Deck 2: Eastern and Western Perspectives on Positive Psychology: How Me We Us Might Bridge the Gap

Question 1

What is the most important goal in the Taoist philosophy?

A) Being reincarnated into a higher being
B) Enjoying the journey over the destination
C) Finding joy in everyday living
D) *Realizing naturalness and spontaneity in life

Answer 1

*Realizing naturalness and spontaneity in life

Question 2

What are the four Eastern disciplines discussed in Chapter 2 that may influence the future of positive psychology research and practice?

A) *Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism
B) Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Shamanism
C) Confucianism, Shintoism, Buddhism, and Shamanism
D) Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Scientism

Answer 2

*Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism

Question 3

According to Confucianism, what is the source of human suffering?

A) Hate
B) Racism
C) *Desire
D) Sadness

Answer 3

*Desire

Question 4

What is one of the authors' interpretations of the Chinese proverb, "A good fortune may forebode a bad luck, which may in turn disguise a good fortune"?

A) Life is filled with twists and turns that we encounter as we age.
B) *Life involves a delicate balance between suffering and feeling good.
C) Life involves luck; happenstance drives most of our happiness.
D) Life presents a series of choices, some good and some bad.

Question 5

In the New Testament of the Bible, gifts that are valued by God include all of the following except

A) perseverance.
B) leadership.
C) hospitality.
D) mercy.

Question 6

What pathway to the good life is commonly associated with Eastern religious traditions?

A) Goal-directed pursuits happiness
B) Spiritual pursuits of subjective well-being
C) *Spiritual pursuits of transcendence and enlightenment
D) Goal-directed pursuits through good deeds

Question 7

What is the Tao?

A) *The Way, the energy that surrounds everyone
B) The Path, the route to enlightenment
C) The Way, the route to enlightenment
D) The Tree, the roots of a good life

Question 8

"Suffering is part of being." This philosophical tenet is commonly associated with which religious tradition?

A) *Buddhism
B) Confucianism
C) Hinduism
D) Taoism

Question 9

With regard to optimal functioning, Easterners are more likely to view life as being __________, while Westerners are more likely to view life as being _____________.

A) a question of balance; a linear progression
B) a linear progression; a question of balance
C) a question of balance; the result of probability
D) outside of personal control; within the boundaries of personal control

Question 10

Though scholars have begun to consider the extent to which all cultures and values inform positive psychology research and practice, which perspective has been largely ignored to date?

A) *Eastern
B) Western
C) Indo-European
D) Eurasian

Question 11

Aristotle's view of society was that it

A) contributed to hedonistic desires.
B) was important in helping people self-actualized.
C) tended to repress individual's ability to self-actualize.
D) promoted stability through cooperative efforts.

Question 12

In comparing Eastern and Western cultures, Western culture has placed more emphasis on_____________, while Eastern cultures have placed more emphasis on______________.

A) self efficacy; living well
B) living well; self-efficacy
C) self-efficacy; hope and optimism
D) living well; hope and optimism

Question 13

The Athenian concept of "magnificence" refers to

A) displaying material wealth.
B) accumulating material wealth.
C) being generous to others.
D) the greatness of the soul.

Question 14

In the Islamic faith, giving to the poor is regarded as

A) an obligation.
B) a burden.
C) a privilege.
D) an act of faith.

Question 15

In the Eastern tradition the concept of "enlightenment" is roughly the same as

A) the accumulation of material wealth.
B) the accumulation of knowledge.
C) the ability to see things objectively.
D) the ability to think logically.

Question 16

The Eastern search for spiritual transcendence parallels which concept in the West?

A) belief in an afterlife or heaven
B) financial independence
C) pursuits for a better life on earth
D) leaving a legacy

Question 17

What actions are at the core of Confucian teachings?

A) Doing good deeds
B) Loving thy neighbor
C) Honoring one another
D) *Attaining virtue

Question 18

According to Confucianism, what are the five virtues associated with a moral existence?

A) *Humanity, duty, etiquette, wisdom, truthfulness
B) Humanity, duty, etiquette, wisdom, courage
C) Humanity, love, etiquette, wisdom, courage
D) Humanity, duty, etiquette, wisdom, love

Question 19

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the virtues of ___________________ are given particular importance.

A) patience, forgiveness, and wisdom
B) self-sufficiency and independence
C) faith, hope, and charity
D) kindness, humility, and acceptance

Question 20

According to Buddhists' Brahma Viharas, what are the virtues that are above all others in importance?

