Deck 16: Psychological Disorders

Question 1

One sign of abnormality is when a person engages in behaviour that creates a great deal of emotional discomfort or ________.

A)subjective distress
B)social deviance
C)statistical rarity
D)inability to function normally

Answer 1

subjective distress

Question 2

When a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, is uncommon in a population, it would satisfy the criterion of ________.

Answer 2

statistical rarity

Question 3

Contrast the demonic and moral treatment approaches of mental illness.

Answer 3

Answers will vary but should contain the following points for full credit.
• The demonic model assumed that the primary cause of mental illness was the presence of evil spirits with the body.
• The demonic model assumed that the absence of something was indicative of an undesired evil spirit (absence of sinking implied one was a witch).
• The demonic model treated mental illness by attempting to remove the evil spirits within the body.
• The moral treatment approach addressed the treatment of those with mental illness more than identifying the cause or causes of mental illness.
• Rather than treating those with mental illness as a subhuman form, the humane thing to do was to treat them with kindness, dignity, and respect.

Question 4

You are a psychologist who is evaluating the behaviour of a new client. The client tells you that he does not like to wear clothing and that he walks around nude most of the time. In addition, he tells you that he lives in a society in which clothing is required and nudity is seen as abnormal. Which of the following is not a criterion by which you evaluate your client's behaviour as abnormal?

A)Statistical rarity
B)Impairment
C)Subjective distress
D)Societal disapproval

Question 5

Although their intent was noble, there was a major problem with the asylums that existed to help the mentally ill in the fifteenth century. What was that problem?

A)There was lack of "customers" caused by the massive drop in mental illness.
B)They used barbaric treatments that were little better than those of the demonic era.
C)Too many physicians were trying to implement their own views on the best ways to provide treatment.
D)There was no religious guidance to help the patients find a spiritual centre.

Question 6

The conceptualisation of psychological troubles resulting from physical disorders is known as the ________ model.

Question 7

Marvin is reading a textbook on the history of mental illnesses, and he is relieved to find that as times shifted from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance, an enlightenment took place. Which of the following statements is Marvin most likely to read in this section of his book?

A)"Kinder methods of treating mental illness, including exorcism, were introduced as the era of the Renaissance began."
B)"When the Renaissance began, the primary reference that guided the way in which mental illness was viewed was called the Malleus Malleficarum."
C)"As the Middle Ages ended, so too did reliance on the medical model."
D)"As the Renaissance emerged, mental illness came to be viewed through the medical model."

Question 8

What psychiatrist has claimed that mental illness is "a myth" and that the labels used to identify the various forms of mental illness are nothing more than a means of social control?

A)Sigmund Freud
B)Carl Rogers
C)B)F. Skinner
D)Thomas Szasz

Question 9

It is not unreasonable to assume that in the Middle Ages, signs of mental illness were believed to be caused by ________.

A)an imbalance of body fluids
B)demons
C)improper diet
D)social forces

Question 10

Which criterion would designate a person who never talks to anyone as abnormal?

A)Dysfunctional
B)Statistical rarity
C)Subjective distress
D)Malnutritious

Question 11

In the 1960s and the 1970s, the advent of psychotropic medications allowed for many psychiatric patients to be released from hospitals in a public policy known as ________. Unfortunately, this led to a massive spike in the number of mentally ill homeless individuals.

Question 12

For those people in the Middle Ages who believed abnormal behaviour resulted from spirit possession, the treatment of choice was ________.

A)herbal cures
B)"magic" potions
C)exorcism
D)trepanning

Question 13

Which of the following is one definition of abnormal behaviour?

A)Behaviour that is statistically rare
B)Behaviour that is consistent with the norms of society
C)Behaviour that does not create distress
D)Behaviour that is adaptive

Question 14

Identify and discuss important considerations in distinguishing between normal and psychologically disordered behaviour.

Question 15

What do psychologists call disorders that are found only in particular cultures?

A)Restricted syndromes
B)Naturalistic syndromes
C)Culture-bound syndromes
D)Sociocultural disorders

Question 16

In the Renaissance, the medical model brought some unusual treatments for those with mental disorders. These included bloodletting and tossing patients into a pit of snakes. Amazingly, some patients actually showed signs of improvement! It is possible that these treatments worked, but it is also possible that this improvement was a result of the placebo effect. This interpretation of these historical events demonstrates which of the six principles mentioned in your chapter?

