Structures of Personality - correct answer-ID: allied with the instincts; pleasure principle
Ego: responsible for directing and controlling the instincts; reality principle
, Superego: moral aspect of personality
Reality Anxiety - correct answer-Fear of tangible dangers
Neurotic Anxiety - correct answer-conflict between id and ego
Moral Anxiety - correct answer-conflict between superego and ego
Defense Mechanisms (8 listed below) - correct answer-Ego strategies to defend against
anxiety provoked by conflicts of daily life
Repression - correct answer-involves unconscious denial of the existence of something that
causes anxiety
Denial - correct answer-Involves denying the existence of an external threat or traumatic
event
reaction formation - correct answer-involves expressing an id impulse that is the opposite of
the one truly driving the person
Projection - correct answer-involves attributing a disturbing impulse to someone else
Regression - correct answer-involves retreating to an earlier, less frustrating period of life
and displaying childish and dependent behaviors characteristic of that more secure time
rationalization - correct answer-involves reinterpreting behavior to make it more acceptable
and less threatening
Displacement - correct answer-involves shifting id impulses from a threatening or
unavailable object to a substitute object that is available
Sublimation - correct answer-involves altering or displacing id impulses by diverting
instinctual energy into socially acceptable behaviors
Psychosexual Stages - correct answer-the childhood stages of development (oral, anal,
phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies
focus on distinct erogenous zones
Oral Stage - correct answer-Mouth is the primary erogenous zone; pleasure derived from
sucking: id is dominant [birth-1]
Anal Stage - correct answer-Toilet training (external reality) interferes with gratification
received from defecation. [1-3]
Phallic Stage - correct answer-Incestuous fantasies; Oedipus complex; anxiety; superego
development. [4-5]
Definition of Theory (CH.1) - correct answer-Set of principles that must:
•Be testable and capable of stimulating research
•Be able to clarify and explain data by organizing those data into coherent framework
•Help understand behavior
Formal vs. Personal Theories - correct answer-Personal: Based on intuition and common
sense (belief based)
Formal: Based on stated propositions and logical case (evidence based)
Principles of measurement reliability & validity - correct answer-Reliability: degree to which a
test produces stable and consistent results
Validity: extent to which an assessment device measures what it is meant to measure
5 Methods of Personality Assessment - correct answer-1) Projective Tests: assessment
device in which subjects are presumed to project personal needs, fears, and values onto
their interpretation or description of an ambiguous stimulus. (ex. Rorschach, word
association)
- A: used for assessment and diagnostic purposes
- D: low reliability and validity
2) Self-report or objective inventories: assessment technique in which subjects answer
questions about their behaviors and feelings.
-A: designed to be scored objectively and quickly
-D: Not suited for people who possess limited reading skills; tendency to give most socially
desirable answers
3) Clinical interviews: a distinct form of interviewing that involves a face-to-face verbal and
nonverbal exchange between a clinician and client designed to gather data that is needed
for diagnosis and treatment of the client.
-A: problem areas can be explored in detail
-D: can be subjective
4) Behavioral assessment procedures: evaluates a person's behavior in a given situation
-A: provides valuable insight
-D: less systemic
5) Thought and experience sampling procedures: a person's thoughts are recorded
systematically to provide a sample over a period of time
-A: Determines how context influences thought and mood
-D: Participant may forget to record activities; Emotions and mood affect nature of
information reported
,4 Research Methods of Personality - correct answer-Clinical Method (case study): A detailed
history of an individual that contains data from a variety of sources.
-A: Provides an in-depth view of one's personality
-D: No precision and control of the experimental and correlational methods; Subjective;
Accuracy of childhood memories cannot be checked
Experimental Method: Involves determining effects of variables or events on behavior
-A: Well controlled and systematic
-D: Safety and ethical reasons restrict control over some aspects of personality and
behavior; Dependent variable is influenced by the subject's attitude
Virtual Research Method (online test administration): Psychological tests, opinion surveys,
and subject responses to experimental stimuli
-A: Fast responses; Inexpensive; Reaches broad range of subjects
-D: Sample may not represent the population; Online test-takers may have different
characteristics from non-responders; Honesty and accuracy of data is questionable
Correlational Method: Measures the degree of relationship between two variables
-A: Helps make predictions in the real world
-D: Cause and effect conclusions may be flawed
Race and Gender Differences - correct answer-Personality theorists traditionally consisted of
white men of European and American heritage
- ignored ethnic and gender influences
Cross-cultural assessment - correct answer-Conclusion shows that personality is formed by
genetic and environmental influences
Individualism vs. Collectivism - correct answer-Impacts child-rearing practices and self
enhancement -- Tendency to promote oneself aggressively and be conspicuous
Psychoanalysis (CH.2) - correct answer-Sigmund Freud's theory of personality and system
of therapy for treating mental disorders
Instincts - correct answer-mental representations of internal stimuli, such as hunger, that
drive a person to take certain actions.
Life Instincts - correct answer-The drive for ensuring survival of the individual and the
species by satisfying the needs for food, water, air, and sex.
Death Instincts - correct answer-the unconscious drive toward decay, destruction, and
aggression
Levels of Personality - correct answer-Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious
Structures of Personality - correct answer-ID: allied with the instincts; pleasure principle
Ego: responsible for directing and controlling the instincts; reality principle
, Superego: moral aspect of personality
Reality Anxiety - correct answer-Fear of tangible dangers
Neurotic Anxiety - correct answer-conflict between id and ego
Moral Anxiety - correct answer-conflict between superego and ego
Defense Mechanisms (8 listed below) - correct answer-Ego strategies to defend against
anxiety provoked by conflicts of daily life
Repression - correct answer-involves unconscious denial of the existence of something that
causes anxiety
Denial - correct answer-Involves denying the existence of an external threat or traumatic
event
reaction formation - correct answer-involves expressing an id impulse that is the opposite of
the one truly driving the person
Projection - correct answer-involves attributing a disturbing impulse to someone else
Regression - correct answer-involves retreating to an earlier, less frustrating period of life
and displaying childish and dependent behaviors characteristic of that more secure time
rationalization - correct answer-involves reinterpreting behavior to make it more acceptable
and less threatening
Displacement - correct answer-involves shifting id impulses from a threatening or
unavailable object to a substitute object that is available
Sublimation - correct answer-involves altering or displacing id impulses by diverting
instinctual energy into socially acceptable behaviors
Psychosexual Stages - correct answer-the childhood stages of development (oral, anal,
phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies
focus on distinct erogenous zones
Oral Stage - correct answer-Mouth is the primary erogenous zone; pleasure derived from
sucking: id is dominant [birth-1]
Anal Stage - correct answer-Toilet training (external reality) interferes with gratification
received from defecation. [1-3]
Phallic Stage - correct answer-Incestuous fantasies; Oedipus complex; anxiety; superego
development. [4-5]
