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Chapter 1: Examples and Definitions of Abnormal Behavior Multiple Choice 1. A magazine reporter wants to write a story describing the occurrence of mental disorders in the United States. She needs a title that captures the findings of a national survey completed several years ago. Which of the following would be the best title? a. "Rate of Mental Disorders Considered Low" b. "Almost Everyone Diagnosed with a Mental Disorder at Some Point in Their Life" c. "Rate of Mental Disorders Overestimated in the Past" d. "At Least Two out of Every Four Americans Experience a Serious Form of Abnormal Behavior at Some Point in Their Life" Answer: d. 2. In the United States and other developed countries, mental disorders are the ________ leading cause of disease-related disability and mortality. a. 2nd b. 5th c. 10th d. 30th Answer: a. 3. The symptoms and signs of mental illness are known as a. the analysis of the mind. b. the treatment of mental disorders. c. psychopathology. d. the ancient philosophy of the interaction of mind and body. Answer: c. 4. The point of view of this textbook is that a. very few people will ever come into contact with the problems that are associated with mental illness. b. isolation between people with mental illness and people without mental illness benefits both groups. c. it is likely that everyone will be touched by the problems associated with mental illness at some point in their life. d. mental illness is almost a thing of the past due to modern treatments. Answer: c. 5. Which is the best description of abnormal psychology? a. a deviant personality trait b. analysis of the childhood roots of pathology c. study of unconscious influences on mental disorders d. application of psychological science to the study of mental disorders Answer: d. 6. What is the literal meaning of the word “psychopathology”? a. demons within b. deviant behavior c. brain dysfunction d. pathology of the mind Answer: d. 7. According to the textbook, the line dividing normal from abnormal is a. always clear. b. often one of degree. c. based on the exact form or content of behavior. d. not a very important issue. Answer: b. 8. The case of Kevin Warner was presented in the text as an example of the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Which of Kevin's symptoms strongly suggested that he had lost touch with reality, which is the defining feature of schizophrenia? a. social withdrawal b. difficulty in communicating c. inability to succeed at work d. belief that people were poisoning him Answer: d. 9. Why did the staff at the psychiatric hospital give Kevin Warner injections of antipsychotic medication? a. People with Kevin's blood type do not respond to medication in pill form. b. A high level of gastric juices in his digestive system destroyed the medication. c. He only pretended to take the pills because he believed people were trying to poison him. d. Antipsychotic drugs given by injection do not have the same serious side effects as those in pill form. Answer: c. 10. Determining the presence of disorder is based on several criteria, including a. the duration of a person's symptoms. b. the presence of a specific symptom in isolation. c. the outcome of laboratory tests. d. a person’s culture. Answer: a. 11. Sam displays symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia; she feels ill after eating her lunch two days in a row. One of her symptoms is a paranoid belief that her coworkers are poisoning her. This type of belief is associated with a. conflicts with society. b. a nervous breakdown. c. a psychosis. d. adaptive behavior. Answer: c. 12. In what terms are mental disorders defined? a. when a person is out of contact with reality b. persistent maladaptive behaviors c. inconsistent, socially unacceptable behaviors d. unrealistic beliefs Answer: b. 13. A group of symptoms that appear together and are assumed to represent a specific type of disorder is referred to as a a. syndrome. b. sign. c. psychosis. d. disease. Answer: a. 14. Specific laboratory tests to confirm the presence of psychopathology a. do not at present exist. b. are used by psychologists but not by psychiatrists. c. are used by psychiatrists but not by psychologists. d. are used to test for the presence of some viral infection or brain lesion to confirm a diagnosis. Answer: a. 15. Nate is a clinical psychologist and is trying to determine if Jennifer has schizophrenia. In what way will he make this determination? a. blood tests b. studying the concentration of schizophrenia in Jennifer's geographic area c. heredity d. making observations of Jennifer's behavior and her descriptions of personal experience Answer: d. 16. While you and your friends are watching a movie, one of the characters says, "That's an example of insanity" in reference to another character. Because you are taking a course in abnormal psychology, everyone turns to you. What do you say about the term “insanity”? a. "The key to identifying insanity is the presence of delusions." b. "In order to be insane, a person must show evidence of some biological cause of the symptoms." c. "Insanity is a general term that refers to the presence of severe signs of mental deterioration." d. "Insanity is a legal term that refers to judgments about whether a person should be held responsible for criminal behavior." Answer: d. 17. A problem with defining abnormal behavior in terms of deviation from statistical norms is that this definition a. focuses only on very rare conditions. b. focuses only on conditions that are actually relatively common. c. does not specify how unusual the behavior must be to be considered abnormal. d. only considers deviations that are harmful. Answer: c. 18. If a person with an abnormal behavior is unable to or unwilling to appreciate the extent of their problem or the impact it had on other people, what would psychologists say that person lacked? a. ignorance b. insight c. logic d. common sense Answer: b. 19. Which of the following is a rare form of psychopathology? a. schizophrenia b. panic disorder c. major depression d. gender identity disorder Answer: d. 20. According to Jerome Wakefield, one essential component of the definition of a mental disorder is a. statistical rarity. b. one distinguishing symptom. c. an individual's subjective distress. d. tissue damage revealed by medical tests. Answer: c. 21. In the term "harmful dysfunction," the word “dysfunction” refers to a. a mental disorder. b. a set of distinguishing symptoms. c. a disruption of thought, feeling, or perception. d. the inability of the person