Experience, Existence, and the Meaning of Life Humanistic and Positive Psychology

Experience, Existence, and the Meaning of Life: Humanistic and Positive Psychology MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. ________ psychology is based on the premise that to understand a person, you must understand his or her unique view of reality. a. Existential c. Cultural b. Humanistic d. Psychoanalytic ANS: B 2. What aspect of human psychological functioning is of particular interest to humanistic psychologists? a. self-awareness b. human suffering c. internal psychological conflicts d. the importance of social relationships ANS: A 3. Your particular experience of the world is called your ________. a. conscience c. construal b. consciousness d. confluence ANS: C 4. All of the following elements make up humanistic psychology EXCEPT ________. a. holistic c. will b. value d. spiritual ANS: D 5. One possible interpretation of the basic phenomenological philosophy is that ________. a. the same objective reality exists for diverse groups of people and different cultures b. all interpretations of reality are equally valid c. if you look at the world through another’s eyes, you will realize that your own worldview is invalid d. all behavior, thoughts, and feelings are determined by past experience ANS: B 6. Imagine that you are participating in a psychology experiment. The experimenter asks you to take a bite of chocolate and to describe your experience of the chocolate—how it tastes, how it feels on your tongue, and so on. You would be involved in which method of psychological research? a. experimental c. introspective b. correlational d. case study ANS: C 7. Which of the following philosophers was NOT mentioned in the text as an existentialist thinker? a. Kierkegaard c. Sartre b. Nietzsche d. Descartes ANS: D 8. From an existential perspective, what is the key question every individual is faced with? a. What is the nature of existence? b. How can happiness be created? c. What is an individual’s unique experience of the world? d. How can one achieve the optimal experience? ANS: A 9. ________ consists of your biological experiences and ________ consists of your psychological experiences. a. Umwelt; Eigenwelt c. Eigenwelt; Mitwelt b. Mitwelt; Umwelt d. Umwelt; Mitwelt ANS: A 10. Andrew watched himself in the mirror and was overcome with the remarkable insight that he was observing himself in the mirror. Andrew is experiencing ________. a. self-actualization c. Eigenwelt b. Mitwelt d. angst ANS: C 11. Carolyn is fondly thinking about her mother. Carolyn is experiencing ________. a. self-actualization c. Eigenwelt b. Mitwelt d. angst ANS: B 12. ________ is a term for the time, place, and circumstances into which you happened to be born. a. Existential location c. Thrown-ness b. Eigenwelt d. Angst ANS: C 13. Also known as Geworfenheit, ________ refers to the time, place, and circumstances into which you happened to be born. a. niche c. era b. thrown-ness d. ethos ANS: B 14. According to Sartre, angst can be analyzed into three separate sensations. What are they? a. b. c. d. nothingness, nausea, alienation loneliness, despair, hopelessness helplessness, hopelessness, worthlessness anguish, forlornness, despair ANS: D 15. Jerry has been wondering what life means and whether he is living his life purposefully. If he cannot answer these questions, he will probably experience ________. a. angst c. Eigenwelt b. thrown-ness d. self-actualization ANS: A 16. John realizes that helping one set of people could lead others to suffer. According to Sartre, what sensation will this insight produce? a. nausea c. anguish b. alienation d. despair ANS: C 17. The courage to face mortality and the apparent meaninglessness of life is called ________ by existential philosophers. a. optimistic toughness c. autotelic existence b. hardiness d. Eigenwelt ANS: A 18. Existentialists would say that if Donna does not worry about existential concerns but instead focuses on getting a job, obtaining material wealth, or maintaining her friendships, then she will ________. a. become a fully functioning person b. experience authentic existence c. still not be happy d. experience unconscious sexual urges ANS: C 19. Mike thinks that sitting around contemplating the meaning of existence is a waste of time. He spends his life concentrating on developing his career, building a bigger house for his family, and enjoying himself. Sartre and other existentialists would say that Mike is ________. a. living in bad faith b. preventing himself from becoming a functioning person c. ignoring Mitwelt d. following core ideas of self-determination theory ANS: A 20. According to existentialist philosophy, the opposite of living in bad faith is ________. a. authentic existence c. objectivism b. autotelic existence d. Eigenwelt ANS: A 21. Nietzsche argued that the most honorable response to the dilemmas of existence is to ________. a. retreat to close relationships to manage your terror b. rise above it all and become a superman c. acknowledge your own despair d. distract yourself from your inevitable sense of dread ANS: B 22. According to Sartre, the existential challenge is to ________. a. avoid thinking about the meaning of existence b. face the basic uncertainty and anguish of life and find personal meaning c. maintain generativity and avoid stagnation d. become a fully functioning, self-actualizing person ANS: B 23. Steven has come to terms with his mortality, accepted responsibility for his existence, and knows that he determines what happens in his life. Existentialists would say that Steven is ________. a. living in bad faith c. attaining authentic existence b. experiencing thrown-ness d. achieving Mitwelt ANS: C 24. What Buddhist term refers to the idea that an independent singular self is simply an illusion? a. anatta c. nirvana b. anicca d. Eigenwelt ANS: A 25. What Buddhist term refers to the idea that all things are in flux and impermanent? a. anatta c. nirvana b. anicca d. Eigenwelt ANS: B 26. The Buddhist