PSYCH Understanding Human Behavior Short Answer Samples 2

SHORT ANSWER: Answer in the blue book. You should be able to answer each question in a single sentence.

(2 points apiece)

1. Suppose the situation demands that someone has avoidance goals/avoidance motivation. Describe one of

the ways that was discussed in one of our e-readings for changing the situation so we can handle the

avoidance goals better.

2. From a social learning/social cognitive perspective, what is one of the reasons people believe others to be

more cross-situationally consistent than they actually are?

LONG ANSWER: Answer each question in the blue book. Make sure you number each question. Be careful. Be

concise. I will give partial credit where it is earned. (6 points apiece)

1. Identify and describe the three parts of the personality as described by Freud.

2. Identify (you can just name them, without describing) four of the “big 5” traits. Imagine you saw a

person in different situations—at a party, in class, with their family, etc. If that person acted according to

trait theory, what would you expect to see? Please use one specific trait as an example as you answer that

question. Finally, why is the level of cross-situational consistency that is actually found a problem for

trait theory?

3. George failed to pay his Visa bill, and as a result, he receives frequent phone calls from a bill collector.

George comes to associate the sound of a ringing telephone with a sense of dread. In this example,

identify the UCS, CS, UCR, and CR. How might extinction occur in this example? How might

generalization happen in this example?

4. What is a “shift and persist strategy”? Describe it. Then describe one research result that shows that the

importance of this strategy is different for those high vs. low in socioeconomic status (SES). Finally,

describe one factor which is believed to be important in getting low SES people to adopt a shift and

persist strategy.

5. Is intelligence inherited (that is, transmitted by genetics)? One of the types of studies used to address

whether intelligence is inherited is examining twins reared together. What are the main results of this

type of study? How might these results support the idea that intelligence is inherited? What is one

argument about why these results suggest that intelligence is not inherited? A second type of study

addressing whether intelligence is inherited examines twins reared apart. Describe the main results of this

type of study.

Sample answers test 2

Short Answer

1. One way we can change the situation to better handle avoidance goals is by (any one of the

below answers received full credit):

a) removing distractors and other sources of stress,

b) getting/providing structure to improve focus,

c) creating opportunities to replenish and reinvigorate such as taking pleasurable breaks.

2. One reason we believe people to be more cross-situationally consistent than they actually are is

(any one of the below answers received full credit):

a) We always see people in similar situations so they appear to act the same every time we see

them (this is confusing temporal consistency for cross-situational consistency).

b) We have formed certain perceptions of people and we interpret their behavior to be in line

with those perceptions.

c) We have formed certain perceptions of people and the way we act towards them influences

them to act in a way that corresponds to our perceptions (self-fulfilling prophecy).

Long Answer

1. Freud divided the personality into the id, the ego and the superego. The id is the part of the

personality that develops first and is driven by the desire for sex and aggression. The id is

irrational and does not take reality into account. The ego is the second part to develop and is

the rational part of the personality. It operates by the reality principle and tries to navigate the

desires of the id and the superego while considering the appropriateness of the situation. The

superego develops last and represents the internalized rules of society and morality. This part of

the personality is also irrational.

2. The "big 5" traits are extroversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness,

and emotional stability (neuroticism). If someone high in extraversion acted according to trait

theory, I would expect to see high cross-situational consistency. They would be the life of the

party when out with friends, outgoing when at the dinner table with their family, raising their

hand and talking a lot in class, etc. However, in reality, there is less cross-situational consistency

found than this, since people act differently in different situations. This contradicts the

consistency that trait theory would predict.

3. The unconditioned stimulus is the call from the bill collector about the unpaid bill and the

unconditioned response is a sense of dread. The conditioned stimulus is the sound of the phone

ringing and the conditioned response is a feeling of dread. Extinction could occur in this example

if George paid his Visa bill and the bill collector stopped calling. Generalization might happen if

George began feeling a sense of dread (CR) in response to noises similar to his phone ringing,

such as a timer or alarm clock.  

4. The "shift-and- persist" strategy explains why some low-SES people maintain good health despite

many adversities in life. "Shift" describes changing your appraisal and how you think about the

stressors in your life, accepting the truth of stress in life rather than aiming for a stress-free life.

"Persist" refers to enduring, finding a sense of meaning and pursuing value in life. One research

results that shows that the importance of this strategy is different for those high vs. low in SES is

that having a sense of purpose in life was associated with less inflammation for those low in SES,

but not those high in SES, suggesting that it's more of a buffer for those low in SES. One factor

that is believed to be important in getting low SES people to adopt a shift-and- persist strategy is

having a role model.

5. To some degree intelligence is inherited. The main result of twin studies is that identical (MZ)

twins are more similar in intelligence than fraternal (DZ) twins. This supports the idea that

intelligence is partially genetic because those more similar in genes (MZ twins) are also more

similar in intelligence. But some argue that MZ twins are treated more similarly than DZ, so

perhaps it is that similar treatment that is actually driving the similarity in intelligence. But

studies of twins reared apart also show that MZ twins are more similar in intelligence than are

DZ twins.