Deck 3: Clinical Assessment, Diagnosis, and Research in Psychopathology

Question 1

A patient who had recurrent headaches, fatigue, and loss of appetite received different diagnoses about this condition from several psychologists. In terms of assessment, this indicates a problem with

A)reliability.
B)classification.
C)validity.
D)standardization.

Answer 1

reliability.

Question 2

What is the problem with family studies that causes high familial aggregation?

A)Family members tend to live separate environmental and there is nothing in their shared environment.
B)Family members tend to live together and there might be something in their shared environment.
C)Individual behavior's problem or disorder.
D)Separate environmental from genetic influences in families.

Answer 2

Family members tend to live together and there might be something in their shared environment.

Question 3

Lanya, recently came to the United States, and is just learning to speak English. She applies for a job and is given a test. When she sits down at a table with other job applicants that are taking the same test, she is informed that she has ten minutes to complete the test. After ten minutes, the employment service director collects Lanya's test, but the other job applicants are still working on their tests. That other job applicants were given more time to take the same test is an example of a problem with

A)reliability.
B)classification.
C)validity.
D)standardization.

Answer 3

standardization.

Question 4

The systematic evaluation of psychological, biological, and social factors in a person with a possible mental disorder is known as clinical

A)assessment.
B)interpretation
C)validation.
D)standardization.

Question 5

Genetic researchers examine _______, the observable characteristics or behavior of the individual.

A)genotypes
B)endophenotypes
C)phenotypes
D)proband

Question 6

When a diagnosis tells the clinician what is likely to happen over the course of the disorder and the likely effect of treatments, the diagnosis has

A)construct validity.
B)predictive validity.
C)content validity.
D)none of the above

Question 7

In a mental status exam, a psychologist may assess all of the following EXCEPT

A)appearance and behavior.
B)thought processes.
C)mood and affect.
D)heart rate and respiration.

Question 8

The process of determining whether an individual's symptoms meet the criteria for a specific psychological disorder is called

A)prognosis.
B)diagnosis.
C)classification.
D)analysis.

Question 9

The reactivity phenomenon of self-monitoring procedures has been shown to

A)increase desired behaviors.
B)decrease undesired behaviors.
C)both increase desired behaviors and decrease undesired behaviors.
D)neither increase desired behaviors nor decrease undesired behaviors.

Question 10

When Abernathy went to a psychologist for the first time, the clinician asked him what the date was, what year it was, and where they were. Which category of a mental status exam do these questions cover?

A)Thought processes
B)Appearance and behavior
C)Sensorium
D)Intellectual functioning

Question 11

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was published in

A)1990.
B)1994.
C)2000.
D)2013.

Question 12

Clifton had been experiencing a number of psychological issues, so he decided to go to a psychiatrist to see what was wrong. Dr. A told him he had major depressive disorder. He decided to seek a second opinion. Dr. B diagnosed him with generalized anxiety disorder. Wanting yet another opinion, he went to Dr. C, who told him he was obsessive-compulsive. This demonstrates poor

A)test-retest reliability.
B)concurrent validity.
C)descriptive validity.
D)inter-rater reliability.

Question 13

The family member with the trait singled out for study is called ______.

A)genotypes
B)proband
C)gene
D)endophenotypes

Question 14

A diagnostic category has _______________ when the signs and symptoms chosen as its criteria are consistently associated with each other, and are different from those for other categories.

A)Concurrent reliability
B)Inter-rater reliability
C)Familial aggregation
D)Construct validity

Question 15

In a mental status exam, it is important to determine if the individual is "oriented times three." This refers to

A)person, place, and time.
B)day, month, and year of birth.
C)thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
D)spatial orientation in a three-dimensional map.

Question 16

Which of the following describes the concept of validity as it applies to psychological assessment?

A)Two or more "raters" get the same answers.
B)An assessment technique is consistent across different measures.
C)Scores are used as a norm for comparison purposes.
D)An assessment technique measures what it is designed to measure.

