Human Relations: Interpersonal Job-Oriented Skills, 12e (DuBrin)
Chapter 3 Developing Self-Esteem and Related Skills
3.1 Multiple Choice Questions
1) Jody says, “I feel great about myself, and I feel that I am wonderful.” She is expressing her
A) self-monitoring.
B) self-doubts.
C) self-esteem.
D) self-concept.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
2) Self-esteem tends to develop
A) while we are in the womb.
B) based on our interactions with people, events, and things.
C) during deep sleep.
D) mostly during adolescence.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
3) Gus has low self-esteem. As a child he was probably
A) expected to be perfect all the time.
B) praised frequently.
C) given a lot of attention and hugs.
D) a high performer in school and sports.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
4) Priscilla wants to raise her self-esteem. A good formula for her would be to
A) look in the mirror every day and say, “Priscilla, you are fabulous.”
B) look in the mirror every day and say, “Priscilla, you need to improve.”
C) attain genuine accomplishments, then receive recognition for them.
D) attend a retreat where everybody hugs everybody else.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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5) Jennifer has high self-esteem. When her human relations professor tells her that she needs
major improvement in her presentation skills, Jennifer is likely to
A) drop the course.
B) ask for advice about improving her presentation skills.
C) demand concrete evidence about her deficiencies.
D) complain to the department head.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
6) When a large number of workers in the same organization have high self-esteem, the company
is likely to
A) lose out because too many employees waste time complimenting each other.
B) invest too much money in employee benefits such as long vacations.
C) prosper because so many of the workers function well.
D) suffer because so many of the employees are self-centered.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
7) Lily has developed extremely high self-esteem, therefore running the risk of
A) hating herself.
B) becoming narcissistic.
C) hating her body image.
D) decreasing her cognitive skills.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
8) Bryce has very low self-esteem. As a negative consequence he is likely to
A) work extra-long hours to get ahead.
B) only date women who are narcissistic.
C) envy too many people he knows personally or reads about.
D) think too highly of his own capabilities.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
9) According to social science research, Maria is likely to enhance her self-esteem if she first
A) pursues a goal then achieves the goal.
B) receives a hug from a friend, then chooses a goal.
C) hugs somebody else then smiles.
D) fails to attain a goal, then receives a hug.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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10) A recommended way of increasing self-esteem is to
A) tell others to like you.
B) become aware of your strengths and accomplishments.
C) avoid listening to negative feedback.
D) engage in stress-reduction activities.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
11) Bragging about yourself on social media sites, apparently
A) can increase your self-esteem.
B) can lower your self-confidence.
C) can quickly decrease your emotional stability.
D) can convert you into a total narcissist.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
12) Your inner critic lowers your self-esteem by
A) telling you that your height/weight ratio is poor.
B) establishing unrealistic goals for you.
C) reminding you to obey rules and regulations.
D) sending you negative messages about your capabilities.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
13) To boost his self-esteem, Sam wants to practice self-nurturing, so he should
A) punish himself when he makes mistakes.
B) ask key people in his life to hug him.
C) take good care of himself mentally and physically.
D) attempt to win a contest such as a marathon.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
14) Which one of the following tactics is most likely to boost the self-esteem of Brenna, a
woman suffering from low self-esteem?
A) Drink five glasses of fine wine each evening.
B) Associate with a few low-accomplishment people so she feels better in comparison.
C) Make sure she gets enough sleep and rest, and eats nutritious foods.
D) Place more mirrors in her living quarters so she can admire herself more often.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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15) A high self-esteem living space is one that
A) costs way more than the average living space in the area.
B) has the latest technology, such as being a smart house.
C) honors the person you are.
D) requires low maintenance.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
16) Jack indicates high self-efficacy when he says,
A) “I know that I will make a superior PowerPoint presentation.”
B) “I am the greatest.”
C) “I do poorly on technical tasks.”
D) “I can handle anything.”
AACSB: Application of knowledge
17) Nursing supervisor Diane has an extremely high level of self-confidence. She runs the risk of
A) appearing to be weak and indecisive.
B) coming across to others as arrogant.
C) spreading contagious germs on the job.
D) appearing to be lacking in appropriate technical knowledge.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
18) Which one of the following is the least likely to be a source of self-confidence?
A) the experience of others, or modeling
B) comparing yourself to others
C) how we feel about events around us, and manage our emotions
D) having to repeat a task not done successfully the first time
AACSB: Application of knowledge
19) An example of positive self-talk is
A) “I know I can do it.”
B) “My friends are super.”
C) “I’m positive others can do better than me.”
D) “Everybody is wonderful.”
AACSB: Analytical thinking
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20) The foundation of the Dale Carnegie approach to building self-confidence was for his readers
to
A) keep practicing negative self-talk until it became ridiculous.
B) gain practice in public speaking.
C) keep repeating, “I am becoming stronger every day.”
D) ask network members for compliments.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
21) Positive visual imagery involves
A) sketching a map of your success strategy.
B) mentally rehearsing the successful handling of a future event.
C) thinking of everything that might go wrong in an upcoming challenging situation.
