Deck 1: Abnormal Psychology Over Time

Question 1

Stereotyping is an example of the stigma of mental illness. It means

A) people feel very sad and upset when they find out they have a mental illness.
B) people are reluctant to discuss their psychological problems because they are afraid others won't like them.
C) the problem of removing the diagnosis, even if people make a full recovery from mental illness.
D) the automatic and often incorrect beliefs people have about people with mental illness.

Answer 1

the automatic and often incorrect beliefs people have about people with mental illness.

Question 2

According to the DSM-IV's definition of mental disorder, impairment in one or more areas of functioning disability)

A) must be present in order to make a diagnosis.
B) must be present for at least six months to be considered a true disability.
C) may be present but is not a necessary condition for making a diagnosis.
D) is one of the less important features of a mental disorder.

Answer 2

may be present but is not a necessary condition for making a diagnosis.

Question 3

What is a reason for classifying mental disorders?

A) A classification system allows information to be organized.
B) Then professionals can make assumptions about people based on their diagnosis.
C) The diagnosis then often has an effect on peoples' behaviors.
D) Then professionals won't need to look at as much information about a person.

Answer 3

A classification system allows information to be organized.

Question 4

Brett persistently injects himself with pain killers. This has greatly increased his chance of overdosing and dying. His behavior harms no one else. According to the DSM, is Brett's behavior consistent with the definition of a mental disorder?

A) No, because his behavior must also harm the well-being of others in the community.
B) Yes, because very few people in society engage in this behavior.
C) Yes, because he is persistently acting in a way that harms him.
D) No, because there is no evidence that his actions are out of his own control.

Question 5

Which of the following is a sufficient element to determine abnormality?

A) there is no sufficient element
B) suffering
C) deviancy
D) maladaptiveness

Question 6

The Solarists are a cult whose members believe that they control the movements of the sun with special hand gestures. What would the DSM-IV say about this group?

A) The group suffers from Shared Delusion Psychosis.
B) The group is diagnosable because they are a cult.
C) While some of this group's individual members may meet criteria for a DSM-IV diagnosis, the DSM-IV does not diagnose groups.
D) Because a group of persons share a belief, however strange, the group must be considered emotionally healthy.

Question 7

In the United States, the standard for defining types of mental disorders is contained in the

A) American Psychological Association's bylaws.
B) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
C) American Psychiatric Association's bylaws.
D) World Health Organization's classification code.

Question 8

The fact that body piercings are commonplace today while they would once have been viewed as abnormal illustrates that

A) what is acceptable for men and women is no longer different.
B) modern society is always open to change.
C) American culture values independence.
D) the values of a society may change over time.

Question 9

All of the following are disadvantages of classifying and diagnosing mental disorders EXCEPT

A) providing structure.
B) labeling.
C) stereotyping.
D) the potential stigma.

Question 10

What do the cases of Monique and Donald best illustrate?

A) Mental illness can have a significant impact on one's life.
B) Women are more likely to commit suicide than men.
C) Most individuals who experience a mental breakdown are clearly unwell long before treatment is sought.
D) Most individuals with mental disorders are violent.

Question 11

is a necessary first step toward introducing order to any discussion of the cause or treatment of abnormal behavior.

A) Classification
B) Brain research
C) Labeling
D) Epidemiology

Question 12

What do the cases of Monique and Donald best illustrate?

A) Abnormal behavior usually produces more distress in others than the person who engages in the abnormal behavior.
B) Abnormal behavior covers a wide range of behavioral disturbances.
C) When people suffer from mental disorders they are unable to work or live independently.
D) Most people who suffer from abnormal behavior are quickly identified as deviant by other people.

Question 13

What does DSM stand for?

A) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
B) Diagnostic Science of Mental Disorders
C) Descriptors for the Science of Mental Illness
D) Disorders, Science, and Mental Illness

Question 14

Which of the following is an example of family aggregation?

A) Kim's suicide was apparently a reaction to her mother's abuse.
B) Jim and John, 21-year-old twins, are both schizophrenic.
C) Karen, her mother, and her grandmother all have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.
D) Both Jane and her husband are alcoholic.

