Susan Nolen-Hoeksema & Heather Jennings | Susan Nolen-Hoeksema & Heather Jennings |
Complete Chapter Questions, Answers & Complete Chapter Questions, Answers &
Rationales | 2026 Updated Exam Prep Rationales | 2026 Updated Exam Prep
Abnormal Psychology, 8e (Nolen-Hoeksema)
Chapter 2 Theories and Treatment of Abnormality Answer: B
Difficulty: 1 Easy
1) Which of the following best defines a theory? Topic: Anxiety Disorders; Sociocultural Approach
A) A theory is a set of ideas that relate only to observed behaviors. Learning Objective: Assess the theories of the sociocultural perspective and identify treatments.
B) A theory is a treatment, usually based on a phenomenon, which addresses those factors that Bloom's: Remember
cause the phenomenon. Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
C) A theory is a set of ideas that bridges the gap between normal and abnormal behaviors. APA Outcome: 2.5 Incorporate sociocultural factors in scientific inquiry.
D) A theory is a set of ideas that provides a framework for asking questions about a phenomenon
and for gathering and interpreting information about that phenomenon. 4) Which of the following is not true about using benzodiazapines for the treatment of anxiety?
A) They lose their usefulness after three to five months.
Answer: D B) They are highly addictive.
Difficulty: 1 Easy C) They carry risk of fatal overdose.
Topic: Scientific Method D) There has been a significant increase in their use in recent years.
Learning Objective: Describe the scientific method.
Bloom's: Remember Answer: A
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Difficulty: 1 Easy
APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. Topic: Anxiety Disorders; Biological Approach
Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology.
2) A ________ is a treatment, usually based on a theory of a phenomenon, that addresses those Bloom's: Remember
factors the theory says cause the phenomenon. Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
A) practice APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
B) modus operandi
C) therapy 5) In addition to treating anxiety, benzodiazapines are commonly used to help people A)
D) hypothesis feel relief from depression.
B) sleep.
Answer: C C) remain awake.
Difficulty: 1 Easy D) improve sexual functioning.
Topic: Treatment
Learning Objective: Explain how treatment is planned. Answer: B
Bloom's: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Topic: Anxiety Disorders; Biological Approach
APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. 3) Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology.
A psychologist who applies a sociocultural approach to anxiety disorders would: A) consider Bloom's: Remember
genetics as a likely explanation for anxiety. Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
B) consider the way cultural values or the social environment affect anxiety. APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. 6)
C) look for the causes of anxiety in people's beliefs, thought processes, life experiences, and Maria and her parents recently moved to a new state because her mother received a job transfer.
relationships. Maria has had difficulty adjusting to her new school, and has been suffering from loss of
D) explain anxiety by taking into account a person's unconscious desires. appetite, irritability, and lack of interest in her usual activities. Assuming that Maria's behavior
, Abnormal Psychology 8th Edition Test Bank | Abnormal Psychology 8th Edition Test Bank |
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema & Heather Jennings | Susan Nolen-Hoeksema & Heather Jennings |
Complete Chapter Questions, Answers & Complete Chapter Questions, Answers &
Rationales | 2026 Updated Exam Prep Rationales | 2026 Updated Exam Prep
meets the criteria for abnormal behavior, which of the following approaches would best explain B) An individual experiences a minimal amount of psychological and social stress that
Maria's behavior? creates an atmosphere for the emergence of a disorder.
A) Psychological approach C) Biological factors and psychological factors interact and create social stressors that
B) Nature approach influence a disorder.
C) Personal approach D) Psychological and social vulnerability are loosely associated with a specific disorder and
D) Biological approach biological factors are the main contributors to the disorder.
Answer: A Answer: A
Difficulty: 3 Hard Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Psychological Perspective Topic: Diathesis-Stress Model
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast the perspectives of abnormal psychology. Bloom's: Learning Objective: Explain the biopsychosocial perspective.
Apply Bloom's: Understand
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology. APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
7) Which of the following best describes the nature-nurture question of abnormality? 9) Which of the following statements is true regarding the different approaches to abnormality
A) The nature-nurture question relies heavily on biological perspectives to address abnormal and the continuum model?
behaviors. A) People who favor a sociocultural approach generally embrace the continuum model
B) The nature-nurture question views abnormal behaviors exclusively from a sociological because they view psychological disorders as vastly different from normal functioning.
perspective. B) People who take a biological approach have traditionally accepted the continuum model
C) The nature-nurture question integrates biological, psychological, and social approaches to of abnormality.
abnormal behaviors. C) People who adopt a psychological approach have moved away from the continuum
D) The nature-nurture question supports the idea that psychological problems have must model of psychopathology in recent years.
have a single cause D) Proponents of the sociocultural approach tend to view abnormal behaviors as
understandable consequences of social stresses in people's lives.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2 Medium Answer: D
Topic: Nature vs. Nurture Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast the perspectives of abnormal psychology. Topic: Approaches to Abnormal Psychology
Bloom's: Understand Learning Objective: Compare and contrast the perspectives of abnormal psychology.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Bloom's: Remember
APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
10) The biological approach to abnormality focuses on all of the following causes of abnormality
8) Which of the following statements is true about the diathesis-stress model of the development EXCEPT:
of disorders? A) brain dysfunction.
