Introductory Psychology (PSY301, 2:00-3:30pm) – Test 5

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Write your name and UTEID on both the ScanTron and on THIS test.  BUBBLE in your UTEID (in the identification section) and your form number (in the special codes section) on the ScanTron

____ 1. Pavlov, a behaviorist, would be most likely to subscribe to which approach to personality?

a.	Core approach
b.	Onion skin approach
c.	Forbidden thought approach
d.	Humanistic approach
e.	Cyrannic approach

____ 2. Cedric has just made the football team and is at his first practice. He notices that his teammates are wearing Nike cleats but he is not. According to the lecture discussion on conformity, he is much less likely to run out and buy the same pair of Nike cleats if:

a.	He thinks his teammates aren’t as good as he is.
b.	He bases his sense of personal identity on the team.
c.	There is at least one other person on the team who doesn’t wear Nike cleats.
d.	A few of his closest friends are also on the team.
e.	The members of their rival team also wear Nike cleats.

____ 3. One of your friends is describing a close acquaintance to you. Your friend spends a lot of time telling you what her acquaintance believes and how these beliefs affect her behavior. According to the textbook, from a theory of personality perspective she is acting most like a _____ theorist.

a.	trait
b.	positive psychology
c.	cognitive-social
d.	psychodynamic
e.	humanist

____ 4. A researcher is trying to understand why the vast majority of participants agreed to help a clearly ill person in a ”candid camera‘ style experiment. Based on lecture, what participant variable might BEST explain the unexpected results?

a.	Age
b.	Narcissism
c.	Neuroticism
d.	Gender
e.	Deindividuation

____ 5. According to the textbook, resilient individuals are able to recover from adversity quickly because they

a.	are less sensitive to external events.
b.	take a detached view of any situation they are in.
c.	deny the reality of the negative events.
d.	they are largely incapable of experiencing stress.
e.	experience positive emotions even under adverse conditions.

____ 6. During World War II, there were people involved in torturing and killing millions of victims in the Holocaust. Milgram conducted a series of experiments to demonstrate that:

a.	People who killed were depressed and had low self-esteem
b.	Most of the people who killed victims were in groups when they tortured the victims
c.	Most of the people who killed victims were always in the same room as the victims when the torture took place
d.	Most of the people who killed victims were psychopaths and laughed while torturing the victims
e.	Many people who killed victims probably experienced the powerful influence of obedience and diffusion of responsibility

____ 7. Two of your friends are quietly studying in a room. One is an introvert and the other is an extravert. As a funny joke, you come into the room and then slam the door very loudly, surprising them both. Who would show more physiological arousal to this event?

a.	the introvert
b.	They would both show the same level of arousal but the introvert would be more surprised.
c.	Neither will show arousal because they are both familiar with you.
d.	This personality dimension does not allow one to predict the outcome.
e.	the extrovert

____ 8. A student you know well has been dismissed from school for cheating on an exam. In describing him to your roommate you note that he has probably always been dishonest. This is an example of the

a.	stereotyping.
b.	just world hypothesis.
c.	situation bias in making attributions.
d.	self-serving bias.
e.	out-group effect.

____ 9. Some organizations haze potential members, forcing them to endure unpleasant episodes before they can join. Despite this poor treatment, these people often end up becoming extremely dedicated to and fond of the group. Which of the following best explains why hazing is effective?

a.	openness to experience
b.	social attractors
c.	the Werner-Katzburg law
d.	diffusion of responsibility
e.	cognitive dissonance

____ 10. If you asked a large number of people to compare themselves to others on a variety of skills you would find that

a.	women would tend to rate themselves below average and men above.
b.	almost everyone would rate himself or herself as below average
c.	almost everyone would rate himself or herself as above average.
d.	overall they would rate themselves as average.
e.	many high self-esteem people would actually rate themselves below average.

____ 11. In class, Dr. Gosling described an experiment where individuals’ personalities were measured and then were asked to explain the actions of extroverts and introverts at a party. What did the experiment find?

a.	Our own personality influences the degree to which we are sexually attracted to extroverts.
b.	Extroverts and introverts behave similarly.
c.	Situational influences only determine the behavior of groups.
d.	Our own personality influences the attributions we make about others.
e.	Situational influences determine personality explanations.

