Question 1

Mr Carpenter is constantly afraid that he is going to oversleep and be late for work. As a result, he spends nearly an hour in total each night making certain that his alarm clock is correctly set and saying "It's set, it's set, it's set" each of the times he checks it. This repetitive action is what clinical psychologists refer to as a(n)________.

Accepted Answer

Compulsion refers to repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, often to reduce anxiety or prevent a feared event. Mr. Carpenter's repetitive checking of the alarm clock is a compulsion.

Question 2

Learning theorists argue that anxiety disorders are conditioned through the process of ________.

Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement occurs when an unpleasant stimulus is removed or avoided after a behavior is performed, increasing the likelihood of the behavior being repeated in the future. Anxiety disorders can be conditioned through this process when an individual learns that certain behaviors or situations can help them avoid or escape anxiety-provoking stimuli.

Question 3

The learning perspective views anxiety as ________.

Accepted Answer

The learning perspective suggests that anxiety is a learned reaction, resulting from experiences and conditioning that have taught an individual to fear certain situations, objects, or events.

Question 4

A strong, intense fear of being in public or performing behaviours in public is characteristic of ________.

Accepted Answer

Social anxiety disorder is marked by a persistent and intense fear of social situations, which may include fear of being embarrassed or judged by others. This fear can be specific to one type of situation, such as public speaking, or it can be more generalized and apply to a wide range of social interactions. Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations that may be difficult to escape or where help may not be available, and panic disorder is marked by recurrent panic attacks. Obsessive-compulsive disorder involves intrusive, unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviors or rituals aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety.

Question 5

Jaclyn has been suffering from hoarding disorder for many years. Her home has become a virtual storage facility for various junk, almost none of which has any value whatsoever. There is a terrible odour in her home and there is almost certainly very dangerous mold growing under her piles of garbage. Her home has become so overrun with "stuff" that there is only one tiny footpath that allows her to get from one room to another. This path, called a "________", is starting to disappear as she has to step on her own possessions to move around her own home.

Accepted Answer

A "goat path" is a commonly used term to describe a narrow path that has been created through a cluttered or overgrown area. In this scenario, it accurately describes the tiny path that Jaclyn is able to navigate through her home. The other options (A) horselane, (B) pigeontrack, and (D) mousehole are not commonly used terms in this context, and do not accurately describe the situation.

Question 6

There is some research that suggests that the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette's syndrome share the same biological root. This is due to the fact that there appears to be an increased incidence in these mental illnesses after a child experiences an infection caused by ________ bacteria.

Accepted Answer

The correct bacteria that has been linked with the development of OCD and Tourette's syndrome is streptococcal. This is due to the onset of a condition called Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS) which can cause sudden and drastic changes in behavior and obsessive-compulsive symptoms after a streptococcal infection.

Question 7

Research into the neurological underpinnings of hoarding disorder have found that different species engage in hoarding behaviours, and that these actions may be associated with similar brain abnormalities as those seen in humans who hoard. Which of the following is NOT one of those species?

Accepted Answer

Rodents, rats, and apes have been found to engage in hoarding behavior and show similar brain abnormalities as humans who hoard. Pigs have not been mentioned in the research on hoarding behavior in animals.

Question 8

Although hoarding disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)are closely related "cousins", they are not the same condition; in fact, only about ________ of those with hoarding disorder meet the diagnostic criteria for OCD.

Accepted Answer

Only about 20% of those with hoarding disorder meet the diagnostic criteria for OCD. This means that the majority of individuals with hoarding disorder do not have OCD as a comorbid condition.

Question 9

Each day, while Sid is sitting at his desk at work, he continually thinks about germs. Each time this occurs, he washes his hands. Sid probably suffers from ________.

Accepted Answer

Sid's repetitive thoughts about germs and his compulsive behavior of washing his hands indicate that he may be suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD involves the presence of unwanted and intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and the repetitive performance of certain behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) to reduce anxiety or prevent harm.

Question 10

________ involves an intense fear of being embarrassed or humiliated in public.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ________ involves an intense fear of being...

Question 11

Differentiate how learning theorists and cognitive theorists differ in their explanations for the causes of anxiety disorders.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Differentiate how learning theorists and cognitive theorists...

