Exam 3 Study Guide (last updated 11.16.2018)
Please make sure to use both this handout and the lecture slides as a guide for your studying
for both exams and quizzes. Make sure you always have the latest version because it gets
updated after each lecture. I am listing the broad topics that you should be familiar with, but
this is not an exhaustive list of every detail within each topic. As stated in class, please read all
the assigned chapters.
The section on Disorders of Sex and Gender will not be tested on for Exam 3. There is a lot of
content covered for Exam 3 so I am prioritizing disorders that are more commonly diagnosed.
This does not mean that this section is not important – I am simply trying to find ways to
prioritize your studying.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
• Psychosis: Loss of contact with reality
• Hallmark Feature: People perceive/interpret reality abnormally. Know the 5 categories
of symptoms and be able to identify if described.
o Cognitive Issues/disorganized thinking
§ Struggle to recall things, organize thoughts, or complete tasks.
o Hallucinations
§ Hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling, or tasting things others cannot
perceive.
o Delusions
§ False beliefs that don’t change even when the person who holds them is
presented with new ideas or facts.
o Negative Symptoms
§ Diminish a person’s abilities, emotionally flat, speaking in a dull and
disconnected way, unable to start or follow through with activities, shows
little interest in life, or sustain relationships.
o Disorganized or abnormal behavior
§ Childlike silliness, unpredictable agitation, behavior isn’t focused on a
goal, bizarre movements.
• Know the general course of schizophrenia
o Pre-morbid, prodromal, active, and residual
• Generally know the difference between positive, negative, and psychomotor symptoms.
DO NOT GO BEYOND WHAT IS LISTED BELOW.
o Positive: Excesses of thought, emotion, and behavior
§ Be able to recognize if described
o Negative: Deficits of thought, emotion, and behavior
§ Be able to recognize if described
o Psychomotor symptoms: unusual movements or gestures
, o TYPE 1 vs TYPE 2 and relationship with outcome
• Diathesis-stress relationship (Do NOT go into specific details about each, just know what
is listed below)
o People with biological predisposition (inherited) will develop schizophrenia only
if certain kinds of stressors or events are also present.
o Biological evidence: Dopamine Hypothesis and brain abnormalities
o Environmental evidence: Family dysfunction and extreme stressful life events
• Ideal Treatment for Schizophrenia
o Antipsychotics (Typical or “Old School” vs Atypical)
o Individual Psychotherapy
o Family therapy
o Case Management
Personality Disorders (You need to be able to recognize if described)
Definition of personality: a set of uniquely expressed characteristics that influence our
behaviors, emotions, thoughts, and interactions. Influenced by a person’s ethnic, cultural, and
social background.
Cluster A: Odd or eccentric behavior.
• Paranoid Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Deep distrust and suspicion of others (“conspiracy theorist)
• Schizoid Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Persistent avoidance of social relationships and limited
emotional expression (“content loner/recluse”)
• Schizotypal Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Enduring pattern of discomfort with others and odd, peculiar
thinking, and behavior (“wacky”)
Cluster B: Dramatic, emotional, or erratic behavior
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Characterized by grandiose behavior, high need for
admiration, lack of empathy, entitlement, exploits others, arrogant, and
fantasizes about power and success (“narcissist”).
• Histrionic Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Characterize by Extreme emotionality, theatrical behavior
(always on stage), superficial charm, vain, self-centered, and demanding
(“attention-seeker”)
• Borderline Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Characterized by great instability, including major shifts in
mood (emotionally labile), an unstable self-image, impulsivity, and unstable
interpersonal relationships (“fly off the handle”).
o Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Please make sure to use both this handout and the lecture slides as a guide for your studying
for both exams and quizzes. Make sure you always have the latest version because it gets
updated after each lecture. I am listing the broad topics that you should be familiar with, but
this is not an exhaustive list of every detail within each topic. As stated in class, please read all
the assigned chapters.
The section on Disorders of Sex and Gender will not be tested on for Exam 3. There is a lot of
content covered for Exam 3 so I am prioritizing disorders that are more commonly diagnosed.
This does not mean that this section is not important – I am simply trying to find ways to
prioritize your studying.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
• Psychosis: Loss of contact with reality
• Hallmark Feature: People perceive/interpret reality abnormally. Know the 5 categories
of symptoms and be able to identify if described.
o Cognitive Issues/disorganized thinking
§ Struggle to recall things, organize thoughts, or complete tasks.
o Hallucinations
§ Hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling, or tasting things others cannot
perceive.
o Delusions
§ False beliefs that don’t change even when the person who holds them is
presented with new ideas or facts.
o Negative Symptoms
§ Diminish a person’s abilities, emotionally flat, speaking in a dull and
disconnected way, unable to start or follow through with activities, shows
little interest in life, or sustain relationships.
o Disorganized or abnormal behavior
§ Childlike silliness, unpredictable agitation, behavior isn’t focused on a
goal, bizarre movements.
• Know the general course of schizophrenia
o Pre-morbid, prodromal, active, and residual
• Generally know the difference between positive, negative, and psychomotor symptoms.
DO NOT GO BEYOND WHAT IS LISTED BELOW.
o Positive: Excesses of thought, emotion, and behavior
§ Be able to recognize if described
o Negative: Deficits of thought, emotion, and behavior
§ Be able to recognize if described
o Psychomotor symptoms: unusual movements or gestures
, o TYPE 1 vs TYPE 2 and relationship with outcome
• Diathesis-stress relationship (Do NOT go into specific details about each, just know what
is listed below)
o People with biological predisposition (inherited) will develop schizophrenia only
if certain kinds of stressors or events are also present.
o Biological evidence: Dopamine Hypothesis and brain abnormalities
o Environmental evidence: Family dysfunction and extreme stressful life events
• Ideal Treatment for Schizophrenia
o Antipsychotics (Typical or “Old School” vs Atypical)
o Individual Psychotherapy
o Family therapy
o Case Management
Personality Disorders (You need to be able to recognize if described)
Definition of personality: a set of uniquely expressed characteristics that influence our
behaviors, emotions, thoughts, and interactions. Influenced by a person’s ethnic, cultural, and
social background.
Cluster A: Odd or eccentric behavior.
• Paranoid Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Deep distrust and suspicion of others (“conspiracy theorist)
• Schizoid Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Persistent avoidance of social relationships and limited
emotional expression (“content loner/recluse”)
• Schizotypal Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Enduring pattern of discomfort with others and odd, peculiar
thinking, and behavior (“wacky”)
Cluster B: Dramatic, emotional, or erratic behavior
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Characterized by grandiose behavior, high need for
admiration, lack of empathy, entitlement, exploits others, arrogant, and
fantasizes about power and success (“narcissist”).
• Histrionic Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Characterize by Extreme emotionality, theatrical behavior
(always on stage), superficial charm, vain, self-centered, and demanding
(“attention-seeker”)
• Borderline Personality Disorder
o Hallmark Feature: Characterized by great instability, including major shifts in
mood (emotionally labile), an unstable self-image, impulsivity, and unstable
interpersonal relationships (“fly off the handle”).
o Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