____ 12. Carey is an extraverted person and is really well-liked by his peers and admired by females for his dashing good looks. According to the lecture on social physics, what will most likely happen when he arrives at a party of one of his colleagues?

a.	He will wander around the party going from one conversation to another
b.	He will stand around the snacks, eat everything, and then burp loudly
c.	Everyone will stand far away from him and watch him from afar
d.	He will tend to stand in one place and others will come up to him to talk
e.	Because he is a social attractor, groups will tend to split up whenever he joins them (very similar to a social bomb)

____ 13. A thief breaks into a dorm and finds that the occupant’s music collection consists of mostly pop and country music. According to Dr. Gosling’s research, a reasonable conclusion is that:

a.	The occupant subscribes to the theory of evolution.
b.	The occupant is more likely to be neurotic.
c.	The occupant is more likely to be politically conservative.
d.	The occupant is an Athiest.
e.	The occupant is more likely to be politically liberal

____ 14. In a study, extremely homophobic men shown videos of homosexual sex responded with more physiological arousal than did less homophobic individuals. Your textbook suggests that this can be explained as an example of

a.	the id not being able to control the ego.
b.	high uncertainty regarding your sexual identity.
c.	gender identity
d.	fixation at an early stage of development.
e.	reaction formation.

____ 15. From an information processing perspective, social stereotypes

a.	reduce the likelihood of attributional biases.
b.	are the opposite of social schemas.
c.	allow us to process information at a deeper level.
d.	are mental shortcuts.
e.	are things that only prejudiced people believe in.

____ 16. The neurotransmitter serotonin has been implicated in aggressive behavior in nonhumans. What role does it play in humans?

a.	Low levels of serotonin are associated with high levels of aggression.
b.	None; its principal affect is on memory.
c.	Low levels decrease aggressive behavior but increase cooperative behavior.
d.	Fluctuating levels are associated with high levels of aggression.
e.	High levels increase aggression in males but have no effects on this behavior in females.

____ 17. In general, if we compare how well we are doing today with how well we did in the past we make

a.	downward comparisons.
b.	upward comparisons if female and lateral comparisons if male.
c.	upward comparisons.
d.	lateral comparisons.
e.	we are unable to compare the two.

____ 18. What is the relationship between our level of self-esteem and the outcomes we experience in life?

a.	weak
b.	strong
c.	moderate
d.	none
e.	very strong

____ 19. Imagine that you have just met the person who is going to be your roommate next year. On the basis of what psychologists know about judgments of personality, who would be the best source of information about this person?

a.	His or her sworn enemies.
b.	No one because such descriptions don’t predict behavior.
c.	His or her current close acquaintances.
d.	His or her parents.
e.	The future roommate because self-descriptions are the best predictors of behavior.

____ 20. The number of people in a group is the main mechanism behind which of the following theories?

a.	Deindividuation and kin selection
b.	Group instability and fundamental attribution error
c.	Fundamental attribution error and ingroup favoritism
d.	Group instability and diffusion of responsibility
e.	Ingroup favoritism and conformity

____ 21. Trait theories of personality differ from psychodynamic and humanistic approaches in that they

a.	generally have a more positive view of human nature.
b.	use binary traits, like extrovert or introvert, to categorize an individual.
c.	are less parallel to our intuitive views of personality.
d.	focus more on description than explanation.
e.	are less amenable to empirical investigation.

____ 22. Your parents think you should take more pre-med courses rather than the additional psychology courses you are interested in. Among the strategies below which should work best to bring them around to your view?

a.	Present the advantages associated with taking the psychology courses and say nothing about the pre-med ones.
b.	Point out that they are very old and don’t understand that the world has changed. The more ashamed they are, the more they will do whatever you say.
c.	Explain to them that all of your friends are taking the psychology courses.
d.	Present the pros and cons of taking the two types of courses and argue that the psychology choice is better.
e.	Use reverse psychology and present only the advantages of the pre-med courses.