Question 17

As part of a psychological assessment, a mental status exam is used to find out how a person thinks, feels, and behaves; its primary purpose, however, is to determine

A)if a psychological disorder might be present.
B)what type of treatment should be used.
C)which medication would be most effective.
D)whether the individual also has a medical condition.

Question 18

When observational data are being collected, the observer's presence may cause a person to behave differently, a phenomenon known as

A)reactivity.
B)structuring.
C)recording.
D)monitoring.

Question 19

Which of the following factors is typically NOT part of a clinical assessment?

A)Psychological
B)Social
C)Biological
D)Astrological

Question 20

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is a publication of the

A)American Psychological Association.
B)International Association of Psychologists.
C)American Psychiatric Association.
D)National Institutes of Mental Health.

Question 21

A variation of correlation research that is used to compare different people at different ages is called _________.

A)cohort effect
B)genetic marker
C)longitudinal designs
D)cross-sectional designs

Question 22

An example of a test used to screen for organic brain damage is the

A)be Rorschach Inkblot Test.
B)Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery.
C)Stanford-Binet Neuropsychological Battery.
D)Bender Thematic Apperception Test.

Question 23

Starke falsifies his answers on the MMPI so that he will look good. He will probably have a high score on the __________ scale.

A)Cannot Say
B)Lie
C)Paranoia
D)Defensiveness

Question 24

Anna, a psychoanalytic psychologist, created an assessment that asks individuals to describe emotions elicited by vague, geometric shapes. Anna believes that the responses made by her patients will reveal their unconscious conflicts. After administering the assessment, she intends to draw conclusions about her patients' well-being from the content of these descriptions. This assessment belongs in the category of

A)Intelligence tests
B)Emotional tests
C)Projective tests
D)Clinical interviewing

Question 25

Four-year-old Cindy Lou is very aggressive toward her peers, which results in poor peer relationships. A psychologist has been asked to assess Cindy Lou's aggressiveness and determine if she needs intervention. The psychologist would probably do what type of assessment?

A)Neuropsychological
B)Projective
C)Cognitive
D)Behavioral

Question 26

The crucial test of a diagnostic system's validity is whether it results in

A)an effective treatment plan.
B)all clinicians reaching the same diagnosis for the patient.
C)the accurate diagnostic label for the patient.
D)the same diagnostic label regardless of when the patient is evaluated.

Question 27

Which of the following genetic mechanisms contribute to the underlying problems causing the symptoms and difficulties experienced by people with psychological disorders?

A)Phenotypes
B)Genotypes
C)Endophenotypes
D)Proband

Question 28

Believing that it would not be helpful, a therapist refuses to use the DSM-5 or any other diagnostic system. One problem that we may expect for this therapist is that it may be difficult to

A)apply what has been learned from treating other patients with similar problems.
B)think of patients as individuals.
C)monitor the progress of patients in therapy.
D)convince patients that their problems are taken seriously.

Question 29

. ________ are the unique genetic makeup of individual people.

A)Endophenotypes
B)Human genome project
C)Genotypes
D)Phenotypes

Question 30

The projective type of psychological tests is based on ________ theory.

A)behavioral
B)cognitive
C)humanistic
D)psychoanalytic

Question 31

Recent research involving PET scans has shown that patients with Alzheimer's disease have

A)increased dopamine reuptake in the occipital lobes.
B)increased serotonin levels in the temporal lobes.
C)reduced glucose metabolism in the parietal lobes.
D)reduced amino acid production in the frontal lobes.

Question 32

IQ tests measure all of the following abilities EXCEPT

A)verbal comprehension.
B)memory.
C)reasoning.
D)personality.

Question 33

The calculation of an IQ, previously done by using a child's mental age, is now done by using a deviation IQ. This means that the child's score is compared to the scores of others

A)of the same age.
B)in the same grade.
C)who took the test at the same time.
D)with the same level of intelligence.

