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Chapter 2
Causes of Abnormal Behavior
1. John has been suffering with depression for years. He is irritable, can’t concentrate, and is beginning to lose interest in most activities. His mother is convinced the cause of his depression is the break up with his wife. What would a therapist tell his mother?
a) John needs to deal with issues regarding his wife.
b) John should attempt to reconcile with his wife.
c) John’s depression is the result of several factors.
d) Medication could possibly help with John’s depression.
Answer: c, p. 29, Conceptual, Medium
2. The etiology of a problem behavior is its
a) cause.
b) paradigm.
c) treatment.
d) classification.
Answer: a, p. 29, Definitional, Easy
3. Which of the following was not a theory psychologists followed which purported to explain causal factors of disorders?
a) Humanistic
b) Biological
c) Learning
d) Psychodynamic
Answer: c, p. 29, Definitional, Medium
4. Which term is used for a way of looking at scientific problems and a set of assumptions about how scientists should collect and test a theory?
a) etiology
b) paradigm
c) diagnosis
d) prognosis
Answer: b, p. 29, Definitional, Medium
5. Most forms of abnormal behavior are thought to be caused by
a) genetics.
b) learning.
c) a single cause.
d) multiple factors.
Answer: d, p. 29, Definitional, Easy
6. A distinguished researcher reviewed the current findings on the etiology of mental disorders. Which of the following is the best summary of the consensus of opinion?
a) Most mental disorders are the result of genetic abnormalities.
b) We do not currently know all of the specific causes of most mental disorders.
c) Unconscious factors have been overlooked as the root cause of mental disorders.
d) Environmental factors have been overlooked in the wake of recent findings on biological etiologies.
Answer: b, p. 29, Applied, Medium
7. A researcher described her approach to understanding mental disorders as biopsychosocial. When you ask her to explain what she means, what is she likely to say?
a) Biological abnormalities give rise to psychological disturbances that have social consequences.
b) Biological, psychological, and social factors are just as likely to be the cause of these disorders.
c) The integration of various factors provides the most fruitful avenue for discovering the cause of most mental disorders.
d) The search for etiologies is best accomplished by viewing the evidence through the lens provided by one of the major paradigms.
Answer: c, p. 30, Conceptual, Difficult
8. Mary’s friends have described her as “strange” most of her life. She refuses to attend school and has withdrawn from her family. Mary was in a car accident two years ago, and her family has indicated this event was the precipitating factor in the development of her problems. She agrees to see a therapist. During the interview, it is revealed that Mary had a severe concussion as a result of the accident. Her thinking became distorted and family relations became strained. Which of the following models might best explain the etiology of her problem?
a) Humanistic
b) Behavioral
c) Biopsychosocial
d) psychodynamic
Answer: c, p. 30, Applied, Medium
9. The case of Meghan B. in your text illustrates
a) many plausible alternative causes.
b) that disorders can often have a single cause.
c) the importance of genetic factors.
d) how objective tools can be used to pinpoint causation.
Answer: a, p. 31, Conceptual, Medium
10. All of the following led to advances in the scientific understanding of abnormal behavior in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries except:
a) writings of Sigmund Freud.
b) discovery of the cause of paresis.
c) advancements in developing models to understand abnormal behavior.
d) creation of a discipline called psychology
Answer: c, p. 31, Conceptual, Medium
11. The discovery of the etiology of which disorder was an important scientific advance for the biological paradigm?
a) general paresis
b) Alzheimer’s disease
c) Bipolar mood disorder
d) dissociative identity disorder
Answer: a, p. 31, Definitional, Medium
12. A physician at a hospital in the late 1800s has read about the disease called general paresis. Which of the following patients is most likely to receive such a diagnosis?
a) Alice whose symptoms include restlessness and obsessiveness
b) Brenda whose symptoms include insomnia and obsessiveness
c) Bob whose symptoms include lack of appetite and thoughts of suicide
d) Al whose symptoms include delusions of grandeur and progressive paralysis
Answer: d, p. 31, Applied, Difficult
13. The correct biological explanation for general paresis
a) was discovered very quickly.
b) is still a mystery to scientists.
c) will never be discovered.
d) was only discovered after more than 100 years of study.
Answer: d, p. 31, Definitional, Medium
14. Confirming a specific biological cause of general paresis was greatly aided by eventually discovering that
a) all such patients had a history of syphilis.
b) most such patients developed syphilis later in life.
c) very few such patients had ever been treated with penicillin.
d) most such patients had lied about their sexual history.
