Deck 8: The Trait Approach: Relevant Research

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is true about gender and achievement?

A) Men and women act similarly in achievement settings.
B) Men are more interested in external standards of success, while women tend to be more interested in internal standards of 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

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)

Answer 3

D

Question 4

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 5

Which of the following is associated with those from a collectivist culture?

A) Individual achievement is recognized and rewarded.
B) People are singled out for their successes.
C) Personal accomplishments drive effort.
D) Success is defined in terms of cooperation and group accomplishments.

Question 6

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

Question 7

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 8

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 value various kinds of achievement at different levels.

Question 9

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 10

People motivated by mastery goals __________than those driven by performance goals.

A) achieve their goals more often
B) tend to retain the information and skills they learn longer
C) have greater difficulty with specific achievements
D) tend to avoid whatever could lead to failure more

Question 11

One type of achievement goal is a mastery goal, which is focused on developing

A) recognition.
B) competence.
C) affiliations with others.
D) public awareness of important issues.

Question 12

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 13

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 14

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 15

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.

Question 16

Workers from individualistic cultures may see themselves in competition with their coworkers. What is a potential result of this mindset that is discussed in the textbook?

A) The sense of competition makes them work harder.
B) They intentionally sabotage their coworkers.
C) They are satisfied with their jobs as long as their salaries are acceptable.
D) They are always on the lookout for a better opportunity and will change jobs or companies if they get a better opening.

Question 17

Arieh enjoys his job, but when the work day is over, he is ready to leave, come home, and enjoy a cigar on his porch. He does not check his work email address on the weekends, and is fine with the fact that he has not been promoted, while others around him have. Arieh probably has a __________personality style.

A) Type A
B) Type B
C) Type D
D) Type H

Question 18

Which of the following person 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 19

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 20

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 21

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) Positive affectivity is indicative of a Type A personality style.

Question 22

Which of the following statements is true about shyness?

A) Shy teenagers typically became far shyer in adulthood.
B) Shyness can increase satisfaction when a long-term romantic relationship is established.
C) Shy people are more likely to talk to a counselor about career advice than to talk with a stranger.
D) Shy teenagers have fewer friends than their nonshy peers.

Question 23

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 24

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

A) 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 25

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 26

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 27

Emilion is a very socially anxious individual, and though he tries to interact with others, his shyness sometimes gets in the way. According to research, those with whom he interacts would be more likely to describe him as all but which of the following?

A) Inhibited
B) Unfriendly
C) Tense
D) Incompetent

Question 28

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 29

Which of the following statements is true about social anxiety?

A) Socially anxious people rarely recognize the source of their anxiety.
B) Social anxiety usually does not result from anticipated social interactions.
C) We can identify a relatively stable tendency for people to experience social anxiety.
D) Being socially anxious is the same as being introverted.

Question 30

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 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

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 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

Although the subsequent research was inconclusive, an early study of those with Type A personality styles found that those men had more than__________ the incidence of heart disease when compared to participants with a Type B personality style.

A) twice
B) thrice
C) five times
D) ten times

Question 35

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) found that this relationship is more complex than originally thought.
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 36

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 37

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 keep conversations short and to the point.
D) They interpret feedback from others in a negative light.

Question 38

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

A) client's network of friends.
B) individual's belief 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 39

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 40

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 41

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 42

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 43

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 44

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?

Question 45

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

Question 46

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

Question 47

Those who are shyer tend to use a self-protective interaction style that helps control the impressions others form of them.

Question 48

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 49

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 50

The strength or degree to which a person typically experiences his or her emotions is called

A) emotional stability.
B) affective intensity.
C) valence lability.
D) cognitive expressiveness.

Question 51

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 52

By its very definition, those who are high in the need for Achievement work hard at everything and tackle tasks with the potential for personal achievement with much energy.

Question 53

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 54

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

Question 55

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 56

Research finds that a person who is high in __________typically does better than the average person when coping with traumatic or stressful events.

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

Question 57

Research has found that the strength of students' immune systems was related to

A) the number of exams they had per month.
B) their level of optimism.
C) the number of classes they felt they were going to pass.
D) the number of negative emotions they displayed.

Question 58

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 59

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 60

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 61

What are the differences between introversion and social anxiety? 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 62

How did the construct of the Type A personality develop? State specific findings regarding how Type A is related to achievement motivation. What are the driving habits? What are the concerns?

Question 63

Provide several reasons why a person who is higher in dispositional optimism may have more academic and/or career success than a person lower in that attribute.

Question 64

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?