. Which of the following individuals would most likely be a subject of specialists in abnormal psychology?
a. Stacy, a college student who is consistently 15 minutes late to class
b. Jason, a stock trader who rarely leaves his house
c. Misha, a lab assistant who translates the vocal sounds of dolphins
d. Tyree, an athlete who seeks to use visual imagery to improve his rowing technique
Answer: b
Learning Objective: None
Topic: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
2. Which of the following is an example of family aggregation?
a. Both Jane and her husband are alcoholics.
b. Jim and John, 21-year-old friends, are both schizophrenics.
c. Karen, her mother, and her grandmother have all been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.
d. Kim committed suicide, apparently in reaction to her mother’s abuse.
Answer: c
Learning Objective: None
Topic: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
3. What does Monique’s case, outlined in the textbook, best illustrate?
a. Abnormal behavior usually produces more distress in others than in the person who engages in the abnormal behavior.
b. Abnormal behavior covers a wide range of behavioral disturbances.
c. Most people who suffer from abnormal behavior are quickly identified as deviant by other people.
d. When people suffer from mental disorders, they are unable to work or live independently.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: None
Topic: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
4. What does the case of Scott, outlined in the textbook, best illustrate?
a. The problems associated with higher education in America today
b. That homelessness often causes psychopathology
c. That some psychological conditions are “late onset”—that is, initially occurring in adolescence or young adulthood
d. That lower socioeconomic status is a causal factor of psychosis
Answer: c
Learning Objective: None
Topic: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
5. What makes defining abnormality difficult?
a. There are so many types of abnormal behavior that they can’t be accurately described.
b. There is no one behavior that serves to make someone abnormal.
c. Most of us are abnormal much of the time, so we cannot tell what is normal.
d. Criteria for abnormality have yet to be developed.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 1.1 Explain how we define abnormality and classify mental disorders.
Topic: Indicators of Abnormality
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
6. Which of the following statements accurately describes a characteristic indicator of abnormality?
a. Subjective distress must be present in order for a behavior, emotion, or thought to be deemed abnormal.
b. A behavior, emotion, or thought that is statistically rare and desirable is considered abnormal.
c. Violating the standards of society, particularly when statistically rare, is abnormal.
d. Engaging in highly dangerous activities on a regular basis reflects abnormal behavior.
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 1.1 Explain how we define abnormality and classify mental disorders.
Topic: Indicators of Abnormality
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Analyze It
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
7. The fact that tattoos are commonplace today, while they were once viewed as abnormal, illustrates that __________.
a. modern society is unlikely to change
b. what is acceptable for men and women is no longer different
c. American culture values independence
d. the values of a society may change over time
Answer: d
Learning Objective: 1.1 Explain how we define abnormality and classify mental disorders.
Topic: Indicators of Abnormality
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
8. Brandon consistently drinks a fifth of vodka at least five times per week. This has greatly increased his chance of serious liver damage and premature death. Because he drinks at home, the behavior harms no one else. According to the DSM-5, is Brett’s behavior consistent with the definition of a mental disorder?
a. Yes, because many people in society engage in this behavior
b. Yes, because he is persistently acting in a way that is harmful and dangerous
c. No, because his behavior must also harm the well-being of others in the community
d. No, because there is no evidence that his actions are out of his own control
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 1.1 Explain how we define abnormality and classify mental disorders.
Topic: Indicators of Abnormality
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
9. In the field of abnormal psychology, what does DSM stand for?
a. Disorders, Science, and the Mind
b. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
c. Descriptors for the Science of the Mind
d. Diagnostic Science of the Mind
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 1.1 Explain how we define abnormality and classify mental disorders.
Topic: The DSM-5 and the Definition of Mental Disorder
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
10. The current version of the DSM—the DSM-5—is __________, and it contains a total of __________ diagnostic categories.
a. a complete guide to the origin, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders; 256
b. a collection of random opinions about diagnosing mental disorders; 323
c. a fundamentally flawed collection of unfounded assumptions about mental disorders; 415
d. a work in progress that classifies mental disorders based on what is currently known; 541
Answer: d
Learning Objective: 1.1 Explain how we define abnormality and classify mental disorders.
