Question 1

When people fake their own medical problems in order to gain attention and sympathy from medical professionals, they would be diagnosed with

Accepted Answer

Munchausen syndrome is a mental disorder in which a person fakes or exaggerates medical symptoms in order to gain attention and sympathy from medical professionals.

Question 2

A characteristic of conversion disorders is that the person

Accepted Answer

Conversion disorder often involves a lack of concern about the symptoms, known as "la belle indifférence."

Question 3

Rudy was diagnosed with Munchausen Syndrome, schizoaffective disorder, and a borderline personality disorder.This multiple diagnosis illustrates that

Accepted Answer

The fact that Rudy was diagnosed with multiple disorders shows comorbidity, meaning that many disturbed individuals have multiple diagnoses. This suggests that mental health disorders often co-occur with one another, and it is common for individuals to have multiple diagnoses.

Question 4

Sam had been sick since he was a young child.He was rushed to the hospital by his desperately concerned mother.Although his mother was praised by the hospital personnel for her attentiveness, the doctors discovered that the mother had been injecting her son with 7-up to make him sick so she could get the attention and sympathy of the medical personnel and be considered a "concerned, devoted" mother.Sam's mother would most likely be diagnosed with

Accepted Answer

This behavior of making one's child sick in order to gain attention or sympathy from medical professionals is characteristic of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a form of child abuse. Obsessive-compulsive disorder involves repetitive, intrusive thoughts and/or behaviors that are not related to gaining attention or sympathy. Prader-Willis syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes developmental delays and other medical issues. Conversion disorder involves experiencing physical symptoms that cannot be explained medically, but Munchausen syndrome by proxy involves intentionally causing physical symptoms in another person.

Question 5

When a person's complaint takes the form of physical symptoms that resemble disease or disability (lameness, deafness, or anesthesia), the problem is termed

Accepted Answer

Conversion reaction, also known as conversion disorder, refers to a condition where a person's psychological distress is expressed as physical symptoms. These symptoms can include things like paralysis, blindness or deafness, and are not explained by any physical medical condition. The symptoms are thought to happen because the person's mind is unconsciously converting emotional stress or trauma into physical symptoms.

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of conversion disorder?

Accepted Answer

Conversion disorder is a condition in which a person experiences physical symptoms that have no underlying medical explanation. In this case, Greg's blindness has no known medical cause and therefore may be an example of conversion disorder. A, B, and D are not examples of conversion disorder as they all have some underlying physiological explanation for their sensations.

Question 7

Although the doctors can find no physical reason for his symptoms, Aaron reports that he is unable to feel anything with any part of his left hand from the wrist to his fingertips.This is

Accepted Answer

Conversion disorder is a type of somatoform disorder in which a person experiences physical symptoms that cannot be explained by any underlying medical condition or disease. In this case, Aaron's inability to feel anything in his left hand is not due to any neural or physical damage but is rather a manifestation of psychological distress or trauma. This somatic symptom disorder is thought to be triggered by an unconscious psychological conflict or stressor that is "converted" into physical symptoms as a way of coping with the distress. A neural disorder, on the other hand, would imply an actual physical injury or damage to the neural structures responsible for processing sensory information. Compulsive hand-washing and hypochondriasis are also not likely explanations for Aaron's symptoms.

Question 8

When anxiety or severe emotional conflicts are transformed into physical symptoms resembling disease or disability, it is called

Accepted Answer

A conversion disorder is when psychological stress is converted into physical symptoms. This can include things like paralysis or blindness without any physical cause. It is also sometimes referred to as somatization disorder.

Question 9

The susceptibility to anxiety-based disorders appears to be

Accepted Answer

Research has indicated that while genetics do play a role in the susceptibility to anxiety-based disorders, environmental factors also contribute. Therefore, the susceptibility to these types of disorders is partly inherited.

Question 10

Halley enjoys the attention she receives when she goes to the doctor, so she has been making herself appear sick by deliberately causing minor ankle sprains or by complaining of frequent "headaches" and "heart palpitations." Halley would most likely be diagnosed with

Accepted Answer

Halley enjoys the attention she receives when she goes to the doctor and deliberately causes minor injuries or complains of symptoms to gain that attention. This behavior is consistent with Munchausen syndrome, which is a psychological disorder in which an individual intentionally produces or exaggerates physical symptoms for the purpose of receiving attention or sympathy.

Question 11

When a person suffers from more than one mental disorder at a time, the person is said to be

Accepted Answer

When a person suffers from more than one mental disorder at a time, the person is said to be comorbid. Comorbidity is the presence of one or more additional disorders co-occurring with a primary disorder. In other words, it means that the individual has multiple mental health disorders at the same time.

