Personality practice questions.

A junior gymnast copies the pre-routine ritual of an older team-mate after seeing her praised for it. Which account of this does social learning theory give?

• The ritual expresses a stable core trait that was present long before this season began
• The gymnast has been classified into one of two narrow behaviour patterns
• The environment alone determines behaviour, so the model made no difference
• Seeing the model rewarded made copying the behaviour worth reproducing

Answer: Seeing the model rewarded made copying the behaviour worth reproducing

Social learning theory explains behaviour through observation of a model and through the consequences the model is seen to receive, so a reward that is never experienced directly still raises the chance that the behaviour is reproduced. A trait account cannot explain why the ritual appeared only after the gymnast watched someone else being praised.

Athletes completing a personality questionnaire shortly before a selection meeting tend to answer in the way they believe the selectors would prefer. What is this effect called?

• The self-fulfilling prophecy
• Vicarious reinforcement
• The self-serving bias
• Social desirability bias

Answer: Social desirability bias

The respondent shapes the answer towards what is socially or professionally approved, so the score describes the impression she wishes to give rather than the disposition. It is one reason self-report data collected in a high-stakes setting are treated with more caution than the same instrument used anonymously in research.

A footballer scores high on the neuroticism dimension of Eysenck's model. Which pattern of behaviour does that score describe?

• Strong emotional reactions and a slow return to normal
• A preference for quiet settings and few team-mates
• A consistently high level of resting cortical arousal instead
• A tendency to seek out stimulation and social contact

Answer: Strong emotional reactions and a slow return to normal

Neuroticism describes emotional lability: how intensely a person reacts and how long it takes to settle again. A preference for quiet settings and high resting cortical arousal describe introversion, and seeking stimulation and company describes extraversion; both belong to the separate extraversion dimension, and mixing the two dimensions is the standard error with this model.

According to social learning theory, which feature of a model makes a junior gymnast most likely to reproduce the behaviour she has watched?

• The model performs the skill faster than she can
• The model is similar to her and is seen to be rewarded
• The model is much older than everyone in the squad
• The model repeats the behaviour without any comment at all

Answer: The model is similar to her and is seen to be rewarded

Similarity makes the behaviour seem attainable and observed reinforcement supplies the motivation stage of the process, so the two together are the strongest combination. A model far beyond the learner's level can be admired without being copied, because the behaviour does not appear to be within reach.

Which behaviour pattern is associated with reporting higher levels of competitive stress?

• Type B, because of a relaxed approach to deadlines
• Type B, because of a lower need for social approval
• Type A, because of time urgency and a competitive drive
• Type A, because of a marked preference for solitary training

Answer: Type A, because of time urgency and a competitive drive

The Type A pattern combines competitiveness, impatience with delay and a hostile response to obstruction, and performers showing it report more stress in the same situations than Type B performers do. The pattern says nothing about a preference for training alone, which belongs to the extraversion dimension instead.

A student writes: 'The inventory shows that the striker is an extravert, so she will take the decisive penalty confidently in every match.' Which flaw in this reasoning would an interactionist identify?

• A trait score is treated as a complete predictor, with no allowance for the demands of the situation.
• A trait score is used at all, because the interactionist approach holds that stable dispositions do not exist in performers.
• The wrong dimension is named, because penalty taking is governed by neuroticism rather than by extraversion.
• The conclusion concerns one player, and trait scores describe only the average behaviour of a whole squad.

Answer: A trait score is treated as a complete predictor, with no allowance for the demands of the situation.

The interactionist position summarised as B = f(P, E) keeps the trait but denies that it acts alone; the penalty is a strong situation with an audience and a scoreline. The claim that traits predict behaviour across all situations is the misconception the evidence rejects.