A) *Love, compassion, joy, and equanimity
B) Love, compassion, competition, and equanimity
C) Love compassion, truth, and equanimity
D) Love, compassion, truth, and joy

Question 21

The main teachings of the Hindu tradition emphasize which of the following?

A) Humans as guardians of the earth.
B) The importance of achieving nirvana.
C) Doing to others as you would have them do to you.
D) The interconnectedness of all things.

Question 22

Since the publishing of Democracy in America, the United States has been known as the land of the ______________?

A) Brilliant scholar
B) Arrogant buffoon
C) *Rugged individualist
D) Clever politician

Question 23

Who was the author of Democracy in America?

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Benjamin Franklin
C) Marquis de Sade
D) *Alexis de Tocqueville

Question 24

In Hindu teachings, it is believed that all people are interconnected by one unifying concept. What human strengths may be highly valued given this belief?

A) Competition
B) Achievement
C) *Harmony
D) Gratitude

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a core emphasis in individualism?

A) The need for uniqueness
B) A sense of independence
C) A sense of entitlement
D) The individual as the foundation of life

Question 26

In Hinduism, the ultimate success would be

A) returning to this world in a better placement in the world.
B) Going directly to the afterlife without having to repeat life's lessons.
C) achieving a state of pre-mortal nirvana.
D) returning to this world is another human.

Question 27

What makes a culture individualistic?

A) *When concerns about the individual are greater than concerns about the group
B) When concerns about family are more greater than concerns about strangers
C) When concerns about the group are greater than concerns about the individual
D) When concerns about the spiritual world are greater than concerns about the material world

Question 28

The concept of karma is associated with which religious tradition?

A) Taoism
B) Confucianism
C) Buddhism
D) Hinduism

Question 29

What are the core emphases of Individualism?

A) Selfishness, Sense of independence, and Need for uniqueness
B) Self as unit of analysis, Selfishness and Altruistic nature
C) Sense of independence, Need for uniqueness and Altruistic Nature
D) *Sense of independence, Need for uniqueness and Self as Unit of Analysis

Question 30

What Eastern religious tradition lacks an identifiable founder?

A) Buddhism
B) Confucianism
C) *Hinduism
D) Taoism

Question 31

The early American emphases on equal rights, capitalism and open frontiers stemmed from which aspect of the early American?

A) Their collectivistic nature
B) *Their individualistic nature
C) Their honest nature
D) Their greedy nature

Question 32

Which of the following most accurately describes the personal goals of the individualist?

A) They never match the goals of the groups that they belong to.
B) They always match the goals of the groups that they belong to.
C) *They may or may not match the goals of the groups they belong to.
D) They only match the goals of the groups they belong to when money is involved.

Question 33

In Hinduism, karma refers to

A) avoiding returning to Earth via reincarnation.
B) the ability to achieve the ultimate self-knowledge in one's life.
C) receiving good luck by being kind to others.
D) attaining a better placement in the world in the next life.

Question 34

According to Alexis de Tocqueville, people in the United States placed greatest emphasis on

A) family.
B) hard work.
C) perseverance.
D) isolation.

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT a secondary emphasis of Individualism?

A) Pursues success for self
B) Spontaneity
C) *Satisfaction depends on harmony
D) Focuses on the personal payoff

Question 36

In individualist cultures,

A) individualists do not follow group norms.
B) individuals follow what is enjoyable to them.
C) the well-being of the individual comes from the well-being of the group.
D) people develop a sense of dependence on others like them.

Question 37

In Hinduism, which of the following life achievements are valued?

A) Attaining knowledge and being good to others.
B) Attaining knowledge and becoming self-sufficient.
C) Being good to others and becoming self-sufficient.
D) Attaining knowledge and achieving reincarnation.

Question 38

In Western culture, two constructs related to individualism are

A) Hope and loyalty
B) Industry and need for uniqueness
C) Hope and need for uniqueness
D) Industry and independence

Question 39

What Eastern religious tradition focuses on personal betterment, as many Western traditions do?

A) Confucianism
B) *Hinduism
C) Shamanism
D) Taoism

Question 40

Which of the following best characterizes the social patterns of individualist societies?

A) *Loosely interwoven fabric
B) Independent pieces of cloth
C) Tightly knit ball of yarn
D) Long piece of string

Question 41

From the Eastern perspective on positive psychology, what is happiness?

