Identify a feature of traits.
- Contributes to individual differences in behavior
______ contribute to individual differences in behavior, consistency of behavior over time, and
stability of behavior across situations.
- Traits
The Unique qualities of an individual that include attributes such as temperament, physique,
and intelligence are known as __________.
- Characteristics
_______ are useful tools employed by scientists to give meaning and organization to
observations.
- Theories
A good theory is capable of generating many _________.
- Hypotheses
Moe conducted a study on animals and classified them into separate categories. The
classification in this scenario is an example of a(n) ________.
- Taxonomy
Identify a characteristic of a taxonomy.
- Essential to the development of science
Identify a feature of psychology of science.
- Studies both science and the behavior of scientists
True or false: The psychology of science investigates, solely, the biological basis of behavior.
- False
True or false: When evaluating and choosing a theory, it is important to acknowledge the impact
of the theorist’s personal history on the theory.
- True
Similar to characteristics, traits _______.
- Contribute to an individual’s uniqueness
Like her mother, Annie is thin, tall, and has green eyes. In this case, Annie has the same _____
as her mother.
- Characteristics
An educated guess or prediction specific enough for its validity to be tested through the use of
the scientific method is known as a(n) _____.
- Hypothesis
Taxonomies contribute to the development of science by ______.
- Classifying data
______ is concerned with the measurement, labeling, and categorization of the units employed
in the theory building.
- Descriptive research
A falsifiable theory _______.
- Is precise enough to suggest research that may support or fail to support its major
tenets
Without a useful theory, _______ would stumble in the darkness of trial and error techniques.
- Practitioners
The law of _____ states that when two theories are equal in their ability to generate research,
be falsified, give meaning to data, guide the practitioner, and be self-consistent, the simpler one
is preferred.
- Parsimony
A theory must also be evaluated on its ability to be confirmed or disconfirmed; that is, it must
be _______.
- Falsifiable
A falsifiable theory ______.
- Is precise enough to suggest research that may support or fail to support its major
tenets.
Theorists must be as _____ as possible when gathering data, but their decisions as to what data
are collected and how these data are interpreted are personal ones.
- Objective
The extent to which an instrument measures some hypothetical construct is referred to as
_____ _______.
- Construct validity
A second dimension of validity is _______ _____, or the extent that a test predicts some future
behavior.
- Predictive validity
Barry, a personality psychologist, has developed a new scale to measure extraversion. He
administers this scale to a group of individuals. After a period of one week, he administers the
scale to the same group of individuals, and it yields the same result. In this scenario, the scale
developed by Barry has a high degree of _____.
- Reliability
Determinism vs free choice: are peoples behaviors determined by forces over which they have
no control, or can people choose to be what they wish to be?
Conscious versus unconscious determinants of behavior: Are people aware of what they doing
and why they are doing it, or do forces drive them to act without awareness of these underlying
forces?
Pessimism vs optimism: Are people doomed to live miserable, conflicted, and troubled lives, or
can they grow into psychologically healthy, fully functioning human beings.
In contrast to theory, philosophy ______.
- Deals with what ought to be
Using ______ ______, an investigator alters a theory to reflect the results obtained from testing
a hypothesis.
- Inductive reasoning
Identify an aspect of useful theory.
- Generates research
Theories are built on _______.
- Assumptions
Collin, a personality psychologist, developed a scale that measures emotional stability. On
testing the scale with another measure of emotional stability, he obtained results that revealed
a high degree of correlations between the two scales. This means that the scale developed by
Collin is indeed a measure of emotional stability and thus has a high degree of _____.
- Validity
Without, _____, research findings would remain isolated and meaningless.
- Organization
An imaginative scientist begins with the general theory and arrives at a particular hypothesis
that can be tested through ______>
- Deductive reasoning
A measuring instrument has _____ construct validity to the extent that scores on that
instrument correlate highly with scores on a variety of valid measures of that same construct.
- Convergent
_____ is the branch of study concerned with observation and classification of data and with the
verification of general laws through the testing of hypotheses.
- Science
Theory relates most closely to ______, because it is a tool used by scientists in their pursuit of
knowledge.
- Epistemology
Identify a characteristic of a theory
- Set of related assumptions
Using ____, a scientific investigator can derive testable hypotheses from a useful theory and
then test these hypotheses.
- Deductive reasoning
A(n) ______ is one that defines units in terms of observable events or behaviors that can be
measured.
- Operational definition
An inventory has ______ construct validity if it has low or insignificant correlations with other
inventories that do not measure that construct.
- Divergent
An inventory has _____ construct validity if it differentiates between two groups of people
known to be different.
- Discriminant
______ is an explanation of behavior in terms of future goals or purposes.
- Teleology
If a scale of agreeableness correlates with factors such as cooperation and warmth that are
known to cluster together with agreeableness, then it is said to have _____ construct validity.
