Psychopathology Exam 2

An adult 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 a least __________

6 months

According to Freud, children who are prevented from expressing id impulses (for example, making mud pies, playing war, and exploring their genitals) are at risk for developing __________

anxiety

Research on the cognitive explanation for the development of generalized anxiety shows that people with generalized anxiety symptoms…

are more likely to have fast and strong physical reactions to stress

GABA has been found to play a causal role in _____________

generalized anxiety disorder

GABA acts by…

inhibiting neuronal firing in the brain

Anti-depressant drugs often increase the activity of the neurotransmitters serotonin and _____________

norepinephrine

Avery, a 27-year-old woman, tells her therapist she has an intense fear of snakes. She says she has been afraid of snakes since she was a child. Which additional criterion would suggest that Avery meets the diagnostic criteria for a specific phobia?

Refusal to go to certain places where she believes snakes could be present, such as the lake

A person who experiences unpredictable panic attacks combined with dysfunctional behavior and thoughts is probably experiencing ___________

panic disorder

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

cognitive behavioral therapy

When would religious rituals and superstitious behavior (such as not stepping on cracks) be considered compulsive behaviors?

When they interfere with daily function and cause distress

Samuel cannot leave for work without going back into his house and making sure that he has taken all of his writing materials. He does this several times before he allows himself to start the car and drive to work. He is frequently late for work because he is so unsure about remembering everything. Samuel is displaying ___________

a checking compulsion

Before starting her car, Doris has a habit of always gripping the shift lever and turn signal lever three times each. She is exhibiting a _________________

touching compulsion

According to Freud, in which stage of development so obsessive compulsive disorders originate?

anal

Psychodynamic therapies as a treatment for obsessive compulsive disorders…

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

Cognitive-behavioral therapists have found that people who develop obsessive compulsive disorder also…

believe their thoughts are capable of causing harm to themselves or others

A person who witnessed a horrible car accident and then became unusually anxious and depressed for three weeks is probably experiencing ___________

acute stress disorder

The individuals who are most likely to experience a psychological stress disorder are …

female or low-income individuals

A friend says “if we could just eliminate combat traumas, we could eliminate a great deal of PTSD.” The best response is…

“yes, however, civilian trauma causes many more cases of PTSD than combat trauma does.”

Researchers have found that in people with PTSD, the interconnection between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex is flawed because…

the amygdala is too active, and the prefrontal cortex isn’t active enough

What is one of the roles of the hippocampus?

It communicates with the amygdala to produce the emotional components of memory

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’s working multiple jobs

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 routes and stress circuits aren’t yet fully developed

Which PTSD symptom is most deadly controlled with medication?

Increased arousal

Compared with covert exposure therapy for combat veterans with PTSD, virtual reality exposure therapy has been shown to be ____________

more effective

Max experienced a dissociative fugue for two weeks. What is a common immediate reaction upon “waking” from this state?

Confusion

Troy had dissociative identity disorder. All of his sub-personalities talk about and tattle on each other. This is an example of …

mutually cognizant pattern

In a case of dissociative identity disorder, Laura is aware of the existence of Jerry and Chris, but Jerry and Chris aren’t aware of the other personalities. This form of sub personality relationship is called _____________

One-way amnesic

If you studies for this exam while you were unusually happy, you will probably do best taking it while you are ________________

unusually happy

Which of these is the usual goal of therapy for dissociative identity disorders?

Merge the sub personalities into a single identity

Which but describes someone experiencing derealization?

The person feels as if the world has changed and become strange or surreal

If a person taking lithium began experiencing vomiting, tremors, and seizures, one would suspect that …

the person is experiencing lithium toxicity

The strongest evidence for the cause of bipolar disorders best supports which theoretical perspective?

the biological perspective

Which statement is true regarding the prevalence of bipolar disorder?

