5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2010-2011 Edition (55 page)

Self-report methods
, the most common personality assessment techniques, involve the person answering a series of questions, such as a personality questionnaire, or supplying information about himself/herself. Different psychologists and different approaches make use of different self-report methods. Jung’s personality types are measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator; Cattell’s personality traits are measured by the 16 PF; Rotter’s locus of control is measured by the Internal-External Locus of Control Scale; Maslow’s self-actualization is measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory; Rogers’s congruence between the actual self and ideal self is measured by the Q-sort. The validity of all of these is questioned. Among the best-known, most researched, and most widely used self-report personality tests is the MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2), composed of 567 true-false items. The items were originally chosen from among hundreds given to groups of people diagnosed with psychological disorders as well as “normal” people. Items that differentiated between the patient group and the normal group were
included in the test; items that didn’t were eliminated. Each item needed to correlate highly with some trait or dimension of personality. The test has 10 clinical scales such as schizophrenia and depression; 15 content scales such as anger and family problems, and validity scales to detect whether or not a person is lying. The tests are scored objectively, usually by computer, and charted as an MMPI-2 profile. Patterns of responses reveal personality dimensions. By comparing someone’s profile to the profile of the normal group, psychologists identify abnormalities. Employers sometimes compare the profile of a job applicant to the profile of successful employees in making employment decisions. As well researched and carefully constructed as the MMPI-2 is, its validity is not guaranteed, and some psychologists think peer reports yield more valid information. Two assessments designed to assess personality based on the five-factor model in healthy people have been gaining in popularity: the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) and the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ), which is being used in cross-cultural research.

Our
self-concept
is our overall view of our abilities, behavior, and personality or what we know about ourselves.
Self-esteem
is one part of our self-concept, or how we
evaluate
ourselves. Our self-esteem is affected by our emotions and comes to mean how
worthy
we think we are. The self-concept is immature in youth but broadens and becomes more complex and individualized as we get older. For example, we understand that we can be attractive physically, but that we have strengths and weaknesses in many diverse areas beyond physical and mental abilities. Parents and educators can help children increase their self-worth and raise their self-esteem by highlighting the youngsters’ strengths. Low self-esteem can lead to depression when a person thinks he/she is unable to realize his/her hopes, whereas it can lead to anxiety when a person thinks he/she is unable to do what he/she should.

Directions
: For each question, choose the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

1
. Adam loved the girlfriend who dropped him, but acts as if he’s glad to be rid of her. His behavior most clearly illustrates which of the following Freudian defense mechanisms?

(A) repression

(B) projection

(C) reaction formation

(D) sublimation

(E) regression

2
. Which Freudian personality system is guided by the reality principle?

(A) id

(B) libido

(C) ego

(D) unconscious

(E) superego

3
. In contrast to the blank slate view of human nature held by the behaviorists, humanists believe humans are born

(A) evil and instinctively selfish

(B) good and with an inner drive to reach full potential

(C) neutral and that personality is based on perceptions of reality

(D) neither good nor evil, but personality is a product of their environment

(E) weak and needing others to find a meaning and purpose in life

4
. Which of the following is a good example of a Jungian archetype?

(A) John, whose domineering mother’s voice is always in the back of his head

(B) Patty, who is haunted by her memories of child abuse

(C) Yan, who always roots for the underdog

(D) Tariq, who consciously strives to be the best tennis player he can be

(E) Kendra, whose power motive influences everything she does

5
. Which is an example of a projective test, consisting of a set of ambiguous pictures about which people are asked to tell a story?

(A) TAT

(B) MMPI-2

(C) 16 PF

(D) NEO-PI

(E) Rorschach

6
. In order to determine a client’s personality, Carl Rogers used a Q-sort to measure the difference between

(A) self-esteem and self-efficacy

(B) ideal self and real self

(C) locus of control and self-actualization

(D) conditions of worth and locus of control

(E) ego strength and need for approval

7
. Nomothetic studies CANNOT provide information about

(A) unique personality characteristics of an individual

(B) common traits that characterize most people

(C) personality dimensions that differentiate normal people from people with psychological disorders

(D) traits more common in older people compared with children

(E) personality characteristics of a typical teenager

8
. Bertha is tall, thin, and frail. She enjoys studying and reading science fiction novels. She prefers to be alone rather than in a large group. According to Sheldon’s somatotype theory of personality, she is

(A) an endomorph

(B) an ectomorph

(C) a mesomorph

(D) an extrovert

(E) an introvert

9
. The most commonly used personality assessments are

(A) projective tests

(B) naturalistic observations

(C) structured interviews

(D) self-report inventories

(E) behavior assessments

10
. Self-efficacy, according to Bandura, is

(A) how you view your worth as a person

(B) how you think about your self-image

(C) all you know about your deficiencies and weaknesses as a person

(D) what others have conditioned you to see in yourself

(E) how competent you feel to accomplish tasks and goals

11
. Mother Theresa’s altruism showed in everything she did. According to Allport’s trait theory, Mother Theresa’s altruism was

(A) a common trait she shared with most other religious people

(B) a cardinal trait

(C) one of several central traits that characterized her exceptional life

(D) basically inherited from her father

(E) a surface trait that was visible to others

12
. Adler would
not
have agreed with the importance of which of the following ideas?