alternative to existential anguish, forlornness, and despair is ________. a. anatta c. nirvana b. anicca d. Eigenwelt ANS: C 27. If one achieves a state of complete serenity, selflessness, and awareness, he or she has most likely achieved ________. a. anicca c. nirvana b. anatta d. construal ANS: C 28. Research findings indicate that one result of Rogerian psychotherapy may be that ________. a. people become more like their ideal selves b. people establish their own conditions of worth c. clients report feeling more flow experiences d. more clients meet their hierarchy of needs ANS: A 29. Which of the following is NOT a concern with the typical strategy used to evaluate the effects of Rogerian psychotherapy? a. It is not clear that the match between perceived self and ideal self is an adequate criterion for psychological adjustment. b. No measurable variables have been used to evaluate Rogerian therapy. c. The results may be due to clients’ changing their ideal views. d. The criterion used for determining adjustment could lead us to consider people with obvious disorders as being well-adjusted. ANS: B 30. Which two individuals are credited with turning existentialism into a more optimistic view of life? a. Sartre and Nietzsche c. Rogers and Maslow b. Rogers and Freud d. Maslow and Maddi ANS: C 31. The humanist psychologists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow took basic existential assumptions and added the assumption that ________. a. people are good and have an innate need to make themselves and the world better b. to know a person, it is essential to understand his or her phenomenology c. only humans, as opposed to other animals, have an awareness of their own mortality d. people are essentially childlike and have an innate tendency toward selfishness and impulsivity ANS: A 32. The highest need proposed by Maslow was ________. a. self-determination c. self-actualization b. self-esteem d. self-transcendence ANS: C 33. Carl Rogers maintained that the one basic tendency for humans is to ________. a. maintain and enhance life b. struggle against despair and anguish c. identify personal constructs d. develop conditions of worth ANS: A 34. According to Carl Rogers, a person can only be understood from the perspective of the entire panorama of his or her conscious experience or what he called the ________. a. organismic perspective c. Eigenwelt b. phenomenological position d. phenomenal field ANS: D 35. To avoid developing conditions of worth, a person should experience ________ from the important people in his or her life. a. unconditional positive regard c. conditions of worth b. Mitwelt d. existential optimism ANS: A 36. According to Rogers, believing that others value you based only on intelligence, success, or attractiveness can lead to ________. a. existential dread c. despair b. unconditional positive regard d. conditions of worth ANS: D 37. According to Carl Rogers, you can become a ________ only if you experience ________ from important others in your life. a. fully functioning person; unconditional positive regard b. fully functioning adult; unconditioned stimulation c. authentic person; unconditional love d. fully functioning person; positive reinforcement ANS: A 38. Linda thinks that her friends will like her only if she is thin, attractive, and cheerful. Rogers would say it is unlikely that Linda will ________. a. self-actualize c. build personal constructs b. become a fully functioning person d. experience Umwelt ANS: B 39. Some American corporations use Maslow’s ideas when dealing with their employees. For example, they might ________. a. maximize their employees’ feelings of security so that the employees can pursue higher goals and identify with the organization b. attempt to hire only people who are close to achieving at least minimal levels of selfactualization c. reinforce desired employee behavior by providing small salary increases whenever an employee performs an activity that is beyond what is usually expected d. maximize their employees’ feelings of material satisfaction so that the employees become financially dependent upon the company (and thus be more dedicated to it) ANS: A 40. From an optimistic humanism perspective, what is true of every human being? a. They begin as a blank slate. b. They are basically good. c. They are aware of their surroundings. d. They come from the earth and will return to it when they die. ANS: B 41. Which theorist would most likely make the statement that above all else, individuals are driven to fulfill all that meets their basic needs of survival? a. Maslow c. Kelly b. Rogers d. Csikszentmihalyi ANS: A 42. All of the following make up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs EXCEPT ________. a. self-actualization c. status and esteem b. safety and security d. extraversion and openness ANS: D 43. According to the text, what is the main goal of psychotherapy from a humanistic perspective? a. to help the client confront her fears b. to help the client vocalize her subconscious thoughts c. to help the client become a fully functioning person d. to help the psychologist gather data about the human condition ANS: C 44. What basic approach do humanistic, Rogerian psychotherapists use when treating their patients? a. utilize the talking cure b. offer them unconditional positive regard c. offer harsh advice and criticism d. relate the patient’s issues to those of their own ANS: B 45. According to George Kelly, a person’s interpretation or theory of what the world is like is his or her ________. a. phenomenal field c. personal construct system b. Eigenwelt d. circumplex model ANS: C 46. George Kelly’s personal construct theory emphasizes that individuals ________. a. construct reality through neurotic distortions b. build an authentic existence through the acceptance of personal responsibility c. construct a hierarchy of needs that motivates behavior d. build the experience of reality through unique sets of ideas about the world ANS: D 47. Research has shown that some personal constructs are more readily called to mind than others. These constructs are considered ________. a. chronically accessible c. intrinsic notions b. recall-ready d. intrinsically motivated ANS: A 48. George Kelly believed that to understand a person, you need to understand his or her personal construct system. This idea is known as ________. a. the interpersonal circumplex c. construct renewal b. constructive alternativism d. the sociality corollary ANS: D 49. The theorist ________ would likely use the metaphor “humans are scientists” to describe the nature of human psychology. a. George Kelly c. Abraham Maslow b. Carl Rogers d. Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi ANS: A 50. The personality test that asks you to identify sets of three people, ideas, or objects and describe how any two of them are similar to each other and different from the third is attempting to assess your ________. a. hierarchy of needs c. cognitive scripts b. conditions of worth d. personal constructs ANS: D 51. The idea that you choose your own reality is closest to which concept in the humanistic perspective on personality? a. Eigenwelt c. sociality corollary b. constructive alternativism d. self-determination theory ANS: B 52. George realizes that if he moves his food truck to a different neighborhood, he’ll make twice the profit. When George makes the move, he is achieving a(n) ________. a. optimizing goal c. profitable goal b. satisficing goal d. opportunity goal ANS: A 53. Flow most likely arises when one’s activity entails a balanced ratio of ________ to ________. a. effort; reward c. approach; avoidance b. stress; eustress d. skills; challenges ANS: D 54. Research suggests that individuals high in which personality attribute are most likely to experience flow? a. locus of control c. openness b. extraversion d. self-monitoring ANS: A 55. An autotelic activity ________. a. results in social reinforcement such as praise or approval b. produces a material reinforcement such as money c. releases unconscious urges and desires d. is enjoyable for its own sake ANS: D 56. Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow is analogous to ________. a. self-actualization c. an optimal experience b. an authentic existence d. existential optimism ANS: C 57. The psychological state of flow involves all of the following EXCEPT ________. a. a focused state of consciousness c. intense feelings of joy and happiness b. a disrupted sense of time d. tremendous concentration ANS: C 58. Csikszentmihalyi concluded that the best way someone can spend his or her time is in ________. a. telegraphic activities c. nomotelic activities b. autotelic activities d. autographic activities ANS: B 59. Which of the following is NOT an example of an experience of flow? a. writing a paper for 4 hours straight b. playing a video game that requires a lot of skill c. binge watching a television series d. running a marathon ANS: C 60. Which is NOT one of the central, intrinsic goals featured in self-determination theory? a. autonomy c. relatedness b. competence d. hedonia ANS: D 61. Based on research related to self-determination theory, the individual ________ is likely to report the highest level of well-being. a. who values financial success c. who is focused on personal growth b. who seeks fame d. who is focused on hedonia ANS: C 62. Stephen seeks to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. He pursues ________. a. hedonia c. bad faith b. eudaimonia d. self-determination ANS: A 63. Which tenet of self-determination theory appears to be its boldest prediction? a. the clear distinction between hedonia and eudaimonia b. the selfishness that results from subjective well-being c. the universality of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness d. the physical illnesses that result from hedonia but not subjective well-being ANS: C 64. According to the text, which of the following questions is central positive and humanistic psychology but is NOT traditional psychology? a. What is the meaning of life? b. How are people different from one another? c. How are people motivated to succeed? d. What parts of the brain relate to our personality? ANS: A 65. Which of the following virtues does NOT appear to be particularly important in Eastern traditions? a. humanity c. temperance b. justice d. courage ANS: D 66. ________ is the relatively recent branch of psychology that investigates the traits, processes, and social institutions that promote a good and meaningful life. a. Hedonia c. Positive psychology b. Eudaimonia d. Optimistic psychology ANS: C 67. Positive psychology seeks to study human ________ rather than ________. a. behavior; thoughts or cognitions c. potential; behavior b. strengths; faults d. nature; social constructions ANS: B 68. Positive psychologists usually argue that true happiness comes from overcoming important challenges. This idea is quite similar to Sartre’s conception of ________. a. optimistic toughness c. self-actualization b. hardiness d. Umwelt ANS: A 69. Which of the following is NOT one of the core virtues identified by positive psychology? a. courage c. justice b. vanity d. wisdom ANS: B 70. From a phenomenological perspective, to understand another person, you must understand ________. a. that person’s construals c. how they feel about you b. that person’s family history d. yourself ANS: D MATCHING Match the theory or central idea that is associated with each philosopher or psychologist. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. The theory of flow Personal construct theory Hierarchy of needs Self-actualization Self-determination theory Existentialistic superman The experience of Umwelt, Mitwelt, and Eigenwelt Thrown-ness Optimistic toughness George Kelly Friedrich Nietzsche Carl Rogers Abraham Maslow Jean-Paul Sartre Ludwig Binswanger Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi Richard Ryan and Edward Deci Heidegger 1. ANS: B 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. ANS: ANS: ANS: ANS: ANS: ANS: ANS: ANS: F D C I G A E H