Question 15

Which of the following is included in the DSM?

A) a discussion of the various causes of mental disorders
B) a means of identifying different mental disorders
C) a description of all of the possible treatments for each disorder
D) a description of the necessary and sufficient conditions for mental illness

Question 16

What makes defining abnormality difficult?

A) Criteria for abnormality have yet to be developed.
B) There is not a clear dividing line that serves to distinguish different behavior from that which is abnormal.
C) There are so many types of abnormal behavior that they can't be accurately described.
D) Most of us are abnormal much of the time.

Question 17

Which of the following is a disadvantage of having a classification system for mental disorders?

A) A classification system allows for research to advance.
B) Identifying the disorder that an individual has guides treatment.
C) When a label is used to describe an individual's behavior information is lost.
D) A classification system establishes the types of problems that mental professionals can treat.

Question 18

Which of the following statements is true concerning classification systems for mental disorders?

A) It is far more important that they be reliable than it is for them to be valid.
B) Although they assist scientists who are researching disorders, they inhibit our ability to communicate about abnormal behavior in a precise way.
C) Classification systems make it more difficult to gather statistics on the incidence and prevalence of disorders.
D) Classification systems meet the needs of medical insurance companies who need diagnoses in order to authorize payment of claims.

Question 19

The DSM-IV-TR does not refer to the etiology of mental disorders. This is because

A) no one knows the causes) of mental disorders.
B) the DSM tries to be atheoretical.
C) etiology is not considered important enough to put in the DSM.
D) the DSM does not use the medical model.

Question 20

What is wrong with describing someone as being "schizophrenic"?

A) The behavior of the schizophrenic changes so rapidly that this is only true a small percentage of the time.
B) Such a definitive diagnosis is rare.
C) Nothing.
D) Labels should be applied to disorders, not to people.

Question 21

What does it mean if a disorder is said to be highly prevalent?

A) It is not curable.
B) It is treatable.
C) It is common.
D) It is contagious.

Question 22

According to the DSM, when is deviant behavior viewed as indicative of a mental disorder?

A) only when the behavior is inconsistent with cultural norms
B) when it is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual
C) always
D) never

Question 23

rates may be reported in terms of the lifetime risk of contracting a particular disorder.

A) Point prevalence
B) Point incidence
C) Incidence
D) Prevalence

Question 24

What type of prevalence estimate tends to be highest?

A) virtual prevalence
B) lifetime prevalence
C) point prevalence
D) one-year prevalence

Question 25

Maria believes that her dead grandmother occasionally speaks to her. In deciding if Maria has a mental illness or not, which of the following is important?

A) Do people in general consider Maria's belief abnormal?
B) Does her belief match any of the symptoms in the disorders in the DSM?
C) Is Maria's belief consistent with the beliefs of her culture?
D) How old Maria is?

Question 26

What is epidemiology?

A) a form of psychotherapy
B) the study of the role of genes in mental illness
C) the study of the distribution of a disorder in a population
D) the exploration of what forms of treatment are most effective

Question 27

The DSM-TR-IV

A) does not consider the differences that exist across cultures when defining a disorder.
B) only includes information about cultures in the United States.
C) explicitly acknowledges that differences across cultures must be considered when defining disorders.
D) endorses the belief that disorders are the same across cultures.

Question 28

What type of prevalence data only counts active cases of a disorder?

A) one-year prevalence
B) lifetime prevalence
C) point prevalence
D) All prevalence data count both those who have the disorder and those who have recovered.

Question 29

Mental health epidemiology is

A) the study of epidemics in mental disorders among the general population.
B) a sociological study of psychological disorders.
C) the study of the distribution of mental disorders in a given population.
D) the study of organic brain diseases among different ethnic populations of a defined geographic region.

Question 30

What is a culture-specific disorder?

A) a disorder that is a product of cultural stressors
B) a disorder seen in all cultures
C) a disorder seen only in certain cultures
D) a disorder that is seen universally, but presents itself differently depending on cultural factors

Question 31

Why is it important to know how many people have diagnosable mental illnesses?