A)Replicability
B)Extraordinary claims
C)Correlation versus causation
D)Ruling out rival hypotheses

Question 17

Any behaviour that does not allow a person to function within or adapt to the stresses and everyday demands of life is considered abnormal because it creates ________.

A)deviance
B)distress
C)disapproval
D)impairment

Question 18

Maria is a retired factory worker who lives with anxiety. Due to the fear of having anxiety attacks, she does not leave her house. This makes her feel trapped in her home, which creates an enormous sense of discomfort for Maria. Which criterion would be most appropriate in deciding whether Maria's case represents an example of abnormality?

A)Statistical rarity
B)Subjective distress
C)Societal disapproval
D)Cultural relativity

Question 19

Any pattern of behaviour that causes people significant distress, is uncommon in society, and/or harms their ability to function in daily life, may indicate the presence of ________.

A)a mental disorder
B)humours
C)stress syndrome
D)adaptive behaviour

Question 20

Which of the following pairs of individuals are given credit for promoting humane treatment of the mentally ill?

A)Thomas Szasz and Marsha Linehan
B)Martin Seligman and David Rosenhan
C)Phillippe Pinel and Dorothea Dix
D)Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer

Question 21

What are some important criticisms of the DSM-5 as a diagnostic tool for psychological disorders? Be sure to elaborate on your answers.

Question 22

The ________ defence implies that a person who committed a crime fails to understand that what they did was wrong.

Question 23

The prevalence of a disorder refers to

A)its accuracy or correctness as a diagnosis of a real mental illness.
B)the agreement among professionals about a diagnosis for a specific patient or client.
C)the percentage of persons within a population who exhibit the symptoms of a particular disorder.
D)the popularity of a diagnosis among different types of mental health professionals.

Question 24

Disorders such as taijin kuofushu, koro, and amok are considered ________.

A)restricted syndromes
B)naturalistic syndromes
C)environmental anomalies
D)culture-bound syndromes

Question 25

Dr Nwoambi is a psychologist who is currently evaluating a new client. Dr Nwoambi would most likely refer to the ________ to assist her in diagnosing her client's psychological disorder.

A)Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
B)Physician's Desk Reference
C)Textbook of Psychological Disorders
D)Manual of Psychological and Behavioural Disorders

Question 26

The idea that a person may be determined to be sane or insane is an issue that is most relevant to

A)all mental health professionals.
B)the legal system.
C)medicine and psychiatry.
D)psychiatrists, psychologists, and trial judges.

Question 27

The DSM-5 is a valuable resource, but it is not without its limitations. Critics of this manual have suggested which of the following as a problem with the DSM?

A)Its reliability is far too high to be considered a useful instrument.
B)Its validity is far too high to be considered a useful instrument.
C)It is overly reliant on the Big Five system of personality classification for the determination of personality disorders.
D)It is vulnerable to political influences, and thus the disorders may not reflect true psychopathology but rather the "favourite" illnesses of a particular time and place.

Question 28

What do your authors mean when they suggest that the DSM encourages us to "think organic"?

A)It means that we should remember that many symptoms that appear psychiatric in nature can be caused by physical events, and we should be cautious about overdiagnosing mental disorders.
B)It means that the research has found conclusive evidence that herbal supplements are superior to chemical psychotropic medications in the treatment of mental disorders.
C)It means that the APA (American Psychological Association)has agreed to stop printing the DSM in paper form in future editions and will go to a strictly electronic format, to be more "eco-friendly".
D)It means that research has found that virtually every mental illness can be traced to malfunctions of a specific organ in the body, and thus a return to the purely medical model is the best chance for those with these illnesses to recover.

Question 29

A key idea in the discussion on the universality versus diversity in psychiatric diagnoses was that

A)all disorders are found throughout all cultures of the world.
B)many psychiatric disorders are similar across cultures.
C)most psychiatric disorders are unique to specific cultures and relatively unknown in others.
D)psychiatric disorders found in the United States and European countries are often unknown in many African and Asian cultures.