D) learning to become an optimist.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
22) Amy makes use of the Galatea effect when she says to herself
A) “Whatever results I achieve will be good enough.”
B) “I intend to be one of the best performers in the company this year.”
C) “Life is beautiful if you stop to smell the roses.”
D) “If I set my goals low enough, I know I will succeed.”
AACSB: Reflective thinking
23) Isabella uses the explanatory style of optimists because when faced with a big problem, she
A) pokes fun at her own capabilities.
B) attacks others as having caused the problem.
C) regards it as temporary.
D) practices positive visual imagery.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
24) You know that you are on the way to peak performance when you
A) are beginning to feel some fatigue from the task.
B) receive the coaching that you need to perform well.
C) engage in multitasking.
D) totally focus on what you are doing.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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25) Sasha wants to develop her positive psychological capital. Which one of the following
components would not help her achieve her goal?
A) hope in the form of perseverance
B) pessimism in the form of looking carefully at the negative aspects of situations
C) self-efficacy in the form of succeeding at challenging tasks
D) resiliency in the form of bouncing back from adversity
AACSB: Application of knowledge
Job Scenario, Multiple-Choice
Mark is in the third year of his position as a trading assistant in a Wall Street investment banking
firm. The last couple of years have been difficult for Mark. He has received many insults on
social networking sites based on the fact that many Wall Street executives have been accused of
having caused several financial crises. On the job, Mark has received two consecutive, below-
average performance evaluations. To add to his concerns, his fiancé broke off his relationship
several months ago. It is January, and Mark wants to start feeling more confident and positive
about his self-worth.
26) A feasible starting point for Mark to start rebuilding his self-esteem might be to
A) demand to know the true reasons for his mediocre performance evaluations.
B) make a list of his good qualities and what is going well in his life.
C) get a warm hug from five friends and family members.
D) quickly find another position other than trading assistant.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
27) A feasible starting point for Mark to start rebuilding his self-confidence might be to
A) plea with his ex-fiancé to give him one more chance.
B) purchase approximately 200 lottery tickets to increase his chances of winning.
C) identify five people in his network worse off than he is.
D) find something to accomplish well, such as a work project, then think about this
accomplishment.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
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3.2 True/False Questions
1) Self-esteem deals with what we think about ourselves, whereas the self-concept deals more
with what we feel about ourselves.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
2) One of the many negative consequences of being laid off is that it can reduce a person’s self-
esteem.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
3) A highly effective sequence of events for achieving high self-esteem is to receive a lot of
praise and recognition, and then attempt to accomplish something worthwhile.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
4) A study conducted over a ten-year period found that people with a high core self-evaluations
(self-esteem is included) tended to have lower incomes.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
5) Two studies with Dutch college students suggested that an unfair organizational system
combined with a leader who discouraged self-rewards tended to boost the self-esteem of the
study participants.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
6) A narcissistic person typically has a very positive view of the self, combined with limited
empathy for other people.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
7) Phil has very low self-esteem so he is likely to envy many people who have accomplished
more than he has accomplished.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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8) Cindy, a head paralegal, regularly posts her accomplishments on Facebook and Twitter. As a
result, she probably does experience a small boost in self-esteem.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
9) According to social science research, esteem-like feelings are more likely to develop after
achieving a goal rather than before its achievement.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
10) Current thinking is that heaping undeserved praise and recognition on people is an effective
strategy for boosting their self-esteem.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
11) Your inner critic is an ally in your quest to develop high self-esteem because the critic gives
you honest feedback.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
12) An effective way of practicing self-nurturing to boost self-esteem is to purposely get sick or
injured, then cure yourself.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
13) People with high self-esteem are more likely to give you honest feedback because they
respect others and themselves.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
14) A recommended way of boosting your self-esteem is to model yourself after people with high
self-esteem who you know personally.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
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15) Brandon has taken many steps to develop his self-confidence, and now is one of the most
self-confident people in his company. Brandon’s extreme self-confidence will most likely prevent
him from becoming arrogant.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
16) One of the components of self-confidence is to observe other people with capabilities similar
to your own perform a task well.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
17) A person’s level of self-confidence appears to be related to the number of successes he or she
has experienced.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
18) People who have self-compassion tend to avoid public speaking because they want to avoid
the possibilities of looking foolish.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
19) Tammy engages in negative self-talk when she says, “I am a leading person in my field, even
though I am less than perfect.”
AACSB: Application of knowledge
20) What you have most likely been hearing for many years is true–if you do a good job of
public speaking, it will enhance your self-confidence.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
21) To use positive visual imagery correctly, develop an image of yourself performing superbly
in a challenging situation.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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22) Yuri, a construction supervisor, makes effective use of the Galatea effect, when he tells his
construction crew, “I strongly believe that we are going to be thirty days late in building this
restaurant.”
AACSB: Application of knowledge
23) Explaining bad events in a positive way tends to be a self-confidence booster.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
24) A starting point in dealing with the emotional aspects of adversity is to deny that the problem
exists so you can feel more self-confident.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
25) One of the components of developing positive psychological capital is to recognize that your
chances of succeeding are quite limited in this competitive world.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
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