A) If the incidence of mental illness is rising there needs to be a corresponding increase in the level of funding for medical research.
B) Pharmaceutical companies need such information to ensure the appropriate level of drug production.
C) Such information is needed to plan for the provision of adequate services.
D) The number of people with mental illness and the level of crime are highly correlated.

Question 32

The mayor of a city wants to know the number of new cases of a disorder over the past year. The mayor should ask an epidemiologist for the of the disorder.

A) point prevalence
B) incidence rate
C) prevalence rate
D) acute occurrence

Question 33

Practically speaking, "abnormal" behavior means

A) any behavior that causes the person distress.
B) any behavior that causes us to consider our values.
C) any behavior that is "away from the normal" and causes distress.
D) unusual behaviors that are not consistent with the norms of the society in which they are displayed.

Question 34

What term refers to the number of new cases of a disorder that occur over a given time period?

A) incidence
B) point prevalence
C) valence
D) one-year prevalence

Question 35

What do the textbook authors identify as the most problematic element of Wakefield's definition of mental disorder?

A) Most mental disorders do not cause distress.
B) We have yet to discover the dysfunction that underlies most mental disorders.
C) He describes mental disorders as mental conditions.
D) The role of biology is not recognized.

Question 36

Jerome Wakefield's definition of "mental disorder" has three components. They are

A) distress or disability, unexpected response to events, and mental dysfunction.
B) biological deficit or dysfunction, social condemnation, and statistical rarity.
C) statistical rarity, distress to others in society, and unexpected behavior.
D) distress, dangerousness, and mental dysfunction.

Question 37

What does the case of JGH, a Native American elder, illustrate?

A) Culture influences the presentation of psychological disorders.
B) Depression is universal.
C) Alcoholism has long lasting effects on mood and behavior, even when drinking has ceased.
D) The symptoms of some illnesses are not apparent until after lengthy psychological evaluation.

Question 38

What type of prevalence estimate tends to be lowest?

A) lifetime prevalence
B) virtual prevalence
C) one-year prevalence
D) point prevalence

Question 39

Which of the following is an example of point prevalence?

A) Forty people had a panic attack in the last year.
B) 15% of women will suffer from an anxiety disorder before the age of thirty.
C) 1% of the population is currently experiencing depressive symptoms.
D) Seventy people in her graduating class had been diagnosed with anorexia at some time during the past four years.

Question 40

Which of the following best describes the DSM?

A) an objective guide to diagnosing mental disorders
B) a fundamentally flawed collection of unfounded assumptions about mental disorders
C) a complete guide to the origin, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
D) a work in progress that classifies mental disorders based on what is currently known

Question 41

Which of the following would be characteristic of the treatment provided by the 1st mental hospitals in the Middle East?

A) the use of trephining and other biological approaches
B) warm baths and massages
C) exorcisms
D) psychodynamic therapy

Question 42

In ancient societies, if a person's abnormal conduct consisted of speech that appeared to have a religious or mystical significance, then the person was

A) assumed to have something physically wrong with the heart.
B) assumed to have willingly entered into a pact with the devil.
C) thought to be possessed by a good spirit or god.
D) thought to be a witch.

Question 43

According to early beliefs, what would characterize an individual with an excess of blood?

A) happiness
B) irritability
C) depression
D) schizophrenia

Question 44

The belief in the four humors as a means of explaining temperament

A) has yet to be disproven.
B) is inconsistent with a biological explanation for mental illness.
C) proposed that mental disorders were the result of an imbalance.
D) provides that first indication that ancient people recognized the significance of the brain in determining behavior.

Question 45

The physicians of Alexandria, Egypt in the era after Alexander the Great were most likely to treat mental patients by

A) providing activities, massage, and education.
B) using brutal forms of exorcism.
C) putting them in prisons.
D) having them make sacrifices to gods.

Question 46

What is Galen credited with

A) performing the first human autopsies.
B) recognizing that psychological disorders could have both biological and psychological causes.
C) demonstrating that the doctrine of the four humors was flawed.
D) providing the first biological explanation for mental disorders.

Question 47

Each of the following is one of the "four humors" EXCEPT

A) phrenitis.
B) phlegm.
C) bile.
D) blood.

