Deck 8: The Trait Approach: Relevant Research

Question 1

Juanita works hard to do well in her English class. She wants to get the highest grade in the class on each exam,and is especially pleased when she is singled out for recognition. Researchers would say that Juanita is motivated by

A)a striving for superiority.
B)a high need for Achievement.
C)mastery goals.
D)performance goals.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is true about gender and achievement?

A)Men and women act similarly in achievement settings.
B)Men and women differ in the way they define success.
C)Women in our society are more likely to see success in terms of external standards.
D)Men and women assign similar values to achievement tasks.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to the ___________ approach to achievement motivation,we often ask ourselves why we have done as well as we have.

A)achievement goals
B)nomothetic
C)factor analysis
D)attribution

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A psychologist asks you to look at some pictures and tell a story about the people in them. Which test are you probably taking?

A)Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
B)Picture Description Test (PDT)
C)Rorschach test
D)Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Question 5

Compared to Type Bs,how do Type A people typically respond to a stressful task?

A)They become more aroused than Bs, but try to adjust their arousal level down.
B)They are aware of becoming highly aroused, but choose to do nothing about it.
C)They do not become as aroused as Type Bs.
D)They become more aroused than Bs, but tend to ignore or deny physiological stress.

Question 6

Much of the original research on need for Achievement has been criticized because it

A)failed to look at need for Achievement in other cultures.
B)looked at need for Achievement in males only.
C)did not address the question of how to raise a high need for Achievement child.
D)did not follow participants to see if need for Achievement scores could predict achievement behaviors years later.

Question 7

Which of the following people is likely to have the highest need for Achievement?

A)A highly successful social worker
B)An award-winning chemist
C)A bank president
D)A recognized poet

Question 8

Marisol is highly motivated to do well in her math class. Satisfaction for her comes from the feeling of proficiency she has when she understands difficult material. Researchers would say that Marisol is motivated by

A)a high need for Achievement.
B)a need for recognition.
C)mastery goals.
D)performance goals.

Question 9

According to an attribution analysis of achievement behavior,first-year student Arnold is most likely to improve his academic performance if he attributes poor freshman grades to

A)his ability.
B)the difficulty of college classes.
C)his level of effort.
D)inadequate preparation for college.

Question 10

Researchers find that men and women sometimes differ in achievement behavior because

A)men have an inherently higher need to achieve.
B)men are better at tasks calling for organization skills.
C)men have higher endurance levels.
D)men and women differ in the values they assign to achievement tasks.

Question 11

A man with a high need for Achievement is trying to decide between several investment opportunities.He is likely to select an investment with a

A)potentially small return, but with relatively little risk of losing any money.
B)potentially moderate return, but with a moderate amount of financial risk.
C)potentially huge return, but with a significant possibility of losing a large amount of money.
D)guaranteed small return rate, with absolutely no risk.

Question 12

Compared to people low in the need for Achievement,which of the following is characteristic of the way people with a high need for Achievement approach work?

A)They approach each job with an energetic effort.
B)They approach each job with about the same level of effort as lows, but persist at the task longer.
C)They approach challenging jobs and those with a potential to provide a sense of personal achievement with an energetic effort.
D)Because they want to use their time and energy efficiently, they appear at first to be less energetic in their approach to most jobs.

Question 13

Research on achievement and gender finds that men and women often differ in

A)how much they want to succeed.
B)how they define success.
C)the length of time it takes them to succeed.
D)how long they persist in the face of setbacks.

Question 14

You are the manager of a little league team.Research indicates that you will help your players the most if you get them to attribute their errors to

A)their lack of ability.
B)not putting enough effort into practice.
C)the difficulty of the game.
D)bad luck.

Question 15

Research sometimes finds that high need for Achievement people are ineffective when placed in positions of great responsibility.Researchers say this is probably because these people

A)become "burnt-out" in the climb to this position.
B)have difficulty delegating authority and relying on subordinates.
C)have failed to develop other personality characteristics that might make them effective leaders.
D)lose motivation once they reach their goal.

Question 16

The original researchers of achievement motivation were not interested in all kinds of achievement. They were specifically interested in

A)achievement in school.
B)entrepreneurial behavior.
C)individual differences in achievement behavior.
D)cultural difference in achievement concepts.