(A) birth order

(B) styles of life

(C) striving for superiority

(D) fictional finalism

(E) womb envy

13
. Roberto believes that he is the master of his ship and in charge of his destiny. According to Rotter’s theory of personality, Roberto has

(A) an external orientation to the world about him

(B) an internal locus of control

(C) an extraverted personality

(D) a low sense of self-efficacy

(E) a positive self-image, but is not self-actualized

14
. Collective-efficacy would probably be more beneficial than self-efficacy for achieving group goals in

(A) Canada

(B) England

(C) Puerto Rico

(D) South Korea

(E) Monaco

15
. A relatively permanent characteristic of personality that can be used to predict behavior is

(A) the id

(B) the ego

(C) the superego

(D) a defense mechanism

(E) a trait

1. C—
Reaction formation is the defense mechanism that involves acting exactly opposite of what we feel. The boy is actually sad, but acts as if he is glad.

2. C—
The ego mediates between the id and the superego, and operates on the reality principle.

3. B—
Humanists believe that humans are born good and that we are all naturally motivated to seek our full potential, but conditions of worth and our wish for society’s approval sometimes make us select a less productive path.

4. C—
Rooting for the underdog is a universal theme in our collective unconscious, according to Jung. Whether it’s David and Goliath or the home team who hasn’t won a game all season, we instinctively align ourselves with the underdog.

5. A—
Projective tests are designed to uncover thoughts, conflicts, and feelings in the unconscious mind. The Thematic Apperception Test, with its ambiguous pictures to interpret, is a good example of such a test.

6. B—
Ideal self and real self. Rogers believed that our ideal self is what we think society wants us to be and our real self is our natural self, which is good by nature. He believed that the differences between these two account for problems that we need to overcome in order to become fully functioning.

7. A—
Nomothetic measures tend to look at common traits that characterize most people. Idiographic measures attempt to look at individuals and their unique characteristics and underlying traits.

8. B—
According to Sheldon, Bertha’s profile is that of the ectomorph.

9. D—
Self-report inventories used by humanists and cognitive theorists are the most common personality tests given.

10. E—
According to Bandura, self-efficacy deals with our evaluation of our talents and abilities.

11. B—
Altruism is a cardinal trait of Mother Theresa because it seems to encompass everything that she stood for—selflessness and devotion to others. Allport believed that most people have clusters of 5 to 7 central traits, but most do not have a cardinal trait.

12. E—
Womb envy is a term coined by Karen Horney in her feminine rebuttal to Freud’s penis envy of females. All the other terms are concepts of Alfred Adler’s ego psychology.

13. B—
Roberto has an internal locus of control. Rotter’s locus of control theory is part of his social cognitive theory that our perception of how much we are in control of our environment influences the choices we make and behaviors we follow.

14. D—
South Korea. Collective efficacy is our perception that, with collaborative effort, our group will obtain its desired outcome. Some recent research studies indicate that high collective efficacy seems to be more beneficial in collectivistic societies such as Asian societies for achievement of group goals.

15. E—
A trait is a relatively permanent and stable characteristic which can be used to predict our behavior.

Personality
—a set of unique behaviors, attitudes, and emotions that characterize a particular individual.

Idiographic methods
—personality techniques that look at the individual, such as case studies, interviews, and naturalistic observations.

Nomothetic methods
—personality techniques such as tests, surveys, and observations that focus on variables at the group level, identifying universal trait dimensions or relationships between different aspects of personality.

Biological approach
—examines the extent to which heredity determines our personality.

•
Temperament
—an infant’s natural disposition includes sensitivity, activity levels, prevailing mood, irritability, and adaptability.

• Heritability estimates from twin and adoption studies suggest that both heredity and environment have about equal roles in determining at least some of our personality characteristics.

• Evolutionary psychologist David Buss attributes the universality of basic personality traits to natural selection because traits such as extraversion and agreeableness ensure physical survival and reproduction of the species.

Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approach
—originated with Sigmund Freud, who emphasized unconscious motivations and conflicts, and the importance of early childhood experiences.

Three levels of the mind:

•
Conscious
—includes everything we are aware of.

•
Preconscious
—contains information and feelings we can easily recall.

•
Unconscious
—contains wishes, impulses, memories, and feelings generally inaccessible to conscious.

Three major systems of personality:

•
Id
(in unconscious)—contains everything psychological that is inherited and psychic energy that powers all three systems. Id is “Give me, I want,” irrational, self-centered; guided by the
pleasure principle
.

•
Ego
(partly conscious, partly unconscious)—mediates between instinctual needs and conditions of the environment to maintain our life and ensure species lives on; guided by the
reality principle
.

•
Superego
(partly conscious, partly unconscious)—is composed of the conscience that punishes us by making us feel guilty, and the ego–ideal that rewards us by making us feel proud of ourselves.