Abnormal Psych Exam 3

Switching in a person with dissociative identity disorder means:

the person has changed from one subpersonality to another

A combat veteran says, "The therapist wants me to imagine scenes where I was in combat and imagine them like I was there. I don't want to do that! How can this possibly help me?" The BEST response is:

"Your therapist is suggesting an effective form of exposure called flooding."

Which child is MOST likely to develop a stress disorder later in life after experiencing a trauma?

A child who lives alone with a single mother who is working multiple jobs

What is a compulsion?

A repetitive and rigid behavior or mental act that people feel they must perform

When was it recognized that acute stress during combat could result in psychological symptoms after combat?

After the Vietnam War

Which diagnosis includes a breakdown in sense of self, a significant alteration in memory or identity, and even a separation of one part of the identity from another part?

Dissociative disorder

An obsessive-compulsive person who was told that everyone was required to wear shoes at all times in the house and not to vacuum for a week would be receiving which type of therapy?

Exposure and response prevention

Which is the BEST example of dissociation as it relates to posttraumatic stress disorder?

Feeling dazed or confused

Which is NOT a treatment commonly used to treat dissociative amnesia?

Flooding

Which is typical of posttraumatic stress disorder?

Increased arousal, anxiety, and guilt

Which statement provides the MOST persuasive argument against a psychodynamic explanation for dissociative identity disorder?

Most abused children do not develop the disorder.

What do acute and posttraumatic stress disorder have in common with dissociative disorders?

They are triggered by traumatic events.

According to cognitive-behavioral theorists, why do patients engage in compulsive behaviors?

Those behaviors reduce anxiety and are thus negatively reinforced.

Salina was terrified during the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit where she lived. For a couple of weeks after the event, she did not sleep well or feel comfortable inside a building. However, her fears gradually diminished and were completely gone within a month. Her reaction to the earthquake would MOST likely be diagnosed as a(n):

acute stress disorder.

The drug treatment that is MOST effective in treating panic disorders is a(n):

antidepressant drug.

The MOST common mental disorders in the United States are:

anxiety disorders

Psychodynamic therapies as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorders:

appear to work better when used in the short term rather than in traditional ways.

A compulsion to keep placing certain items (such as clothing, books, or foods) in perfect order in accordance with strict rules is a:

balance compulsion.

Colton has dissociative identity disorder. Fat Freddy and Carmen are two personalities who are aware of all of the others but do not interact with them. Fat Freddy and Carmen would be described as:

coconscious.

The group of hormones that are referred to as "stress hormones" are:

corticosteroids

The effects of taking hallucinogens accompanied by feelings that objects are changing size, that other people are distorted, and that one might be mechanical is MOST similar to:

depersonalization.

The part of the body that releases hormones into the bloodstream is the _____ system.

endocrine

People with _____ keep picking at their skin, resulting in significant sores or wounds.

excoriation disorder

Dissociative identity disorder is _____ to be diagnosed in a woman compared with a man.

exposure therapy.

Someone who is experiencing doubling is:

feeling as if his or her mind is floating above him or her.

The collective reactions generated by the sympathetic nervous system pathway and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) pathway are termed the:

fight-or-flight response.

A person with _____ experiences wide-ranging and persistent feelings of worry and anxiety.

generalized anxiety disorder

"Phobic and generalized anxiety disorders arise when people stop looking at themselves honestly and with acceptance and instead deny and distort their true thoughts, emotions, and behavior." This explanation for anxiety disorders would MOST likely be offered by a:

humanistic theorist.

Exposure and response prevention as treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder:

leads to improvement that often continues indefinitely.

According to intolerance of uncertainty theory, individuals with generalized anxiety disorder are:

likely to have difficulty tolerating the knowledge that a negative event may occur.

The most common type of dissociative amnesia is:

localized amnesia.

The usual goal of therapy for dissociative identity disorders is to:

merge the subpersonalities into a single identity.

The cognitive explanation for panic disorders is that people who have them:

misinterpret bodily sensations.

Investigators have shown that traumatic events are related to abnormal activity of the neurotransmitter:

norepinephrine.

Apparently, people develop phobias more readily to things such as spiders and the dark than they do to such objects such as computers and radios. This observation supports the idea of:

preparedness

People with _____ have severe, persistent, and irrational anxiety about social or performance situations in which they may face scrutiny by others and possibly feel embarrassment.

social anxiety disorder

Kevin studies his history notes and textbook while he is drinking beer. According to some theorists, Kevin would later do better on his history exam if he also had alcohol in his system while taking the exam. These theorists would be basing their claim on:

state-dependent learning.

A person who copes well with a happy event in life is showing a positive:

stress response.

Pairing the thought of feared objects and relaxation training is known as:

systematic desensitization.

A friend asks you, "What's the name of that Tom Hanks' movie where a pirate takes over his ship and says, 'I'm the captain now'?" You remember the movie and know you know the title, but you can't think of it in the moment. This is an example of:

the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.