Question 34

If it were important to determine the exact location of brain impairment, which of the following tests would most likely be used?

A)Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test
B)Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery
C)Gall Phrenological Brain Scan
D)Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

Question 35

Unlike very early versions of the DSM, the DSM-5

A)Includes a plan for integrating social and cultural influences on diagnosis.
B)Incorporates some dimensional aspects, such as judgment of severity for disorders.
C)Does not make a distinction between organically based and psychologically based disorders.
D)All of the above.

Question 36

Abnormalities in the structure and functioning of the brain can be detected by neuroimaging techniques. Current research is also looking at

A)a possible association of these abnormalities with psychological disorders.
B)using brain imaging techniques as a treatment for psychological disorders.
C)preventing psychological disorders with neuroimaging techniques.
D)using neuroimaging to manipulate the expression of genes that influence psychological disorders.

Question 37

All of the following are examples of psychophysiological assessment responses EXCEPT

A)Electroencephalogram
B)Galvanic skin response
C)Heart rate
D)Biofeedback

Question 38

An observation that involves identifying specific behaviors that are observable and measurable is called a(n)

A)informal observation.
B)formal observation.
C)unstructured observation.
D)self-observation.

Question 39

The ABCs of observation refer to the ___________ sequence.

A)affect-behavior-cognition
B)antecedent-behavior-cognition
C)antecedent-behavior-consequence
D)affect-behavior-consequence

Question 40

Lisbeth is presented with a series of cards that are blots of ink. She is asked to state what she sees on these cards. Hannibal is probably taking a(n)

A)personality inventory.
B)response inventory.
C)projective test.
D)intelligence test.

Question 41

A hypothesis is defined as a(n)

A)theory.
B)empirical conclusion.
C)research study.
D)educated guess.

Question 42

DSM-5 is based on a ________ classification system.

A)dimensional
B)categorical
C)prototypical
D)psychoanalytic

Question 43

The observation that people of different age groups differ in their values and experiences called ______.

A)cohort effect
B)genetic marker
C)longitudinal designs
D)cohort

Question 44

The classical (or pure) categorical approach to diagnosis assumes that each person with a particular disorder will

A)be helped by recognizing the cause of the disorder.
B)experience very few of the same symptoms.
C)respond to the same treatments equally.
D)experience the same symptoms with little or no variation.

Question 45

A researcher studying the effect of a dietary supplement on sleep finds that research participants who take the supplement sleep an average of 8 hours and 25 minutes per night, while participants who were given a placebo pill with no active ingredients in it sleep for an average of 6 hours and 20 minutes. These findings are likely

A)statistically significant.
B)clinically insignificant.
C)Statistically insignificant.
D)clinically significant.

Question 46

Which of the following involves a change in behavior resulting from the person's expectation of change rather than from the experimental manipulation itself?

A)Cohort effect
B)Cross-generational effect
C)Placebo effect
D)Double-blind control

Question 47

A researcher is testing the effects of sunlight on depression. The independent variable is

A)sunlight.
B)depression.
C)the assumption that light affects mood.
D)the interaction between sunlight and mood.

Question 48

In research studies, the term "effect size" refers to

A)how much each treated and untreated person in the study changes.
B)the power of the statistical tests that are used to detect the impact of the independent variable.
C)how many subjects are included in a particular study.
D)the degree of external validity that the study has.

Question 49

The terms taxonomy and nosology refer to

A)scientific classification.
B)the accuracy of a diagnostic system.
C)the reliability of a grouping of clinical symptoms.
D)theoretical ideas that cannot be tested objectively.

Question 50

The dimensional approach to diagnosis is characterized by

A)a quantification of patients' experiences using scales measuring several areas, such as anxiety or depression.
B)lists of symptoms that patients must experience for the diagnosis to be assigned.
C)essential elements that all patients must report for the diagnosis to be assigned, but allowance for specific nonessential variations as well.
D)a theoretical explanation for the underlying cause of the disorder that is assumed to be shared by all patients experiencing similar symptoms.

