Unit 8: Clinical Psychology - Practice Questions

What is a characteristic common to all individuals with a narcissistic personality disorder?

An unwarranted sense of self-importance

Annie experiences disorganized thinking and communicates with people who do not exist. Which treatment is most likely to be used to treat Annie's problems?

Antipsychotic medication

Brandon is superficially charming and skilled at exploiting people for his own gain. He is also impulsive and irresponsible, and he generally disregards social norms. Brandon would most likely be diagnosed with which disorder?

Antisocial personality

Nick cheated in high school in order to maintain his grade point average. When he was caught, he blamed his teacher for not teaching him well enough. As an adult, he is impulsive and aggressive and feels no guilt in lying to get what he wants. These behaviors are most consistent with which disorder?

Antisocial personality

Albert Ellis' view of psychological problems was that they

Are due to irrational thinking

Which type of therapy for alcoholism that involves the administration of a drug that will induce nausea after a person consumes alcohol?

Aversion

Many people who have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder find their symptoms are reduced when they take a medication that alters their serotonin or norepinephrine levels. Their outcome supports which approach to depression?

Biological

Timothy, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, remains motionless for hours, no matter how awkward the position his body is in. What symptom is Timothy most clearly exhibiting?

Catatonia, because catatonia is a condition in which a person's body remains in a rigid state

Which of these is not an anxiety disorder: agoraphobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, conversion disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder

Conversion Disorder

Aaron T. Beck would most likely

Focus on a client's catastrophic thinking patterns

Jamal is taking several honors courses this year and feels more pressure than he ever has before. He worries constantly about school, and because of the time he must devote to studying, he also worries about his relationship with his girlfriend. He is often restless, and his family thinks he gets irritated more than he used to. Even though he feels academic pressure, he often struggles to stay focused on his schoolwork, and his grades are suffering. Jamal's problems are most consistent with which disorder?

Generalized anxiety

Anthony thinks he will fail his math test because he believes he is terrible at math, even though he has passed his previous math tests. How would the cognitive approach explain Anthony's behavior?

His irrational thoughts are causing him to doubt his abilities, even though he has evidence to show otherwise

Self-help and support groups are an outgrowth of which therapeutic perspective?

Humanistic

Bipolar disorders are most effectively treated with a combination of tricyclic antidepressants and

Lithium carbonate

Carmen's psychiatrist has prescribed a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor to help Carmen feel better. Carmen has most likely been diagnosed with what disorder?

Major depressive

The cognitive theory of depression states that depression results from

Maladaptive interpretations of life events

Suzie feels anxious if she does not check six times to make sure she has turned out the lights prior to leaving her apartment. Recently she has felt the need to repeatedly check the fireplace, the iron, the stove, and the locks on all the doors. Suzie's problems are most consistent with which disorder?

Obsessive-compulsive

Kent continually finds himself growing anxious about germs gathering on his skin. He can only decrease his anxiety by washing his hands. Soon, however, the anxiety returns, and he washes his hands again. He repeats this cycle dozens of times each day. Kent most likely is experiencing which psychological disorder?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Bernadette has lacked enthusiasm for work and other activities for a number of years. She also has a poor appetite and feels fatigued. Which disorder is most consistent with Bernadette's symptoms?

Persistent depressive

Which approach to treating psychological disorders includes free association, dream analysis, interpretation, resistance, and transference?

Psychoanalytic

Behavior therapists emphasize what in their treatment of clients?

Responses that have been reinforced in the past

Annie experiences disorganized thinking and communicates with people who do not exist. Which disorder is the most likely classification of Annie's problems?

Schizophrenia

Delusional thinking is central to which disorder?

Schizophrenic disorders

Janice has a strong, unreasonable fear of being embarrassed in front of strangers. When she is with others she does not know, she feels extremely insecure and worried. Janice's problems are most consistent with which disorder?

Social anxiety

Alan is sure something is wrong with him, even though his doctor has not found any physiological basis for his complaints. He returns to the doctor every few weeks to report symptoms of new illnesses based on information he reads. Alan is most likely to be diagnosed with which type of disorder?

Somatoform

Training in the construction of an anxiety hierarchy and in relaxation techniques is likely to be part of the treatment for what?

Specific phobia

Which behavior-therapy techniques is typically used to reduce fear of heights?

Systematic desensitization

Rational-emotive behavior therapy assumes that abnormal functioning results from what?

Unreasonable beliefs or assumptions

An individual diagnosed as having a somatoform disorder would be most likely to show

a biologically unfounded loss of bodily functioning

Joseph never sleeps through the night. He wakes up at least once per hour to check all the doors and windows in his house to make sure they are locked and to check the stove to make sure it is turned off. Joseph's behavior would be classified as

a compulsion

According to Carl Rogers, the role of the therapist in person-centered psychotherapy is to

accept the client unconditionally so that the client's own desire for mental health and positive growth will flourish

Fluoxetine (Prozac® ) has been shown to reduce depression primarily by

blocking reuptake and increasing the level of serotonin in the synapses

Electroconvulsive therapy has been most successful in the treatment of

clinical depression

Multiple personality is a type of

dissociative disorder

Thomas is thirty years old and is very shy. He becomes anxious in social situations, so he avoids them. Thomas does not have close friends and rarely leaves his apartment. However, he writes a very successful and popular Internet blog, is usually content and calm while working at home, and has a positive relationship with his family. Psychologists would be hesitant to label Thomas as psychologically disordered because his behavior

does not appear to cause distress or impair his day-to-day functioning

An advantage of group therapy over individual therapy is that group therapy

enables clients to realize that their problems are not unique

A primary goal of humanistic therapy is to have clients

establish greater congruence between their actual and ideal selves

Connie always worries that something terrible is about to happen even when her environment is secure. She constantly fidgets and never feels relaxed. Connie is most likely to be diagnosed with

generalized anxiety disorder

Distrust of others is symptomatic of

paranoia

The therapeutic technique that stresses that the patient should determine the course of therapy is known as

person-centered therapy

Joan displays anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate, and apathy. She also reexperiences a disastrous event through nightmares and vivid memories. Joan is experiencing

posttraumatic stress disorder

Hallucinations are characteristic of

psychotic disorders