1. The ____________ perspective of personality development is based on the theories of Sigmund Freud and suggests that unconscious conflicts are at the root of personality development.

d. psychoanalytic

2. A professor doing research on personality development insists that humans have capabilities that should be harnessed for personal growth. This professor appears to be proposing which of the following perspectives?

a. humanistic

3. Freud’s topographical model suggests our personalities and behaviors result from:

d. mental processes that occur at three levels of consciousness.

4. According to Freud, the part of the personality that develops last and guides our behaviors to follow rules is the:

b. superego.

5. ____________ help to reduce the anxiety created by the conflict among the id, ego, and superego.

c. Defense mechanisms

6. ____________ refers to the drive to achieve one’s full potential.

c. Self-actualization

7. Rogers believed that problems can develop when a person’s self-concept is ____________ with his experiences in the world.

a. incongruent

8. A person high in ____________ strongly believes she will succeed in a particular situation even if she has experienced failure in similar circumstances.

c. self-efficacy

9. ____________ suggests personality is the result of interactions among cognitions, behaviors, and the environment.

c. Reciprocal determinism

10. Using ____________ and other research methods, Cattell proposed that there are 16 personality factors.

d. factor analysis

11. According to Eysenck, we can describe personalities based on:

a. three dimensions of traits.

12. Evidence for the biological basis of the five-factor model of personality includes:

b. the stability of the personality characteristics over time.

13. ____________ can be determined when someone takes the same personality assessment more than once and the results do not change.

c. Reliability

14. The idea that personality traits influence perception is part of the logic underlying ____________, which attempt to explore characteristics that might not be accessible through interview or observation.

a. projective personality tests

15. The neo-Freudians agree with Freud on many issues, but tend to disagree with which of the following?

c. his intense emphasis on the instincts of sex and aggression

16. How would a behaviorist describe some of your personality characteristics?

Answers will vary, but can be based on the following information. According to behaviorists and learning theory, the environment shapes personality through processes of classical conditioning and reinforcers. Observation and modeling also play a role in personality development.

17. What is the difference between the humanistic perspective and the social-cognitive perspective of personality development?

Answers will vary. The humanistic perspective suggests that we are innately good and that we have capabilities we can and should take advantage of as we strive for personal growth. The choices we make in life influence our personalities. The social-cognitive perspective focuses on relationships, environmental influences, cognitive activity, and individual behavior as they come together to form personality. The humanistic perspective views personality as what we are able to do, whereas the social-cognitive perspective views personality, in part, as how we react to the environment.

18. Describe the Oedipus complex and the Electra complex. How are they different?

Both the Oedipus (for boys) and the Electra (for girls) complex represent important conflicts that occur during the phallic stage. For both boys and girls, the conflict can be resolved through the process of identification. Although basic urges and developmental processes underlie both of these complexes, there are several important differences. The Oedipus complex is the attraction a boy feels toward his mother, along with resentment or envy directed toward his father. When a little boy becomes aware of his attraction to his mother, he realizes his father is a formidable rival and experiences jealousy and anger toward him. With the Electra complex, a little girl feels an attraction to her father and becomes jealous and angry toward her mother. Realizing she doesn’t have a penis, she may respond with anger, blaming her mother for her missing penis.

19. Consider how you are doing in your college courses. Name three causes for your successes that represent an internal locus of control. Name three causes for your successes that represent an external locus of control.

Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definitions. An internal locus of control suggests that the causes of life events reside within an individual, and that one has some control over them. An external locus of control suggests that causes for outcomes reside outside of an individual, and there is little control over them.

20. Describe the differences between objective and subjective approaches to the assessment of personality.

Objective assessments of personality are based on a standardized procedure in which the scoring is free of opinions, beliefs, expectations, and values. Critics of objective assessments contend they do not allow flexibility or fully appreciate individual differences in experiences. Findings from subjective assessments of personality are based, in part, on personal intuition, opinions, and interpretations. Critics of the subjective assessments suggest there is not enough consistency across findings because of nonstandard scoring procedures.