to function at work or school. Answer: c. 22. Applying the concept of harmful dysfunction to the case of Kevin Warner, we can emphasize Kevin's failures of several mental mechanisms, including a. perception. b. motivation. c. learning. d. feeling. Answer: a. 23. What dysfunctions are considered to be disorders? a. those resulting in significant harm to the person b. those differing in any way from the ordinary function of a biological process c. those eliciting abnormal behavior characteristics. d. those leading to the inability to occasionally misconstrue reality. Answer: a. 24. What problem in defining abnormal behavior is evident in the case of Kevin Warner described in the text? a. Some statistically rare forms of behavior are desirable. b. Some mental disorders have symptoms that are not harmful. c. A behavior is not dysfunctional unless it is statistically unusual. d. Some people do not perceive their abnormal behavior as personally stressful. Answer: d. 25. On what does the DSM-5 place primary emphasis? a. mechanisms that regulate emotion b. the ability to distinguish between real or imagined auditory sensations c. the consequences of certain behavioral syndromes d. a person's social or occupational role Answer: c. 26. What is one of the advantages of Jerome Wakefield's harmful dysfunction approach to defining mental disorders? a. Cultural factors do not affect the definition. b. The definition is based on established humanistic criteria. c. The meaning of harmful is limited to life-threatening conditions. d. As much as possible objective evaluation is used to define the dysfunction. Answer: d. 27. Beliefs and actions that are shared by religious, political, or sexual minority groups are not considered evidence of a mental disorder because such behaviors a. are voluntary. b. are rare and unusual. c. can cause harm. d. deviate from society's standards of proper behavior. Answer: a. 28. Conditions like albinism or fused toes are physical dysfunctions but would not be regarded as mental disorders because they a. are physical. b. do not cause any harm. c. are rare. d. are not easily diagnosed. Answer: b. 29. Which organization publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5)? a. World Health Organization b. American Psychiatric Association c. American Psychological Association d. National Institute of Mental Health Answer: b. 30. Which publication contains the official criteria for diagnosing mental disorders? a. Physicians' Desk Reference b. Syndromes of Mental Disorders c. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders d. American Psychiatric Association Guidelines for Diagnosis Answer: c. 31. What is the emphasis of the definition of abnormal behavior in the DSM 5? a. statistical rarity b. biological etiology c. biological disadvantage in terms of reproduction d. personal distress or impairment in social functioning Answer: d. 32. What principle guided developers of the DSM-5 as they wrote definitions of mental disorders? a. Definitions should consider political factors. b. Disorders should be associated with distress or disability. c. Deviant behaviors that are encouraged by certain religions should be included. d. Abnormal behaviors should have a biological basis to be considered mental disorders. Answer: b. 33. The DSM definition of mental disorder excludes which of the following? a. behaviors caused by personal distress b. beliefs and actions shared by a religious group c. impairment in social functioning d. behavior of which the individual is unaware Answer: b. 34. Why were the actions of the Yippie Party not considered dysfunctional? a. Their actions were an expectable response to cultural events. b. The leaders of the party suffered from significant clinical distress. c. Their actions were considered intentional political gestures. d. Party members suffered psychological dysfunction. Answer: c. 35. Culture is defined in terms of the a. level of education attained by most people in a specific group. b. degree of emphasis a community places on art and literature. c. values, beliefs, and practices shared by a specific group of people. d. similarity of people within a group. Answer: c. 36. How often is the official diagnostic manual for mental disorders revised by the American Psychiatric Association? a. every year b. every other year c. every 5 to 10 years d. every 15 to 20 years Answer: d. 37. Olivia grew up in a society where mourners pull out their hair, go into an emotional frenzy, and speak in tongues. On a visit to the United States, she did these things in public when she heard that a relative had died. According to DSM-5, her behavior would be considered a. psychopathological, because of her personal distress. b. not psychopathological, because it is part of her culture. c. psychopathological, because it disrupted her social functioning. d. not psychopathological, because it caused no disruption in social functioning. Answer: b. 38. A woman who is unable to achieve orgasm and who lives in a society that discourages female sexuality would probably not be given the DSM diagnosis of female orgasmic disorder because she a. probably would not experience any distress or impairment. b. would be distressed but not impaired. c. would be impaired but not distressed. d. would probably be both distressed and impaired. Answer: a. 39. What is the history of the "diagnosis" homosexuality in the DSM? a. Homosexuality was never a diagnosis in the DSM. b. Homosexuality was, and is, a possible diagnosis in the DSM. c. Homosexuality was a diagnosis in the first two editions of the DSM, taken out for the third edition, and then reintroduced in the 4th. d. Homosexuality was a diagnosis in the first two editions of the DSM, taken out for the third edition, and has never been reintroduced. Answer: d. 40. What was one of the factors that seems to have played a role in Mary's development of an eating disorder? (This is from one of the case studies.) a. sexual abuse throughout childhood b. being prone to sleepwalking episodes c. a genetic predisposition to high levels of anxiety d. being determined that she would never gain as much weight as her mother had Answer: d. 41. What are common digestive problems associated with eating problems similar to Mary's? a. ulcers and reflux b. throat infections and stomach pains c. constipation and Crohn's disease d. gallstones and lactose intolerance Answer: b. 42. What vital organs are affected by eating disorders? a. the spleen and appendix b. the gall bladder and lungs c. the heart and kidneys d. the large intestine and heart Answer: c. 43. Why are Mary Childress