PSY 352 MAIN EXAM MOCK 2025/2026 QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+ TIP
✔✔Which criterion is NOT a pseudoscience? - ✔✔is NOT: publishing in peer-reviewed
journals
IS: an overreliance on testimonials, claim treatment works for a lot of different disorders,
using a lot of unnecessary impressive sounding language to describe treatment
✔✔It is possible for a well-intentioned psychological treatment to cause great harm to a
client/patient. T/F - ✔✔True
✔✔Which of the following is the purpose of clinical assessment? - ✔✔to understand the
individual, to predict behavior, to plan treatment
✔✔One of the major impacts of the Rosenhan study ("on being sane in insane places")
was: - ✔✔increased pressure to move the DSM toward descriptions of symptoms
✔✔Which DSM contains the most diagnoses? - ✔✔DSM-IV
✔✔Which approach to diagnosis does the DSM-5 use? - ✔✔prototypical
✔✔which type of type relies the most heavily on ambiguous stimuli? - ✔✔projective
tests
✔✔the exner system for scoring the Rorschach has been criticized on which of the
following? - ✔✔all: poor reliability, poor incremental validity (with some exceptions),
overestimating psychopathology in healthy people
✔✔The MMPI was developed using leading psychological theories about personality.
T/F - ✔✔False
✔✔Which of the following is a NOT a potential problem with assessment? - ✔✔is NOT:
standardization can decrease the reliability of diagnostic interviews
IS: the interviewer is trained to see psychopathology, outside forces can influence
diagnosis, client may behave differently than usual in the presence of examiner
✔✔A person perceives a garden hose and immediately screams as if it is a real snake.
This fear response is primarily due to: - ✔✔information relayed quickly via the sensory
thalamus (low road)
✔✔Heritability studies suggest that the underlying cause of most anxiety disorders is
likely due to: - ✔✔unique environment
, ✔✔A defining feature of GAD is: - ✔✔uncontrollable worry about a lot of different things
✔✔How would you compare the treatment effect for CBT versus comparison treatments
and medication versus placebo for the short-term treatment of GAD? - ✔✔the treatment
effect is larger for CBT than for medication
✔✔which of the following is NOT typically a defining feature of a panic attack? - ✔✔is
NOT: symptoms peak within an hour or two
IS: intense feeling of fear, fear of dying, feelings of derealization
✔✔Agoraphobia is the: - ✔✔fear of situations/events
✔✔Exposure-based treatment for panic disorder does NOT include: - ✔✔does NOT
include: extensively discussing childhood experiences
DOES include: exposure to bodily sensations, cognitive therapy to accurately interpret
bodily symptoms, removing safety behaviors
✔✔Which of the following is NOT true about exposure-based treatment for phobias? -
✔✔NOT true: exposure does not change brain function because it is a behavioral
treatment
True: exposure is better than placebo, in-vivo contact is better than imaginal contact
with feared stimulus, multiple sessions are better than single sessions
✔✔Uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts that cause anxiety are called: - ✔✔obsessions
✔✔Preoccupation with imagined defect in appearance is a key feature of: - ✔✔body
dysmorphic disorder
✔✔Which of the following treatments is typically ineffective for body dysmorphic
disorder: - ✔✔plastic surgery
✔✔Most people who experience trauma will experience PTSD. T/F - ✔✔False
✔✔Prolonged exposure, a treatment for PTSD, does not involve which of the following:
- ✔✔learning to avoid reminders of the trauma to minimize flashbacks
✔✔Which mood disorder is defined by severe temper outbursts in childhood? -
✔✔Disruptive mood dysregulation
✔✔Which gender has the highest rates of major depressive disorder? - ✔✔women
✔✔Which of the following about major depressive disorder (MDD) is false? - ✔✔False:
MDD is limited to western cultures
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+ TIP
✔✔Which criterion is NOT a pseudoscience? - ✔✔is NOT: publishing in peer-reviewed
journals
IS: an overreliance on testimonials, claim treatment works for a lot of different disorders,
using a lot of unnecessary impressive sounding language to describe treatment
✔✔It is possible for a well-intentioned psychological treatment to cause great harm to a
client/patient. T/F - ✔✔True
✔✔Which of the following is the purpose of clinical assessment? - ✔✔to understand the
individual, to predict behavior, to plan treatment
✔✔One of the major impacts of the Rosenhan study ("on being sane in insane places")
was: - ✔✔increased pressure to move the DSM toward descriptions of symptoms
✔✔Which DSM contains the most diagnoses? - ✔✔DSM-IV
✔✔Which approach to diagnosis does the DSM-5 use? - ✔✔prototypical
✔✔which type of type relies the most heavily on ambiguous stimuli? - ✔✔projective
tests
✔✔the exner system for scoring the Rorschach has been criticized on which of the
following? - ✔✔all: poor reliability, poor incremental validity (with some exceptions),
overestimating psychopathology in healthy people
✔✔The MMPI was developed using leading psychological theories about personality.
T/F - ✔✔False
✔✔Which of the following is a NOT a potential problem with assessment? - ✔✔is NOT:
standardization can decrease the reliability of diagnostic interviews
IS: the interviewer is trained to see psychopathology, outside forces can influence
diagnosis, client may behave differently than usual in the presence of examiner
✔✔A person perceives a garden hose and immediately screams as if it is a real snake.
This fear response is primarily due to: - ✔✔information relayed quickly via the sensory
thalamus (low road)
✔✔Heritability studies suggest that the underlying cause of most anxiety disorders is
likely due to: - ✔✔unique environment
, ✔✔A defining feature of GAD is: - ✔✔uncontrollable worry about a lot of different things
✔✔How would you compare the treatment effect for CBT versus comparison treatments
and medication versus placebo for the short-term treatment of GAD? - ✔✔the treatment
effect is larger for CBT than for medication
✔✔which of the following is NOT typically a defining feature of a panic attack? - ✔✔is
NOT: symptoms peak within an hour or two
IS: intense feeling of fear, fear of dying, feelings of derealization
✔✔Agoraphobia is the: - ✔✔fear of situations/events
✔✔Exposure-based treatment for panic disorder does NOT include: - ✔✔does NOT
include: extensively discussing childhood experiences
DOES include: exposure to bodily sensations, cognitive therapy to accurately interpret
bodily symptoms, removing safety behaviors
✔✔Which of the following is NOT true about exposure-based treatment for phobias? -
✔✔NOT true: exposure does not change brain function because it is a behavioral
treatment
True: exposure is better than placebo, in-vivo contact is better than imaginal contact
with feared stimulus, multiple sessions are better than single sessions
✔✔Uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts that cause anxiety are called: - ✔✔obsessions
✔✔Preoccupation with imagined defect in appearance is a key feature of: - ✔✔body
dysmorphic disorder
✔✔Which of the following treatments is typically ineffective for body dysmorphic
disorder: - ✔✔plastic surgery
✔✔Most people who experience trauma will experience PTSD. T/F - ✔✔False
✔✔Prolonged exposure, a treatment for PTSD, does not involve which of the following:
- ✔✔learning to avoid reminders of the trauma to minimize flashbacks
✔✔Which mood disorder is defined by severe temper outbursts in childhood? -
✔✔Disruptive mood dysregulation
✔✔Which gender has the highest rates of major depressive disorder? - ✔✔women
✔✔Which of the following about major depressive disorder (MDD) is false? - ✔✔False:
MDD is limited to western cultures
