I am finding myself in aggreement with the other comments about student
performance on tests. One of my intro classes seems to be having particular
difficulty on tests and quizzes. The following is a quiz I gave them on the
personality chapter. In my lecture I made sure to tell them things like
"Know this concept" or "You need to know this definition" because I wanted
to make sure they did well on the test. This quiz was taken from the test
bank and all of the items are at the easiest level of difficulty. I have
helped the students form their own study groups (I'm not sure if they're
using them) and have held optional study sessions for interested students to
attend. Many people got more than four wrong on this quiz. I am amazed
that people are getting questions like #1, #2, or #3 wrong, particularly
when we spend a lot of time in class on these topics.
I'm at a loss and feeling frustrated. I can't make the quizzes any easier
than they are. I have always gotten good comments on my teaching and think
that I am explaining the concepts clearly, using in-class demonstrations and
activities, etc. To make matters worse (in my eyes, at least), a friend of
the family who is taking Psychology in high school saw this quiz and said
that his quizzes were much harder. Incidentally, the students who are doing
well are the ones who are also using the study guide and engaging in some
sort of elaborative rehearsal.
I'm not sure if I'm looking for specific advice or guidance or if I am just
venting. I just want my students to learn!
_____ 1. Reasonably stable patterns of actions, feelings, and motives are
referred to as
a. cognitions.
c. labile.
b. personality.
d. emotions.
_____ 2. Which theory emphasizes unconscious motives and inner conflicts?
a. humanistic
c. psychodynamic
b. existential
d. collectivism
_____ 3. Freud said that the mind is composed of which three parts?
a. metaconscious, semi-conscious, catatonic
c. metabolism, anabolism, catabolism
b. post-conscious, mid-conscious, lateral-conscious
d. unconscious, preconscious, conscious
_____ 4. Which is the best illustration of the superego?
a. You borrow a car so that you can learn to drive.
c. You want to eat right now.
b. You feel guilty because you cheated on a test.
d. You have no money and can't go to the movies.
_____ 5. The idea that a person influences the environment as well as the
environment influencing the person is called
a. reciprocal determinism.
c. mutual aptitude.
b. reciprocal competencies.
d. mutual archetypes.
_____ 6. Carl Rogers belonged to which school of thought?
a. humanism
c. social-cognitive theory
b. behaviorism
d. psychodynamic theory
_____ 7. The belief that people are completely free and responsible for
their own behavior is known as
a. psychodynamic theory.
c. socialism.
b. existentialism.
d. colligiative properties.
_____ 8. Looking at the role of ethnicity, gender, culture, and
socioeconomic status is encompassed by
a. the social-cognitive perspective.
c. the behavioral perspective.
b. the psychosexual perspective.
d. the sociocultural perspective.
_____ 9. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is an example of
a. a radical measure.
c. a rarely used measure.
b. a projective measure.
d. an objective measure.
_____ 10. The Rorschach is __________ test.
a. a projective
c. an occluded
b. an acculturated
d. an objective
