AP Psychology : Motivation, Emotion, and Personality

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #41 : Motivation, Emotion, And Personality

Which of the following stages of life did Freud theorize was the most influential in developing personality?

Possible Answers:

Early childhood

Adulthood

Adolescence

None of these

Young adulthood

Correct answer:

Early childhood

Explanation:

Freud, the father of psychodynamic theory, believed that personality was formed during early childhood through experiences with parents as well as the sexual desires that were felt and unfulfilled during this period. He believed that personality and sexuality were closely related and theorized that every person's sexuality was awakened in early childhood.

Example Question #42 : Motivation, Emotion, And Personality

Which of the following best describes the rationale behind Freud’s naming of psychosexual stages (e.g. oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital)?

Possible Answers:

They are named for the sexual pleasure that the child avoids at that point in their development

All of these

None of these

They are named for the area of the body that children derive sexual pleasure from at that point in their development

They are named for the area of the body that children admire most in their parents at that point in their development

Correct answer:

They are named for the area of the body that children derive sexual pleasure from at that point in their development

Explanation:

Freud's psychosexual stages use sexuality to explain personality and are named for the area of the body that children derive sexual pleasure from at that point in their development. The stages are: oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital. During the oral stage, for example, the child derives pleasure from sucking and biting. 

Example Question #43 : Motivation, Emotion, And Personality

Which of the following correctly orders Freud's psychosexual stages?

Possible Answers:

Latent, oral, anal, phallic, and genital

None of these

Oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital

Latent, phallic, oral, anal, and genital

Anal, oral, phallic, latent, and genital

Correct answer:

Oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital

Explanation:

Freud's psychosexual stages use sexuality to explain personality and are named for the area of the body that children derive sexual pleasure from at that point in their development. In order, the stages are oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital. During the oral stage, the child derives pleasure from sucking and biting. During the anal stage, the child derives pleasure from excreting waste. During the phallic stage, the child derives pleasure from the genitalia. During latency, sexual pleasure is repressed.  Last, during the genital stage, pleasure is derived from sexual intercourse.

Example Question #451 : Ap Psychology

Doug is addicted to chewing tobacco was underfed as a child. Given this information, which of the following best describes what Freud may say regarding the scenario?

Possible Answers:

Doug has an oral fixation

Doug has an anal fixation

Doug lost his libido 

Doug is acting on the pleasure principle

Doug is using defense mechanisms

Correct answer:

Doug has an oral fixation

Explanation:

Freud's psychosexual stages use sexuality to explain personality and are named for the area of the body that children derive sexual pleasure from at that point in their development. In order, the stages are oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital. During the oral stage, the child derives pleasure from sucking and biting. During the anal stage, the child derives pleasure from excreting waste. During the phallic stage, pleasure is derived from the genitalia. During latency, sexual pleasure is repressed. Last, during the genital stage, pleasure is derived from sexual intercourse. If someone's desires are over-met or under-met during one of these stages, their libido—psychic energy—gets stuck, leading to a fixation. In this case, Doug’s need for oral pleasure was under-met, which lead to an oral fixation. 

As for the other choices, according to Freud, libido can get stuck but not lost; defense mechanisms are used by the ego to protect the conscious; and the ego—not a whole person—works according the pleasure principle (e.g. pleasure above all). 

Example Question #44 : Motivation, Emotion, And Personality

What is Carl Jung's term for the archetype that represents the feminine side of the male psyche? 

Possible Answers:

Anima

The Ego

The Self

Shadow

Animus

Correct answer:

Anima

Explanation:

The Anima is Jung's term for the feminine side of the male psyche. Jung saw this as an essential part of the male psyche and necessary for creative expression. It is associated with intuition and emotion. 

Example Question #45 : Motivation, Emotion, And Personality

What is Carl Jung's term for the archetype that represents our animal and potentially anti-social instincts?

