Ch 14 Theories of Personality Lesson 1: Purposes of Personality

Personality consists of

• conscious and unconscious desires to conform.

• rewards and punishments.

• an individual's consistent, enduring, and unique characteristics.

• interactions between the brain and spinal cord.

Which of the following is a goal of personality theory?

• to provide a way of organizing the characteristics you know about yourself and others

• to develop incentives that will convince people to behave in a similar manner

• to ensure that the population will obey the nation's laws

• to learn how the brain and nervous system interact to produce certain behaviors

A personality theorist studying motives is most likely interested in explaining

• the reasons for bad decisions.

• why people feel inferior.

• differences among individuals.

• where in the brain the id is located.

A personality theorist who began her career as a psychotherapist would likely be interested in explaining

• the differences in people's IQ scores.

• how people conduct their lives.

• how to develop a more efficient workforce.

• the biological components of personality.

Which of the following subjects would a personality theorist influenced by Sigmund Freud be most interested in?

• observational learning

• genetic background

• environmental influences

• the unconscious

A behaviorist would be most interested in studying

• how people respond to hypnosis.

• what people dream about.

• how the prospect of earning larger bonuses motivates workers.

• a patient's relationship with his mother.

How are social learning theorists similar to behaviorists?

• both continue to stress the teachings of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung

• both focus on the hidden motives of the unconscious

• both emphasize the importance of personal variables, such as knowledge and emotions

• both examine the impact of observational learning on personality

A humanistic theorist stresses that

• a person is an active participant in his or her own growth.

• the unconscious drives most human behavior.

• rewards and punishments shape our actions.

• abstract thought is developed in childhood.

Gordon Allport and Hans Eysenck emphasize the importance of

• hidden motives.

• rewards and punishments.

• stable internal characteristics.

• environmental factors.

What does a sociocultural perspective stress as important in the development of personality?

• dreams and unconscious thoughts

• ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status, and gender

• free will and conscious choices

• the blending of human traits