and Kevin Warner's behaviors considered abnormal? a. because they found it impossible to see reality b. because they were both acutely aware of their disorders c. because their disorders affected their physical health d. because both of their behaviors fits the criteria for one of the DSM-5 categories and they each suffered from a dysfunction Answer: d. 44. In addition to incidence, what other term is particularly important in epidemiological research? a. statistical validity b. correlation c. prevalence d. N Answer: c. 45. What is one of the signs of the possible presence of bingeing and purging that was noticed in the case of Mary? a. loss of hearing b. teeth/gum problems c. frequent bone fractures d. fluctuating dopamine levels Answer: b. 46. What was the focus of the underlying dysfunction in the case of Mary's bingeing-purging-eating disorder? a. loss of neurons b. mechanisms that regulate appetite c. failure to process dream memories d. poor motor skills resulting from lack of oxygen at birth Answer: b. 47. Compared to Kevin Warner, Mary Childress was much more acutely aware of her disorder; this tells us that a. Mary has a disorder and Kevin doesn't. b. Kevin has a disorder and Mary doesn't. c. Mary probably experiences more distress than Kevin. d. Mary is probably more impaired than Kevin. Answer: c. 48. Which of these is an example of something an epidemiologist would do? a. encourage people with the flu to avoid alcohol b. study rates of alcoholism in urban versus rural areas c. investigate the effects of clothing preference on social communication d. study chromosomes to find abnormal genes associated with various diseases Answer: b. 49. Epidemiology is the scientific study of the a. effects of diets. b. biological treatment of diseases. c. frequency and distribution of disorders. d. classification systems for mental disorders. Answer: c. 50. An epidemiologist studies rates of depression in a community over a one-year period. Her calculation of incidence will be based on the a. average time between diagnosis and cure. b. proportion of people who had ever been depressed. c. number of new cases that developed during that year. d. total number of active cases on the day of calculation. Answer: c. 51. In a nearby town, two people had anxiety disorders in the past but not now. Three people developed anxiety disorders four or five years ago, and continue to have an anxiety disorder now. Six people developed anxiety disorders this year and continue to be so diagnosed. Which of the following might an epidemiologist write in her report concerning the rate of mental disorders in this community? a. incidence (this year) = 5; lifetime prevalence = 6 b. incidence (this year) = 6; lifetime prevalence = 11 c. lifetime prevalence = 5; lifetime prevalence = 3 d. lifetime prevalence = 5; incidence (this year) = 11 Answer: b. 52. Which is the most accurate statement about the lifetime prevalence rates for bipolar disorder in the United States? a. More men than women will be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. b. More women than men will be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. c. Almost twice as many women will receive this diagnosis. d. The rates for this disorder are the same for men and women. Answer: d. 53. Which of the following disorders is more common in women than men? a. schizophrenia b. anxiety disorders c. bipolar disorder d. alcoholism Answer: b. 54. If a disorder is short-term and typically has a high rate of recovery, then lifetime prevalence rates for that disorder will be ____________ one-year prevalence rates. a. somewhat lower than b. much higher than c. equal to d. much lower than Answer: b. 55. Based on the results of the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) Study, which disorder has the highest lifetime prevalence in the United States? a. schizophrenia b. major depression c. bipolar mood disorder d. obsessive-compulsive disorder Answer: b. 56. Which disorder is about equally common in men and women in the United States? a. depression b. bipolar mood disorder c. alcohol abuse/dependence d. antisocial personality disorder Answer: b. 57. Which disorder is more common in men than women? a. depression b. schizophrenia c. bipolar disorder d. alcohol abuse/dependence Answer: d. 58. The presence of more than one condition within the same time period is known as a. twin diagnosis. b. double diagnosis. c. comorbidity. d. confounded morbidity. Answer: c. 59. According to the textbook, some disorders, such as __________, are found in virtually every culture social scientists have studied. a. sleep apnea b. alcoholism c. schizophrenia d. bulimia Answer: c. 60. The only medical condition with a higher incidence than mental disorders is a. closed head injury. b. alcohol addiction. c. cancer. d. cardiovascular disease. Answer: d. 61. Comorbidity exists when a. two people have the same disorder. b. one person has first one disorder, then later develops another. c. one person has more than one condition within the same period of time. d. a health professional cannot distinguish between two different conditions. Answer: c. 62. How has research on comorbidity changed the focus of epidemiological research? a. shifted the focus from the psychotic disorders to milder disorders that affect more people b. higher than expected prevalence of mental retardation led to more emphasis on intellectual ability c. shifted the focus from counting the number of people with a disorder to measuring the functional impairment associated with the problems d. evidence for the biological etiology of more mental disorders has switched the focus to identifying the genes responsible for particular disorders Answer: c. 63. An epidemiologist is about to testify to Congress on the findings of comorbidity. Which of the following points will she want to make after reviewing research on comorbidity? a. Most mental disorders have a biological basis. b. Those with severe impairment often have more than one disorder. c. We have underestimated the role of toxins as the cause of disorders. d. The majority of mental disorders tend to "run in families" as a result of genetic anomalies. Answer: b. 64. What two factors are combined to measure disease burden? a. mortality and disability b. infection rates and poverty levels c. physician visits and pollution levels d. daily caloric intake and hospitalization rates Answer: a. 65. In research on disease burden, the disability associated with schizophrenia is considered to be comparable to that associated with a. diabetes. b. hypertension. c. quadriplegia. d. Alzheimer's disease. Answer: c. 66. In order to compare the disability associated with different conditions, epidemiologists had to assume that the burden associated with certain mental disorders was equivalent to that associated with diseases and injuries. Which of the following is a correct association of a mental disorder with a medical condition? a. mania: heart disease b. panic disorder: cancer c. depression: blindness d. schizophrenia: diabetes Answer: c. 67. What has research on disease burden found concerning the relative impact of medical illnesses and mental disorders? a. Medical illnesses and mental disorders are associated with equal levels of disease burden. b. Although quite prevalent, mental disorders account for insignificant levels of disease burden. c. Mental disorders are responsible for more disease burden than all of the medical illnesses combined. d. Although mental disorders account for a small number of deaths, they are a significant cause of disease burden. Answer: d. 68. The World Health Organization estimates that all mental disorders combined account for _____ percent of all disability worldwide. a. less than 1 b. 11 c. 28 d. 52 Answer: c. 69. Which of the following is the correct listing of the disease burden associated with the top three illness categories? a. cardiovascular conditions, all drug use, all mental disorders b. cardiovascular conditions, all mental disorders, all malignant diseases (cancer) c. all drug use, all infectious and parasitic diseases, all respiratory diseases d. all mental disorders, all respiratory conditions, all cardiovascular conditions Answer: b. 70. Investigators in the World Health Organization (WHO) predict that, relative to other types of health problems, the burden of mental health disorders will _________________ by 2020. a. increase b. decrease c. stay about the same d. increase in developing countries and decrease in developed countries Answer: a. 71. Which of the following is the most accurate situation in the United States? a. The incidence of bulimia is higher among university women and it is more common in older women. b. The incidence of bulimia is higher in working women and it is more common in younger women. c. The incidence of bulimia is higher among university women and it is more common in younger women. d. The incidence of bulimia is higher in working women and it is more common in younger women. Answer: c. 72. Which of the following is most true regarding bulimia? a. The prevalence is higher in Western nations than other parts of the world, and the number of cases increased during the latter part of the twentieth century. b. The prevalence is lower in Western nations than other parts of the world, and the number of cases increased during the latter part of the twentieth century. c. The prevalence is higher in Western nations than other parts of the world, and the number of cases decreased during the latter part of the twentieth century. d. The prevalence is higher in developing nations than other parts of the world, and the number of cases increased during the latter part of the twentieth century. Answer: a. 73. Which of the following can be concluded from cross-cultural studies? a. All mental disorders are shaped, to some extent, by cultural factors. b. Several mental disorders are due entirely to cultural or social factors. c. Psychotic disorders are more influenced by culture than other disorders. d. The symptoms of certain disorders are just as likely to vary across cultures as are the disorders themselves. Answer: a. 74. Which individual is most likely to suffer bulimia nervosa? a. Amy, a 19-year-old college student b. Michael, a 30-year-old auto mechanic c. Joe, a 45-year-old air traffic controller d. Isabel, a 10-year-old grade-school student Answer: a. 75. Which category of disorders seems less affected by culture? a. anxiety b. neurotic c. psychotic d. personality Answer: c. 76. An epidemiologist conducts a comparison of the incidence of bulimia nervosa in various groups. The data can be categorized in many ways. After analyzing the data, what is the epidemiologist likely to say her findings reveal? a. The incidence is declining among all groups. b. The rate is relatively even across socioeconomic and age groups. c. The incidence is much higher among university women than among working women. d. The incidence is high among older women who have recently entered the workforce. Answer: c. 77. Epidemiological evidence suggests that which of the following factors is an important ingredient in establishing risk for developing an eating disorder? a. comorbidity b. genetics c. holding particular sets of values related to women’s appearance d. early family relations Answer: c. 78. Specialized mental health professionals treat _____ percent of those who seek help for mental disorders. a. 10 b. 20 c. 40 d. 60 Answer: c. 79. People who seek help for mental disorders are most likely to receive help from which of the following? a. primary care physicians b. social workers c. psychiatrists d. psychologists Answer: a. 80. The largest group of clinically trained professionals providing mental health services in the United States are a. psychiatrists. b. clinical psychologists. c. social workers. d. psychiatric nurses. Answer: c. 81. Which of the following statements most accurately describes the specialized training needed to prepare people to provide professional assistance to those who suffer from mental disorders? a. It is necessary to pursue a degree in medicine. b. It is desirable to pursue a degree in medicine. c. It is necessary to pursue an advanced degree in psychology. d. There are many forms of appropriate specialized training available. Answer: d. 82. One specific difference between psychiatrists and psychologists is that psychiatrists a. are able to provide psychotherapy. b. can prescribe medication. c. use the DSM to diagnose mental disorders. d. have had supervised clinical experience. Answer: b. 83. Which physician has received specialized training in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders? a. neurologist b. psychiatrist c. dermatologist d. clinical physician Answer: b. 84. You were asked to find the number of various professionals providing mental health services in the United States. Which group will top the list? a. psychiatrists b. family physician c. clinical psychologists d. marriage and family therapists Answer: b. 85. On a talk show last night Don described some symptoms of anxiety he has experienced during the past year. He said his therapist prescribed an anti-anxiety medication, which seems to be effective. Based on Don's description, you conclude that the therapist is a a. podiatrist. b. psychiatrist. c. social worker. d. clinical psychologist. Answer: b. 86. What is the best description of clinical psychology? a. a branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of mental disorders b. a legal term used to identify practitioners who use various forms of psychotherapy c. the application of psychological science to the assessment and treatment of mental disorders d. a newly established branch of medicine that has connections to both psychiatry and psychology Answer: c. 87. Which approach to providing services for those with mental disorders is represented by this description: will work in crisis and case management programs for people with severe disorders; will teach practical day-to-day skills to clients; high school education or bachelor's degree needed. a. counseling b. social work c. social management d. psychosocial rehabilitation Answer: d. 88. The major difference between Ph.D. and Psy.D. degrees in psychology involves the degree of emphasis on training in a. treatment methods. b. assessment methods. c. research methods. d. the uses of medications. Answer: c. 89. George completed five years of graduate school that led to a Psy.D. degree. He is now completing a one-year internship at a mental health clinic. What type of mental health professional is George? a. psychiatrist b. social worker c. medical therapist d. clinical psychologist Answer: d. 90. Some professionals work in crisis, residential, and case management programs for people with severe forms of disorder, such as schizophrenia. They teach people practical, day-to-day skills that are necessary for living in the community. This field is known as a. clinical co-worker. b. psychosocial rehabilitation. c. marriage and family therapy. d. psychiatric nursing. Answer: b. 91. What type of degree is required to become a professional in the field of psychosocial rehabilitation? a. high school or bachelor's degree b. master’s degree c. MBA d. PhD Answer: a. 92. The textbook suggests that one likely change in the future in the mental health professions is a. boundaries between professions will become less rigid. b. boundaries between professions will become more rigid. c. restricting the rights of non-psychologists to administer tests will increase. d. legislation restricting the use of psychological terminology to licensed personnel will be adopted. Answer: a. 93. According to the text, managed care in the United States puts a high premium on a. psychiatric care. b. evaluation of treatment compatibility. c. cost containment. d. volunteers as treatment assistants. Answer: c. 94. Many psychologists in the United States are pursuing the right to a. finance their own services. b. prescribe medications. c. perform brain surgery. d. practice in hospitals. Answer: b. 95. When we adopt an historical perspective to study how other societies have viewed the problems that we consider to be mental disorders, we find that they have a. held quite different views. b. held very similar views. c. almost always emphasized natural explanations. d. almost always emphasized supernatural explanations. Answer: a. 96. Your instructor has invited to today's class an actor who plays the role of famous historical figures. This actor is going to portray Hippocrates. What would be a good title for today's presentation? a. "How Demons Cause Deviant Behavior" b. "The Humors That Control Our Behavior" c. "Severe Disorders Require Radical Treatments" d. "Rely on Authority When Searching for Answers" Answer: b. 97. Ancient explanations for abnormal behavior include a. disfavor from the gods or mischief of demons. b. a full moon. c. ancient aliens. d. black magic. Answer: a. 98. Hippocrates is viewed as one of the first figures in history to emphasize that psychopathology can be attributed to a. supernatural causes. b. the influence of culture. c. natural causes. d. unconscious mental processes. Answer: c. 99. Which of the following is one of the bodily fluids that Hippocrates included in his explanation of abnormal behavior? a. urine b. plasma c. yellow bile d. cerebrospinal fluid Answer: c. 100. Which of the following treatments is most consistent with the view that bodily fluids cause mental disorders? a. purging b. exorcism c. fever therapy d. electroconvulsive therapy Answer: a. 101. How did people trained in the Hippocratic tradition view disease? a. an invasion of the body by evil spirits b. given as a punishment to people by vengeful gods c. as a unitary concept d. the absence of good morals and faith Answer: c. 102. In Europe during the Middle Ages, the mentally ill and mentally retarded were often a. confined to large mental institutions or asylums. b. imprisoned or placed in almshouses for the poor. c. treated with respect and even worshipped. d. viewed as pretty much the same as everybody else. Answer: b. 103. What was one reason for the growth of large mental institutions during the 1800s? a. urbanization b. widespread famines c. spread of viral diseases d. rapid development of surgical techniques Answer: a. 104. The improvement in conditions of mental hospitals in the 1800s was based in part on the belief that a. humanistic care would help to relieve mental illness. b. patients, though incurable, deserved compassionate care. c. patients with mental disorders were not really dangerous. d. patients had the right to sue to gain better treatment. Answer: a. 105. How might a practitioner of moral treatment describe this approach? a. "Restraints force patients to recognize the need for morality." b. "Until patients face their moral shortcomings, there is no hope for recovery." c. "Providing a humane and relaxed environment would bring about positive changes." d. "Patients have no right to special treatment because of the havoc they cause in the lives of loved ones." Answer: c. 106. Over the course of the 1800s the number of mental hospitals in the United States and the number of patients in those hospitals a. decreased dramatically. b. increased dramatically. c. remained mostly constant. d. cannot be determined because no statistics were collected. Answer: b. 107. The large patient populations placed in mental hospitals in the 1800s are important in the history of abnormal psychology because they a. provided physicians with an opportunity to observe and treat various types of psychopathology. b. created growing awareness of the need for psychological rather than medical interventions. c. gave public officials a new way to deal with dangerous criminals. d. led to a steady reduction in the number of people with mental illness. Answer: a. 108. A patient at the Worcester Lunatic Hospital in the mid-1800s has been excited, agitated, and even violent at times. Which of the following would Samuel Woodward most likely prescribe in this case? a. opium or morphine b. alcohol or marijuana c. yellow bile or black bile d. saltpeter or cod liver oil Answer: a. 109. To Samuel Woodward, superintendent of Worcester Lunatic Hospital in the 1800s, heavy drinking, masturbation, overwork, faulty education, and excessive ambitions were viewed as a. common symptoms of mental disorders. b. frequent causes of mental disorders. c. problems resulting from overcrowding of mental hospitals. d. irrelevant to an understanding of mental disorders. Answer: b. 110. Samuel Woodward of the Worcester Lunatic Hospital is getting ready to write his annual report on the hospital and its patients. Which of the following titles would most accurately reflect the body of that report? a. "No Cure, Little Hope" b. "Exorcism Instead of Exercise" c. "The Need for Greater Restraints Is Evident" d. "High Rates of Successful Treatment of Insanity" Answer: d. 111. What were the two categories of the causes of mental disorders described by Samuel Woodward? a. moral and physical b. viral and bacteria c. conscious and unconscious d. poverty and lack of will power Answer: a. 112. Samuel Woodward's claim of a 90 percent success rate in treating the seriously disturbed patients at Worcester Lunatic Hospital a. was backed by rigorous scientific evidence. b. reflects his lack of training in scientific research. c. was a tactic he used to increase state funding for his hospital. d. was based on the value of such treatments as bleeding and purging. Answer: b. 113. An emphasis on masturbation as a cause of mental disorder, or the deliberate injection of mentally ill patients with malaria, can be viewed as examples of a. excessive emphasis on biological explanations. b. a willingness to accept ideas that are not backed by scientific proof. c. how little psychiatry has changed in the past 100 years. d. the contempt with which most medical professionals viewed their patients. Answer: b. 114. What was the rationale for deliberately injecting mentally ill patients with malaria? a. The patients' immoral behaviors had to be punished with illness. b. The high fever would divert patients' attention from the symptoms of mental disorders. c. It was a desperate attempt to shock the afflicted individual's system back to normality. d. The malaria would bring about a high fever that in some cases had been associated with a reduction in symptoms. Answer: d. 115. While searching through old records of patients at the mental hospital you come across one with a notation "Lobotomy performed on 2/3/52." Because you are not sure what this means, you ask the staff. What are they likely to tell you? a. The patient had to be tied to the bed to reduce violent outbursts. b. Repeated electroconvulsive treatments were required to reduce the patient's stupor. c. A surgical procedure cut nerve tracts between the frontal lobes and the rest of the brain. d. As a last resort, the patient's stomach was pumped and his blood was purified in order to remove potentially harmful substances. Answer: c. 116. What type of hypothesis is a new prediction called? a. a null hypothesis b. an experimental hypothesis c. an alternative hypothesis d. a scientific hypothesis Answer: b. 117. You are a member of a research team that is about to begin research on the effectiveness of a drug called Relax on the symptoms of anxiety. One of the researchers asks you to describe the null hypothesis for this study. What will you say? a. The null hypothesis states that the drug's effect will not differ from no treatment. b. The null hypothesis states that the dependent variable in this experiment must be objectively measured. c. The null hypothesis means the researchers must be blind to the identity of the individuals who are receiving the drug. d. The null hypothesis means there are no differences in demographic characteristics between the control and the experimental groups. Answer: a. 118. Which of the following provides the best analogy for the null hypothesis? a. typical cutoffs for passing academic exams b. the assumption of innocence in the legal system c. a round robin tournament to find the best golfer d. ratings of multiple judges during the Olympics ice skating competition Answer: b. 119. If the null hypothesis had influenced how psychiatrists thought about inducing fevers and carrying out lobotomies in the 1920s and 1930s, they would have a. moved even more quickly to accept these new treatments. b. been even more likely to emphasize underlying biological causes of disorder. c. dismissed the need for more research. d. been skeptical of these treatments unless more scientific proofs of their value were established. Answer: d. 120. Which of the following is the equivalent in the legal system of failing to reject the null hypothesis? a. The defendant is guilty and sentenced to prison. b. The judge calls a mistrial after unreliable evidence is introduced. c. The defendant is not guilty although he is not necessarily innocent. d. The defendant is found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a mental hospital. Answer: c. 121. What is the best definition of a case study? a. a detailed description of one person b. a psychological evaluation for legal purposes c. an analysis of the daydreams of college students d. a large scale study of the rates of a disorder Answer: a. 122. What is one of the major uses of case studies? a. studying unusual conditions b. verifying the effectiveness of therapies c. validating correlations established in the laboratory d. establishing the borderline between normal and abnormal behaviors Answer: a. 123. Abraham Lincoln suffered through periods of profound depression throughout his life. What do some historians believe his mood disorder can be traced to? a. his poverty-stricken upbringing on the Western frontier b. his father losing his property due to faulty property titles c. the death of his mother when he was nine years old d. insomnia Answer: c. 124. It is likely that ________ played a role in the recurring depression of Abraham Lincoln. a. heredity b. lack of sleep and drugs c. early childhood sexual abuse d. social isolation Answer: a. 125. What is one of the primary limitations of case studies? a. focused on childhood b. useful only for rare disorders c. requires breaking confidentiality d. can be viewed from many different perspectives Answer: d. 126. After reading details about the life of Abraham Lincoln, we must remember that a. case studies are not conclusive. b. heredity and loss of a parent are rarely causes of depression. c. her case is very typical and thus very informative. d. severe childhood punishment almost always leads to depression. Answer: a. Short Answer 127. What term describes the symptoms and signs of mental disorders, including phenomena as depressed mood, panic attacks, and bizarre beliefs? Answer: psychopathology 128. A general term that refers to several types of severe mental disorders in which the person is considered to be out of contact with reality is Answer: psychosis. 129. A group of symptoms that appear together and are assumed to represent a specific type of disorder is referred to as a Answer: syndrome. 130. In the United States the definition of abnormal behavior is presented in the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American __________ Association. Answer: Psychiatric 131. In the realm of psychological functioning, people who function at the highest levels can be described as Answer: flourishing. 132. ______________ is defined in terms of the values, beliefs, and practices that are shared by a specific community or group of people. Answer: Culture 133. When did the American Psychiatric Association launch the original version of the DSM? Answer: 1952 134. The scientific study of the frequency and distribution of disorders within a population is defined as Answer: epidemiology. 135. ______________ refers to the number of new cases of a disorder that appear in the population during a specific period of time. Answer: Incidence 136. ________________ refers to the total number of active cases, both old and new, of a disorder that are present in a population during a specific period of time. Answer: Prevalence 137. The ______________ of a disorder is the total proportion of people in a given population who have been affected by the disorder at some point during their lives. Answer: lifetime prevalence 138. The presence of more than one condition within the same period of time in an individual is known as Answer: comorbidity. 139. ______________ is the branch of medicine that is concerned with the study and treatment of mental disorders. Answer: Psychiatry 140. _______________ psychology is concerned with the application of psychological science to the assessment and treatment of mental disorders. Answer: Clinical 141. An in-depth look at the symptoms and circumstances surrounding one person's mental disturbance is called a Answer: case study. 142. In scientific research the alternative to the experimental hypothesis is known as the __________ hypothesis. Answer: null Essay 143. Describe the problems that are associated with attempts to define abnormal behavior in terms of (a) personal distress and (b) statistical rarity. Answer: (a) The individual may not demonstrate insight into the condition, and the behaviors may bother others but not the individual. (b) The cutoff for statistical rarity might be arbitrary and would be different for different disorders. Statistical rarity doesn't address the issue of whether the behavior is harmful or not harmful. Moreover, some mental disorders are actually quite common. 144. Explain why the duration of a person's symptoms are important. Answer: The duration of a person's symptoms is important because mental disorders are defined in terms of persistent maladaptive behaviors. Many unusual behaviors and inexplicable experiences are short lived; if we ignore them, they go away. Some forms of problematic behavior are not transient, and they eventually interfere with the person's social and occupational functioning. 145. Explain how abnormal behavior can be defined in terms of statistical norms. Answer: Statistical norms define abnormal behavior in terms of how common or rare it is in the general population. By this definition, people with unusually high levels of anxiety or depression would be considered abnormal because their experience deviates from the expected norm 146. Describe the categories of behavior that are excluded from categorization as mental illness in the DSM-5, and give an example of each. Answer: (1) expected or culturally sanctioned response to a particular event (such as the death of a loved one); (2) deviant behaviors (such as the actions of political, religious, or sexual minorities); (3) conflicts that are between the individual and society (voluntary efforts to express individuality such as political protest or controversial art work) 147. How do epidemiologists measure disease burden and what have their results revealed? Answer: Disease burden is a combination of measures of mortality and disability. By equating certain medical diseases and injuries with specific mental disorders, epidemiologists estimate the disease burden due to various conditions. Their results indicate that the top three conditions in terms of disease burden are all cardiovascular conditions; all mental disorders, including suicide; and all malignant disease (cancer). The specific mental disorder that accounts for the greatest disease burden is unipolar major depression. 148. Describe the results of the Global Burden of Disease Study sponsored by the World Health Organization and predictions of mental disorders in the future. Answer: The Global Burden of Disease Study evaluated and compared the impact of more than 100 forms of disease and injury throughout the world. The study revealed that mental disorders are responsible for only 1 percent of all deaths, and produce 47 percent of all disability in economically developed countries, such as the United States, and 28 percent of all disabilities worldwide. The combined index reveals that, as a combined category, mental disorders are the second leading source of disease burden in developed countries. Investigators in the WHO study predict that, relative to other types of health problems, the burden of mental disorders will increase by the year 2020. These results indicate that mental disorders are one of the world's greatest health challenges. 