A) A biological, psychological, or social vulnerability combines with a biological, B) genetic abnormalities.
psychological, or social trigger, causing a disorder to manifest. C) biochemical imbalance.
D) poor physiological responses.
, Abnormal Psychology 8th Edition Test Bank | Abnormal Psychology 8th Edition Test Bank |
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema & Heather Jennings | Susan Nolen-Hoeksema & Heather Jennings |
Complete Chapter Questions, Answers & Complete Chapter Questions, Answers &
Rationales | 2026 Updated Exam Prep Rationales | 2026 Updated Exam Prep
C) relaying messages to the brain.
Answer: D D) impulse control.
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Biological Perspective Answer: B
Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology. Difficulty: 1 Easy
Bloom's: Remember Topic: Biological Perspective
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology.
APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. Bloom's: Remember
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
11) Which of the following statements is true about the various structures of the brain? A) APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
The pons control arousal and attention to stimuli.
B) The medulla is important for attentiveness and the timing of sleep. 14) Abnormality in eating, drinking, and sexual behavior is most likely a result of the
C) The cerebellum helps control breathing and reflexes. dysfunction of the:
D) The superior colliculus and inferior colliculus relay sensory information and control A) right frontal lobe.
movement. B) cerebrum.
C) hypothalamus.
Answer: D D) midbrain.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Biological Perspective Answer: C
Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology. Difficulty: 1 Easy
Bloom's: Understand Topic: Biological Perspective
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology.
APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. Bloom's: Remember
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
12) The outer layer of the cerebrum is called the A) APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
hippocampus.
B) cerebral cortex. 15) Which of the following statements is true of subcortical structures in the brain?
C) thalamus. A) They contain the thalamus, which directs incoming information from sense receptors to the
D) cerebellum. cerebrum.
B) They contain the hypothalamus, which is a large structure just above the thalamus that
Answer: B regulates instinctive behaviors.
Difficulty: 1 Easy C) They contain the hippocampus, a part of the limbic system, which plays a central role in
Topic: Biological Perspective emotions such as fear.
Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology. D) They contain the amygdala, a structure of the limbic system, which plays a role in memory.
Bloom's: Remember
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Answer: A
APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. Difficulty: 2 Medium
13) The cerebral cortex is responsible for: A) regulating sexual drive. Topic: Biological Perspective
B) advanced thinking processes. Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology.
, Abnormal Psychology 8th Edition Test Bank | Abnormal Psychology 8th Edition Test Bank |
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema & Heather Jennings | Susan Nolen-Hoeksema & Heather Jennings |
Complete Chapter Questions, Answers & Complete Chapter Questions, Answers &
Rationales | 2026 Updated Exam Prep Rationales | 2026 Updated Exam Prep
Bloom's: Understand D) receptor; cell bodies
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. 16) Answer: B
Cindy's mood has become increasingly unstable since her traffic accident, in which she obtained Difficulty: 1 Easy
a serious brain injury. She often experiences bouts of aggression and fits of rage in reaction to the Topic: Biological Perspective
slightest provocation. At other times, she is overly passive and fails to recognize direct threats. In Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology.
which area of Cindy's brain has the damage most likely occurred? Bloom's: Remember
A) The temporal lobe Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
B) The limbic system APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. 19)
C) The cerebellum When the initial neuron releasing a neurotransmitter into the synapse reabsorbs some of the
D) The medulla neurotransmitter and thereby decreases the amount of neurotransmitter left in the synapse, the
process is called A) reuptake.
Answer: B B) degradation.
Difficulty: 3 Hard C) blocking.
Topic: Biological Perspective D) carrying.
Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology.
Bloom's: Apply Answer: A
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Difficulty: 1 Easy
APA Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology. Topic: Biological Perspective
Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology.
17) Biochemicals that carry impulses from one neuron to another in the brain and in other parts Bloom's: Remember
of the nervous system are called A) hormones. Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
B) neurotransmitters. APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
C) electrical transmissions.
D) synaptic responses. 20) In the context of neurotransmitter functioning, degradation refers to the: A)
release of neurons into the synaptic gap.
Answer: B B) reabsorption of the neurotransmitter into the initial neuron.
Difficulty: 1 Easy C) attachment of the neurotransmitter to a receptor.
Topic: Biological Perspective D) release of an enzyme by the receiving neuron that breaks down the neurotransmitter into other
Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology. biochemicals.
Bloom's: Remember
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Answer: D
APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology. Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Biological Perspective
18) Neurotransmitters are released into the ________, the gap between synaptic terminals and Learning Objective: Analyze the biological approach to abnormal psychology.
adjacent neurons, and then bind to special ________, molecules on the membrane of adjacent Bloom's: Understand
neurons. Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
A) receptor; dendrites APA Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
B) synapse; receptors
C) synapse; axons