____ 23. Given what you know about the factor analysis method that was used to derive the “Big Five” personality dimensions, which of the following is the most likely correlation between people’s personality scores on the neuroticism and conscientiousness dimensions?

a.	0.04
b.	1.17
c.	5.56
d.	-0.92
e.	0.83

____ 24. All of the following increase the likelihood of a person in need being helped EXCEPT:

a.	there are a large number of bystanders
b.	helping would be very easy
c.	the person is obviously in need of help
d.	the person in distress can be seen very easily
e.	there is a specific request for help

____ 25. Your roommate talks about his family a lot, does what his parents and teachers ask, and is worried about standing out in the crowd. What sort of culture was he probably raised in?

a.	collectivist
b.	multicultural
c.	homogeneous
d.	individualist
e.	dissonant

____ 26. Before seeing the video on Milgram’s obedience studies, most people assume that they would not administer electric shock to a man in pain and that anyone who would must be inherently evil. These assumptions are good examples of:

a.	negative attraction
b.	diffusion of responsibility
c.	the fundamental attribution error
d.	cognitive dissonance
e.	social loafing

____ 27. You stage a riot protesting environmental issues. Which of the following would BEST increase the rioters’ feelings of deindividuation, leading them to act unlike their normal selves?

a.	Videotape the event.
b.	Have the rioters sign a petition.
c.	Hold the event during the day in a very public location.
d.	Have the rioters wear matching shirts and hats.
e.	Have the rioters wear nametags with environmental symbols.

____ 28. Which of the following studies BEST demonstrates the diffusion of responsibility theory?

a.	Ask people to wear red ribbons in support of AIDS research and compare their attitudes towards AIDS to people who did not wear red ribbons.
b.	Have groups of people go into a room with either the lights on or off and record what they discuss.
c.	Record how much individuals versus groups of people tip at a restaurant, without regard to the total bill.
d.	Ask people to make a $1 donation to a group trying to decrease crime in a neighborhood. Then, 2 weeks later, ask the same people, plus other people who you have not approached yet, to make a $100 donation to the same group.
e.	Record the conversations of people wearing a Halloween mask versus wearing no mask.

____ 29. Assume that you were born with a genetic makeup that predisposes you to aggressive behavior. Your textbook authors argue that

a.	these genes will be expressed but only late in life.
b.	whether it is expressed will depend on whether you have inherited it from both parents.
c.	there is little you can do to avoid this pattern of behavior.
d.	the various situational factors you are exposed to will override any effects of this genetic disposition.
e.	whether you will actually be aggressive depends upon whether environmental factors cause these genes to be expressed.

____ 30. By looking at the contents of rooms and offices occupied by conservatives and liberals, on which personality dimension would you think they differ?

a.	openness
b.	extraversion
c.	attachment
d.	agreeableness
e.	neuroticism

____ 31. Sandra has recently been reading a lot of Ernest Hemingway novels. According to Language Style Matching (LSM), she will probably:

a.	start having suicidal thoughts, like Hemingway did in real life
b.	become more interested in masculine activities, the subject of many Hemingway books
c.	start speaking in short, choppy sentences, like those used by Hemingway
d.	enjoy reading books by authors similar to Hemingway
e.	become more interested in feminine activities, to create a contrast between herself and Hemingway

____ 32. Evidence supporting the five factor theory of personality includes all of the following EXCEPT:

a.	individuals use the same five factors when they describe themselves as when they describe others.
b.	the same five factors are found in all the animal species to be examined so far.
c.	both children and adults employ the factors in describing the personalities of others.
d.	the same five factors are found with very different questionnaires.
e.	the same five factors are found across cultures.

____ 33. In class you think of yourself as intellectually motivated while at a party you think of yourself as fun loving and outgoing. This is an example of

a.	an interdependent self-construal.
b.	unstable orientation motives.
c.	a poorly integrated self-concept.
d.	the influence of situational factors on your working self-concept.
e.	the Intellectualization-Sociability hypothesis (as originally proposed).

____ 34. According to self-maintenance theory, excelling at things your friends also do

a.	places the friendship relationships in jeopardy.
b.	boosts everyone’s self-esteem.
c.	intensifies those friendships.
d.	places your romantic relationships in jeopardy.
e.	increases a sense of group solidarity.