Question 48

A major finding from the National Comorbidity Survey NCS) was that

A) people who have one mental disorder are unlikely to have a second comorbid disorder.
B) over half of the people with a history of one disorder had two or more comorbid disorders.
C) those people who have three or more comorbid disorders have one or more mild and transitory disorders.
D) as people grow older they are more likely to have multiple severe disorders.

Question 49

What is important to remember about the apparent high lifetime rate of mental disorders?

A) Many people were probably misdiagnosed.
B) A large majority of people with disorders seek treatment, so the problem is not as bad as it seems.
C) Many people with disorders are not seriously affected by them or may have them for only a short time.
D) So many people have disorders and have them seriously that this has become a major health issue.

Question 50

The approaches to treatment of the mentally ill during the Middle Ages in Europe are best characterized as

A) superstitious.
B) scientific.
C) humane.
D) medical.

Question 51

Which statement about treatment of abnormal behavior in the Middle Ages is accurate?

A) The Chinese emphasized prayer, the Europeans emphasized exercise, and the Islamic peoples emphasized balancing the four bodily humors.
B) Although the Hippocratic tradition was continued in most of Europe, Islamic countries emphasized demonology.
C) Scientific reasoning and humane treatments were valued in both European and Islamic societies.
D) Islamic forms of treatment were more humane than European approaches.

Question 52

Why is it believed that the surveys used to estimate the prevalence of mental illness underestimate that prevalence?

A) Few people report symptoms of mental illness when completing surveys.
B) The incidence of comorbidity is too high.
C) Most problems are acute.
D) Measures of several types of disorders were not included.

Question 53

Cicero was feeling depressed. He sought help from Hippocrates. Hippocrates would probably have

A) prescribed the roots of certain plants and unusual elixirs.
B) prescribed exercise, tranquility, and celibacy.
C) utilized a talking cure.
D) performed an exorcism.

Question 54

The doctrine of the four humors

A) was an explanation for personality traits.
B) was an attempt to support moral management.
C) was the first psychological explanation of mental disorders.
D) was an early suggested treatment for melancholy.

Question 55

What is lycanthropy?

A) a form of mass hysteria now known to have been drug-induced
B) a form of mass hysteria characterized by wild dance-like movements
C) a form of mass madness seen only in men
D) a condition in which people believe themselves to be possessed by wolves

Question 56

Hippocrates suggested marriage as a cure for

A) hysteria in women.
B) melancholia.
C) impotence.
D) phrenitis brain fever) in men.

Question 57

What is the most prevalent kind of psychological disorder?

A) anxiety disorders
B) dissociative disorders
C) substance abuse disorders
D) depressive disorders

Question 58

Comorbidity means

A) that a person has a more severe form of a disorder.
B) that a person has two or more disorders.
C) that a person is unlikely to recover from the disorder.
D) that a disorder is often fatal.

Question 59

Prayer, incantations, and noise-making were all techniques for

A) altering a person's brain functioning.
B) improving a person's dreams.
C) exorcising demons.
D) helping a person become possessed by good spirits.

Question 60

What can be said about individuals who have a history of at least one psychological disorder?

A) Over 50% have at least two or more other disorders.
B) Individuals who have sought treatment for one illness are unlikely to ever experience another.
C) Most are effectively treated and never experience mental illness again.
D) Few have a comorbid disorder.

Question 61

Who was one of the first physicians to reject the idea that mental illness was due to demon possession although he did believe the moon influenced the brain)?

A) Pinel
B) Galen
C) Hippocrates
D) Paracelsus

Question 62

Benjamin Rush is credited with all of the following EXCEPT

A) signing the declaration of independence.
B) encouraging more humane treatment of the mentally ill.
C) being the first American to organize a course in psychiatry.
D) taking a scientific approach to the study and treatment of mental disorders.

Question 63

What was the purpose of the early asylums?