Question 12

Glove anesthesia strongly implies the existence of a(n) _____ disorder.

Accepted Answer

Glove anesthesia, which refers to the loss of sensation in the hand or arm in a glove-like distribution without any apparent physical cause, is a classic symptom of conversion disorder. In this disorder, psychological stress is converted into physical symptoms, including sensory and motor deficits. Therefore, the best choice that describes glove anesthesia is conversion disorder. Organic mental disorder involves a dysfunction of the brain, depersonalization disorder involves feelings of estrangement from oneself, and somatization disorder involves multiple physical complaints without a clear medical explanation, none of which are specifically related to glove anesthesia.

Question 13

Brittany awakens on her wedding day and her legs are paralyzed.Her parents rush her to the emergency room.The hospital staff immediately notices that Brittany is strangely unconcerned by her condition.After numerous tests, the doctors have not found any physical reason for her paralysis.During the night, nurses also notice that Brittany moved her legs while she was asleep.Brittany's "paralysis" appears to be due to a(n)

Accepted Answer

Brittany's paralysis appears to be caused by a conversion disorder, which is a condition where a person experiences physical symptoms that cannot be explained by a medical condition. The fact that she moved her legs while asleep suggests that there is no organic reason for her paralysis, and her unconcerned attitude also points to a psychological rather than physical cause. A dissociative disorder involves a disruption in a person's sense of identity or consciousness, which does not seem to be the case with Brittany.

Question 14

Most people with _____ are mothers who fabricate their children's illnesses and sometimes even deliberately harm their children to make them sick.

Accepted Answer

Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a mental illness where a caregiver, most commonly a mother, fakes or induces illness in their child in order to gain attention or sympathy. It is also known as factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA) or medical child abuse. This behavior is not seen in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome or obsessive-compulsive disorder, and a conversion disorder refers to physical symptoms that are caused by psychological stress or trauma.

Question 15

In _____, an affected person fakes the medical problems of someone in his or her care in order to gain attention, while a person who fakes his or her own medical problems to gain attention would be diagnosed with _____.

Accepted Answer

Munchausen syndrome by proxy involves a caregiver faking or inducing medical problems in someone else to gain attention, while Munchausen syndrome involves a person faking their own medical problems for attention.

Question 16

Ben was usually in the hospital at least 15 times a year.He was taking 19 different medications, and his mother said that she desperately wanted him to be healed.The doctors discovered that there was nothing wrong with Ben.However, his mother was eventually diagnosed with _____ because she had a pathological need to seek attention and sympathy from medical professionals by "keeping her child sick."

Accepted Answer

Ben's mother exhibited a pattern of behavior indicative of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, where a caretaker fabricates or induces symptoms in another person (often a child) to gain attention or sympathy from medical professionals. The fact that Ben's doctors could find no physical ailment despite his frequent hospitalizations and medication use suggests that his mother may have been causing his health issues.

Question 17

If a person is comorbid,

Accepted Answer

Comorbidity refers to the co-occurrence of two or more disorders in an individual. This can result in increased emotional distress and can make it more difficult for healthcare providers to diagnose and treat the individual effectively. Therefore, all of these options are occurring when a person is comorbid.

Question 18

Regarding conversion disorders, which of the following statements is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Conversion disorders are not considered psychosomatic illnesses; they are classified as somatic symptom and related disorders, where psychological factors manifest as physical symptoms without a medical cause.

Question 19

"Glove anesthesia" is a

Accepted Answer

Glove anesthesia is a condition where the loss of sensation in the hand does not align with the anatomical pathways of the nervous system, suggesting a psychological rather than a physiological cause.

Question 20

Although Armand has been in several fierce battles during the war, he awakens on the morning of a planned invasion completely blind.The doctors find no brain injury or injury to his eyes, but Armand still cannot see.For most people, blindness would be a disturbing disability to develop, but Armand is strangely unconcerned about his sudden blindness.The doctors suspect that Armand has a(n)

Accepted Answer

Armand's sudden blindness with no physical cause suggests a conversion disorder, which is a condition where physical symptoms arise from psychological distress. The fact that Armand is strangely unconcerned about his blindness supports this diagnosis. Somatization disorder involves multiple physical symptoms, while organic mental disorder involves brain damage or disease, and dissociative disorder involves disruptions in memory, awareness, or identity.

Quiz 14: Extension C: Psychological Disorders