Chapter 9: Wisdom and Courage: Characteristics of the Wise and the Brave

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Who is widely considered to be the author of the serenity prayer?

A. Reinhold Niebuhr

B. Aristotle

C. Jean Piaget

D. Robert Sternberg

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Wisdom and Courage: Characteristics of the Wise and the Brave
Difficulty Level: Easy

2. What group is wisdom considered to be a part of?

A. the big five factors

B. the divine traits

C. the four cardinal virtues

D. the triarchy of intelligences

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Wisdom and Courage: Two of a Kind
Difficulty Level: Easy

3. What does the author explain is at the core of the debate on the relationship between wisdom and courage?

A. how they interact with culture

B. which of them precedes the other

C. whether they can be defined without the other

D. which is more adaptive

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Wisdom and Courage: Two of a Kind
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. What was the theme of Robert Martin’s article on attaining wisdom?

A. if wisdom has negative consequences for happiness

B. whether it can exist alongside having low intelligence

C. why we cannot use it more often

D. the difficulty in understanding the concept of wisdom

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Wisdom Difficult to Define, Attain
Difficulty Level: Hard

5. The Greek term phronesis refers to ______.

A. practical wisdom

B. knowledge

C. abstract thought

D. implicit wisdom

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Which president of the American Psychological Association wrote a book in 1922 that discussed how wisdom is gained during the aging process?

A. William James

B. Martin Seligman

C. G. Stanley Hall

D. Albert Bandura

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Which of the following characteristics was identified as one of the underlying dimensions of wisdom by Clayton?

A. intelligence

B. affective

C. creativity

D. intuition

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

8. What did Sternberg (1985) and Holliday and Chandler (1986) search for in their studies on wisdom?

A. why wisdom is not more common

B. if wisdom exists across cultures

C. when wisdom begins in children

D. the factors that underlie wisdom

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Hard

9. Which of the following themes did Baltes find when analyzing cultural-historical and philosophical writings?

A. Wisdom is well intended and combines mind and virtue.

B. Wisdom is difficult to attain and difficult to recognize.

C. Wisdom does not involve special or superior judgment.

D. Wisdom is valued more in Western mainstream cultures.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Research indicates that children can begin recognizing wisdom as soon as ______.

A. fifth grade

B. preschool

C. first grade

D. third grade

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

11. Which of the following descriptions fits the view of a wise person in Eastern cultures?

A. a person who is well-versed in philosophy

B. an individual who shows compassion for others

C. someone who stresses cognition over affection

D. a person whose intelligence allows them to learn to their heart’s content

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Compared to implicit theories of wisdom, explicit theories of wisdom focus more on which characteristics?

A. how wisdom relates to leadership

B. cultural differences in definitions of wisdom

C. the relationship between wisdom and courage

D. behavioral manifestations of wisdom

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Hard

13. What was the focus of Jean Piaget’s stage theory of cognitive development?

A. the different kinds of thinking that occur during childhood and adulthood

B. the competing influences of the id, ego, and superego

C. the development of language

D. the relationship between intelligence and personality

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Riegel built upon Piaget’s stage theory by adding a stage to represent wisdom. What was the name of this stage?

A. preoperational stage

B. concrete operations stage

C. dialectical operations stage

D. formal operations stage

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

15. According to Sternberg’s balance theory of wisdom, what is the goal of wisdom?

A. achievement of a common good

B. acquiring material wealth

C. maintaining the status quo

D. an increase in intelligence

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

16. Which life span theorist believed that wisdom reflects a maturity in which concerns for the collective good transcend personal interests?

A. Freud

B. Piaget

C. Jung

D. Erikson

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

17. According to Baltes, what are the two basic criteria related to expertise and wise performance?

A. factual knowledge and procedural knowledge

B. intelligence and factual knowledge

C. thoroughness and procedural knowledge

D. technical knowledge and theoretical knowledge

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

18. What do the three metacriteria of Baltes’ five criteria of wisdom have in common?

A. a focus on the insignificance of cultural effects

B. a focus on the ability to plan for future circumstances

C. a focus on flexibility and dialectical processing

D. a focus on intelligence as a vital precursor for wisdom

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Hard

19. The recurring strong feelings that life is incomplete or imperfect, coupled with a desire for ideal, alternative states and experiences of life are the definition of ______.