Topic: The DSM-5 and the Definition of Mental Disorder
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
11. The 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) is produced by __________.
a. the American Psychological Association
b. the American Psychiatric Association
c. the World Health Organization
d. the American Medical Association
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 1.1 Explain how we define abnormality and classify mental disorders.
Topic: The DSM-5 and the Definition of Mental Disorder
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
12. What was the most significant challenge during the revision process that resulted in the DSM-5?
a. Making sure that all changes recommended by each working group were included
b. Ensuring that changes were limited and minimal in scope to maintain the same number of diagnoses
c. Incorporating new research findings while maintaining continuity with the prevision edition
d. Eliminating the influence of bias from experts in each of the working groups
Answer: a
Learning Objective: 1.1 Explain how we define abnormality and classify mental disorders.
Topic: The DSM-5 and the Definition of Mental Disorder
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Analyze It
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
13. What is the primary purpose of a classification system such as the DSM-5?
a. To reduce the amount of work for the insurance industry
b. To provide an opportunity for clinicians to talk at length about each patient individually
c. To differentiate psychological disorders from biological disorders
d. To facilitate a shared, simplified communication system across professional boundaries
Answer: d
Learning Objective: 1.2 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of classification.
Topic: Classification and Diagnosis
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
14. Which of the following is a disadvantage to having a classification system for mental disorders?
a. A classification system establishes the types of problems that mental professionals can treat.
b. When labels are used to describe an individual’s behavior, important details about the person are lost.
c. A classification system allows for research to advance.
d. Identifying the disorder that an individual has guides treatment.
Answer: b
Learning Objective: 1.2 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of classification.
Topic: What Are the Disadvantages of Classification?
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
15. Mitchell is experiencing significant challenges as a freshman in college, to the point where he is considering dropping out. He feels a sense of disgrace due to his inability to comprehend the material and is afraid he will be labeled as dumb or ignorant. What term defines Mitchell’s fears?
a. Stereotype
b. Shyness
c. Stigma
d. Sensitivity
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 1.2 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of classification.
Topic: What Are the Disadvantages of Classification?
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
16. Which of the following individuals is most likely to fear the stigma of mental illness, and thus refrain from seeking medical treatment?
a. Kim, a 30-year-old female
b. Barry, a 57-year-old male
c. Traci, a 42-year-old female
d. Harold, a 23-year-old male
Answer: d
Learning Objective: 1.2 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of classification.
Topic: What Are the Disadvantages of Classification?
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
17. As it relates to the stigma of mental illness, what is meant by “stereotyping”?
a. The reluctance of people to discuss their psychological problems because they are afraid others won’t like them
b. The fact that people become sad and upset when they find out they have a mental illness
c. The automatic and incorrect beliefs many have about people with a psychiatric diagnosis
d. The problem of removing a diagnosis of mental illness, even if people make a full recovery
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 1.2 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of classification.
Topic: What Are the Disadvantages of Classification?
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
APA Learning Objective: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
18. Which of the following has been shown to reducestigma around the mentally ill?
a. Educating people that a mental illness is a “real” brain disorder
b. Referring to a mental illness as a “mental disease”
c. Increasing contact with individuals who have a mental illness
d. Applying labels, such as “schizophrenic” or “bipolar,” to individuals
Answer: c
Learning Objective: 1.2 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of classification.
Topic: How Can We Reduce Prejudicial Attitudes Toward People Who Are Mentally Ill?
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
APA Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe applications that employ discipline-based problem solving.
19. Martine believes that the trees on her family farm occasionally speak to her. In deciding if Martine has a mental illness or not, which of the following should first be evaluated?
a. How old is Martine?
b. Is Martine’s belief consistent with the beliefs of her culture?