Question 30

The ________ rule is a test of legal insanity that came from an 1843 British trial.

A)Irresistible Impulse
B)Durham
C)M'Naghten
D)ALI

Question 31

Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz would argue that the entire concept of mental illness is a(n)________.

Question 32

Which of the following statements is true about the DSM-5?

A)It describes symptoms and includes information regarding the prevalence of specific disorders.
B)It contains 12 specific "classifications" of mental illnesses.
C)It is used to diagnose medical conditions that may have an impact on mental health.
D)It is used to diagnose all kinds of medical conditions.

Question 33

The diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 are based on a(n)________ approach.

A)biological
B)biopsychosocial
C)psychological
D)social and cultural

Question 34

One oft-cited criticism of the DSM-5 is that many illnesses seem to occur at the same time; that is, a specific set of symptoms could qualify an individual for more than one diagnosis. This phenomenon, called ________, raises the question of whether the DSM is truly identifying independent conditions as opposed to slightly different variations of the same problem.

A)coincidence
B)dual diagnosis
C)prevalence
D)comorbidity

Question 35

The primary purpose of the DSM-5 is to ________.

A)help psychologists assess only normal behaviour
B)keep the number of diagnostic categories of mental disorders to a minimum
C)help psychological professionals diagnose psychological disorders
D)describe the causes of common physiological disorders

Question 36

Before discussing the chapter on Psychological Disorders, Dr Plummer warned his class against seeing the symptoms in their own everyday behaviour and thus believing that they suffered from the disorder. He was warning them against ________ syndrome.

Question 37

A culture-bound syndrome that is seen in West Africa is ________, the symptoms of which include difficulties in concentrating, remembering, and thinking.

Question 38

What is the name of the culture-bound syndrome that involves intense sadness and brooding followed by uncontrolled attacks on other people and animals?

A)Taijin kyofushu
B)Amok
C)Susto
D)Koro

Question 39

Which of the following culture-bound disorders is most commonly seen in Latin America?

A)Ataque de nervios
B)Koro
C)Amok
D)Taijin kyofushu

Question 40

One criticism of the DSM noted by the authors is that it adheres to a ________ model, which means that a person is seen as either having a mental disorder, or not having a mental disorder. There is little or no allowance for "degrees" of a disorder.

A)dimensional
B)categorical
C)diathesis
D)sociological

Question 41

When an individual is institutionalised against his will because he poses a danger to himself or others, and he has committed no crime, this is called ________ commitment.

A)criminal
B)involuntary
C)statutory
D)regulatory

Question 42

Dikeshia is giving a presentation in her abnormal psychology class on the prevalence of psychological disorders. If you were a student in that class, what general category of disorders would you expect her to mention as one of the most prevalent psychological disorders?

A)Anxiety disorders
B)Dissociative disorders
C)Personality disorders
D)Psychotic disorders

Question 43

What is the main difference between generalised anxiety disorder and phobic disorder?

A)Phobic disorder is linked to specific triggers, while generalised anxiety disorder is not linked to a specific trigger.
B)Generalised anxiety disorder is linked to a specific trigger, while phobic disorder is not linked to a specific trigger.
C)Generalised anxiety disorder is more common in women and phobic disorder is more common in men.
D)Generalised anxiety disorder is more common in men and phobic disorder is more common in women.

Question 44

Mark has such an intense fear of flying insects that he hardly ever goes outside his house during the summer months. He is probably suffering from a ________.

A)somatic symptom disorder
B)conversion reaction
C)personality disorder
D)phobic disorder

Question 45

Which of the following factors demonstrated by mentally ill people is NOT associated with an increased risk for violence?

A)Poor medication compliance
B)Being engaged in treatment
C)Lack of insight into the illness
D)Substance abuse

Question 46

Identify the strengths and limitations of categorical and dimensional approaches to psychopathology. Ensure you refer to at least two disorders in your response.

Question 47

Which of the following is a disorder that takes the form of a bodily ailment that has no physical cause?

A)Anxiety
B)Somatic symptom
C)Dissociative
D)Psychophysiological

Question 48

In Australia, psychiatrists can recommend ________ and temporarily detain a person in a psychiatric institution without prior review of a judge.

Question 49

The belief that symptoms of depression lie on a continuum of normality is consistent with which approach to psychopathology?

Question 50

Do you think that there is truly room for the concept of "insanity" when a person has been found to have committed a crime? What are the various legal/psychological/ethical considerations that must be given attention in this issue?

Question 51

As a result of a legal proceeding that took place in England in 1843, a test was developed that held two criteria for a person to be judged legally insane. Which of the following was one of those criteria?

A)The accused person was acting in a manner consistent with previous behaviour, thus suggesting a chronic case of mental instability.
B)The accused person was acting in a "fit of rage or passion".
C)The accused person was diagnosed with a psychotic disorder.
D)The accused person did not know that what they were doing was wrong.

Question 52

Categorical models of psychopathology hold that mental disorders differ in ________ rather than ________; whereas dimensional models hold the opposite to be true.

A)kind; degree
B)cause; consequence
C)severity; intensity
D)chronicity; nature

Question 53

One of the most pervasive myths in psychology is that mentally ill people are at a grossly heightened risk of ________.

Question 54

Shelby is concerned that she is spending too much of her day worrying about things that are out of her control. She often experiences disturbances in sleep and often feels tense, even in situations where there is nothing that is directly threatening her safety. If you were a clinical psychologist, you would be trying to determine if Shelby meets the criteria for ________.

A)agoraphobia
B)generalised anxiety disorder
C)major depressive disorder
D)social phobia

Question 55

Darcy is sitting at her desk in her office one day when, without warning, her heart begins racing rapidly, she starts sweating profusely, and she is gripped with a terrifying fear that she is about to go crazy. She thinks she is having a heart attack. Nothing she is doing seems to have caused such an episode. Her symptoms most resemble ________.

A)a phobic disorder
B)a panic attack
C)posttraumatic stress
D)a compulsion

Question 56

Maria is often anxious and tense, though there is no specific reason for these feelings. As a result, she is often irritable with her family, friends, and co-workers without meaning to be. Her family doctor suggests that she meet with a psychiatrist to discuss her generalised ________.

Question 57

Leo worries all of the time. He worries about his money, his children, and his dog. His muscles are always tense and sore, he has trouble sleeping, and is constantly physically tense. Leo's symptoms sound most like ________.

A)panic disorder
B)conversion disorder
C)generalised anxiety disorder
D)a dissociative disorder

Question 58

Davis has such an intense, irrational fear of clowns that he cannot take his daughters to see the circus when it is in town. Davis would be most correctly diagnosed as suffering from ________.

A)obsessive-compulsive disorder
B)panic disorder
C)a phobia
D)posttraumatic stress disorder

Question 59

While each panic attack is different, the symptoms of a panic attack often peak in less than ________ minutes.

A)3
B)10
C)30
D)45

Question 60

The symptoms of ________ are often mistaken for those of a heart attack.

A)generalised anxiety disorder
B)obsessive-compulsive disorder
C)panic attacks
D)posttraumatic stress disorder

Question 61

Mr Carpenter is constantly afraid that he is going to oversleep and be late for work. As a result, he spends nearly an hour in total each night making certain that his alarm clock is correctly set and saying "It's set, it's set, it's set" each of the times he checks it. This repetitive action is what clinical psychologists refer to as a(n)________.

A)compulsion
B)delusion
C)hallucination
D)obsession

Question 62

Learning theorists argue that anxiety disorders are conditioned through the process of ________.

A)negative punishment
B)negative reinforcement
C)positive punishment
D)positive reinforcement

Question 63

The learning perspective views anxiety as ________.

A)a danger signal that repressed conflicts are threatening to surface
B)linked to an imbalance in several neurotransmitters in the nervous system
C)the result of illogical, irrational thought processes
D)a learned reaction

Question 64

A strong, intense fear of being in public or performing behaviours in public is characteristic of ________.

