Personality

Compiled and Organized by: OLAYEMI.

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Personality is a complex construct that refers to an individual's unique and consistent behavioral traits. These traits can be described using adjectives like honest, dependable, moody, and friendly. Many personality theorists believe that some traits are more fundamental than others, and these fundamental traits give rise to more specific traits. The five-factor model of personality is a widely accepted model that identifies five higher-order traits: extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Freud's psychoanalytic theory focuses on the influence of early childhood experiences, unconscious conflicts, and sexual urges on personality development. Freud proposed three components of personality: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the instinctive and pleasure-seeking part of personality, the ego is the decision-making part that considers social norms, and the superego is the moral part that incorporates social standards. Freud also described three levels of awareness: conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.

Anxiety and defense mechanisms play a role in personality functioning. Anxiety arises from internal conflicts, particularly those involving sexual and aggressive impulses. Defense mechanisms are unconscious reactions that protect against unpleasant emotions. Examples include repression, projection, displacement, reaction formation, regression, and identification.

Freud proposed a psychosexual stage theory of development, suggesting that personality is shaped by how individuals deal with their sexual urges during different stages of childhood. The stages include the oral stage, anal stage, and phallic stage. Fixations can occur when needs are either excessively gratified or frustrated during these stages and can influence adult personality.

Overall, personality is a multifaceted concept influenced by stable traits, early childhood experiences, unconscious processes, and defense mechanisms.

Questions and Answers..

1. What is personality?

a) A person's unique set of consistent behavioral traits.

b) A person's physical appearance.

c) A person's intelligence quotient (IQ).

d) A person's social status.

Answer: a) A person's unique set of consistent behavioral traits.

2. How are personality traits described?

a) By using adjectives that represent dispositions.

b) By analyzing the person's physical features.

c) By assessing their academic achievements.

d) By observing their social interactions.

Answer: a) By using adjectives that represent dispositions.

3. Who identified more than 4500 personality traits?

a) Sigmund Freud

b) Robert McCrae and Paul Costa

c) Gordon Allport

d) Carl Jung

Answer: c) Gordon Allport

4. What statistical procedure is used to identify hidden factors in personality traits?

a) Regression analysis

b) Factor analysis

c) Correlation analysis

d) Cluster analysis

Answer: b) Factor analysis

5. What is the most influential model of personality structure in recent decades?

a) Psychoanalytic theory

b) Three-factor model

c) Big Five model

d) Trait theory

Answer: c) Big Five model

6. Which trait refers to being sociable, outgoing, and assertive?

a) Extraversion

b) Neuroticism

c) Openness to experience

d) Agreeableness

Answer: a) Extraversion

7. People high in neuroticism tend to be:

a) Anxious and insecure

b) Outgoing and sociable

c) Curious and open-minded

d) Sympathetic and cooperative

Answer: a) Anxious and insecure

8. What is associated with curiosity, flexibility, and intellectual pursuits?

a) Extraversion

b) Neuroticism

c) Openness to experience

d) Conscientiousness

Answer: c) Openness to experience

9. People high in agreeableness tend to be:

a) Outgoing and sociable

b) Anxious and insecure

c) Sympathetic and cooperative

d) Diligent and well-organized

Answer: c) Sympathetic and cooperative

10. What trait is associated with being diligent, punctual, and dependable?

a) Extraversion

b) Neuroticism

c) Openness to experience

d) Conscientiousness

Answer: d) Conscientiousness

11. Who developed psychoanalytic theory?

a) Sigmund Freud

b) Robert McCrae and Paul Costa

c) Gordon Allport

d) Carl Jung

Answer: a) Sigmund Freud

12. What does psychoanalytic theory focus on to explain personality?

a) Early childhood experiences, unconscious conflicts, and sexual urges

b) Genetic factors and biological determinants

c) Cultural and social influences

d) Cognitive processes and self-perception

Answer: a) Early childhood experiences, unconscious conflicts, and sexual urges

13. Why were Freud's contemporaries uncomfortable with his theory?

a) It suggested that individuals are not in control of their own minds.

b) It emphasized the importance of sexual urges and offended conservative values.

c) It proposed that adult personalities are shaped by childhood experiences.

d) All of the above.

Answer: d) All of the above.