Possible Answers:

The Anima

The Animus

The Persona

None of these

The Shadow

Correct answer:

The Shadow

Explanation:

The correct answer is Shadow. Jung’s choice of the word "shadow" to name our primal instincts was used to emphasize its necessity, there can be no sun that does not leave a shadow. Our primal instincts are our basest instincts devoted to self-preservation and are aggressive and sexual in nature. Both Jung and Freud agreed such instincts can be channeled into other actions that can improve society. 

Example Question #46 : Motivation, Emotion, And Personality

Which of the following traits is included in the Big Five personality trait model?

Possible Answers:

Rationalism

Agreeableness

Intensity

Decisiveness

Reversibility

Correct answer:

Agreeableness

Explanation:

The Big Five personality traits, or the five-factor model of personality, are used by some social psychologists to describe an individual's personality. The five traits—which include openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—are considered to be the five dimensions along which an individual's personality differs, relatively independently of the other dimensions (i.e. a person could score high on openness to experience, indicating that she is highly imaginative and curious, and low on neuroticism, indicating that she is relatively emotionally stable). The trait that was an answer choice in this question—“Agreeableness”—refers to one's tendency to be friendly and easy to get along with, as opposed to being argumentative or suspicious. A good acronym mnemonic for remembering the Big Five traits is OCEAN or CANOE.

Example Question #47 : Motivation, Emotion, And Personality

Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding Freud?

Possible Answers:

The id exists entirely in the unconscious mind.

According tot Freud, personality consists of the id, ego, and superego.

The ego acts as a moral compass and conscience, pointing one towards good.

The id follows the pleasure principle and wants immediate gratification.

Correct answer:

The ego acts as a moral compass and conscience, pointing one towards good.

Explanation:

"The ego acts as a moral compass and conscience, pointing one towards good" is incorrect as the moral compass refers to the superego. The ego, however, negotiates between the id and the environment as it realistically tries to fulfill urges of the id. 

Example Question #43 : Theories Of Personality

Sigmund Freud would not support which of the following statements?

Possible Answers:

Dream interpretation and free association provide insight into the unconscious. 

The function of defense mechanisms is to reduce anxiety. 

The function of the ego is to satisfy both the id and superego, and operates according to the reality principle. 

Repression is the basis for all other defense mechanisms. 

People strive for power and recognition and may develop an inferiority complex if they perceive being unsuccessful at meeting life's challenges. 

Correct answer:

People strive for power and recognition and may develop an inferiority complex if they perceive being unsuccessful at meeting life's challenges. 

Explanation:

Sigmund Freud is considered the father of psychoanalysis and developed several theories on human development. Freud believed that the human psyche contains the id, ego, and superego. According to this theory, the ego's job is to consider and mediate between the id and superego. Freud also believed that a significant portion of memories are unconscious, and psychoanalysis uses free association and dream interpretation to bring them into conscious awareness. Defense mechanisms help unconsciously keep away anxiety. He believed that repression was the most basic defense mechanism. Freud's theories are not associated with the idea of an inferiority complex. Alfred Adler was a Neo-Freudian who diverged from Freud's theories and suggested that humans are motivated by a striving for superiority but can be limited by inferiority feelings. 

Example Question #48 : Motivation, Emotion, And Personality

The humanistic theory of personality would agree with which of the following statements?

Possible Answers:

Psychoanalysis of dreams is key to understanding personality

Personalities consist of a certain array of traits

Personality is influenced by the conscious and unconscious minds

Personality is innate

Personality is derived from the frame of reference held by the individual

Correct answer:

Personality is derived from the frame of reference held by the individual

Explanation:

Carl Rogers and the humanistic theory of personality hold that the individual is in a constantly changing environment, thereby constantly changing personality. In this way, Rogers and other humanistic theorists would disagree with the other assertions, as they would suggest that there are fixed traits within an individual's personality or overemphasize the role of the unconscious in determining how one behaves.

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors