Question 1

Most of the brain abnormalities that have been found in people with schizophrenia are more common in patients with ______________, which may account for the poorer prognosis of these individuals.

Accepted Answer

Most of the brain abnormalities identified in individuals with schizophrenia are more prevalent in those with primarily negative symptoms. Negative symptoms include aspects such as lack of motivation, reduced emotional expression, and social withdrawal. These symptoms are often associated with a poorer prognosis because they can be more resistant to treatment and significantly impair functioning, which is reflected in the structural and functional brain differences observed in this subgroup. Positive symptoms, on the other hand, include hallucinations and delusions, which, while distressing, can often be more effectively managed with medication.

Question 2

A student who is a schizophrenic, is not motivated to do anything. The student lacks emotion, and the ability to express themselves in normal speech. The student has ___________ that accompany Type II schizophrenia.

Accepted Answer

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia include lack of motivation, diminished emotional expression, and poverty of speech, which align with the description provided. Positive symptoms, on the other hand, involve the presence of abnormal behaviors or experiences, such as hallucinations or delusions, not mentioned in the scenario.

Question 3

All of the following are legitimate criticisms of dissociative identity disorder, EXCEPT that ________.

Accepted Answer

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states or identities. Criticism C is incorrect because people role-playing different personalities do not typically show the same dramatic physiological changes as those observed in individuals with DID, where significant changes in physiological responses can occur across different identities.

Question 4

The text mentions that people with schizophrenia may have all the following emotional symptoms EXCEPT a(n) ________.

Accepted Answer

People with schizophrenia may exhibit a blunted affect (reduced expression of emotions), flat affect (a lack of emotional expression), or inappropriate affect (emotions that are unsuited to the situation). However, having a "greater perception of the effect of others" is not mentioned as a symptom of schizophrenia, making it the correct choice.

Question 5

Researchers have long thought that ______________ play a key role in the development of schizophrenia, but they have largely been unsuccessful in their attempts to support this claim.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Researchers have long thought that ______________ play...

Question 6

A person with schizophrenia reports that she frequently hears a voice from God telling her that she is God's messenger and that she needs to save all the whales. The fact that she actually believes she is an agent of God would be considered an example of a(n) ______________, whereas the fact that she hears this message (as opposed to seeing or feeling God's presence) represents an example of a(n) ______________.

Accepted Answer

The belief that she is a messenger of God is a delusion of grandeur, a type of delusion where a person believes they have exceptional abilities, wealth, or fame. Hearing voices that are not there is an auditory hallucination.

Question 7

A student who is schizophrenics regularly experiences false perceptions that have a compelling sense of reality. The student's experiences are known as ___________.

Accepted Answer

Hallucinations are false perceptions that have a compelling sense of reality, which is characteristic of what the student is experiencing. Delusions are false beliefs, illusions are misinterpretations of real stimuli, and misperceptions is a less specific term not typically used in this context.

Question 8

False beliefs that are maintained in the face of contradictory evidence are called __________, and they play a central role in ______________.

Accepted Answer

Delusions are false beliefs strongly held despite contradictory evidence, and they are a key feature of schizophrenia, a mental disorder characterized by distortions in thinking, perception, emotions, language, sense of self, and behavior.

Question 9

After surviving a particularly violent tornado, Dean experiences a selective memory loss for specific traumatic events that occurred just before and during the disaster. Other than these specific memory losses, Dean's personality and subjective sense of identity are essentially unchanged. Dean would most likely be diagnosed with ________.

Accepted Answer

Dissociative amnesia is characterized by an inability to recall important personal information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature, that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. Dean's selective memory loss for specific traumatic events fits this description, whereas the other options involve broader or different types of memory or identity disturbances.

Question 10

Many critics suggest that which of the following is NOT a valid disorder and may be the product of publicity and the expectations of psychotherapists?

Accepted Answer

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder, has been a controversial diagnosis. Critics argue that it may be a product of publicity, media influence, and the expectations or suggestions of psychotherapists rather than a distinct psychiatric disorder. This skepticism does not generally extend to clinical depression, conversion disorder, or schizophrenia, which are widely recognized and validated within the psychiatric community.

Question 11

Many people with schizophrenia report that they feel overwhelmed by both internal and external stimuli. This symptom pattern implies that the ___________ may be related to this disorder and in fact, schizophrenia researchers have observed abnormalities in this brain area.

Accepted Answer

The thalamus acts as a relay station for sensory information in the brain, and abnormalities in this area can lead to difficulties in filtering and processing sensory input, which is consistent with the experiences of many people with schizophrenia.

Question 12

The dopamine hypothesis specifically asserts that ______________ may be caused by the ______________ of this particular neurotransmitter.

Accepted Answer

The dopamine hypothesis specifically asserts that schizophrenia may be caused by the overactivity of dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain. This hypothesis is one of the leading theories explaining the biological basis of schizophrenia.

Question 13

Effective antipsychotic drugs that are used to treat schizophrenia appear to do so by ____________ the activity of the neurotransmitter _____________.

Accepted Answer

Effective antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia primarily work by decreasing the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This is because an excess of dopamine activity is associated with the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Question 14

Research has indicated that schizophrenics who display primarily positive symptoms show a history of _________ functioning prior to hospitalization and show a ____________ prognosis for eventual recovery than individuals with predominantly negative symptoms.

Accepted Answer

Individuals with schizophrenia who primarily exhibit positive symptoms (such as hallucinations or delusions) tend to have a history of better functioning prior to hospitalization and generally have a better prognosis for recovery compared to those with predominantly negative symptoms (such as apathy or lack of emotion). Positive symptoms are often more responsive to treatment, contributing to a more favorable outcome.

Question 15

Which of the following psychological disorders involves severe disturbances in thinking, speech, perception, emotion, and behaviour, and is described by the text as being the most serious and puzzling psychological disorder?

Accepted Answer

Schizophrenia is characterized by severe disturbances in various aspects of cognition and behavior, including thinking, speech, perception, emotion, and behavior, making it one of the most serious and complex psychological disorders to understand and treat.

Question 16

Research studies on schizophrenia have found significant brain atrophies in all of the following areas, EXCEPT the ________.

Accepted Answer

Research on schizophrenia has not found significant brain atrophies in the medulla. The thalamus, cerebral cortex, and limbic system have been associated with structural changes in individuals with schizophrenia.

Question 17

A student loses all sense of personal identity and wanders into a new faraway town where they establish a new identity. The student has been diagnosed with ___________.

Accepted Answer

Dissociative fugue is characterized by sudden, unexpected travel away from one's home or customary place of work, with inability to recall one's past, confusion about personal identity, or the assumption of a new identity. This matches the scenario described.

Question 18

People with schizophrenia may have hallucinations, which are ________.

Accepted Answer

Hallucinations are false perceptions that have a compelling sense of reality, meaning individuals with schizophrenia might see, hear, or feel things that aren't actually present but seem very real to them.

Question 19

Exposure to negative experiences such as physical or sexual abuse during a person's early or middle childhood years causes the development of __________________, according to the ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The trauma-dissociation theory suggests that exposure to negative experiences, especially during early or middle childhood, such as physical or sexual abuse, can lead to the development of dissociative identity disorder. This theory posits that dissociation is a coping mechanism for intense trauma.

Question 20

Delusion is to hallucination as ________.

Accepted Answer

Delusion is a false belief, while hallucination is a false sensory experience. Thus, the relationship is between belief and sensory experience.

Quiz 16: Psychological Disorders