Question 51

A researcher separates the participants into two groups. Group A receives an active medication, and Group B receives an empty capsule that looks and feels like the real medication. Group B is the

A)treatment group.
B)analog group.
C)control group.
D)experimental group.

Question 52

All of the following are potential dangers of assigning a diagnostic label EXCEPT

A)the patient may lose self-esteem.
B)the patient's prognosis (future course of the disorder) becomes difficult to predict.
C)family and friends may see the patient as the disorder rather than an individual.
D)healthcare workers may see the patient as the disorder rather than an individual.

Question 53

A researcher studies the impact of cell phone use during class lectures on college students' exam scores. Whether the results of this study help us to understand the relationship between cell phone use during class lectures and work performance in real-life institutions is a question of

A)internal validity.
B)study confounds.
C)external validity.
D)the original research hypothesis.

Question 54

What is the basic principle of genetic linkage analysis?

A)When a family disorder is studied, other inherited characteristics are assessed at the same time.
B)Observe people of different age groups that differ in their values and experiences.
C)Compare people afflicted by the disorder to those without.
D)Rather than looking at different groups of people of differing ages, follow one group over time and assess changes in its members directly.

Question 55

While studying the impact of ginkgo biloba on memory, a researcher has one group of rats on a normal diet while the other rat group is given measured doses of ginkgo biloba with their meals. While observing the rats run a complicated maze, the researcher notes that the ginkgo biloba-enhanced rats' maze is more brightly lit than the normal diet rats' maze. The difference in lighting in this study is a(n)

A)confound.
B)independent variable.
C)dependent variable.
D)hypothesis.

Question 56

Internal validity is defined as

A)the extent to which the results of a study can be explained by the dependent variable.
B)the degree to which the hypothesis is supported by the study.
C)the overall quality of the research.
D)the extent to which the results in a study can be explained by the independent variable.

Question 57

Which of the following involves trying to generalize the findings to groups whose experiences are different from those of the study participants?

A)Cross-generational effect
B)Cohort effect
C)Placebo effect
D)Cross-generational design

Question 58

Researchers use control groups to

A)make comparisons to the treatment group.
B)give all research participants an equal chance to participate in the study.
C)control the hypothesis.
D)randomize the experiment.

Question 59

Statistical significance determines whether an observed difference between a treatment and control group is likely due to

A)random assignment.
B)external validity.
C)chance.
D)confounds.

Question 60

In well-designed research studies, medications that enhance serotonin functioning have been found to help patients recover from episodes of depression. Given the realities of the patient uniformity myth, it would be a mistake to conclude that

A)level of serotonin function is correlated with depression.
B)all depressed patients will be helped by these medications.
C)research can help us determine which treatments should be used for depression.
D)medication can be an appropriate treatment for depression.

Question 61

While trying to discover the nature of the relationship between stress and blood pressure, a researcher asks participants to complete a difficult task. The researcher monitors the participants' blood pressure while some are exposed to noisy distractions and others stay in a quiet environment. This type of research is a(n)

A)correlational study.
B)experiment.
C)case study.
D)placebo control study.

Question 62

One important difference between a typical case study and the single-case experiment is that during the single-case experiment, behavior is generally

A)manipulated.
B)controlled by the experimenter.
C)measured more than once.
D)observed in the natural environment.

Question 63

When a control group is used in experimental research, the members of the control group will be treated exactly the same as the

A)treatment group, except that they will be exposed to the independent variable.
B)treatment group in every way.
C)control group in any other psychology study.
D)treatment group, except that they will not be exposed to the independent variable.

Question 64

The single-case experimental design is primarily criticized as having limited

A)reliability.
B)external validity.
C)Internal validity.
D)measures.

