PSY 101 Exam 5 – Flashcards
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Psychologists find that agreeing on the differences between typical and abnormal behaviors is surprisingly difficult. However, deciding that an individual's behaviors and mental processes are abnormal is essential because ____.
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it is the first step toward diagnosing a psychological disorder and providing treatment
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Courtney is desperately sad, has trouble concentrating, and is experiencing some loss of appetite. She has started to skip most of her classes and can't maintain eye contact with others for long. She calls her college's mental health help line and says, "I'm so worried about my grades that my stomach hurts. I don't know what to do." Based on the text's continuum from normal behavior to severely disordered behavior, Courtney's status would be considered ____.
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psychological disorder, less severe
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A drawback to the purely statistical approach to abnormality is that ____.
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it might result in very different definitions of psychological disorder from one culture to the next
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The text defines abnormal behavior as behavior that is unusual, distressing, and ____.
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harmful to oneself or others
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What is the system for classifying psychological disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association?
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Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
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In order to understand the reciprocal relationships between factors that lead to psychological disorders, which is the most helpful perspective?
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Integrated
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Kevin, a graduate student in psychology, is fascinated by the topic of psychological disorders. He wants to study why they occur and how he, as a future therapist, can help restore healthy psychological functioning in those who suffer from such conditions. Kevin should probably focus on ________ psychology.
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abnormal
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The presence of two or more disorders in the same person is called ____ disorders.
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comorbid
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Which of the following is an accurate statement?
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College students have about the same rates of psychological disorders as their same-age peers who are not attending college.
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What is the current edition of the DSM?
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DSM-5
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Nine-year-old Jacob dislikes and often avoids doing things that require sustained mental effort, such as his schoolwork and homework. According to the DSM, ____.
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he has met one criterion for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
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Under an integrated approach to psychological disorders, each perspective ____.
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will have more to say about some disorders than about others
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A disorder characterized by deficits in social relatedness and communication skills, which often accompanied by repetitive, ritualistic behavior, is called ____.
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autism spectrum disorder
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Four-year-old Ryan does not like to make eye contact, does not engage in reciprocal games with his parents or other children, and does not express awareness of others' points of view. His deficits, which have been diagnosed as autism spectrum disorder, may be due to ____.
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a failure to develop a normal theory of mind
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Ethan, a 5-year-old with autism spectrum disorder, often rocks back and forth repetitively. He also gets upset if he cannot follow each step of his familiar routines. A possible source of repetitive or ritualistic behavior is ____.
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a general dysfunction in sensory networks
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Most children with autism spectrum disorder have a level of auditory filtering that is ____ that of a group of typical, healthy children.
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very different from
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Five-year-old Lielle cannot sit still. She is almost always active and noisy and has difficulty maintaining sustained attention and following instructions in her kindergarten class. What condition might she have?
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
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Which of the following statements is true regarding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
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Fewer than 40% of surveyed pediatricians reported using the DSM criteria to evaluate cases of ADHD.
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Recent research attention on the causes of autism focuses on gene expression during brain development, with specific attention to ____.
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a large number of genes
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In the development of autism spectrum disorder, environmental factors are likely to interact with genetics, especially ____.
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during sensitive periods of brain development
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Family and twin studies provide strong evidence that ASD is influenced by ____.
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genetics
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According to the text, which of the following is NOT an example of a repetitive movement expressed by persons with ASD?
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whistling
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A brain imaging study showed that peak cortical thickness occurred around the age of 7.5 years in healthy children and on average around 10.5 years in children with ADHD. This finding implies that children with ADHD ____.
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can be expected to lag behind their same-age peers in some tasks but will eventually experience improvement
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The parts of the brain implicated in ADHD, such as the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia, feature large amounts of ____ activity. Many of the medications used to treat ADHD work by boosting the activity of this chemical.
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dopamine
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Anxiety disorders typically feature anxiety that ____.
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is not proportional to a person's circumstances
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Of the following, who is most likely to have anxiety, as opposed to fear?
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Emily, who is so worried about her psychology final she is unable to study.
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What kind of obsessions are involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder?
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Intrusive
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What is an obsession?
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An intrusive, distressing thought.
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What of the following is NOT a characteristic of PTSD?
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An attraction to stimuli surrounding a traumatic event.
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Brain imaging studies consistently show that PTSD is correlated with smaller _______ volume in the brain.