A. the human condition

B. life longings

C. gestalt cognition

D. the dialectical process

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

20. According to Erikson, wisdom is gained through resolving crises associated with ______.

A. developing an identity

B. contributing to the next generation

C. developing autonomy and avoiding guilt

D. resolving integrity versus despair

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Developing Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

21. What does Jung claim must happen to gain wisdom?

A. Someone must resolve conflicts pertaining to the family unit.

B. A person must overcome inferiority and strive for superiority.

C. Someone must resolve psychic conflicts between the id, ego, and superego.

D. A person must develop integrity and avoid despair.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Developing Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Which of the following people is correctly matched with the core of their viewpoint on developing wisdom?

A. Erickson; family conflicts

B. Jung; integrity

C. Sternberg; personality characteristics

D. Baltes; generativity

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Developing Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Hard

23. Which of the following summarizes how mentors influence the development of wisdom?

A. Mentors are not appropriate for helping people develop wisdom.

B. Mentors are important, but their influence is sometimes indirect.

C. Mentors can teach skills related to intelligence, a related construct.

D. Mentors can help someone understand the meaning of wisdom.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Developing Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Hard

24. What group of professionals has been found to have high levels of wisdom?

A. trial lawyers

B. registered nurses

C. creative writers

D. clinical psychologists

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Wise People and Their Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Easy

25. Which of the following was a finding of Monica Ardelt’s “Berkeley Guidance Project?”

A. The quality of a person’s social environment in early adulthood has a significant effect on the development of wisdom.

B. Significant gender differences exist in terms of the developmental course of wisdom.

C. Children today are significantly wiser than children born in the 1950s.

D. Children in California are significantly wiser than children in the rest of America.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Wise People and Their Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Medium

26. What has been demonstrated about gender differences in wisdom?

A. Men who were wise tend to follow a more cognitive orientation.

B. Younger men had the highest level of affective wisdom.

C. Women who were wise tend to follow a more cognitive orientation.

D. Younger women had the lowest level of affective wisdom.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Wise People and Their Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Medium

27. What did Baltes and Staudinger find when examining wisdom in people between the ages of 25 and 75?

A. Wisdom was positively correlated with age.

B. Wisdom was not associated with age in this age range.

C. Wisdom was negatively correlated with age.

D. Wisdom was highest around the age of 50.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Wise People and Their Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Medium

28. What decade has been found to be a major time in the development of wisdom?

A. 46–55

B. 36–45

C. 26–35

D. 15–25

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Wise People and Their Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Easy

29. What has been determined by cross-cultural research in Japan and the United States (U.S.) about the characteristics related to wisdom?

A. People from the U.S. showed greater wisdom with age, but Japanese people showed evidence of wisdom throughout their life spans.

B. Both Japanese people and people from the U.S. showed evidence of wisdom throughout their life spans.

C. Japanese people showed greater wisdom with age, but Americans showed evidence of wisdom throughout their life spans.

D. Both Japanese people and people from the U.S. showed evidence of wisdom with age.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Wise People and Their Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Medium

30. Which measure of wisdom would a researcher use if they desired to understand the cognitive, reflective, and affective components of wisdom?

A. the Wisdom Development Scale

B. the Baltes series of life problems

C. the 3D-WS (three-dimensional wisdom scale)

D. the Wise Thinking and Acting Questionnaire (WITHAQ)

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Measurement of Wisdom

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. Which of the following statements most accurately states the relationships between wisdom and intelligence?

A. Intelligence and wisdom are the same thing.

B. Intelligence is not necessarily associated with wisdom.

C. Intelligence is the consequence of wisdom.

D. Intelligence is more timeless than wisdom.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Measurement of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

32. Which measure of wisdom is useful for measuring dimensions such as life skills, self-knowledge, and emotional management?

