Abnormal Psychology-Practice Test 1
You will have 50 minutes for the first test. You will answer 3 of 5 short-answer questions like the following (50% of mark)
and 30 multi-choice questions like those below (50% of mark). Treat the short-answer questions as mini-essays, including as
much detail as allowed in several short paragraphs and the available time. Choose the most correct alternative for the
multi-choice questions.
Short-Answer Questions
1.
What types of research studies are used to further our understanding of psychological disorders?
2.
What types of assessment tools do psychologists use to assess people who may have psychological disorders?
3.
Describe briefly the major differences among the various mood disorders.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of the following best describes what is known
regarding the definition of abnormality?
a. Personal distress is the one criterion that defines
abnormality.
b. The criteria differ depending on the cause of the
psychological disorder.
c. The criteria differ depending on whether the
individual has a psychological disorder or a
psychological dysfunction.
d. No one criterion has yet been developed that fully
defines abnormality.
2. Bloodletting, often through the use of leeches, was a
treatment devised centuries ago. What was this treatment
used for?
a. to reduce excessive blood in the brain
b. to correct a chemical imbalance in the brain
c. to reduce the negative effects of stress
d. to restore the balance of humors
3. In the diathesis-stress model, what does diathesis refer
to?
a. conditions in the environment that can trigger a
disorder depending upon how severe the stressors
are
b. an inherited, subclinical disease state that has the
potential for developing into a full-blown
psychological disorder, given certain environmental
conditions
c. an inherited tendency or condition that makes a
person susceptible to developing a disorder
d. the interaction of social and psychological
influences
4. From their review of studies examining Stroop effects in
eating-disordered samples, what did Dobson and Dozois
(2004) find in the colour-naming for body/weight words
in those with anorexia?
a. Those with anorexia were more accurate.
b. Those with anorexia were less accurate.
c. Those with anorexia were slower.
d. Those with anorexia were faster.
5. Dr. Gupta is a psychoanalytic therapist who wants to
assess the unconscious thoughts and feelings of a patient.
What type of test would Dr. Gupta be most likely to use?
a. Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test
b. Rhythm Test
c. MMPI
d. Thematic Apperception Test
6. Which of the following describes the prototypical
approach to classifying psychological disorders, such as
that used by the DSM-IV-TR?
a. It involves describing all of the symptoms for each
individual separately, without categorizing them into
distinct disorders.
b. It quantifies on a scale the cognitions, moods, and
behaviours reported by the patient.
c. It assumes that each disorder is unique and requires
only one set of necessary, defining criteria.
d. It allows for some variations in symptoms to be
present without necessarily changing the
classification.
7. What does internal validity refer to?
a. the extent to which the results in a study can be
explained by the independent variable
b. the extent to which the results of a study can be
explained by the dependent variable
c. the degree to which the sampling procedure is
supported by the study
d. the degree to which the hypothesis is supported by
the study
8. A child is having temper tantrums at home, at school,
and at his grandparents’ house. After working with the
parents for awhile, the therapist believes that the child is
being rewarded for his tantrums in each setting because
his teacher, parents, and grandparents generally give him
what he wants just to make him stop yelling. The
therapist devises a plan to stop his tantrums but
implements the plan at home first, at school the
following week, and at the grandparents’ home several
weeks later. From a research perspective, what is this
strategy an example of?
a. multiple baseline
b. repeated measures
c. withdrawal method
d. placebo control
9. Which of the following terms is most associated with
generalized anxiety disorder?
a. depression
b. panic
c. emotion
d. worry
10. Some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder
attempt to neutralize or suppress disturbing, intrusive
thoughts. How successful do these strategies tend to be?
a. These strategies usually cause other kinds of
obsessive thinking to occur.
b. These strategies are usually effective in permanently
reducing the obsessive thoughts.
c. These strategies usually increase the frequency of
the obsessive thoughts.
d. These strategies usually have no effect on the
obsessive thoughts.
11. Jane is diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. Which of the
following is expected?
a. She will experience hypomanic episodes and major
depressive episodes.
b. She will experience manic episodes and major
depressive episodes.
c. She will experience hypomanic episodes alternating
with mild depressive symptoms.
d. She will experience hypomanic episodes
predominantly
12. In a randomly assigned, controlled study conducted by
David Rudd and colleagues, previously suicidal,
hospitalized young adults were helped to develop social
competence and more adaptive coping skills, and to
recognize the emotional triggers that precipitate suicide
attempts. A two-year follow-up indicated continued
reductions in suicidal ideation and behaviour. What is
the significance of this study?
a. It has been expanded into the first empirically
supported psychological treatment for suicidal
behaviour.
b. None of the patients in the study committed suicide.
c. None of the patients committed suicide after the
study was completed.
d. It is the first psychological treatment for suicidal
behaviour in which medication was not used.
113. Which of the following is true of the DSM-IV approach
to taxonomy for psychological disorders?
a. it adopts a classical view of categories.
b. it adopts a prototype view of categories.
c. both a and b are correct
d. neither a nor b are correct
14. Sympathetic nervous system is to Parasympathetic
system as:
a. thyroid is to endocrine system.
b. frontal lobe is to occipital lobe.
c. calming is to arousing.
d. none of the above.