14. According to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, what are the three components of personality structure?

a) Ego, superego, and id

b) Conscious, preconscious, and unconscious

c) Oral, anal, and phallic

d) Extraversion, neuroticism, and openness

Answer: a) Ego, superego, and id

15. The id is described as the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the ________.

a) Pleasure principle

b) Reality principle

c) Moral principle

d) Social norms

Answer: a) Pleasure principle

16. Which component of personality mediates between the id and the external social world norms?

a) Id

b) Ego

c) Superego

d) Unconscious

Answer: b) Ego

17. The superego is the moral component of personality that incorporates ________.

a) Basic needs

b) Social norms

c) Unconscious desires

d) Instinctual drives

Answer: b) Social norms

18. According to Freud, the id, ego, and superego are distributed differently across ________ levels of awareness.

a) Two

b) Three

c) Four

d) Five

Answer: b) Three

19. Which level of awareness contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness?

a) Conscious

b) Preconscious

c) Unconscious

d) Subconscious

Answer: c) Unconscious

20. Freud suggested that anxiety is a crucial event in personality functioning and often leads to the use of defense mechanisms. What are defense mechanisms?

a) Unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions

b) Conscious strategies for self-improvement

c) Techniques for increasing self-awareness

d) Cognitive biases

Answer: a) Unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions

21. Which defense mechanism involves creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior?

a) Rationalization

b) Projection

c) Displacement

d) Reaction formation

Answer: a) Rationalization

22. The most basic and widely used defense mechanism according to Freud is ________.

a) Repression

b) Projection

c) Displacement

d) Reaction formation

Answer: a) Repression

23. Which defense mechanism involves attributing one's own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another?

a) Rationalization

b) Projection

c) Displacement

d) Reaction formation

Answer: b) Projection

24. Displacement is a defense mechanism that involves diverting emotional feelings from their original source to a substitute target. What is an example of displacement?

a) Reacting with the opposite behavior of one's true feelings

b) Reverting to immature patterns of behavior

c) Behaving in a way that's the opposite of one's true feelings

d) Redirecting anger onto irrelevant targets

Answer: d) Redirecting anger onto irrelevant targets

25. Freud theorized that many homophobic individuals who ridicule homosexuals are defending against their own latent homosexual impulses. This defense mechanism is known as ________.

a) Rationalization

b) Projection

c) Displacement

d) Reaction formation

Answer: d) Reaction formation

26. Which defense mechanism involves a reversion to immature patterns of behavior?

a) Rationalization

b) Projection

c) Displacement

d) Regression

Answer: d) Regression

27. Identification is a defense mechanism that involves bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group. True or False?

Answer: True

28. According to Freud, everyone uses defense mechanisms to some extent. When do defense mechanisms become problematic?

a) When they are used excessively and lead to psychological disturbances

b) When they are used in healthy coping mechanisms

c) When they are used consciously and intentionally

d) When they are used in social interactions

Answer: a) When they are used excessively and lead to psychological disturbances

29. What is the purpose of psychoanalytic therapy?

a) To uncover and resolve unconscious conflicts

b) To strengthen the ego and superego

c) To eliminate defense mechanisms entirely

d) To focus on conscious thoughts and behaviors

Answer: a) To uncover and resolve unconscious conflicts

30. In psychoanalytic therapy, the therapist encourages the client to freely express thoughts and feelings without censorship. What is this technique called?

a) Free association

b) Transference

c) Dream analysis

d) Resistance

Answer: a) Free association

31. Which technique in psychoanalytic therapy involves interpreting the hidden meaning of dreams to gain insight into the unconscious mind?

a) Free association

b) Transference

c) Dream analysis

d) Resistance

Answer: c) Dream analysis

32. According to Freud, what is the primary motivation for human behavior?

a) Sexual desire

b) Survival instinct

c) Ego development

d) Social acceptance

Answer: a) Sexual desire

33. Freud proposed a series of psychosexual stages of development. Which stage occurs during infancy and focuses on pleasure from the mouth?

a) Oral stage

b) Anal stage

c) Phallic stage

d) Latency stage

Answer: a) Oral stage

34. What is the key conflict during the phallic stage of psychosexual development?

a) Oedipus complex in boys and Electra complex in girls

b) Attachment to the mother figure

c) Fear of punishment

d) Competing demands of id and superego

Answer: a) Oedipus complex in boys and Electra complex in girls

35. According to Freud, unresolved conflicts and fixations during the psychosexual stages can lead to ________.

a) Depression

b) Anxiety disorders

c) Personality disorders

d) All of the above

Answer: d) All of the above

36. What criticism has been raised against Freud's psychoanalytic theory?

a) Lack of empirical evidence

b) Overemphasis on unconscious processes

c) Neglect of environmental factors

d) All of the above

Answer: d) All of the above

37. Despite criticisms, Freud's contributions to psychology include:

a) Introduction of the unconscious mind

b) Exploration of defense mechanisms

c) Emphasis on early childhood experiences

d) All of the above

Answer: d) All of the above

38. Which influential psychologist was a prominent critic of Freud and proposed his own theory of personality, focusing on the role of the individual's self-concept and the importance of personal growth?

a) B.F. Skinner

b) Carl Rogers

c) Abraham Maslow

d) Jean Piaget

Answer: b) Carl Rogers

39. Carl Rogers's theory of personality is known as:

a) Humanistic theory

b) Behaviorist theory

c) Cognitive theory

d) Psychoanalytic theory

Answer: a) Humanistic theory

40. According to Carl Rogers, what is the primary motive driving human behavior?

a) Unconscious desires

b) Survival instinct

c) Self-actualization

d) Social acceptance

Answer: c) Self-actualization

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