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hippocampal
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Which of the following is true of anxiety?
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Evidence of a predisposition to anxiety appears early in life.
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Generalized anxiety disorder is a condition characterized by excessive anxiety and worry that ____.
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is not correlated with particular objects or situations
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As a child, Kim was always highly reactive to new situations. Because her mother was a worrywart, Kim learned to view the world as a place requiring vigilance. When her father died, Kim's doctor attributed her stress levels to general anxiety disorder (GAD). The source of her GAD is best described by using ____.
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an integrated perspective
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The experience of intense fear and autonomic arousal in the absence of a real threat is called ____.
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a panic attack
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Eileen works in a crowded downtown neighborhood. She constantly worries that her car will be stolen while she is at work, and repeatedly goes back and checks to see that it is locked before finally arriving at the office, frequently late. Her therapist explains that returning to her car so often is a way to reduce the anxiety created by her obsessive thoughts. This is ____.
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a learning explanation based on operant conditioning
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Jake, a veteran of the Iraq war, witnessed his friends being severely injured or killed on two tours of duty. He came home physically healthy but suffering from PTSD. Jake was not much of a drinker before he went to Iraq, but now he frequently drinks alone at night. To what might this be related?
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Lower levels of naturally occurring benzodiazepine activity in the frontal cortex.
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Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by hallucinations, delusions, disorders of movement, avolition/asociality, and ____.
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disorganized speech
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A delusion is ____.
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an unrealistic belief
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What is bipolar disorder?
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A mood disorder characterized by alternating periods of mania and depression.
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Of the following, who is demonstrating mania?
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John, who feels so cheerful that he talks extensively and rapidly with strangers on the subway and on the street.
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A major depressive disorder is defined as a disorder characterized by lengthy periods of depressed mood, loss of pleasure in normal activities, disturbances in sleep and appetite, difficulty concentrating, feelings of hopelessness, and ____.
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possible thoughts of suicide
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Women experience depression more frequently than men do. This discrepancy between rates of depression in men and women has been observed to ____.
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be independent of race, ethnicity, social class, and country of residence
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Myra has hallucinations and delusions. Which of the following is a hallucination, as opposed to a delusion?
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Myra hears critical voices commenting on her every action.
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John tells his mother, "I will rake the leaves this afternoon. Let's leave soon for the store. We can store the leaves in the basement." This is an example of ____.
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loosening of associations
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The symptoms of depression that occur in a person diagnosed with bipolar disorder are ____.
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the same as the symptoms in major depressive disorder
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Mania, unlike many other disorders, actually ____.
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increases productive, goal-directed behavior
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In the general population of the United States, women make up about two thirds of all cases of major depressive disorder. In contrast, rates of depression among the Amish are equal for men and women. How does the text interpret this result?
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Gender differences in depression are more likely due to situational factors.
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Javier adores his new girlfriend, whom he finds very attractive and intelligent. However, no matter what he does, she criticizes him: his appearance, his opinions, his cooking, the gifts he buys for her, and all of his other actions. He is feeling more and more discouraged despite his best efforts to make her happy. This is likely a case of ____.
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learned helplessness
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Behaviors that characterize a small minority of people are ____.
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abnormal
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One criticism of the DSM-IV and DSM-5 is that they led to "false epidemics" by _________.
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categorizing some normal behaviors as abnormal
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Dr. Moran believes that depression is purely the result of chemical imbalances of the brain and that a simple prescription should address each of his patient's needs. This single-perspective thinking usually leads to ____.
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single-perspective treatments
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The weight of scientific evidence indicates that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative that has been used in vaccines, ____.
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plays no part in the development of autism spectrum disorder
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One unfortunate result of the scientifically unsupported contention that vaccinations play a major role in the development of autism spectrum disorder is that in the first half of 2008, rates of ______ cases in the United States doubled, compared with the rates observed between 2000 and 2007.
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measles
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Which of the following is a potential cause of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?
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Food additives
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____ phobias are fears of objects or situations, other than those associated with agoraphobia and social anxiety disorder.
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Specific
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What is one of the primary characteristics of panic disorder?
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Fear of future attacks
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People with panic disorder have larger quantities of orexins than people without the disorder, which may lead to panic attacks. Orexins play an important role in ____.