Answer: a, p. 31, Definitional, Medium
15. Who was responsible for distinguishing general paresis from other forms of “Lunacy”?
a) Abe Fournier
b) John Haslan
c) Kraft Ebbing
d) Paul Ehrlich
Answer: b, p. 31, Definitional, Medium
16. General paresis was virtually eliminated because
a) the patients died before they could have children.
b) antibiotics were developed to treat syphilis.
c) most older patients now develop Alzheimer’s disease.
d) psychiatrists developed the tools to diagnose it.
Answer: b, p. 32, Definitional, Medium
17. Who was responsible for developing an arsenic-containing chemical called arspenamene that prevented general paresis?
a) Kraft Ebbing
b) Abe Fournier
c) John Haslam
d) Paul Ehrlich
Answer: d, p. 32, Definitional, Medium
18. You are reading a biography of Sigmund Freud and find that he was trained as a
a) neurologist.
b) psychiatrist.
c) clinical psychologist.
d) counseling psychologist.
Answer: a, p. 32, Definitional, Medium
19. Both Jean Charcot and Sigmund Freud focused on a disorder called hysteria. Which of the following patients is most likely to have received this diagnosis from these two well-known clinicians?
a) Hazel who experiences delusions
b) Amy who screams during bouts of “night terrors”
c) Laura whose “blindness” has no organic explanation
d) Zelda who cannot sit still for more than 5 seconds
Answer: c, p. 32, Applied, Medium
20. Based on early experiences in his career, Freud was convinced that abnormal behavior was caused by:
a) unresolved issues in childhood.
b) mental events that occur outside of conscious awareness.
c) conflict between the three ego states.
d) bouts of hysteria.
Answer: b, p. 32, Conceptual, Medium
21. What was Freud’s premise regarding psychological conflicts?
a) Psychological conflicts were unconsciously “converted” into physical symptoms.
b) Psychological conflicts were a result of consciously attempting to repress memories.
c) Psychological conflicts were rooted in childhood experience and were unconsciously repressed.
d) Psychological conflicts were a result of ego conflicts.
Answer: a, p. 32, Conceptual, Difficult
22. Sam was hit on the arm by his mother when he misbehaved as a child. He deeply resented his mother and this form of punishment, but had too much guilt to confront her. As an adult, when he has a conflict with his mother, his arm begins to hurt. Freud would suggest that Sam’s psychological conflict was unconsciously “converted” into a physical symptom. What would be the modern day diagnosis?
a) anxiety disorder
b) conversion disorder
c) hysterical neurosis
d) psychotic disorder
Answer: b, p. 33, Applied, Medium
23. According to Sigmund Freud, what are the three parts of the mind?
a) id, ego, superego
b) oral, anal, phallic
c) reality, pleasure, spiritual
d) conscious, preconscious, unconscious
Answer: a, p. 33, Definitional, Easy
24. In psychoanalytic theory, sexual and aggressive drives are part of the
a) id.
b) ego.
c) superego.
d) conscience.
Answer: a, p. 33, Definitional, Easy
25. According to Freudian theory, what part of the mind is roughly equivalent to the conscience?
a) id
b) ego
c) libido
d) superego
Answer: d, p. 33, Definitional, Easy
26. According to Freudian theory, the reality principle is the framework of operation for the
a) id.
b) ego.
c) superego.
d) conscience.
Answer: b, p. 33, Definitional, Easy
27. The pleasure principle in Freud’s theory is associated with:
a) id.
b) ego.
c) superego.
d) consciousness.
Answer: a, p. 33, Definitional, Easy
28. According to Sigmund Freud, what is the purpose of defense mechanisms?
a) to reduce anxiety
b) to establish reality contact
c) to develop self-actualization
d) to reduce reliance on social support
Answer: a, p. 33, Definitional, Easy
29. What was the major emphasis in Freud’s theory of psychosexual development?
a) unconscious self-deceptions reduce conscious anxiety
b) childhood experiences are repressed into the ego
c) childhood experiences shape personality and each stage is defined by a sexual conflict
d) development occurs in contexts
Answer: c, p. 33, Applied, Medium
30. When we are around someone we dislike intensely we often “bend over backward” to be nice to this individual. Which defense mechanism is illustrated here?
a) denial
b) projection
c) sublimation
d) reaction formation
Answer: d, p. 33, Applied, Medium
31. You get a paper back and briefly feel angry at the low grade you received, but this feeling is upsetting because you like the professor so much. You quickly turn your attention to other matters. Later that day you pick a fight with your roommate because of the unfair manner in which the week’s chores were divided. This fight could be an example of a defense mechanism called
a) projection.
b) sublimation.
c) displacement.
d) rationalization.