Question 65

One of the problems of using a withdrawal design as part of a single-case experiment is the

A)difficulty of measuring changes that are associated with removal of a treatment.
B)confounding factor of the placebo effect when the treatment is removed.
C)ethical issue of removing treatment that appears to be helping the patient.
D)impossibility of removing the treatment equally for the treatment subjects and control subjects.

Question 66

An important advantage of the multiple baseline design over the withdrawal design for evaluating treatments is that multiple baseline

A)has greater internal validity.
B)has greater external validity.
C)does not require the removal of a potentially helpful treatment.
D)does not require the artificial intervention of the researcher.

Question 67

Which problems may have a relationship to a temporary toxic state?

A)Mental illness
B)Vomiting
C)Cognition
D)None of these are correct.

Question 68

The basis of an experiment is

A)manipulation of a dependent variable.
B)manipulation of an independent variable.
C)Manipulation of a confounding variable.
D)in-depth fact gathering of many variables.

Question 69

Epidemiology is the study of

A)the effectiveness of the correlational model in determining cause.
B)research methods.
C)various forms of therapy.
D)incidence, distribution, and consequences of a problem in a population.

Question 70

Placebos are used in experiments to

A)control for the variability of individuals who tend to volunteer for research studies.
B)control for the expectations of some research participants that they will improve just because they are in a research study.
C)help determine whether an independent variable actually causes a statistically significant change in a dependent variable.
D)make certain that the treatment and control group are randomly selected.

Question 71

. What can be the cause of temporary toxic state?

A)Lack of oxygen
B)Wrong amount or type of medicine
C)Water
D)None of these are correct

Question 72

One of the hallmarks of the experimental method that makes it different from a correlational study is that in an experiment,

A)we observe what happens in the natural world.
B)the researcher is unaware of the independent variable.
C)a variable is manipulated in a way that would not have occurred naturally.
D)there are multiple control groups.

Question 73

It can be important to use a double-blind procedure in a research study in order to prevent the

A)independent variable from influencing the dependent variable.
B)confusion of correlation with causation.
C)participants' expectations from biasing the independent variable.
D)researcher's expectations from biasing the outcome.

Question 74

As a child's age increases, so does her height. This is an example of a(n)

A)negative correlation.
B)zero correlation.
C)causal correlation.
D)positive correlation.

Question 75

Clinicians who use projective tests have their own method of __________.

A)Administration
B)Cognition
C)Behavioral Analysis
D)None of these are correct.

Question 76

Mordred is having temper tantrums at home, at school, and at his grandparents' house. After working with the parents for a while, the therapist believes that the child is being rewarded for his tantrums in each setting because his teacher, parents, and grandparents generally give him what he wants just to make him stop yelling. The therapist devises a plan to stop his tantrums but first implements the plan at home, then the following week at school, and finally at the grandparents' home several weeks later. From a research perspective, this is an example of a(n)

A)withdrawal design.
B)multiple baseline design.
C)placebo control.
D)external validity design.

Question 77

The correlation between the amount of time college students spends texting on their smartphone during class and the students' height in inches is probably

A)positive.
B)negative.
C)zero.
D)causal.

Question 78

The purpose of a control group in experimental research is to

A)control for the subjects' desire to act according to the experimenter's expectations.
B)determine whether a treatment or independent variable actually influenced change in the dependent variable.
C)determine statistical significance.
D)control the dependent variable.

Question 79

In a double-blind study,

A)the participants are not aware of who is in the treatment and control groups, but the researcher providing the treatment does know.
B)neither the researcher providing the treatment nor the participants are aware of who is in the treatment and who is in the control group.
C)neither the researcher providing the treatment nor the research participants can ever be made aware of the research findings.
D)the research participants are not aware that they are participating in a research study.

Question 80

The type of study that generally does not follow the scientific method and typically contains many confounds is the

A)case study.
B)correlation model.
C)true experiment.
D)longitudinal study.