Question 1

Anxiety disorders are those in which anxiety becomes expressed somatically-there are physical symptoms that are disproportionally reactive to events. Panic disorder is one specific type of anxiety disorder. Which of the following statements is not true of panic disorder?

Accepted Answer

Panic disorder is not typically a problem that children experience. Panic is preceded by forming a catastrophic interpretation of an event and children do not yet have this cognitive ability.

Question 2

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder follow the experience of a severe and traumatic life event to which an individual reacted with extreme fear, horror, or helplessness. Acute stress disorder is similar to PTSD, but has a more specific timeline. Which of the following describes that timeline?

Accepted Answer

Acute stress disorder is marked by an onset of symptoms within one month that last for only one month. Other patterns of response to trauma fall into the category of PTSD.

Question 3

Dysthymia is a specific type of depressive disorder, differentiated from major depression disorder by a number of features. Which of the following differentiations between these two disorders is NOT valid?

Accepted Answer

Dysthymia and major depression are different points on the same mood spectrum. Milder depression (dysthymia) may intensify to the level of major depression. However, once a major depressive episode has occurred, a patient is not considered to be dysthymic even when symptoms of severe depression abate.

Question 4

Which type of delusional disorder involves the belief that the self has a physical deformity or medical condition?

Accepted Answer

Somatic delusional disorder is indicated by delusions about one's body or physical wellbeing, such as believing that one's body is infected with parasites or has tumors.

Question 5

Certain chromosomal abnormalities cause disorders that significantly impact physical and cognitive capabilities. Which of the following disorders is indicated by rapid speech, abnormal facial structure, and working memory impairment in males?

Accepted Answer

Fragile X syndrome is characterized by a number of physical abnormalities: rapid speech, social anxiety, and, in males, memory impairment. Fragile X is caused by a mutation of one gene on the X chromosome and is more common in males than in females.

Question 6

A patient has limited expressive language abilities, including limited vocabulary, poor word recall, and difficulty understanding specific concepts such as "if . . . then" or "here" vs. "there." What communication disorder might you diagnosis this patient with?

Accepted Answer

Mixed expressive-receptive language disorder includes symptoms of expressive language disorder, such as limited vocabulary and poor word recall, as well as problems with receptive ability such as understanding spatial concepts or statements like "if . . . then."

Question 7

You are evaluating a child who has difficulty socializing, displays unusual motion, performs repetitive behavior, and performs well on cognitive tests. Which diagnosis is most likely, given the symptoms?

Accepted Answer

Asperger's syndrome is indicated by signs and symptoms of autism. However, people with Asperger's demonstrate more typical linguistic and cognitive development. This collection of symptoms most closely matches those of Asperger's syndrome.

Question 8

Conduct disorder is signified by an ongoing pattern of behavior that violates basic rights of others or age-appropriate societal norms. There are four main categories of behavior used to identify conduct disorder. Which of the following is NOT one of those categories?

Accepted Answer

Excessive talking in children can be a symptom of ADHD. Conduct disorder behavior is divided into four categories: aggression toward people or animals, destruction of property, lying and theft, and serious rule violations. Conduct disorder and ADHD are sometimes comorbid.

Question 9

Tic disorders include Tourette's disorder and transient tic disorder, and are marked by recurrent, rapid motor movements or vocalizations. Which of the following behaviors is NOT considered a tic?

Accepted Answer

Chorea is not a rapid, recurrent movement or vocalization; it is an involuntary movement disorder not classified as a tic disorder. Coprolalia, jumping, sniffing, blinking, echolalia, and grunting are examples of tics.

Question 10

Amnestic disorders involve impairments in short- or long-term memory that significantly interfere with functioning. Korsakoff's syndrome, most often expressed in anterograde amnesia, is thought to be caused by what?

Accepted Answer

Korsakoff's syndrome is thought to be a result of chronic thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency, which can cause damage to neurons and other parts of the brain. Wernicke's encephalopathy sometimes accompanies Korsakoff's.

Question 11

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS III) is the most widely-used intelligence test. It allows for calculation of three IQ scores and includes several subtests. Which of the following is NOT one of the IQ scores calculated from this test?