Answer: c, p. 33, Applied, Medium
32. According to Sigmund Freud, how does a boy resolve forbidden sexual desire for his mother?
a) by becoming attracted to girls
b) by identifying with his father
c) by developing an Electra complex
d) by developing aggressive urges toward his mother
Answer: b, p. 34, Definitional, Medium
33. Who is credited with beginning the science of psychology at the University of Leipzig?
a) Ivan Pavlov
b) Wilhelm Wundt
c) B. F. Skinner
d) Sigmund Freud
Answer: b, p. 34, Definitional, Medium
34. Who of the following were the most prominent contributors to early learning theory?
a) Pavlov and Skinner
b) Freud and Charcot
c) Wundt and Freud
d) Freud and Skinner
Answer: a, p. 34, Definitional, Medium
35. Ivan Pavlov rang a bell every time he fed meat powder to dogs. After repeated trials, the dogs began to salivate when they heard the bell, even if there was no food in sight. According to Pavlov, the dogs’ salivation in the absence of food is called the
a) conditioned stimulus.
b) conditioned response.
c) unconditioned stimulus.
d) unconditioned response.
Answer: d, p. 34, Applied, Medium
36. Beth received a painful shock while turning on her television. Now she reacts with fear whenever she sees a television. What is the television in this example?
a) neutral stimulus
b) reinforced stimulus
c) conditioned stimulus
d) unconditioned stimulus
Answer: c, p. 34, Conceptual, Medium
37. According to Ivan Pavlov’s ideas on classical conditioning, extinction occurs when a conditioned stimulus is no longer presented along with
a) a negative reinforcer.
b) a conditioned response.
c) an unconditioned response.
d) an unconditioned stimulus.
Answer: d, p. 34, Definitional, Medium
38. What is the primary concept of classical conditioning?
a) learning occurs through association
b) positive reinforcement is necessary for learning
c) behavior is learned
d) a stimulus is essential for a response
Answer: a, p. 34, Definitional, Medium
39. What is the primary concept in operant conditioning?
a) a conditioned stimulus is neutral
b) conditioned response leads to extinction
c) behavior is a function of its consequences
d) negative reinforcement is the same as punishment
Answer: c, p. 34, Definitional, Medium
40. According to the principles of operant conditioning, what happens when negative reinforcement is applied?
a) behavior increases
b) behavior decreases
c) behavior is punished
d) behavior remains at the same level
Answer: a, p. 34, Applied, Medium
41. Your neighbors are playing loud music late at night and it annoys you. You ask them to turn down the music and they do. The next time they play loud music, you call them even sooner. B. F. Skinner would say this happens because
a) your assertiveness is like a punishment.
b) the noise was an unconditioned stimulus.
c) the decreased noise negatively reinforced your assertiveness.
d) the decreased noise positively reinforced you assertiveness.
Answer: c, p. 34, Conceptual, Difficult
42. John B. Watson was best known for
a) founding humanism.
b) applying learning theory to human behavior.
c) developing the theory of modeling.
d) developing the theory of operant conditioning.
Answer: b, p. 34, Definitional, Easy
43. Mary and Jim took their two-year-old to the supermarket this past week. For more than an hour all Little Jimmy did was yell and scream. Finally, Jim yelled as loudly as he could, “Shut up!” Little Jimmy stopped yelling and screaming. What operant conditioning concept is illustrated by this story?
a) shaping
b) extinction
c) punishment
d) token economy
Answer: c, p. 34, Applied, Medium
44. Though easily confused, negative reinforcement and punishment are quite different; with negative reinforcement, behavior ______when the aversive stimulus is ______, and with punishment, behavior ______when the aversive stimulus is ______.
a) increases; removed; increases; introduced
b) increases; removed; decreases; introduced
c) decreases; removed; increases; introduced
d) decreases; introduced; increases; removed
Answer: b, p. 34, Definitional, Difficult
45. What is one of the major criticisms of the psychodynamic paradigm?
a) It is devoid of theory.
b) It overemphasizes learning.
c) It is a philosophy not a theory.
d) It fails to offer a testable hypothesis.
Answer: d, p. 34, Conceptual, Medium
46. Watson made the very important assumption that abnormal behavior is
a) under the control of free will.