Question 12

During the day, Barb suffers from frequent, unwanted thoughts that she has left her front door unlocked and recurrent images that all her belongings have been taken. These thoughts and images are what psychologists refer to as a(n)________.

Accepted Answer

The description of Barb's experience matches the symptoms of an obsession, a type of anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted, recurring thoughts, images or impulses that cause distress or anxiety.

Question 13

While some have noted that the virus that causes "strep" may be at the root of the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), others have suggested that children with strep may be very uncomfortable, which worsens preexisting OCD symptoms. This different explanation for the relationship between strep and OCD is an important reminder of

Accepted Answer

Ruling out rival hypotheses. This explanation highlights the importance of considering alternative explanations and ruling out other possible causes of a phenomenon before making a definitive claim.

Question 14

John has such an intense fear of flying that he has turned down lucrative job offers that involved travelling to other cities, and has been unable to join his family for holidays that required air travel. He is probably suffering from ________.

Accepted Answer

John's fear of flying is a specific phobia as it is a persistent and irrational fear of a specific object or situation, in this case flying. Social anxiety disorder involves a fear of social situations, while agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape may be difficult or embarrassing. Generalized phobia involves a broad fear of many different types of situations.

Question 15

Marc is often consumed by the thought that he is unclean despite the fact that he has bathed. He also becomes extremely anxious when other people want to shake hands with him or touch him, because all he can think about is the germs that may get passed from them to him. Marc's continual fears are what psychologists label as a(n)________ disorder.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Marc is often consumed by the thought...

Question 16

People who have ________ are afraid of being evaluated in some negative way by others, so they tend to avoid situations that can be embarrassing.

Accepted Answer

Social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia) is characterized by an intense fear of being scrutinized or judged by others in social situations. This fear can lead to avoidance of social situations that could be embarrassing or uncomfortable, such as public speaking or eating in front of others. Agoraphobia, specific phobia, and interactive phobia are all different types of phobias that involve fear and avoidance of specific situations or objects, but they are not necessarily related to social evaluation by others.

Question 17

The authors note that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)may be particularly difficult to diagnose because some patients intentionally fake their own symptoms in order to obtain government benefits. As this possibility has to be ruled out as part of the diagnostic process, clinicians have to remember the importance of ________.

Accepted Answer

Ruling out rival hypotheses means considering other possible explanations for the symptoms before reaching a diagnosis. In the case of PTSD, clinicians need to rule out the possibility that the patient is faking their symptoms for other reasons before making a diagnosis.

Question 18

Victims of sexual assault may experience strong stress reactions, intense anxiety, and flashbacks to their attacks from environmental cues that remind them of being attacked and helpless. If these become frequent, intense, and debilitating, the person may be diagnosed as suffering from ________.

Accepted Answer

The symptoms described are consistent with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is characterized by intrusive thoughts or memories of a traumatic event, avoidance of triggers associated with the trauma, negative changes in mood and cognition, and heightened arousal and reactivity. Victims of sexual assault are at high risk for developing PTSD. Generalized anxiety disorder (A) is characterized by excessive and persistent worry about multiple areas of life, whereas panic disorder (B) is characterized by recurrent panic attacks and intense fear of having another panic attack. Social anxiety disorder (D) is characterized by intense fear and avoidance of social situations in which the person feels judged or evaluated by others. While anxiety and fear are common features of many mental health conditions, the specific symptoms and causes of the anxiety will differentiate between different diagnoses.

Question 19

Sienna is constantly worried that everyone whom she comes in contact with is full of germs, so she is constantly rushing off to wash her hands. Sierra suffers from which psychological disorder?

Accepted Answer

Sienna's behavior of constant handwashing is indicative of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is an anxiety disorder characterized by persistent intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) intended to reduce anxiety.

Question 20

________ Disorder is a condition marked by motor tics and involuntary vocalising (including grunting).

Accepted Answer

Tourette's Disorder is characterized by motor tics and involuntary vocalizing. Rhett's Syndrome is a neurological disorder that affects language and motor skills, Asperger's Syndrome is a developmental disorder that affects social interaction, communication, and behavior, and Pica's Disorder is a condition marked by eating non-food substances.

Quiz 16: Psychological Disorders