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wakefulness, vigilance, and appetite
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What is a weakness of the theory that the interpretation of body symptoms, such as an increased heart rate, could lead to increasing anxiety and, ultimately, to panic?
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Panic does not increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
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Gabriel has become so fearful of going outside his home alone and being in open spaces, such as parking lots, that he has difficulty holding a job. This is best described as ____.
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agoraphobia
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The DSM says that engaging in compulsive behavior for more than 1 hour per ____ is considered abnormal.
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day
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Combat veterans with PTSD seem particularly sensitive to _____.
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smells
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Jane sometimes sits for hours with her arm bent behind her head and one leg crossed under her. Her mother tries to reposition her but she resists. This is an example of ____.
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catatonia
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Which of the following is true regarding the role of genes in schizophrenia?
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A large number of different genes have been implicated in the development of schizophrenia and appear to overlap with those involved with bipolar disorder.
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One reliable correlate of schizophrenia is the presence of enlarged ventricles, which indicates that schizophrenia is associated with ____.
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neural degeneration
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Most patients with schizophrenia demonstrate a lower level of frontal lobe activity than healthy control participants. Why would this difference be significant?
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The frontal lobes are important to higher cognitive processes and attention.
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Teens typically experience a burst of cortical gray matter growth at puberty, followed by a wave of gray matter loss extending into their early twenties. Teens diagnosed with schizophrenia experience ____.
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loss of gray matter that spreads in waves into their early twenties
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Which of the following is true regarding the role of dopamine in schizophrenia?
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An overactive dopamine system may be the major biochemical culprit in many cases of schizophrenia.
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Of the following people, who is a member of a group that seems to have a disproportionate risk for bipolar disorder?
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Angelina Jolie, an actress
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Bipolar disorder is different from major depressive disorder because it involves ____.
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a manic phase
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Which of the following biological factors may be implicated in depression?
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Increased right prefrontal cortex activity
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Mia's doctor tells her that her depression and sleep problems are related. How would the doctor most likely explain this?
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Mia is spending too much time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
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A biological bridge between the experience of stress, circadian rhythms, and the development of depression is formed by hormones released at times of stress, including ____.
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cortisol
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A research study (Gollan et al., 2010) found that the recognition of facial expressions by people with depression followed which of the following patterns?
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Participants with depression were more sensitive to sad faces than control participants, especially at lower intensities.
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Ginger worries constantly about contracting a deadly virus. Because of this, she washes her hands repeatedly throughout the day with scalding hot water. Assuming that Ginger has obsessive-compulsive disorder, what type of medical health professional is most likely to take a biological approach to treatment?
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A psychiatrist with an MD
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____ generally involves a conversation between therapist and client combined with biological treatments.
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Psychotherapy
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Emily is studying to be a priest in the Episcopal Church and would also like to work as a family counselor. What type of degree would be best for Emily to pursue?
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Master of divinity
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Which of the following people would be least ideal for group therapy?
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Dean, who attempted suicide last week
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What is a major benefit of group therapy?
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It can help to decrease the sense of isolation that can accompany a mental health struggle.
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What is an example of a significant challenge faced by family therapists?
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Maintaining confidentiality
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Which type of psychotherapy provider obtains a standard MD (doctor of medicine) degree?
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psychologist
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Most psychotherapy occurs in the form of individual therapy, involving face-to-face meetings that last ____.
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1 hour
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If a psychotherapist recommends a form of treatment known as brief therapy, what can the client expect?
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The therapy will probably last between three and five sessions.
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What is the primary disadvantage of using computerized therapeutic tools, such as Wiley's TheraScribe, when treating clients?
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They can seem highly impersonal.
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One contemporary challenge in treatment is that now ____ make decisions about therapy treatment offered.
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insurance company personnel
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____ therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on intimate relationships.
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Couples
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Psychoanalysis falls under which class of psychological theory?
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Insight
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Lately, Rena finds her herself eating nonstop, even when she isn't hungry. She feels increasingly frustrated that she cannot seem to control her appetite and seeks the help of a mental health professional. Rena and her therapist discuss how she feels when she goes on eating binges. Rena states that she is overwhelmed by guilt and that dieting just makes her crave food even more. Her therapist says it must be difficult for Rena because we live in a society where we are constantly judged by our appearance and where self-worth is often equated with willpower. What type of therapy does this scenario illustrate?