149. Discuss the different types of specialized mental health professionals, their role in the treatment of people with mental disorders, and how people are most likely to receive mental health care. Answer: There are three general sources of mental health care. Fewer than half of those who seek help for mental disorders receive help from specialized mental health professionals. Roughly one-third are treated by primary care physicians and roughly one-quarter receive help from social agencies and self-help groups. Among the specialized providers, there are various kinds. Psychiatrists are specialists in medicine and can prescribe medications. Clinical psychologists typically have completed five years of graduate study to earn a Ph.D. or Psy.D. Social workers are the most numerous of the specialized mental health providers in the United States, and they usually have a master's degree in social work. There are also other types of specialized providers, including professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and psychosocial rehabilitation professionals, most of whom are also trained at the master's level. 150. Trace the development of the Greek tradition in medicine on the causes and treatments of mental disorders. Trace the development of asylums from the Middle Ages to the 1800s in the United States. Answer: In contrast to earlier times, the Greek philosopher Hippocrates proposed natural explanations for mental disorders. He suggested that a balance among four humors was necessary for health. An excess or deficiency in one of the humors could result in a disorder. His attempts to uncover natural, biological explanations dominated medical thought in Western countries until the middle of the nineteenth century. During the Middle Ages, "lunatics" or "idiots" (terms used for the mentally ill and mentally retarded) aroused little interest. Their disturbed behavior was considered to be the responsibility of the family rather than the community or the state. In the 1600s and 1700s "insane asylums" were established to house the mentally disturbed. However, changes in economic, demographic, and social conditions brought a different perspective to the care of the mentally ill. For example, there was rapid population growth and the rise of large cities between 1790 and 1850 in the United States. This increased urbanization led to a shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Lunatic asylums were created to serve the needs of heavily populated cities and to assume responsibilities that had been performed by families. Although the early asylums were little more than warehouses, the moral treatment movement led to improved conditions in some of these hospitals. This approach offered support, care, and some degree of freedom rather than just confinement. This treatment approach coupled with Dorothea Dix's advocacy led to expansion of the number of mental institutions in the United States. 151. Explain how the American Psychiatric Association came into being. Answer: By the middle of the 1800s, superintendents of asylums for the insane were practically all physicians who had experience in the care of people with severe mental disorders. The Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane later became the American Psychiatric Association in 1844. 152. During the 1920s and 1930s several somatic treatments were widely used to treat mental disorders. Give a brief description of the procedure and the rationale for the following: fever therapy, insulin coma therapy, and lobotomy. Answer: (1) Fever therapy involved taking blood from people with malaria and injecting it into people with psychiatric disorders so they would develop a fever. This method was used because the symptoms of some people with mental disorders had disappeared after they became ill with typhoid fever. (2) Insulin coma therapy involved injecting insulin into psychiatric patients. These injections lower the sugar content of the blood and induce a hypoglycemic state and a deep coma. The method was used because mental changes had been noted in some diabetic drug addicts who were treated with insulin. (3) A lobotomy involves inserting a sharp knife through a hole bored in a patient's skull. Nerve fibers between the frontal lobes and the rest of the brain were cut. This surgical procedure had led to a reduction of negative emotions in chimpanzees. 153. Describe the benefits and drawbacks of the use of case studies in research on psychopathology. Answer: (1) Benefits: rich clinical descriptions (symptoms displayed, manner in which symptoms emerged, developmental and family history, response to any treatment efforts), especially important if the disorder is rare (e.g., multiple personality disorder and transsexualism); can be used to generate hypotheses; associated details can give clues about the nature of mental illness. (2) Drawbacks: can be viewed from many different perspectives and competing explanations may be equally plausible; risky to draw general conclusions from a single case. 154. A pharmaceutical company has asked you to design a study to evaluate the effectiveness of a new drug for treating bulimia. They have asked you specifically to do case studies. You are writing a memo in reply to this request in which you explain what case studies can do for the project, but also what they cannot do. Include a brief description of the components you would add to the study to make it more useful in testing a theory. Answer: (1) Case studies can suggest a research direction and give hints about theory, but they can’t actually tell much about cause and effect. A hypothesis can be derived from a case study and a few case studies can suggest that a more experimental project would be worthwhile. It would be valuable to follow several cases to see if the new drug does in fact reduce their symptoms. (2) In order to actually know something about cause and effect, however, it is necessary to conduct a controlled experiment. For this you would need a larger group of subjects, one-third of whom were given the drug, one-third of whom were given a placebo, and one-third of whom were provided with the current standard treatment. This study would have to follow the rules of science. From this study you could tell something about which condition is more effective in treating this disorder. 155. Explain the two risks associated with studying abnormal psychology. Answer: The first risk associated with studying abnormal psychology is the medical student's syndrome. Similar to how medical students learn about new illnesses—they often develop the symptoms of each successive disease they study—the same is true for a student of abnormal psychology. Second, if you are genuinely concerned about your own problems or those of a loved one, you will likely have to consult various self-help resources. Don't accept uncritically the treatment programs they may suggest. You probably know that not everything you hear or read is true, and psychological advice is no exception. Test Bank for Abnormal Psychology Thomas F. Oltmanns, Robert E. Emery 9780205997947, 9780205970742, 9780134899053, 9780134531830
