PSY 3604 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2026/2027
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔adjustment disorder - ✔✔difficulty coping with stressful life event of any severity,
symptoms occur within 3 months of stressor, requires more dysfunction than would be
expected, disorder goes away within 6 mo
✔✔characteristics of stressors - ✔✔severity, chronicity, level of human malice, level of
expectation, perceived controllability, how overwhelming
✔✔factors creating predisposition to stress - ✔✔goal oriented coping, social support,
external resources, genetic makeup, previous history of stress, nature of the stressor
✔✔normal v pathologic anxiety - ✔✔normal: signal of genuine threat
pathologic: signal in absence of genuine threat
✔✔anxiety disorders in dsm - ✔✔specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, generalized
anxiety disorder, panic disorder
✔✔specific phobia - ✔✔a disorder that involves an irrational fear of a particular object or
situation that markedly interferes with an individual's ability to function, symptoms last
6+ months
✔✔social anxiety disorder - ✔✔intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of
such, symptoms last 6+ months, associated features like self conscious, depression,
blushing, sweating, tremor, panic attacks
✔✔generalized anxiety disorder - ✔✔excessive worrying, or free-floating anxiety, that
lasts and cannot be attributed to any single identifiable source. symptoms like irritability,
restlessness, muscle tension, sleep disturbance
✔✔stress + immune system - ✔✔stress is linked to suppressions of the immune
symptoms. chronic has greater affect than acute
✔✔emotions and health - ✔✔Negative emotions often associated with poor physical
and mental health(anxiety and despair)
Positive emotion may protect against the development of disease
Not a causal relationship
✔✔treating stress related disorders - ✔✔biological- medication and surgery
psychological- emotional disclosure, biofeedback, meditation, therapy
✔✔panic disorder - ✔✔occurrence of repeated unexpected panic attacks, often
accompanied by intense anxiety about having another one
, ✔✔agoraphobia - ✔✔fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open
places, where one has felt loss of control and panic
✔✔obsessive-compulsive disorder - ✔✔an anxiety disorder characterized by repetitive
obsessions and compulsions
✔✔example of obsession - ✔✔Fear of germs, concern with order, fear of terrible
✔✔example of compulsion - ✔✔Hand washing, hoarding, check doors
✔✔Comorbidity - ✔✔The coexistence of two or more disorders.
✔✔example of comorbidity - ✔✔depression and alcoholism
✔✔body dysmorphic disorder - ✔✔involves excessive preoccupation with an imagined
defect in physical appearance, avoidance of activity because of that fear
✔✔hoarding disorder - ✔✔a disorder in which individuals feel compelled to save items
and become very distressed if they try to discard them, resulting in an excessive
accumulation of items, disrupts normal living
✔✔Trichotillomania - ✔✔a disorder characterized by the repeated pulling out of one's
own hair
✔✔cultural perspectives of anxiety - ✔✔anxiety is universal, caribbean presents higher
rates of panic disorder, china: koro (acute fear that penis is retracting and will lead to
death)
✔✔ elements of abnormality - ✔✔subjective distress, maladaptiveness, statistical
deviancy, violation of the standards of society, social discomfort, irrationality and
unpredictability, dangerousness
✔✔advantages of classifying mental disorders - ✔✔common nomenclature, can be
validating, data + research, economic + political implication
✔✔disadvantages of classifying mental disorders - ✔✔stereotyping, blame on
individual, stigma
✔✔DSM is... - ✔✔not without problems, a-theoretical, descriptive + concrete
✔✔cultural differences in abnormality - ✔✔some languages don't account for some
mental symptoms/illnesses,
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔adjustment disorder - ✔✔difficulty coping with stressful life event of any severity,
symptoms occur within 3 months of stressor, requires more dysfunction than would be
expected, disorder goes away within 6 mo
✔✔characteristics of stressors - ✔✔severity, chronicity, level of human malice, level of
expectation, perceived controllability, how overwhelming
✔✔factors creating predisposition to stress - ✔✔goal oriented coping, social support,
external resources, genetic makeup, previous history of stress, nature of the stressor
✔✔normal v pathologic anxiety - ✔✔normal: signal of genuine threat
pathologic: signal in absence of genuine threat
✔✔anxiety disorders in dsm - ✔✔specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, generalized
anxiety disorder, panic disorder
✔✔specific phobia - ✔✔a disorder that involves an irrational fear of a particular object or
situation that markedly interferes with an individual's ability to function, symptoms last
6+ months
✔✔social anxiety disorder - ✔✔intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of
such, symptoms last 6+ months, associated features like self conscious, depression,
blushing, sweating, tremor, panic attacks
✔✔generalized anxiety disorder - ✔✔excessive worrying, or free-floating anxiety, that
lasts and cannot be attributed to any single identifiable source. symptoms like irritability,
restlessness, muscle tension, sleep disturbance
✔✔stress + immune system - ✔✔stress is linked to suppressions of the immune
symptoms. chronic has greater affect than acute
✔✔emotions and health - ✔✔Negative emotions often associated with poor physical
and mental health(anxiety and despair)
Positive emotion may protect against the development of disease
Not a causal relationship
✔✔treating stress related disorders - ✔✔biological- medication and surgery
psychological- emotional disclosure, biofeedback, meditation, therapy
✔✔panic disorder - ✔✔occurrence of repeated unexpected panic attacks, often
accompanied by intense anxiety about having another one
, ✔✔agoraphobia - ✔✔fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open
places, where one has felt loss of control and panic
✔✔obsessive-compulsive disorder - ✔✔an anxiety disorder characterized by repetitive
obsessions and compulsions
✔✔example of obsession - ✔✔Fear of germs, concern with order, fear of terrible
✔✔example of compulsion - ✔✔Hand washing, hoarding, check doors
✔✔Comorbidity - ✔✔The coexistence of two or more disorders.
✔✔example of comorbidity - ✔✔depression and alcoholism
✔✔body dysmorphic disorder - ✔✔involves excessive preoccupation with an imagined
defect in physical appearance, avoidance of activity because of that fear
✔✔hoarding disorder - ✔✔a disorder in which individuals feel compelled to save items
and become very distressed if they try to discard them, resulting in an excessive
accumulation of items, disrupts normal living
✔✔Trichotillomania - ✔✔a disorder characterized by the repeated pulling out of one's
own hair
✔✔cultural perspectives of anxiety - ✔✔anxiety is universal, caribbean presents higher
rates of panic disorder, china: koro (acute fear that penis is retracting and will lead to
death)
✔✔ elements of abnormality - ✔✔subjective distress, maladaptiveness, statistical
deviancy, violation of the standards of society, social discomfort, irrationality and
unpredictability, dangerousness
✔✔advantages of classifying mental disorders - ✔✔common nomenclature, can be
validating, data + research, economic + political implication
✔✔disadvantages of classifying mental disorders - ✔✔stereotyping, blame on
individual, stigma
✔✔DSM is... - ✔✔not without problems, a-theoretical, descriptive + concrete
✔✔cultural differences in abnormality - ✔✔some languages don't account for some
mental symptoms/illnesses,