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Humanistic Therapy
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Dr. Estevez uses a behavioral approach when treating his clients. What underlying ideology influences his therapeutic style?
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Learning can be used to increase adaptive behaviors and decrease maladaptive behaviors.
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Lately, Rena finds her herself eating nonstop, even when she isn't hungry. She feels increasingly frustrated that she cannot seem to control her appetite and seeks the help of a mental health professional. Rena's therapist challenges her to think about her past dieting failures, in which Rena would strictly limit her caloric intake. She asks whether Rena's "all or nothing" view of eating is rational: "Is it realistic to think that portion control should be either rigid or not worth regulating at all?" What type of therapy does this scenario illustrate?
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Cognitive
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One of the earliest examples of cognitive therapy was developed by ____.
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Aaron Beck
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Which psychologist is using a biopsychosocial approach to psychotherapy?
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Dr. Yan, who creates a unique therapeutic strategy for each of his clients
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Antoine attends a conference on alternative treatments for psychological disorders. While at the conference, he is surprised to find out that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for severe cases of ____.
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depression
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Dr. Zhang notices that his client Mariel becomes very defensive when asked to elaborate on her financial difficulties. Dr. Zhang infers that Mariel has likely been defensive with her parents and supervisors at work as well. What technique is Dr. Zhang using to make his inference?
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Transference
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Dr. Cohen uses a humanistic approach when treating his clients. What underlying ideology influences his therapeutic style?
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Societal judgments interfere with healthy behavior.
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Behavioral therapies use applications of ____.
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classical and operant conditioning
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According to the cognitive therapeutic perspective, people run into psychological trouble when they adopt ____ ways of thinking.
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irrational
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Therapists using the _______ approach focus on what works for each particular client rather than following a single theoretical orientation.
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biopsychosocial
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ECT results in the induction of ____.
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seizures
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Dr. Sebastian asks his client to say whatever comes to mind about his mother without attempting to censor the content. This technique is referred to as ____.
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free association
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Which word best describes the role of the therapist in the humanistic approach to psychotherapy?
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Nondirective
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Behavior modification focuses on ____.
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observable actions
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Cognitive behavioral therapy has an excellent record of success, particularly in the treatment of ____.
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major depressive disorder
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Most therapists today use the _______ approach, which combines elements from different types of therapies to create an individualized treatment plan for each client.
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biopsychosocial
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The most commonly used medical therapy is ____.
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medication
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The Food and Drug Administration has approved which class of drugs for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder?
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Antipsychotics
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One large sample study of children with ADHD found that the children with the best outcomes were treated with __________.
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a combination of medication and behavioral methods
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Dr. Tran, a pediatric psychiatrist, cautions his colleagues against prescribing stimulants for long-term use to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder because of the risk of ____.
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growth suppression
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Bart was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia and has since started taking Thorazine. He meets with his doctor, Dr. Aimes, at a follow-up visit to evaluate his progress on Thorazine. As part of the visit, Dr. Aimes checks Bart for signs of ____, a side effect of Thorazine.
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tardive dyskinesia
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Dr. Johnson is screening for more effective treatments for bipolar disorder. To see if these compounds work in a similar manner to the most commonly prescribed treatment, she treats rats with the derivatives for several weeks and then measures ____.
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cerebral gray matter volume
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Silvie takes medication to treat her generalized anxiety disorder. Silvie's medication enhances the actions of which neurotransmitter?
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GABA
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Seth and Sarah's 2-year-old son, Abe, was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. They meet with a child psychologist, Dr. Silver, who recommends applied behavior analysis for Abe. Dr. Silver explains that applied behavior analysis is not a quick fix for autism spectrum disorder, but that Abe will likely show the greatest improvement in ____.
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language acquisition
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The use of stimulants to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was discovered by Charles Bradley, who initially used the drugs to treat a group of children hospitalized for _______.
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learning and behavior problems
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What is the rationale for using stimulants to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
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They increase the activity of brain regions responsible for planned behavior.
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Trudy takes Thorazine, a phenothiazine, as part of her treatment regimen for schizophrenia. Sometimes she does not pay close attention and accidentally takes two doses in one day. Her doctor warns her that this is very dangerous because it could produce symptoms consistent with ____.
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Parkinson's disease
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The most popular method for treating major depressive disorder today is ____.