- Convergent
A _____ is a set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning
to formulate testable hypotheses.
- Theory
Theories are not free of values and are built on _____ that has been obtained in a relatively
unbiased fashion.
- Scientific evidence
______, or the nature of knowledge, is a branch of philosophy
- Epistemology
To permit scientists to deduce clearly stated hypotheses, the tenets of a theory must be stated
with sufficient _____ and ______.
- Precision; logical consistency
_____ states that behavior is a function of past experiences
- Causality
____ is closely tied to empirically gathered data and to science.
- Speculation
A useful theory should be able to ______ research data that are not incompatible with each
other.
- Organize
A useful theory needs to _____
- Be consistent with itself
A study of extraversion will have ______ construct validity if the score obtained from the study
are high for known extraverts and low for known introverts.
- Discriminate
A researcher uses the number of times a person smiles at others as a measure of
friendliness. This an example of
* A) an operational definition.
B) hypothesis testing.
C) parsimony.
D) internal consistency.
A set of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to
formulate testable hypotheses is
A) the definition of philosophy.
* B) the definition of scientific theory.
C) the definition of taxonomy.
D) an armchair speculation.
A test that can accurately divide extraverts from introverts is said to have
A) internal consistency.
B) divergent validity.
C) convergent validity.
* D) discriminant validity.
A theory may be set aside when it
A) generates testable hypotheses.
B) explains a set of observations.
C) is proven by experimentation.
* D) loses its usefulness.
A useful theory must be falsifiable, which means that
A) it will eventually be proven false.
* B) it must be precise enough to suggest research that may either support or fail to
support its major tenets.
C) it should be flexible enough to encompass opposing data into its framework.
D) it must be either true or false.
A useful theory should be parsimonious, meaning that it should be
A) based on empirical research.
B) complex.
* C) simple.
D) verifiable.
If scores on an instrument that measures introversion correlate highly with a number of
other measures of introversion for example, shyness and inhibition then that � �
instrument is said to have
* A) discriminant validity.
B) convergent validity.
C) divergent validity.
D) test-retest reliability.
Part of the internal consistency of a theory is
A) a taxonomy.
* B) a set of operational definitions.
C) its agreement with older, more established theories.
D) its empirical validity.
Statements formed in an if-then framework are most likely
A) taxonomies.
B) philosophies.
* C) theories.
D) definitions of personality.
The extent that a test predicts some future behavior is referred to as
A) test-retest reliability.
* B) predictive validity.
C) divergent validity.
D) internal consistency.
The personalities, cognitive processes, developmental histories, and social experiences
of personality theorists help shape their theories. The discipline that deals with these
factors is called
A) personology.
B) psychology.
C) sociology.
* D) the psychology of science.
The term personality comes from the Latin word persona, which means� � � �
A) that which one truly is.
B) the evil side of people.
* C) a theatrical mask.
D) the soul.
The _____ perspective argues that how one thinks about oneself and other people, as
well as the assumptions one makes and the strategies one uses for solving problems,
are the keys to understanding differences between people.
A) dispositional
B) biological
* C) cognitive
D) existential
What is the relationship between a useful theory and research data?
A) They are mutually exclusive.
B) Several theories make up an observation.
C) Several observations make up a theory.
* D) There is a mutual and dynamic interaction between them.
Which of the following is not a dimension used by the authors to assess a theorist s �
concept of humanity?
A) determinism versus free choice
* B) order versus disorder
C) pessimism versus optimism
D) conscious versus unconscious
Which of the following is not a function of a useful theory?
A) It will generate research.
* B) It will be consistent with one s philosophy of life.�
C) It organizes observations.
D) It serves as a guide to action.
Which of the following statements best characterizes the relationship between a theory
and a hypothesis?
A) A theory is narrower than a hypothesis.
B) A theory is directly verifiable, a hypothesis is not.
C) A theory is logically deduced from a specific hypothesis.
* D) A theory may generate one or more hypotheses.
Which of the following statements highlights the role of theory within science?
A) Theories enable scientists to know how they should live their lives.
* B) Theories are tools used by scientists to generate research and organize
observations.
C) Theory building is the ultimate aim of science.
D) Theories play no role in scientific pursuits.
Which of the following statements is true about a reliable test?
A) It is always valid.
B) It measures what it purports to measure.
C) It correlates positively with its validity.
* D) It yields consistent results.
Which of the following statements is true about descriptive research?
A) It is designed to test hypotheses.
* B) It contributes to expanding a theory.
C) It is that which uses an experimental design.
D) It is expressed by if-then statements.
Which of the following statements is true about humanistic-existential theories?