A) *Happiness is the satisfactions of plain living, shared within a harmonious social network.
B) Happiness is the attainment of individual goals and receipt of recognition.
C) Happiness is the result of good fortune and can't be sought.
D) Happiness is the product of clean living, good health, and sound religious practices.

Question 42

Which of the following has research shown tends to occur as people get older?

A) People become more individualistic
B) People become more altruistic
C) *People become more collectivistic
D) People become more materialistic

Question 43

In traditional Eastern culture, what orientation to time is most typical?

A) Valuing a future orientation over the present and the past
B) Valuing a future orientation over the past
C) *Valuing a past orientation over the future
D) Valuing a simultaneous appreciation on past, present, and future

Question 44

Which social class tends to be the most collectivist?

A) *Lower
B) Middle
C) Upper
D) Social class has no effect

Question 45

Compared to collectivists, individualists tend to be more ___________ in their thinking.

A) *Short-term
B) Long-term
C) Abstract
D) Concrete

Question 46

What is the most collectivistic nation in the world according to the research of Oyserman and colleagues?

A) *China
B) India
C) America
D) Japan

Question 47

What term did social psychologist Eliot Aronson use to describe the shared characteristics of all human beings?

A) interactive creatures
B) *Social animals
C) Populist beings
D) Communal individuals

Question 48

Western stories and fairytales are most likely to exemplify

A) the benefits of cooperating with others.
B) Personal achievement at the cost of others.
C) that strength lies in numbers.
D) the greater importance of honor over personal fortune.

Question 49

What are the core emphases of Collectivism?

A) Selflessness, Sense of dependence, and conformity
B) Group as unit of analysis, Selflessness and Altruistic nature
C) Sense of dependence, conformity, and Altruistic Nature
D) *Sense of dependence, conformity and Self as Unit of Analysis

Question 50

In Eastern philosophy, the path to happiness is

A) a matter of balance.
B) a straight line to the goal.
C) a matter of avoiding obstacles.
D) an avoidance of unhappiness.

Question 51

Compared to individualists, collectivists tend to be ___________ in their interactions.

A) More talkative
B) *More formal
C) Less talkative
D) Less formal

Question 52

What is valued in collectivist cultures?

A) The individual over the group
B) Competition for resources
C) *Interdependence in daily living
D) Acknowledgment for all actions

Question 53

What does the Taoist yin and yang symbol represent?

A) The connection of the past to the future
B) The transcendence of time and place
C) The balance of the old and the new
D) *The balance between opposing forces and desires.

Question 54

The Japanese story of Momotaro, the adopted child, shows which of the following themes?

A) Acting for the good of the group
B) Promotion of harmony.
C) Interdependence and sharing.
D) All of the above are exemplified in the story.

Question 55

What defines the collectivist?

A) Their individual achievements
B) *The characteristics of their groups
C) The political power they have achieved
D) Their material wealth

Question 56

What process do individualists tend to go through before deciding whether to pursue relationships?

A) Evaluate the long term problems with the relationship.
B) *Analysis of the advantages and the disadvantages.
C) Consideration of what is best for their family.
D) Formal interviews with friends of the person.

Question 57

Which of the following is true about collectivist trends?

A) People in higher social classes tend to be more collectivist.
B) Younger people tend to be more collectivist.
C) People in industrialized nations tend to be more collectivist.
D) People in lower social classes tend to be more collectivist.

Question 58

What makes a culture collectivistic?

A) When concerns about the individual are greater than concerns about the group
B) When concerns about family are more greater than concerns about strangers
C) *When concerns about the group are greater than concerns about the individual
D) When concerns about the spiritual world are greater than concerns about the material world.

Question 59

The Eastern view of the world is a_______________ while the Western view of the world is a ____________

A) line; circle.
B) circle; line.
C) circle; globe.
D) globe; line.

Question 60

In collectivist cultures, success and satisfaction stems from

A) the individual achieving success within the boundaries of the group.
B) the feeling that one has fulfilled the duties as a member of the group.
C) pursuing personal relationships that are productive.
D) making a unique contribution that reflects well on the group.

Question 61

What level of similarity is rated as being the most comfortable for people?

A) Extremely low levels of similarity
B) Moderate to low levels of similarity
C) *Moderate to high levels of similarity
D) Extremely high levels of similarity

Question 62

Which historic period immediately followed the Middle Ages?