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the use of medication
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The discovery of which class of drugs after World War II changed the treatment of anxiety dramatically?
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Benzodiazepines
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Suzette seeks the help of a mental health professional because she just hasn't felt like herself lately; she is unusually sad, sleeps late, avoids her friends, and eats excessively. During her appointments, Suzette and her therapist engage in conversation as a way to help Suzette understand her feelings. This type of conversation is termed ____.
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psychotherapy
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During the 20th century, psychological approaches to treatment reflected the rise of the ____ perspectives.
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behavioral and humanist
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Shaun tells her best friend, Cheryl, that she recently began cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), via online live video sessions with a therapist. Because Cheryl, a clinical psychology graduate student, is familiar with the research on this approach, she is likely to advise Shaun that ____.
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online CBT therapy is just as effective as face-to-face therapy
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Which therapist is most likely utilizing brief therapy during a session with a client?
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Dr. Milner, who states, "Let's come up with a plan for the next time you feel anxious."
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____ of another's emotions helps to often diffuse needless hostility.
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Reflection
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According to Freud, the self is known as the ____ in psychoanalysis.
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ego
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Frustration over the lack of emphasis on ____ in psychotherapy has led to considerable debate.
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science
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A psychologist using a humanistic approach views society as a ____.
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source of psychological discontent
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Lately, Rena finds her herself eating nonstop, even when she isn't hungry. She feels increasingly frustrated that she cannot seem to control her appetite and seeks the help of a mental health professional. Rena's therapist suggests that she find an alternative behavior to engage in, such as chewing a stick of gum or calling a friend, whenever she is compelled to grab a snack between meals. The therapist also encourages Rena to reward herself when she meets her goals. What type of therapy does this scenario illustrate?
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Behavioral therapy
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Deborah is terrified of flying, but when her daughter moves 2,000 miles away, she is determined to get on a plane to visit her. Her therapist uses a technique in which Deborah's old irrational fears of flying are replaced with rational thoughts about the safety of flying. This technique is referred to as ____.
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cognitive restructuring
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Analia is training to be a clinical psychologist. She is interested in using a cognitive approach when dealing with patients; however, she knows that cognitive therapy is most successful when it is combined with ____ techniques.
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behavioral
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What is the goal of neurofeedback?
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to help keep measures of brain activity within a certain range
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Although the exact mode of action of ECT is currently unknown, most patients experience an increase in responsiveness to ____.
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dopamine and norepinephrine
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After several failed attempts at treating his major depressive episodes over the years, Patrick considers undergoing ECT. He discusses this with his doctor, who warns him that ECT can lead to ____, which can last for at least 6 months after the procedure is completed.
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memory loss
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Evidence suggests that the earliest attempts at psychosurgery involved ____.
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trepanation
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Who popularized the use of frontal lobotomies in the United States by performing the procedure on thousands of individuals between the 1930s and 1950s?
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Walter Freeman
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Following observations of mood changes in people undergoing deep brain stimulation through surgically implanted electrodes for the relief of ______, physicians attempted to use that procedure for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression.
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Parkinson's disease
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What is the downside to using behavioral interventions to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
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Difficulty in maintaining consistency
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Because of the severity and lifelong nature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), parents of children with ASD are especially vulnerable to cures that have little support in research. What is an example of one of these so-called cures?
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Hyperbaric oxygen treatment
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Bart was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia and has since started taking Thorazine. He meets with his doctor, Dr. Aimes, at a follow-up visit to evaluate his progress on Thorazine. Dr. Aimes would most likely note that the Thorazine has been effective at reducing Bart's ____.
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delusions
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After running out of the medication he takes to treat his bipolar disorder, Dan calls the pharmacy and asks for a refill of his prescription. Which medication would he most likely request?
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Lithium carbonate
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Barbiturates were once commonly used to treat anxiety; however, they are not ideal because they ____.
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are highly addictive
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Dr. DeMarco prefers to use cognitive and behavioral techniques, rather than medication, to treat her clients with anxiety disorders because ____.
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they have no side effects
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Felix was recently prescribed SSRIs to treat his depression. Before he takes his first dose, Felix flips through the medication insert and reads the list of side effects, which include ____.
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headaches
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What is the relationship between medication and the treatment of borderline personality disorder?
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No medications are currently approved specifically for the treatment of borderline personality disorder.