It affects millions of people, between 1% and 2.8% of all adults

The difference between bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder is the …

severity of the manic episodes

According to the DSM-5-TR, all of the following are considered symptoms of a manic episode except __________

suicidal ideation

Compared with African Americans, non-Hispanic white Americans are…

about as likely to be diagnosed with depression but less likely to have recurrent episodes

The statement that men and women are equally prone to depression, but clinicians often fail to detect depressive symptoms in men reflects the ___________

artifact theory

Compared with people in untroubled marriages, people in troubled marriages are ________________ to have a depressive disorder

substantially more likely

A clinician who looks at the influence of race, living conditions, marital status, and roles on the development of depression would most likely subscribe to which theoretical orientation?

sociocultural theoretical orientation

Many victims of spousal abuse stay with their abusers, even though it’s obvious to others that they should, and actually could, leave. A good explanation for their behavior is ______________

learned helplessness

What kind of clinician would be most likely to say “tell me about any early losses you experienced” to a client?

psychodynamic clinician

A women being treated for permpartum depression after the birth of her first child will…

have a 25-50% chance of experiencing permpartum depression with a later birth

What does research reveal about the role genetic factors play in unipolar depression?

Researchers have found genes associated with unipolar depression on most of the body’s chromosomes

Family pedigree, twin, and gene studies have been used to look for a predisposition for unipolar depression. These studies have found…

a higher chance rate of depression among the families of depressed patients

Which statement about unipolar depression is true?

The large majority of individuals with unipolar depression recover within six months, sometimes without treatment.

Suicide

self inflicted death that is intentional, direct, and a conscious effort

Parasuicide

a suicidal act, gesture, or attempt that did not result in the death of the person

Sub intentional deaths

unconscious or indirect behavior that results in the death of oneself (substance use, risk-taking behaviors, or inattentiveness to medical disorders like diabetes)

Non-suicidal self injury

cutting, burning, self-mutilating the body with no intention to die

Suicide correlational information (men vs. women)

women are twice as likely as men to attempt suicide, but men are three times as likely as women to die when they attempt

Generalized anxiety disorder

must be present for at least six months

evidence or experience of disproportionate, uncontrollable, and ongoing anxiety

symptoms must include at least three of the following: edginess, fatigue, poor concentration, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep problems

significant distress or impairment

Specific phobias

marked, persistent, and disproportionate fear of a particular object or situation, lasting more than six months

exposure to the object produces immediate fear

avoidance of freed situation

significant distress or impairment

Agoraphobia

complex and pervasive type of phobia

fear of being in at least two of the following situations: public transportation, parking lots, bridges or other open spaces, confined spaces, lines and crowds

fear comes from thoughts that it would be difficult to escape

avoidance of the triggers

symptoms present for more than six months and significant distress and impairment is present

Social anxiety disorder

anxiety about social situations exposing the individual to scrutiny, typically lasting more than six months

fear of being negatively evaluated by or offensive to others

exposure to social situations produces anxiety

avoidance of feared situations

significant distress and impairment

Panic disorder

unforeseen panic attacks occur repeatedly

one or more of them precedes either at least one month of continual concern about having another attack or at least one month of dysfunctional behavior changes associated with the attack

Obsessive compulsive disorder

occurrence of repeated obsessions, compulsions, or both

symptoms take a considerable amount of time

cause significant distress or impairment

Dissociative amnesia

person cannot recall important life related information, typically traumatic or stressful information

signification distress or impairment

Dissociative identity disorder

person experiences a disruption to their identity, as reflected by at least two personality states or experiences of possession

person experiences memory gaps regarding daily events, key personal information, or traumatic events

significant distress or impairment

Unipolar depression

for at least two weeks, increase in depressed mood for the majority of each day and/or decrease in enjoyment or interest across most activities for the majority of each day

for the same two weeks, at least three or four of the following symptoms: considerable weight change or appetite change, daily insomnia, daily fatigue or lethargy, daily feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, daily reduction in concentration, or repeated focus on death or suicide

significant distress/impairment

Major depressive disorder

the presence of a major depressive episode

no history of a pattern of mania or hypomania

Persistent depressive disorder

person experiences the symptoms of major or mild depression for at least two years

during these two years, symptoms are not absent for more than two months at a time

no history of mania or hypomania

significant distress/impairment

Bipolar I disorder

occurrence of a manic episode

hypomanic or major depressive episode may precede or follow the manic episodes (mood swings)

Bipolar II disorder

no full manic episodes, only hypomanic episodes

Cyclothymic disorder

mild form of bipolar disorder with low intensity mood swings that aren’t considered “episodes,” however, there are still cycles and dysfunction present