A)agoraphobia
B)obsessive-compulsive disorder
C)panic disorder
D)social anxiety disorder

Question 65

Jaclyn has been suffering from hoarding disorder for many years. Her home has become a virtual storage facility for various junk, almost none of which has any value whatsoever. There is a terrible odour in her home and there is almost certainly very dangerous mold growing under her piles of garbage. Her home has become so overrun with "stuff" that there is only one tiny footpath that allows her to get from one room to another. This path, called a "________", is starting to disappear as she has to step on her own possessions to move around her own home.

A)horselane
B)pigeontrack
C)goat path
D)mousehole

Question 66

There is some research that suggests that the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette's syndrome share the same biological root. This is due to the fact that there appears to be an increased incidence in these mental illnesses after a child experiences an infection caused by ________ bacteria.

A)staphylococcal
B)polynucleocal
C)streptococcal
D)mononucleocal

Question 67

Research into the neurological underpinnings of hoarding disorder have found that different species engage in hoarding behaviours, and that these actions may be associated with similar brain abnormalities as those seen in humans who hoard. Which of the following is NOT one of those species?

A)Rodents
B)Rats
C)Apes
D)Pigs

Question 68

Although hoarding disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)are closely related "cousins", they are not the same condition; in fact, only about ________ of those with hoarding disorder meet the diagnostic criteria for OCD.

A)20
B)15
C)10
D)5

Question 69

Each day, while Sid is sitting at his desk at work, he continually thinks about germs. Each time this occurs, he washes his hands. Sid probably suffers from ________.

A)obsessive-compulsive disorder
B)panic disorder
C)bipolar disorder
D)generalised anxiety disorder

Question 70

________ involves an intense fear of being embarrassed or humiliated in public.

Question 71

Differentiate how learning theorists and cognitive theorists differ in their explanations for the causes of anxiety disorders.

Question 72

During the day, Barb suffers from frequent, unwanted thoughts that she has left her front door unlocked and recurrent images that all her belongings have been taken. These thoughts and images are what psychologists refer to as a(n)________.

A)compulsion
B)delusion
C)hallucination
D)obsession

Question 73

While some have noted that the virus that causes "strep" may be at the root of the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), others have suggested that children with strep may be very uncomfortable, which worsens preexisting OCD symptoms. This different explanation for the relationship between strep and OCD is an important reminder of

A)falsifiability.
B)ruling out rival hypotheses.
C)replicability.
D)extraordinary claims.

Question 74

John has such an intense fear of flying that he has turned down lucrative job offers that involved travelling to other cities, and has been unable to join his family for holidays that required air travel. He is probably suffering from ________.

A)social anxiety disorder
B)agoraphobia
C)a specific phobia
D)a generalised phobia

Question 75

Marc is often consumed by the thought that he is unclean despite the fact that he has bathed. He also becomes extremely anxious when other people want to shake hands with him or touch him, because all he can think about is the germs that may get passed from them to him. Marc's continual fears are what psychologists label as a(n)________ disorder.

Question 76

People who have ________ are afraid of being evaluated in some negative way by others, so they tend to avoid situations that can be embarrassing.

A)agoraphobia
B)social anxiety disorder
C)a specific phobia
D)an interactive phobia

Question 77

The authors note that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)may be particularly difficult to diagnose because some patients intentionally fake their own symptoms in order to obtain government benefits. As this possibility has to be ruled out as part of the diagnostic process, clinicians have to remember the importance of ________.

A)ruling out rival hypotheses
B)extraordinary claims
C)Occam's Razor
D)correlation versus causation

Question 78

Victims of sexual assault may experience strong stress reactions, intense anxiety, and flashbacks to their attacks from environmental cues that remind them of being attacked and helpless. If these become frequent, intense, and debilitating, the person may be diagnosed as suffering from ________.

A)generalised anxiety disorder
B)panic disorder
C)posttraumatic stress disorder
D)social anxiety disorder

Question 79

Sienna is constantly worried that everyone whom she comes in contact with is full of germs, so she is constantly rushing off to wash her hands. Sierra suffers from which psychological disorder?

A)Clinical depression
B)Obsessive-compulsive disorder
C)Social anxiety disorder
D)Schizophrenia

Question 80

________ Disorder is a condition marked by motor tics and involuntary vocalising (including grunting).

A)Rhett's
B)Tourette's
C)Asperger's
D)Pica's