Psychological Disorders — Concepts, Causes, and Anxiety-Related Disorders

Practice questions (8)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

1. Most definitions of abnormal behaviour share the "four Ds". Which of the following is NOT one of them?

   1. Deviance
   2. Distress
   3. Dysfunction
   4. Diagnosis
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   Answer: D — Diagnosis

   The four Ds are deviance, distress, dysfunction and danger — features of the behaviour itself. Diagnosis also begins with D, but it is what a professional does after assessing a person, not a feature that marks behaviour as abnormal.

2. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, whose current edition is DSM-5, is published by:

   1. American Psychiatric Association
   2. World Health Organization
   3. American Psychological Association
   4. National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences
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   Answer: A — American Psychiatric Association

   DSM-5 is published by the American Psychiatric Association. The World Health Organization publishes the other system, ICD-10. The American Psychological Association shares the initials APA, which is exactly why it is offered — it is a different body.

3. In the diathesis–stress model of psychological disorders, the "diathesis" refers to:

   1. a stressful event that occurs in the environment
   2. the treatment that removes the symptoms
   3. a biological predisposition that creates vulnerability
   4. a defence mechanism used against anxiety
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   Answer: C — a biological predisposition that creates vulnerability

   The diathesis is a biological aberration or predisposition, possibly inherited, that makes a person vulnerable; a disorder develops only when pathogenic stressors act on that vulnerability. The stressful event is the other half of the model — the "stress" — which is why it is the tempting wrong answer.

4. Match the disorder with its description. A. Generalised anxiety disorder B. Panic disorder C. Agoraphobia D. Specific phobia — 1. Fear of entering unfamiliar situations, so that many avoid leaving home 2. Prolonged, vague, unexplained fears not attached to any object 3. Irrational fear of a particular object, such as an animal 4. Recurrent sudden attacks of intense terror

   1. A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3
   2. A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
   3. A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1
   4. A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
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   Answer: B — A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3

   Generalised anxiety is vague, lasting fear attached to no object; panic disorder is recurrent sudden attacks of terror; agoraphobia is fear of unfamiliar situations that keeps people at home; and a specific phobia is irrational fear of a particular object. Swapping the first two is the common slip — both involve intense anxiety, but only panic comes in sudden attacks.

5. After witnessing a frightening accident, a young man reports that he cannot move his right arm, though medical examination finds no physical cause. Among the disorders the book describes, this pattern fits:

   1. Illness anxiety disorder
   2. Conversion disorder
   3. Dissociative amnesia
   4. Panic disorder
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   Answer: B — Conversion disorder

   Conversion disorder is a reported loss of part or all of a basic body function — paralysis, blindness, deafness — usually after a stressful experience and with no physical cause. Illness anxiety disorder is preoccupation with the fear of having a serious illness, without the loss of function; dissociative amnesia affects memory, not movement.

6. Assertion (A): Johann Weyer, during the Renaissance, explained abnormal behaviour as the work of evil spirits. Reason (R): Weyer emphasised psychological conflict and disturbed interpersonal relationships as causes of psychological disorder.

   1. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
   2. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
   3. A is true, but R is false
   4. A is false, but R is true
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   Answer: D — A is false, but R is true

   R is true: Weyer, a Renaissance physician, stressed psychological conflict and disturbed relationships, which is why he stands for the humanist turn of that period. A is therefore false — explaining disorders by evil spirits is the supernatural view that dominated the Middle Ages and that Weyer moved away from.

7. A woman repeatedly checks that the gas is switched off — dozens of times before leaving home — though she knows it is off, and feels intense distress if she tries to stop. The pattern fits:

   1. Obsessive-compulsive disorder
   2. Generalised anxiety disorder
   3. Illness anxiety disorder
   4. Dissociative fugue
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   Answer: A — Obsessive-compulsive disorder

   Repeatedly carrying out an act such as checking, and being unable to stop despite knowing it is unnecessary, is the compulsive behaviour of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Generalised anxiety is vague worry not tied to a particular act, and illness anxiety is preoccupation with having a disease.

8. Consider the statements. I. Low activity of the neurotransmitter GABA has been linked with anxiety disorders. II. The behavioural model holds that disorders result from learning maladaptive ways of behaving. III. The cognitive model holds that irrational assumptions and beliefs can lead to abnormal functioning. IV. Sociocultural factors such as war, violence and discrimination play no part in psychological disorders. Which are correct?

   1. I and III only
   2. II and IV only
   3. I, II and III only
   4. I, II, III and IV
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   Answer: C — I, II and III only

   I, II and III state the biological, behavioural and cognitive models as the book does. IV is false: the sociocultural model names war and violence, group prejudice and discrimination, economic problems and rapid social change among the factors that contribute to disorders. Choosing only I and III leaves out the behavioural model, which is correctly stated.