Accepted Answer

Mathematical IQ is not calculated from the WAIS. There are a couple of subtests that cover mathematical abilities, but they are components of four factor indexes: verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, and processing speed.

Question 12

What cognitive disorder involves both atypical movements and dementia in all cases?

Accepted Answer

Huntington's disease is characterized by a collection of involuntary movements, such as facial grimacing, jerking movements in limbs, and slow writhing movements, paired with dementia. Psychological symptoms and dementia typically develop first and are present in all cases of Huntington's.

Question 13

You want to administer an intelligence test to a 15-year-old who has significant performance problems in school to determine if there is a potential cognitive cause. What is the most appropriate test option?

Accepted Answer

Stanford-Binet is the best option for testing a teenager who has significant performance problems in school. The WAIS-III is designed for individuals from age 16 to 89. The WISC-IV test is a children's intelligence test. However, since this evaluation is related to performance problems, a test with a lower floor and higher ceiling (the Stanford-Binet) is more suitable, as it can better assess both very low and very high IQ scores.

Question 14

The Rorschach personality test aims to assess personality structure. There are a number of scoring systems used. However, each response is usually scored on a variety of dimensions. Which of the following is NOT one of those dimensions?

Accepted Answer

Response time is not one of the dimensions usually scored in a Rorschach test. The four are: content, what category a response belongs to; location, what area of the inkblot was used to develop a response; form quality, how accurate the response is in relation to the form of the inkblot; and developmental quality, the degree of integration for each response.

Question 15

The MMPI-2 is an objective personality test that uses self-reporting and includes several clinical and validity scales. Someone whose scores suggest distress or an attempt at a cry for help likely scored how on which scale?

Accepted Answer

Someone whose scores suggest distress or an attempt at a cry for help likely scored high on the F scale, which is the infrequency, or "fake bad," scale.

Question 16

The child psychologist's task of conducting a clinical assessment on a new referral can be likened to that of which of the following?

Accepted Answer

The child psychologist's task of conducting a clinical assessment on a new referral resembles that of a detective investigating the cause of a fire. Like the detective, the psychologist is given some background information to start with, but not enough to adequately determine all of the corrective measures that need to be taken. Just as a fire caused by structural defects requires a different set of corrective measures than a fire caused by an arsonist, similar behaviors exhibited by two different children can be associated with entirely different problems, calling for different approaches to treatment. It is not the psychologist's job at this initial stage to actually implement therapy, but simply to evaluate the nature and scope of the problem.

Question 17

Which of the following factors might influence the type of assessment that a clinical psychologist conducts on a particular child and how comprehensive it is?

Accepted Answer

The type of assessment that a clinical psychologist conducts on a particular child and how comprehensive it is can be influenced by all three of the variables listed. Clearly, the child's age and why he or she was referred would have a bearing on which assessment measures would be most appropriate. However, the type of facility where the psychologist works is also a factor. Psychologists in private practice tend to have much more leeway both in the choice of tests and how much time they spend on the assessment than do psychologists required to abide by the policy of a hospital or clinic.

Question 18

One of the better known psychological tests for children is the CAT. What do the letters CAT stand for?

Accepted Answer

The CAT stands for Children's Apperception Test. It is an individually administered projective test that some psychologists use in conjunction with other tests as part of their personality assessment of children ages 3-10.

Question 19

In what format are the items on the CAT presented?

Accepted Answer

The items on the Children's Apperception Test (CAT), like those on the comparable Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) for adults, are presented in the form of pictures. One version of the test consists of ten pictures of animals engaged in various social activities; another consists of ten similar pictures of human beings. The child is asked to tell a story based on his or her apperception of what is taking place in the picture.

Question 20

Which of the following terms is currently the preferred way of describing children whose IQ on the WISC-IV falls below 70?

Accepted Answer

Children with an intelligence quotient (IQ) below 70 on the WISC-IV are classified as having extremely low intelligence. Other terms such as mentally retarded and mentally deficient that were used in the past have come into disfavor because of their derogatory connotations. Lacking in intelligence would also be a misleading term because even those with very low intelligence have some capabilities.

Quiz 1: Assessment