____ 35. A plausible explanation for the high observed stability in personality after the age of 50 is that

a.	stereotypes of the elderly play a major role in the personalities of this age group.
b.	grandchildren have a major impact on the personalities of older individuals.
c.	individuals over this age live in highly stable environments.
d.	brain chemistry is highly stable after this age.
e.	personality stability is more adaptive in older individuals.

____ 36. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) projective test compared to the Rorschach has been found to

a.	more accurately reflect the unconscious conflicts present in the test taker.
b.	be less reliable.
c.	to be a more subjective test.
d.	be a better predictor of behavior.
e.	be more difficult to interpret.

____ 37. Other than the bystander intervention effect, which of the following social phenomena is MOST similar to the diffusion of responsibility principle?

a.	Self-Serving Bias
b.	Situational Attributions
c.	Ingroup Favoritism
d.	Nonverbal Behavior
e.	Social Loafing

____ 38. A person of the opposite sex whom you have recently met gives you a picture of himself and asks you to put it on your desk. He is probably hoping to capitalize on the

a.	dwindling “wheat farm” effect.
b.	reciprocity effect.
c.	dissonance effect.
d.	mere exposure effect.
e.	altruism effect.

____ 39. Your roommate, before calling someone for a date, always laments that he will be turned down. Your roommate is displaying

a.	paranormal interference
b.	unstable self-esteem.
c.	defensive pessimism.
d.	an inability to learn from previous experiences.
e.	a low self-regulatory capacity.

____ 40. Which of the following is a good use of the foot-in-the-door technique to increase funding for AIDS research?

a.	Asking people to wear red ribbons
b.	Recruiting celebrities to campaign for AIDS research
c.	Improving the quality of AIDS research
d.	Showing heartwarming television advertisements
e.	Requesting massive tax increases

____ 41. Which statement below best reflects current thinking about the impact of parenting on a child’s personality?

a.	Parenting style determines a child’s personality at a young age, but does not affect his or her personality after she or he matures.
b.	Inadequate parenting appears to result in few negative consequences, but adequate parenting has many positive effects.
c.	Parenting matters, but primarily for children who are advantaged in other ways.
d.	Any particular style of parenting does not appear to have a big impact on personality.
e.	Parenting style is probably the most important factor in personality formation.

____ 42. According to Milgram’s studies on obedience, which of the following kinds of people are likely to perform terrible acts if an authority figure orders them to?

a.	extremely low intelligence individuals – they are more prone to following orders
b.	narcissists – their focus on themselves leads to ignoring others
c.	sociopaths – they enjoy inflicting pain on others
d.	schizophrenics – they are the sufficiently out of touch with reality
e.	all kinds of people – the power of the situation is what matters

____ 43. Which of the following perceptual phenomena is most analogous to the effects of people’s different personalities on their interpretation of others’ behavior?

a.	looking at a red surface for an extended period, then seeing green even though there are no green objects nearby
b.	seeing the same figure as a ”B‘ or a “13”, depending on whether it is grouped with “A” and “C” or “12” and “14”
c.	being unable to see the color blue, instead perceiving blue things in shades of red and green
d.	combining information from 2 sources to create a single 3-dimensional figure
e.	not having conscious awareness of the environment, but being able to reliably guess where things are

____ 44. During the class ”cocktail party‘, we decided that the party group became physically closer and closer because being on stage causes people to want to hide. What kind of explanation is this?

a.	A bad explanation
b.	A situational attribution
c.	A stereotypical explanation
d.	A personal attribution
e.	A psychodynamic attribution

____ 45. In studying a cocktail party, which of the following is the best example of a social bomb?

a.	A person at the party starts playing really bad music, dancing and singing aloud to themselves
b.	A really popular person arrives at the party, causing everyone in your group to go talk to the new arrival.
c.	A really loud and obnoxious person walks up to people in the group; although the group members had all been planning to leave the party, they stay and make fun of the obnoxious person to his face.
d.	Someone nobody at the party knows arrives and stands around alone looking at people
e.	A very smart person walks from group to group; whenever he enters a new group, people leave the group because his jokes aren’t funny