SOC 205 Exam #1 Questions with Correct Answers
Medical Model - ✔✔views emotional and behavioral problems as
"mental illness" resulting" primarily from internal pathology
Focuses on diagnosis of mental disorders mental disorders
according to DSM V
DSM-5 - ✔✔the main authority for psychiatric diagnoses used by mental health
professionals
Why is the DSM-5 important for healthcare providers? - ✔✔DSM classifications
often determine treatment recommendations and insurance/payment decisions.
What does it mean that DSM diagnoses are categorical? - ✔✔A person either
meets the criteria for a disorder or does not.
What analogy is used to describe DSM diagnosis categories? - ✔✔A light switch
that is either on or off.
What criticism exists about categorical diagnosis? - ✔✔People with some
symptoms may still struggle even if they do not fully meet diagnostic criteria.
Dimensional approach to diagnosis - ✔✔classification along dimensions (e.g.,
different people have varying amounts of anxiety in social situations)
Spectrum view of diagnosis - ✔✔psychiatric conditions are not absolute and
differ wildly in intensity from person to person. (i.e. dimmer switch)
,what criticism exists about the DSM's categorical ("on/off") approach to mental
illness? - ✔✔Critics argue that it can blur the distinction between severe mental
illness and everyday distress ("the worried well"), leading many people to believe
they have a disorder. Because DSM diagnoses are often treated as either fully
present or absent, psychiatry can overlook the spectrum or severity of symptoms
("no dimmers"), which some believe contributes to overdiagnosis and increased
antidepressant use.
Ecological Model - ✔✔proposes that the determinants of health (environmental,
biological, and behavioral) interact and are interlinked over the life course of
individuals.
Employs "person-in environment" perspective, considers both internal and
external influences
three classifications of emotional and behavioral disorders - ✔✔1) Personality
Disabilities
2) Antisocial Acts
3) Brain Deterioration
What are personality disabilities? - ✔✔Unwanted emotions and behaviors that
may be inherent to the human condition rather than true mental illnesses.
What should be examined regarding emotions like anxiety or depression? -
✔✔their extent, severity, and duration.
,What are examples of personality disabilities or social deviations? - ✔✔anxiety,
depression, irrational fears, feelings of inadequacy, antisocial acts, and bizarre
behavior
antisocial acts best understood as... - ✔✔at least initially, as "social deviations"
not mental illness (i.e. Until 1980 female hysteria was a formally studied
psychological disorder/ homosexuality was also considered a mental illness)
What is brain deterioration? - ✔✔A condition involving physical deterioration of
parts of the brain that is associated with personality and behavioral changes.
What changes are often associated with brain deterioration? - ✔✔Personality and
behavioral changes.
What are examples of brain deterioration disorders? - ✔✔Alzheimer's disease,
traumatic brain injury (TBI), and alcoholism.
Why are disorders like Alzheimer's and TBI considered diseases of the brain rather
than the mind? - ✔✔Because they result from physical damage or deterioration
of the brain itself
Thomas Szasz included his three classifications of emotional and behavioral
disorders to - ✔✔support his broader argument that many "mental illnesses" are
not true medical diseases in the same way physical illnesses are.He wanted to
distinguish between:
behaviors and emotions that are part of normal human experience,
social or moral problems that society labels as "mental illness," and
, actual brain diseases involving physical damage to the brain.
His classifications helped explain that not all psychological suffering should
automatically be treated as a medical illness.
The purpose of the classifications was to criticize psychiatry's tendency to
medicalize behavior and emotions that may instead be: - ✔✔social problems,
moral conflicts,
reactions to life circumstances,
or normal variations in human behavior.
What is the first step in Szacz's Three Steps to 'Mental Illness' Diagnosis? -
✔✔Display of unwanted emotions or behaviors
What is the second step in Szacz's Three Steps to 'Mental Illness' Diagnosis? -
✔✔Emotions and/or behaviors are not tolerated well by family, friends, co-
workers, community, resulting in referral to mental health professional
Who assigns the mental illness label in Szacz's Three Steps to 'Mental Illness'
Diagnosis? - ✔✔A mental health professional, e.g. psychiatrist
three Steps of Counseling - ✔✔1. Building Relationship
2. Exploring Problems in Depth
3. Exploring Alternative Solution
Why is creating a non-threatening atmosphere important in counseling? - ✔✔It
helps clients feel safe, comfortable, and willing to open up.