A) They hold that all behaviors are learned through association and its consequences,
whether it is reinforced or punished.
B) They argue that the personality people have is shaped by how they think and
perceive the world.
* C) They assume primarily that people strive toward meaning, growth, well-being,
happiness, and psychological health.
D) They suggest that there are five main trait dimensions in human personality that
serve the function of making certain behaviors likely in some people.
Which of the following statements is true about personality theories?
A) They are former principles that have been proven true.
* B) They originate from the historical, social, and psychological world of their
originators.
C) They are useful tools of science to the extent that they are value free.
D) They should not be open to falsification.
Which of the following statements is true about psychodynamic theories?
A) They assume that negative experiences foster psychological growth and are part of
the human condition.
* B) They see the unconscious mind and motives as much more powerful than the
conscious awareness.
C) They hold that the unique and long-term tendencies to behave in particular ways are
the essence of human personality.
D) They emphasize that what people think, feel, and do is always an interaction
between nature and nurture.
Which of the following statements is true about theory?
* A) A theory can be a practical guide for a psychotherapist.
B) Theory and practice are mutually exclusive.
C) Other things being equal, the more complex a theory, the better.
D) A good theory gives opposing answers to a single question.
Which of the following terms is defined as an educated guess or prediction scientific
enough for its validity to be tested through the use of the scientific method?
A) a theory
* B) a hypothesis
C) a philosophy
D) a taxonomy
Which of the following theories emphasizes that what people think, feel, and do is
always an interaction between nature and nurture?
A) learning-cognitive theories
* B) biological-evolutionary theories
C) dispositional theories
D) psychodynamic theories
_____ argue that the unique and long-term tendencies to behave in particular ways are
the essence of human personality.
* A) Dispositional theorists
B) Psychodynamic theorists
C) Biological-evolutionary theorists
D) Learning-cognitive theorists
_____ assume that not only are people driven by a search for meaning, but also that
negative experiences such as failure, awareness of death, death of a loved one, and
anxiety, are part of the human condition and can foster psychological growth.
A) Cognitive theorists
B) Psychodynamic theorists
C) Dispositional theorists
* D) Existential theorists
_____ focused on the importance of early childhood experience and on relationships
with parents as guiding forces that shape personality development.
* A) Psychodynamic theories
B) Humanistic-existential theories
C) Dispositional theories
D) Biological-evolutionary theories
A set of related assumptions from which, by logical deductive reasoning, testable
hypotheses can be drawn is
the definition of theory
Descriptive research
contributes to expanding a theory.
A theory may be set aside when it
loses its usefulness.
Part of the internal consistency of a theory is
a set of operational definitions.
An educated guess that can be scientifically tested is a definition of
hypothesis
A researcher uses the number of times a person smiles at others as a measure of
friendliness. This an example of
an operational definition
Any test that correlates with future behaviors is said to have
predictive validity
Personality theorists have evolved different systems because
Any or all the above are correct.
The two MOST important functions of a theory are its
ability to generate research and organize observations.
A useful theory should be parsimonious, meaning that it should be
simple
A test that can accurately divide extraverts from introverts is said to have
discriminant validity.
Which statement is most nearly true?
A theory can be a practical guide for a psychotherapist.
A useful theory must be falsifiable, which means that
it must be precise enough to suggest research that may either support or fail to support
its major tenets.
Which statement best characterizes the relationship between a theory and a
hypothesis?
A theory may generate one or more hypotheses.
If scores on an instrument that measures introversion correlate highly with a number of
other measures of introversion—for example, shyness and inhibition—then that
instrument is said to have
convergent validity
What is the relationship between theory and observation?
There is a mutual and dynamic interaction between them.
The variety of personality theories now is due to
the different personal and philosophical perspectives that each theorist has of human
nature.
The personalities, cognitive processes, developmental histories, and social experiences
of personality theorists help shape their theories. The discipline that deals with these
factors is called
the psychology of science
A taxonomy is best defined as
a classification system
A reliable test
yields consistent results
According to the authors of the text, personality theories
originate from the historical, social, and psychological world of their originators.
The ultimate value of any theory depends on its
usefulness
Psychologists generally agree that personality
can be explained by several different theories
What is the proper place of theory within science?
Theories are tools used by scientists to give meaning to observations.
The word "theory" is most closely associated with
science
The word personality comes from the Latin word "persona," meaning
theatrical mask
The basic data of science are
Observations
Which of the following is NOT a dimension used by the authors to assess a theorist's
concept of humanity?
order versus disorder
Statements formed in an if-then framework are most likely
theories
Personality theorists who adopt a teleological approach generally believe that people's
behavior is a function of
people's expectations of future events.
Theories are built primarily on
scientific observations
a reliable test
yields consistent results