Lucy is considering taking an antidepressant that increases levels of serotonin and improves brain function for symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. She could expect that:

this medication would lead to short-term relief, but relapse would occur if she stopped taking it.

Which statement is TRUE regarding the use of mindfulness-based therapy?

It has been used to treat a wide range of disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder.

For an antidepressant to be effective against obsessive-compulsive disorder, it must:

increase serotonin activity.

What are brain circuits?

Networks of brain structures that work together

A client has body dysmorphic disorder and is considering plastic surgery. Is this a recommended treatment for this client?

No. Often, people who have plastic surgery for body dysmorphic disorder actually feel worse afterward.

The number of diagnosed cases of dissociative identity disorder increased in the 1980s and 1990s. Some researchers are concerned about this trend, stating:

many of the cases are unintentionally produced by clinicians.

Which has been proposed as a possible cause of dissociative disorders?

Self-hypnosis

Compared with covert exposure therapy for combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder, virtual reality exposure therapy has been shown to be:

more effective.

Alexis has dissociative identity disorder. When one of her personalities, Jodi, is asked about another one, Tom, she claims ignorance. Tom has never heard of Jodi, either. This is called a:

mutually amnesic relationship.

A person's attempt to eliminate unwanted thoughts by thinking or behaving in ways that put matters right internally is called:

neutralizing.

Juanita has dissociative identity disorder. Big Tony and Smart Alice are two personalities who are aware of all of the others. None of her other personalities is aware of the others. This would be called a:

one-way amnesic relationship.

According to developmental psychopathologists, why do children tend to fare worse than adults when faced with an extreme stressor for the first time?

Their stress pathways and stress circuits are not yet fully developed.

A visual image that is retained so vividly that one can continue to scan it for more information is called:

an eidetic image.

Those people MOST likely to develop stress disorders are:

anxious and think they cannot control negative things that happen to them.

Memory problems that do not interfere with daily living are referred to as:

peculiarities of memory.

The first step in treating people with dissociative identity disorder is to:

bond with the primary personality.

A friend says, "If we could just eliminate combat traumas, we could eliminate a great deal of posttraumatic stress disorder." The BEST response is:

"Yes. However, civilian trauma causes many more cases of PTSD than combat trauma does."

A client has been experiencing uncontrolled anxiety. His symptoms include edginess, sleep changes, fatigue, and significant distress. To meet the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder, these symptoms must be present for _____ months or longer.

6

Which does NOT characterize stress disorders?

A compulsive need to engage in activities that remind one of the event

Which therapy is an effective long-term, nonpharmacologic treatment for panic attack that involves teaching patients to interpret their physical sensations accurately?

Cognitive-behavioral

Which group emphasizes the beliefs and expectations that lead someone with a social anxiety disorder to overestimate how bad a social interaction went?

Cognitive-behavioral theorists

The feeling of being on edge for no apparent reason is called:

free-floating anxiety.

Which perspective focuses on the intersection and context of important factors at key points of time throughout a person's lifespan?

Developmental psychopathology

Gwen is held up at knifepoint, and her young son is kidnapped. Eventually, her son is found and returned. However, Gwen is unable to recall events that occurred since the attack, although she remembers some new experiences; worse still, she finds that she is forgetting events that occurred even before the attack. This is a classic example of:

generalized amnesia.

Which characteristic is common with dissociative fugue?

Fleeing to a new location

The psychodynamic method that has been shown to significantly reduce the levels of anxiety, worry, and social difficulty of patients with generalized anxiety disorder is:

short-term psychodynamic therapy.

"Who wouldn't be afraid all the time? We have the bomb, overpopulation, AIDS, and violent crime everywhere. It's difficult to get a good job unless you're a computer genius." This complaint is consistent with a _____ explanation of generalized anxiety disorder.

sociocultural

Laurent has three sub-personalities. Fiona emerges when Laurent is in an awkward social situation, Grace surfaces during sporting events, and Carlos appears when Laurent is angry. The therapist believes that the mood and conditions under which each sub-personality appears are critical to understanding this disorder, demonstrating a belief in:

state-dependent learning

Poor health is BEST described as a:

stressor

People who experience obsessions show:

thoughts that are intrusive and foreign to them.

At a workshop about dissociative identity disorder, a therapist says, "In my experience, once integration begins, the need for therapy is practically over, and later dissociations just don't happen." This therapist's experience is:

very unusual; most successful therapies last well beyond the beginning of integration.

Women are approximately _____ as likely as men to develop stress disorders.

twice

Compared with men, women are _____ to develop generalized anxiety disorder.

twice as likely

What is the scientific name for hair-pulling disorder?

Trichotillomania

Key to our sense of identity is our:

memory

Many researchers believe that one reason for higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder in women is:

the types of trauma they experience.