A) The Bronze Age
B) The Industrial Revolution
C) The Age of Colonialism
D) *The Renaissance

Question 63

How do societies typically react when people deviate from the normal or expected behaviors?

A) Deviant behavior is never noticed.
B) *Deviant behavior is met with disapproval or rejection.
C) Deviant behavior is met praise.
D) Deviant behavior is usually met with curiosity or indifference.

Question 64

Who developed the Need for Uniqueness scale?

A) Snyder & Lopez
B) Snyder & Seligman
C) Snyder & Cheavens
D) *Snyder & Fromkin

Question 65

Regarding similarity to others, most people are most comfortable if they perceive that

A) others are very similar to them.
B) others are very dissimilar to them.
C) others are moderately similar to them.
D) they have a lot of unique characteristics.

Question 66

People from individualistic cultures tend to see asking for help as

A) An inevitable part of living in society.
B) a sign of strength.
C) a sign of weakness.
D) an imposition on others.

Question 67

According to Chapter 2, what was the cultural atmosphere of the Enlightenment?

A) *Conducive to exploration and change
B) Opposed to any thought that was not founded on Roman or Greek literature
C) Entirely dependent on the approval of the Catholic Church
D) Focused purely on the development of industry and labor

Question 68

How was the industrial revolution connected to the concept of hope?

A) It increased the material benefits for individual citizens and made hope for the future seem more attainable.
B) It brought about the end of food shortages and made it more likely that children would survive to adulthood.
C) It allows the formation of centralized governments that allowed social safety nets to be established.
D) It created a rise in achievements in science and philosophy due to the use of the scientific method.

Question 69

Which institutions best supported the action and planning of a hopeful society in the Middle Ages?

A) *Monasteries and religious schools
B) Large publicly funded universities
C) The armies and their military conquests
D) The kings of England and France

Question 70

Until what year did the Renaissance last?

A) 1800
B) *1700
C) 1600
D) 1500

Question 71

What unfortunate motto did the authors provide an example of developing from misguided beliefs about individualism?

A) Always ignore strangers.
B) Money is power.
C) Never consider other's feelings.
D) *Don't ask for help.

Question 72

People in the Renaissance were different than people in the Middle Ages because people in the Middle Ages found hope in searching their own souls. In contrast how did people in the Renaissance find hope?

A) In searching the souls of people from the past
B) *In personal and materialistic achievements in their individual lives
C) In conquering and enslaving the lands of others
D) In patiently waiting for the riches of others to benefit them.

Question 73

For what is the Enlightenment best known

A) The production of religious scholars
B) The production of political leaders that convinced mindless masses to follow their every whim
C) Acts of utter dependence on the bible for wisdom and reason
D) *Scientific and philosophical thinkers

Question 74

As described in Chapter 2, how is hope generally defined in Western culture?

A) Faith that the future will be ideal for everyone
B) *The view that people can influence the future in positive ways
C) The view that Western European Civilization will provide for people's needs
D) The belief that an external force will manipulate the world to suit people's needs

Question 75

A set of personal attributes which have a common core of meaning is the definition of

A) uniqueness.
B) an identity dimension.
C) individualism.
D) Collectiveness

Question 76

When evaluating perceived similarity, when do people feel the need to make the most behavioral changes?

A) *When they highly dissimilar
B) When they are moderately dissimilar
C) When they are moderately similar
D) When they are highly similar

Question 77

Which of the following statements best describes people's need for uniqueness levels?

A) *Individual differences in need for uniqueness exist.
B) All Americans have high need for uniqueness levels.
C) Individual levels of need for uniqueness cannot be identified.
D) All Americans have low need for uniqueness levels.

Question 78

What term describes the pursuit of individualistic goals so as to produce a sense of specialness?

A) Arrogance
B) *Need for uniqueness
C) Self-righteousness
D) Desire for dominance

Question 79

What is the term for the attributes that provide an acceptable method for citizens to show their differences?

A) Individualism
B) Strangeness
C) *Uniqueness
D) Mannerisms

Question 80

What were the Middle Ages, also called the Dark Ages (500 - 1450) best represented by?

A) Rapid scientific change and social growth
B) *Physical, social, and intellectual immobility
C) Intellectual stagnation in which all people on the European continent almost died out
D) The European continent served as the center for all productive activities on Earth.