Karen J. Prager, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.

Professor of Psychology and  Program Head for Gender Studies

Diplomate in Family Psychology

The University of Texas at Dallas

More Information About Dr. Prager's work

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Research on Intimacy

Processes in Couple Relationships 

Teaching and Professional Practice

Selected Papers and Publications

For Students:

Sample Test Items

Personality

These are test items from previous semesters' exams.

They may address material we are not covering this semester.  Their best use is for you to see the kinds of items you can expect on your Personality exams.  They will not work very well as tools for studying this year's material.

Scientific statements are:

• based on empirical observations with consensual validation.
• Probablistic rather than absolute.
• Falsifiable: an experiment could prove them wrong.
• All of the above.

The art of personality theory is:

• in the beauty of your textbook's illustrations.
• in the objective data used to support a theory.
• in its application (e.g., to psychotherapy practice).
• in its objectivity.

 

When we say that a good theory is parsimonious, we mean:

• It is comprehensive.
• It is the simplest theory that can explain the phenomenon.
• It is falsifiable.
• It introduces a new vocabulary for talking about the phenomenon (i.e., personality).

What needs to happen before people start treating a theory as factual? (Hint: Pick the best answer).

• An experiment must be conducted to test the theory.
• Research based on the theory must be published in a journal.
• Research based on the theory must be reported at professional conferences.
• Research findings must be replicated.

Dr. Bethany Hampton cited research in class indicating that Caucasian women, more than Asian-American or African-American women, measure their self-worth in large part by their appearance. Possibly, this concern with appearance contributes to the fact that Caucasian women have the highest rates of any group, female or male, of what mental disorder?

• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Anti-social personality disorder
• Bulimia and other eating disorders
• Dependent personality disorder

The decline in the "blank slate" position on human personality, in which all personality is said to be learned rather than inherited, is largely due to:

• The decline of radical behaviorism among personality psychologists.
• Research suggesting that children inherit aspects of personality from their parents.
• Research showing that there are individual differences in physiological functioning (i.e., brain-wave activity, hormone levels, etc.)
• All of the above.

In evolutionary theory, natural selection refers to a process by which individual members of a species that have certain characteristics are more likely to:

• Rise to the top of the dominance hierarchy.
• Attract predators to the group.
• Survive long enough to reproduce.
• Be sociable and engage in grooming behavior.

Evolutionary personality theory suggests that psychological mechanisms, or characteristic human functions that allow us to effectively solve problems:

• Are learned rather than inherited.
• Are communicated through social interaction.
• Are inherited and therefore evolved just like physical characteristics.
• All of the above.

Nina wanted her son to clear the dirty dishes off the table after dinner on a daily basis without being asked, yet found that her efforts to get him to comply often resulted in a battle of wills. She decided to switch tactics; she used positive reinforcement (a small contribution to his "new stereo" fund). First, she reinforced him for carrying his own plate when she asked him to. Later, she said she would reinforce him when he cleared the whole table at her request. Lastly, she only reinforced him when he cleared the whole table without her asking. The process Nina used with her son is called:

cognitive therapy.

shaping.

classical conditioning.

learning by association.

A gambler who once won $10,000 at the roulette wheel continues to bet dozens of times even though he is consistently losing. How can one explain his behavior from the behavioral perspective?

The gambler's biological preparedness to gamble is high.

The gambler is has a trait of superstitiousness.

The gambler's betting has been partially reinforced and thus is resistant to extinction.

The gambler's behavior is adaptive because it will eventually lead to another $10,000.