A. the 3D-WS (three-dimensional wisdom scale)

B. the Sternberg conflict resolution assessment

C. the Wise Thinking and Acting Questionnaire (WITHAQ)

D. the Wisdom Development Scale

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Measurement of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

33. How does Sternberg distinguish between wisdom and intelligence?

A. Wisdom is more associated with resolving major life problems.

B. Intelligence is more related to interpersonal savvy.

C. Wisdom is the ‘know-what,’ intelligence is the ‘know-how.’

D. Intelligence can be cultivated, wisdom is a fixed quality.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Measurement of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

34. Studies with young adults have found that wisdom is related to having ______.

A. high intelligence

B. a greater investment in hedonistic pursuits

C. a solid and consistent ego

D. a broad skill set

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Benefits of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

35. In older adults, there is a link between wisdom and positive personal traits, including ______.

A. education level

B. a sense of purpose in life

C. emotional intelligence

D. cognitive functions

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Benefits of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

36. Which area of the brain has been found to be essential to the development of wisdom?

A. the temporoparietal junction

B. the prefrontal cortex

C. the occipital lobe

D. the frontotemporal lobe

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Neurobiology of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

37. For which group is there little research about the construct of wisdom?

A. African Americans

B. Asian Americans

C. Caucasian Americans

D. Native Americans

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Future Study of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

38. What was a component of Cicero’s view on courage?

A. physical strength

B. swiftness

C. confidence

D. vitality

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

39. In their Values in Action classification system, Peterson and Seligman considered which of the following to be a core human virtue related to courage?

A. wisdom

B. valor

C. satisfaction

D. discontent

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

40. What did k. K. O’Byrne and colleagues identify as the three types of courage?

A. physical, spiritual, and moral

B. vital, physical, and moral

C. interpersonal, spiritual, and physical

D. moral, interpersonal, and vital

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

41. Which of the following people best exemplifies moral courage?

A. someone who supports an atheist student at a religious school

B. someone who intervenes in a domestic dispute

C. someone who is learning how to walk again after being injured in a car accident

D. someone who joined the military after 9/11

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Medium

42. Which of the following best exemplifies vital courage?

A. a politician invested in a “greater good” places an unpopular vote

B. a firefighter saving a child from a burning building

C. a child with a heart transplant undergoing extensive treatment

D. a soldier standing his ground in a battle

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Medium

43. What was the basis of Jack Rachman’s research on courage?

A. courageous acts always take place in public

B. courage is the mirror image of fear

C. courageous acts require a certain level of physical danger

D. courage increases as people get older

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Hard

44. Which type of courage can be considered the “equal opportunity” form of courage that doesn’t require special training?

A. physical

B. vital

C. psychological

D. moral

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

45. What did the “Hemingway code” suggest as a code of conduct for Americans?

A. strength, knowledge, and courage

B. courage, wisdom, and valor

C. knowledge, wisdom, and strength

D. valor, strength, and knowledge

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

46. According to Shelp, the necessary components of courage are freedom of choice, fear of a situation, and ______.

A. competence

B. feeling empathetic

C. willingness to take risk

D. disregard for one’s own well-being

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

47. The stories in Jerome Groopman’s The Anatomy of Hope were examples of what type of courage?

A. physical

B. vital

C. moral

D. psychological

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

48. How did Putman define psychological courage?

A. helping friends and family flourish

B. the ability to cope with the tragedies of life

C. the wisdom to manage life’s difficulties

D. strength in facing one’s destructive habits

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Medium

49. What is the difference between civil courage and altruism?

A. Acts of civil courage are more likely to involve risking physical harm.

B. Altruism is characterized by a feeling of empathy, but civil courage is motivated by feeling of moral obligation.

C. Altruistic acts are more likely to involve risking physical harm.

D. Altruism is characterized by a desire to help another person, whereas civil courage is motivated by a desire to maintain peace and order.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Hard

50. According to Szagun and Schauble, how do children’s perceptions of courage change with age?

A. Younger children focus more on psychological risk as a requirement for courage.

B. There are no age differences in how children perceive and describe courage.

C. Older children equate courage with physical risk-taking.

D. The tendency to equate courage with the experience of fear increases with age.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous

Difficulty Level: Medium

51. What do older children focus on as being necessary for courage?

A. physical strength

B. psychological risk-taking

C. fearlessness

D. moral outrage

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous

Difficulty Level: Medium

52. After studying participants in Milgram’s study on obedience, what can be concluded about being reminded about failing to act courageously in previous circumstances?