Question 17

Cross-cultural researchers investigating achievement motivation find

A)individualistic cultures achieve more than collectivist cultures.
B)cultures that emphasize group performance tend to achieve more.
C)similar levels of need for Achievement in almost all cultures.
D)the meaning of achievement varies as a function of culture.

Question 18

Suppose your friends just had a baby. From what you learned in personality class,in order to raise their child to have high need for Achievement you would advise your friends to

A)involve themselves in all of the child's interests.
B)continue giving encouragement and support in every activity of the child.
C)not give the child rewards for personal accomplishments.
D)find a balance between encouragement and robbing the child of initiative.

Question 19

Which of the following did early researchers examining need for Achievement have in common with many psychoanalytic therapists?

A)Both based their work on Freud's theory of personality.
B)Both used free association.
C)Both used projective tests.
D)Both were concerned with repression.

Question 20

Which of the following parental behaviors is likely to produce a child with high need for Achievement?

A)Allow the child to fail on his or her own, thereby learning from failures and mistakes.
B)Give the child a great deal of support and reinforcement; set up tasks so that the child works for reinforcers provided by the parent.
C)Arrange situations so that the child does not fail, but experiences success at almost every task.
D)Give a moderate amount of support and encouragement, but limit parental involvement that might undermine the child's perception of personal mastery and accomplishment.

Question 21

People high in social anxiety report that their anxiety often is very painful and that they desire to be more sociable.This finding helps us distinguish between social anxiety and

A)shyness.
B)introversion.
C)neuroticism.
D)low self-esteem.

Question 22

Research finds that shy people deliberately keep conversations short and polite and avoid potentially controversial or embarrassing topics.Some researchers point to these findings to suggest that social anxiety is caused by excessive

A)fear of strangers.
B)fear of the unknown.
C)evaluation apprehension.
D)need for control.

Question 23

On what kind of an achievement task is a Type A person likely to work harder on than a person who is Type B?

A)On virtually every kind of achievement task
B)On tasks with visible extrinsic rewards, such as money
C)On relatively easy tasks, even when there is no challenge
D)When in competition with another person

Question 24

According to some researchers,the reason studies don't always find a relationship between Type A behavior and health problems may be that

A)only some of the behaviors within the Type A pattern are related to health problems.
B)researchers are doing a better job of measuring Type A today.
C)people have become aware of the causes of heart attacks in recent years and have taken actions to prevent them.
D)people today are working to reduce stress in their lives.

Question 25

You read about a study of varying task difficulty in the textbook. In this study researchers threatened the participants' perception of their control,finding that

A)the most difficult task aroused Type B participants more than Type A.
B)the most difficult task aroused Type A participants more than Type B.
C)Type B participants were more aroused than Type A for all difficulty levels.
D)arousal levels did not differ between easy and difficult tasks.

Question 26

Research finds that Type A people work especially hard when given challenging tasks or when in competition with others.Studies also indicate that Type As do not pay attention to signs of physiological stress.Some psychologists interpret these findings to mean that Type As differ from Type Bs in terms of their need for

A)self-appraisal.
B)power.
C)achievement.
D)control.

Question 27

Early research found that Type A behavior was related to an increased likelihood of developing coronary disease.More recent research has

A)replicated this finding consistently.
B)sometimes replicated this finding, but other times has not.
C)found no evidence of health differences between Type As and Type Bs.
D)found the risk of developing coronary disease in Type As to be even greater than originally estimated.

Question 28

Therapy programs designed to help people overcome shyness often focus on developing the clients'

A)network of friends.
B)confidence that they are capable of making a good impression.
C)ability to say witty things at awkward moments.
D)ability to keep a conversation going after it has been initiated.

Question 29

In a study of varying task difficulty,researchers found that under threat to their perception of control,

A)the most difficult task aroused Type B participants more than Type A.
B)the most difficult task aroused Type A participants more than Type B.
C)Type B participants were more aroused than Type A for all difficulty levels.
D)arousal levels did not differ between easy and difficult tasks.

Question 30

Most research identifies the "toxic component" in the Type A behavior pattern as

A)achievement striving.
B)control motivation.
C)time urgency.
D)hostility.

