Chapter 13 Personality Module 43
Task 1. Give an answer to the question:
What are the major aspects of trait, learning, biological and evolutionary, and humanistic
approaches to personality?
Task 2. Multiple choice.
1. The most influential trait approach today contends that five broad trait factors—called the “Big
Five”—lie at the core of personality. Which of the following traits is one of the “Big Five” and also
one of Eysenck’s three major dimensions?
A) extraversion
B) agreeableness
C) openness to experience
D) conscientiousness
2. To a strict learning theorist, personality is comprised of
A) thoughts, feelings, and motivations.
B) thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
C) learned responses to the external environment.
D) thoughts, motivations, and learned behaviour.
3. People with high self-efficacy have higher aspirations and greater persistence in working to attain
goals, and ultimately achieve greater success than those with lower self-efficacy. How do we
develop self-efficacy?
A) by direct reinforcement
B) by paying close attention to our prior successes and failures
C) by encouragement from others
D) all of these
4. In support of biological approaches to personality, infants are born with a particular
___________, a basic, innate disposition. It encompasses several dimensions, including general
activity level and mood, and is consistent from infancy well into adolescence.
A) sense of self
B) relationship harmony
C) temperament
D) self-efficacy
5. Renna Sonce was an accomplished author, businesswoman, entrepreneur, sculptor,
philanthropist, and stateswoman. She became the first woman president of her country. According
to Maslow and Rogers, Renna Sonce has probably fulfilled her need for
A) self-actualization.
B) self-efficacy.
C) self-esteem.
D) conditional positive regard.
Task 3. Fill in the blanks.
1. By statistically combining trait questionnaire responses and computing which traits are
associated with one another in the same person, a researcher can identify the most fundamental
patterns or combinations of traits that underlie participants’ responses; this process is called
_____________ .
2. According to B. F. Skinner, similarities in responses across different situations are caused by
similar patterns of ______________ that have been received in such situations in the past.
3. ______________ is the component of personality that encompasses our positive and negative
self-evaluations.
4. Instead of seeing people as controlled by unconscious forces, a set of stable traits,
reinforcements, or inherited factors, _______________ approaches emphasize people’s basic
tendency to grow to higher levels of functioning.
5. Rogers maintains that all people have a fundamental need for ______________, a state of self-
fulfillment in which people realize their highest potential, each in a unique way.
6. _______________ refers to an attitude of acceptance and respect on the part of an observer, no
matter what a person says or does.
Task 4. Explain the words/terms in bold:
1. Page 463 “He’s the friendliest guy I know—goes out of his way to be nice to everyone.”
2. Page 463 “He’s just so even-tempered, no matter what’s happening.”
3. Page 463 “He seems to have boundless energy, much more than I have.”
4. Page 465 “Trait approaches have several virtues.”
5. Page 467 “Although people have a general level of self-esteem, it is not unidimensional.”
6. Page 467 “Although almost everyone goes through periods of low self-esteem (after, for
instance, an undeniable failure), some people are chronically low in self-esteem.”
7. Page 469 “When their unwarranted positive view of themselves is contradicted, they may
feel so threatened that they lash out, sometimes violently.”
8. Page 472 “You may have experienced the power of unconditional positive regard when you
confided in someone, revealing embarrassing secrets because you knew the listener would
still love and respect you, even after hearing the worst about you. “
9. Page 470 “These thrill seekers tend to be extroverted, impulsive, quick-tempered, and
always in search of excitement and novel situations (Hamer et al., 1993; Zuckerman &
Kuhlman, 2000).”
10. Page 471 “In contrast, the parents of a cranky, fussy baby may be less inclined to smile at
the child; in turn, the environment in which that child is raised will be a less supportive and
pleasant one.”