A) to offer biological approaches to the treatment of mental disorders
B) to remove those who could not care for themselves from society
C) to offer humanitarian treatment to those afflicted with mental illnesses
D) to provide exorcisms

Question 64

If you visited an asylum in the 16th Century in Europe you would likely find

A) a place where people were given good food, work, and rest so they could recover.
B) mentally ill people living in conditions of filth and cruelty.
C) exorcisms being done by priests.
D) a place which mixed together the mentally ill, the poor, criminals, and the physically ill.

Question 65

The early asylums

A) were designed to treat the mentally ill with physiological treatments, such as bloodletting.
B) were similar to the places the early Greeks used for people with mental illness.
C) were primarily warehouses for the mentally ill.
D) were designed to be places of refuge for the mentally ill.

Question 66

Benjamin Rush, who encouraged more humane treatment of the mentally in the U.S., used as his principal remedies

A) bloodletting and the tranquilizer chair.
B) the tranquilizer chair and relaxation.
C) rest and talk.
D) exorcism and purging.

Question 67

People in the Middle Ages

A) believed that witches were mentally ill.
B) believed that mentally ill people were witches.
C) believed that mentally ill witches should be treated differently than other types of witches.
D) believed that most witches and mentally ill people were possessed by demons, but in different ways.

Question 68

All of the following were likely to be part of moral treatment in the 1800's EXCEPT

A) character development.
B) manual labor.
C) spiritual discussions.
D) antipsychotic medication.

Question 69

Who is considered the founder of American psychiatry?

A) William Tuke
B) Clifford Beers
C) Benjamin Rush
D) Dorothea Dix

Question 70

The moral management treatment

A) focused on the physiological problems that mental patient's supposedly had rather than their mental state.
B) focused on the moral and spiritual development of mental patient's rather than their disorder.
C) focused on warehousing and punishing mental patients, so that they would choose to become well.
D) focused on the symptoms that mental patients had rather than on their moral character.

Question 71

Humanitarian treatment would be most typical of

A) the hospitals run by Philippe Pinel.
B) the early asylums in Europe.
C) Bedlam.
D) the early asylums in the United States.

Question 72

Shackling a patient to a wall with little food or heat would be most typical of

A) the treatment advocated by Hippocrates.
B) the early asylums in Europe.
C) the hospitals run by Philippe Pinel.
D) the sanatoriums of Alexandria, Egypt.

Question 73

A common treatment for mental illness during the Middle Ages in Europe was

A) fresh air and supportive surroundings.
B) an early form of psychoanalytic dream interpretation.
C) banishment.
D) exorcism.

Question 74

Which of the following is credited with continuing the work of Pinel in the United States?

A) Benjamin Rush
B) Samuel Hitch
C) John Connolly
D) John Wesley

Question 75

During the middle ages in Europe, which of the following was most likely to treat mental illness?

A) a scientist
B) a surgeon
C) a priest
D) a physician

Question 76

Recent historical reviews of the literature indicate that the typical accused witch in the Middle Ages in Europe was

A) a priest who was a rival of a more powerful priest.
B) a person we would now consider to have a mental illness.
C) a person we would now consider to have mental retardation.
D) an ill-tempered, impoverished woman.

Question 77

The level of success achieved with the use of moral management is surprising because:

A) the drugs used were usually inappropriate.
B) most mental illnesses are not treatable.
C) the majority of those hospitalized for mental illness were schizophrenic.
D) many patients suffered from a disease that was, at the time, incurable.

Question 78

Phillipe Pinel

A) believed that mental illness was purely a physiological phenomena, and could only be treated by physical means such as bloodletting.
B) believed that mental illness was due to possession by demons and exorcism was the only useful treatment.
C) believed that mental patients were ill and needed to be treated as such-with kindness and caring.
D) believed that mental patients needed to choose rationality over insanity, so treatment was aimed at making their lives as patients uncomfortable.

Question 79

A contemporary of Pinel's in England who started a Quaker religious retreat for the mentally ill was

A) Dorothea Dix.
B) John Wesley.
C) William Tuke.
D) Benjamin Rush.

Question 80

Which of the following was a form of treatment that addressed a patient's social, individual, and occupational needs?

A) Anton Mesmer's approach to treating the mentally ill
B) the treatments provided at the Geel Shrine
C) the treatment started by the Nancy School
D) moral management