Medical Model - ✔✔views emotional and behavioral problems as
"mental illness" resulting" primarily from internal pathology
Focuses on diagnosis of mental disorders mental disorders
according to DSM V
DSM-5 - ✔✔the main authority for psychiatric diagnoses used by mental health
professionals
Why is the DSM-5 important for healthcare providers? - ✔✔DSM classifications
often determine treatment recommendations and insurance/payment decisions.
What does it mean that DSM diagnoses are categorical? - ✔✔A person either
meets the criteria for a disorder or does not.
What analogy is used to describe DSM diagnosis categories? - ✔✔A light switch
that is either on or off.
What criticism exists about categorical diagnosis? - ✔✔People with some
symptoms may still struggle even if they do not fully meet diagnostic criteria.
Dimensional approach to diagnosis - ✔✔classification along dimensions (e.g.,
different people have varying amounts of anxiety in social situations)
Spectrum view of diagnosis - ✔✔psychiatric conditions are not absolute and
differ wildly in intensity from person to person. (i.e. dimmer switch)
,what criticism exists about the DSM's categorical ("on/off") approach to mental
illness? - ✔✔Critics argue that it can blur the distinction between severe mental
illness and everyday distress ("the worried well"), leading many people to believe
they have a disorder. Because DSM diagnoses are often treated as either fully
present or absent, psychiatry can overlook the spectrum or severity of symptoms
("no dimmers"), which some believe contributes to overdiagnosis and increased
antidepressant use.
Ecological Model - ✔✔proposes that the determinants of health (environmental,
biological, and behavioral) interact and are interlinked over the life course of
individuals.
Employs "person-in environment" perspective, considers both internal and
external influences
three classifications of emotional and behavioral disorders - ✔✔1) Personality
Disabilities
2) Antisocial Acts
3) Brain Deterioration
What are personality disabilities? - ✔✔Unwanted emotions and behaviors that
may be inherent to the human condition rather than true mental illnesses.
What should be examined regarding emotions like anxiety or depression? -
✔✔their extent, severity, and duration.
,What are examples of personality disabilities or social deviations? - ✔✔anxiety,
depression, irrational fears, feelings of inadequacy, antisocial acts, and bizarre
behavior
antisocial acts best understood as... - ✔✔at least initially, as "social deviations"
not mental illness (i.e. Until 1980 female hysteria was a formally studied
psychological disorder/ homosexuality was also considered a mental illness)
What is brain deterioration? - ✔✔A condition involving physical deterioration of
parts of the brain that is associated with personality and behavioral changes.
What changes are often associated with brain deterioration? - ✔✔Personality and
behavioral changes.
What are examples of brain deterioration disorders? - ✔✔Alzheimer's disease,
traumatic brain injury (TBI), and alcoholism.
Why are disorders like Alzheimer's and TBI considered diseases of the brain rather
than the mind? - ✔✔Because they result from physical damage or deterioration
of the brain itself
Thomas Szasz included his three classifications of emotional and behavioral
disorders to - ✔✔support his broader argument that many "mental illnesses" are
not true medical diseases in the same way physical illnesses are.He wanted to
distinguish between:
behaviors and emotions that are part of normal human experience,
social or moral problems that society labels as "mental illness," and
, actual brain diseases involving physical damage to the brain.
His classifications helped explain that not all psychological suffering should
automatically be treated as a medical illness.
The purpose of the classifications was to criticize psychiatry's tendency to
medicalize behavior and emotions that may instead be: - ✔✔social problems,
moral conflicts,
reactions to life circumstances,
or normal variations in human behavior.
What is the first step in Szacz's Three Steps to 'Mental Illness' Diagnosis? -
✔✔Display of unwanted emotions or behaviors
What is the second step in Szacz's Three Steps to 'Mental Illness' Diagnosis? -
✔✔Emotions and/or behaviors are not tolerated well by family, friends, co-
workers, community, resulting in referral to mental health professional
Who assigns the mental illness label in Szacz's Three Steps to 'Mental Illness'
Diagnosis? - ✔✔A mental health professional, e.g. psychiatrist
three Steps of Counseling - ✔✔1. Building Relationship
2. Exploring Problems in Depth
3. Exploring Alternative Solution
Why is creating a non-threatening atmosphere important in counseling? - ✔✔It
helps clients feel safe, comfortable, and willing to open up.