A. It can lead to self-doubt and related emotions.

B. It might lead to overzealousness in trying to be courageous.

C. It may be harmful, depending on the outcome of not acting courageously.

D. It can help bolster one’s determination to act courageously.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous

Difficulty Level: Hard

53. Miep Gies, who helps to hide Anne Frank and her family, exemplified vital courage and considered her actions to be a ______.

A. duty

B. choice

C. reaction

D. option

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous

Difficulty Level: Easy

54. According to Haase, what determines how people become courageous?

A. Some people are “born heroes.”

B. It is genetically determined.

C. It develops through attitudes and methods of coping.

D. It can only develop from physical dangers or illnesses.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous

Difficulty Level: Medium

55. According to Hannah and colleagues, how is the “courageous mindset” developed?

A. observing courageous models

B. exhibiting courageous behaviors

C. having high emotional intelligence

D. talking about courage

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous

Difficulty Level: Medium

56. Which statement most accurately describes the state of self-report measures of courage?

A. Numerous psychometrically valid measures of courage have been developed, all of which have empirical support.

B. No self-report measures of courage have been developed.

C. The only measure of courage is the Values in Action scale developed by Peterson and Seligman.

D. The development of measures of courage is in its early stages because of the lack of a comprehensive theory of courage.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous

Difficulty Level: Hard

57. Which measure of courage measures how participants would act courageously in several specific contexts, such as for their job or for patriotic reasons?

A. Woodard-Pury Courage Scale (WPCS-23)

B. the Situational Courage Assessment

C. Courage Measure For Children

D. Social Courage Survey (SCS)

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous

Difficulty Level: Medium

58. According to Rachman, what is the relationship between courage and fearlessness?

A. Courage and fearlessness are synonymous.

B. Courage is objective and fearlessness is subjective.

C. Courage is the willingness to approach an object despite being fearful.

D. Courage is a cognitive trait and fearlessness is an emotional trait.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Relationships Between Fear and Courage

Difficulty Level: Medium

59. Which of the following is a characteristic that is negatively correlated with the construct of courage?

A. extroversion

B. anxiety

C. agreeableness

D. openness

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Benefits of Courage

Difficulty Level: Easy

60. What is the adaptive value of wisdom according to Csikszentmihalyi and Rathunde (1990)?

A. Wisdom results from an ideal combination of security and danger during the adolescent years.

B. Wisdom is a requirement for the development of courage.

C. Intelligence only results from wisdom.

D. Through wisdom we make good choices when challenged by the social and physical world.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Value of Wisdom and Courage

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. A Greek term for wisdom, phronesis, refers to using wisdom in a practical sense.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

2. The affective dimension of wisdom has been shown to be a part of the cognitive dimension of wisdom.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Erikson views wisdom as part of the development process.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

4. When determining the quality of wisdom, Piaget would challenge people to resolve real-life problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Wisdom grows as people learn to solve problems in a flexible manner.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Developing Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Wise people tend to score lower in ratings of life satisfaction.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Wise People and Their Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Easy

7. People who viewed stressful experiences as “turning points” showed higher wisdom than those who did not.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Wise People and Their Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Wise individuals have been shown to have a lower sense of humility.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Benefits of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Cicero included the characteristic of patience in his description of courage.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Peterson and Seligman described courage with three types: physical, moral, and vital.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Civil courage refers to enforcing societal or ethical norms without considering one’s own social costs.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

12. The Milgram study demonstrated that people are willing to act courageously even when they are uncertain.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous
Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Measures of courage are not common, in large part due to the lack of a comprehensive theory of courage.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Measurement of Courage
Difficulty Level: Easy

14. People who regularly engage in courageous acts respond in physiologically similar ways to those who do not act with courage.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Relationships Between Fear and Courage
Difficulty Level: Medium

15. As a result of the number of hate crimes committed against them, LGBTQ individuals may act courageously out of necessity.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Courage and Culture
Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Compare implicit and explicit theories of wisdom.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Explicit Theories of Wisdom
Difficulty Level: Hard

2. Describe whether you are wise by applying the characteristics found in wise people.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Wise People and Their Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Explain the differences in physical, moral, and vital courage.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Implicit Theories of Courage
Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Describe how children vary in their views on fear’s influence on courageousness.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Becoming and Being Courageous
Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Discuss how courage can be conceptualized differently across cultures.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Courage and Culture
Difficulty Level: Hard