Question 31

Valerie is interviewing for a job she really wants.However,she also suffers from a high level of social anxiety.During the 30-minute interview,the interviewer twice pauses for several seconds before commenting on what Valerie has said.Based on research findings,how would we expect Valerie to respond to the silence?

A)She enjoys the few moments in which there is no social interaction.
B)She says something to keep the conversation going.
C)She interprets the silence as a sign the interview is not going well.
D)She uses the time to prepare what she wants to say next.

Question 32

When researchers compare Type A and Type B students on academic performance,they typically find

A)Type As do better than Type Bs.
B)Type Bs do better than Type As.
C)Type As do better on tasks requiring a lot of time and effort, but Type Bs do better on everyday tasks.
D)No differences between Type As and Type Bs.

Question 33

Monroe is very competitive at work and when playing sports with his friends.He often takes work home with him in the evening and frequently eats lunch at his desk so he can do two things at once.He gets very frustrated and sometimes angry when he can't do something well the first time.Monroe could best be classified as a(n)

A)extravert.
B)Type A person.
C)person high in need for Achievement.
D)person high in need for Power.

Question 34

Which of the following statements is true about social anxiety?

A)Socially anxious people recognize the source of their anxiety.
B)Social anxiety can result from anticipated social interactions.
C)We can identify a relatively stable tendency for people to experience social anxiety.
D)all of these

Question 35

In one study presented in the textbook,participants were asked to engage in a five-minute "get acquainted" conversation. The researchers found in this study that

A)shy people made little attempt to be polite to the other person.
B)socially anxious people were less likely to agree with the other person.
C)shy people attempt to minimize the amount of evaluation by the other person.
D)all of these

Question 36

Most of the early failure to uncover a significant relationship between Type A behavior and heart disease occurred because

A)Type A is a collection of several behavioral tendencies only one of which may cause health problems.
B)Type A behavior caused heart disease in the past but not anymore.
C)the first studies that predicted heart attacks were lucky.
D)self-report inventories are unreliable.

Question 37

Carlos suffers from high social anxiety.Based on past research,which part of an interaction with a stranger would we expect him to have the most difficulty with?

A)Initiating the conversation
B)Thinking of something to say after the first few minutes
C)Ending the conversation
D)Keeping in touch

Question 38

Some researchers believe that evaluation apprehension is the underlying cause of social anxiety.This means people high in social anxiety

A)are afraid of being graded or tested.
B)do not like to meet new people.
C)are afraid to speak in front of a large audience.
D)are afraid of what other people will think of them.

Question 39

Researchers find that if we know how typically a person experiences positive affect,we can predict that person's

A)emotional expressiveness.
B)number of health problems.
C)level of social activity.
D)affect intensity.

Question 40

Research has identified each of the following except one as characteristic of people high in social anxiety.Which one?

A)They avoid making eye contact.
B)They frequently ask friends to help them.
C)They expect their conversations to go poorly.
D)They interpret feedback from others in a negative light.

Question 41

Among the conclusions we can draw from research on emotional affectivity,which of the following has been clearly demonstrated?

A)People with positive affect report more health problems.
B)Negative affect is related to psychological stress.
C)Negative affect is related to social activity.
D)all of these

Question 42

Researchers find that people high in negative affect also tend to have a higher number of health complaints. This is probably because

A)they have more health problems than most people.
B)they complain more than most people.
C)they have more health problems and they complain more than most people.
D)they are low in positive affect.

Question 43

Researchers have found relatively stable individual differences in each of the following except one. Which one?

A)Emotional awareness
B)Emotional intensity
C)Emotional expressiveness
D)Emotional affectivity

Question 44

Compared to the average person,people high in emotional expressiveness tend to have

A)fewer problems in their romantic relationships.
B)more health problems.
C)more emotional problems.
D)more positive affect.

Question 45

Research has found that women going through surgery for breast cancer experience less __________ during the year following surgery if they were optimistic rather than pessimistic individuals.

A)fatigue
B)family support
C)recurrence
D)distress

Question 46

Research finds that a person who is high in ________ typically does better than the average person when coping with traumatic experiences.

A)affect intensity
B)dispositional optimism
C)defensive pessimism
D)Type A

Question 47

Becky thinks about all the things that can go wrong before she takes any test. She says that this helps motivate her to do well. Becky is probably

A)Type A.
B)a dispositional optimist.
C)high in need for Achievement
D)a defensive pessimist.

Question 48

Drake is dealing with the stress associated with some health problems. If we know that he is a dispositional optimist,which of the following coping strategies is Drake most likely to use?

A)Avoid thinking about the problem
B)Wishful thinking
C)Seek advice and support from friends
D)Social withdrawal

Question 49

Researchers studying positive and negative affect sometimes disagree on whether

A)positive and negative affect are related dimensions of emotion.
B)men or women are higher in positive affect.
C)we can identify relatively stable levels of affect.
D)positive affect is related to social behavior.

Question 50

Jeff is an actor. He tends to worry and fret about all the things that might go wrong before each performance. If Jeff is a defensive pessimist who is too distracted to worry before the performance,he will probably

A)be happier.
B)perform better.
C)perform worse.
D)spend time after the performance worrying.

Question 51

Researchers have found an association between health and each of the following personality variables except one. Which one?

A)Type A
B)Negative affect
C)Dispositional optimism
D)Affect intensity

Question 52

Researchers find each of the following statements is true about defensive pessimists except one. Which one?

A)They set low expectations for themselves.
B)They want to fail.
C)They are motivated by the fear of failure.
D)They do better when allowed to worry about an upcoming performance.

Question 53

Researchers have found an association between achievement behavior and each of the following personality variables except one. Which one?

A)Social anxiety
B)Dispositional optimism
C)Defensive pessimism
D)Type A

Question 54

Suppose your roommate is a defensive pessimist and has a major test coming up. If you let your roommate worry about the test,the likely results is that your friend will _________ than people not allowed to worry.

A)experience more anxiety
B)perform worse
C)feel better
D)become more optimistic

Question 55

Compared to people with low affect intensity,those with high affect intensity are more likely to

A)do exciting things, such as go to parties and concerts.
B)have more positive experiences.
C)have more negative experiences.
D)react more strongly to positive and negative experiences.

Question 56

One reason dispositional optimists handle stressful situations better than pessimists is that optimists

A)have more friends to help them.
B)use different kinds of coping strategies.
C)have more successes in life to pick them up.
D)are more likely to use active coping strategies.

Question 57

Eric tends to have higher emotional highs than most people and lower emotional lows. He is probably high in

A)emotional affectivity.
B)affect intensity.
C)emotional expressiveness.
D)positive and negative affect.

Question 58

Darlene's emotions are easy to read: she smiles broadly when happy and looks down when sad. Researchers would say that Darlene is high in

A)emotional affectivity.
B)affect intensity.
C)emotional expressiveness.
D)positive and negative affect.

Question 59

Researchers find that people who are high in _______ typically achieve more than the average person.

A)affect intensity
B)dispositional optimism
C)social anxiety
D)emotional expressiveness

Question 60

Which of the following is correct about the relation between affect intensity and well-being?

A)People with high affect intensity are happier than those with low affect intensity.
B)People with low affect intensity are happier than those with high affect intensity.
C)People with high affect intensity are happier because they do more exciting things.
D)People with high and low affect intensity tend to experience happiness differently.

Question 61

Define and distinguish among three aspects of emotion that can be examined like personality traits. Describe the characteristics of each aspect of emotion in terms of predictable behavior patterns. What aspects of emotion are related to health and why?

Question 62

Predictably,high need achievers work hard at everything and tackle tasks with the potential for personal achievement with much energy.

Question 63

Type A people often find more easygoing people a source of frustration.

Question 64

Researchers have used the factor analysis statistical technique to examine the relation among various emotions.

Question 65

Shy people are more likely than nonshy people to be polite.

Question 66

Presidents whose inaugural speeches indicated a high need for Achievement are usually rated by historians as ineffective leaders.

Question 67

What are the differences between introversion and shyness? List all of the characteristics you have learned about social anxiety and discuss the relationship of each one to Freud's original conception of anxiety. From the research presented in the text,contrast between evaluation apprehension as a cause of social anxiety and other possible causes.

Question 68

Give your own description of a fictitious person with a very high need for Achievement. In your example discuss what kinds of careers are best suited for the person and how need for Achievement is like other trait measures. Does high need for Achievement always lead to success in the workplace?