1
PSYCHIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH
NURSING BOARD CERTIFICATION
EXAM REVIEW QUESTIONS WITH
SOLUTIONS
How many test questions on the PMHN-BC exam? - correct-answer - 150 (only
125 are scored, the other 25 are pretest questions)
Test Taking Recommendations - correct-answer - When multiple answer choices
are similar, they are usually incorrect.
Answer choices that include absolutes, such as always, every, must, never, none
etc. are usually incorrect.
Prioritize BEST answer or what the nurse would DO or ASSESS first.
Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory - correct-answer - Human behavior is propelled by
thoughts and feelings that lie in the subconscious mind.
Freud's Id, Ego, Superego - correct-answer - ID- Basic desires/need ; Ego: Efforts to
balance society wants with desire ; Superego: represent presence of culture in
people
, 2
Freud's psychosexual stages of development - correct-answer - Oral: mouth,
sucking, swallowing
Anal: withholding or expelling stool
Phallic: masturbation
Latency: little or no sexual motivation
Genital: sexual intercourse
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - correct-answer - Physiological needs must be
fulfilled before other needs related to psychosocial.
People Sing Beautifully Every Sunday
People Sing Beautifully Every Sunday - correct-answer - Physiological, Safety,
Belonging, Esteem, Self-actualization/transcendence
Maslow's HON Level 1 Biological and Physiological - correct-answer - air, food,
water, shelter, sleep, avoidance of pain
Maslow's HON Level 2 Safety - correct-answer - safe and stable environment,
security with finances and job
Maslow's HON Level 3 Belongings and Love - correct-answer - support system,
friends, family, sense of belonging
, 3
Maslow's HON Level 4 Esteem - correct-answer - need for respect of self and
others, feelings of confidence
Maslow's HON Level 5 and 6 Self-Actualization and Self-Transcendence - correct-
answer - Self-actualization: achieving one's full potential, having insight to
improve self
self-transcendence: included only in some pyramids, ability to see a higher
perspective
Bowlby's Attachment Theory - correct-answer - children are biologically
predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers as a means of increasing the
chances of their own survival
Think of a mom and child sharing a bowl of popcorn
Long term consequences of impaired attachment (Bowlby's attachment theory) -
correct-answer - depression, delinquency, aggression, reduction in intelligence
and social withdrawal. The child can progress into distress, protest, despair,
detachment.
Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development - correct-answer - A child's
psychological and physiological development maturational development,
influenced by social interactions with the environment shapes their cognitive and
intellectual competence.
Jean Piaget's 4 stages of cognitive development - correct-answer - 4 categories of
knowing and understanding
-Sensorimotor (0-2y): object permanence, sucking, grasping, looking, listening.
, 4
-Preoperational (2-7y): object identification, thinking is symbolic, words are used
to address objects, egocentric in thinking.
-Concrete Operations (7-11y): more logical and organized, understand concept
and purpose of conversing with others, start to use reasoning.
-Formal Operations (11- adult): thinking is more abstract,
ethical/social/religious/political/moral concerns
Jean Piaget Schema - correct-answer - mental and physical actions that help one
understand and know of something
Jean Piaget Assimilation - correct-answer - the process of transforming
environmental data as one progresses (seeing a cat and labeling it a cat,
progressing from sucking a breast to a bottle)
Jean Piaget Accomodation - correct-answer - changing or altering existing
schemas as new information is received (realizing a cat can bite if its hair is pulled,
progressing from a bottle to a cup)
Jean Piaget Equilibrium - correct-answer - A child creates a balance between
assimilation and accommodation (changing a behavior as new knowledge is
received)
Lawrence Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory - correct-answer - There are
three levels of moral development, and they are linked to cognitive development.
Preconventional (2-12)
Conventional (adolescent-adult)
Postconventional (adulthood)
PSYCHIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH
NURSING BOARD CERTIFICATION
EXAM REVIEW QUESTIONS WITH
SOLUTIONS
How many test questions on the PMHN-BC exam? - correct-answer - 150 (only
125 are scored, the other 25 are pretest questions)
Test Taking Recommendations - correct-answer - When multiple answer choices
are similar, they are usually incorrect.
Answer choices that include absolutes, such as always, every, must, never, none
etc. are usually incorrect.
Prioritize BEST answer or what the nurse would DO or ASSESS first.
Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory - correct-answer - Human behavior is propelled by
thoughts and feelings that lie in the subconscious mind.
Freud's Id, Ego, Superego - correct-answer - ID- Basic desires/need ; Ego: Efforts to
balance society wants with desire ; Superego: represent presence of culture in
people
, 2
Freud's psychosexual stages of development - correct-answer - Oral: mouth,
sucking, swallowing
Anal: withholding or expelling stool
Phallic: masturbation
Latency: little or no sexual motivation
Genital: sexual intercourse
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - correct-answer - Physiological needs must be
fulfilled before other needs related to psychosocial.
People Sing Beautifully Every Sunday
People Sing Beautifully Every Sunday - correct-answer - Physiological, Safety,
Belonging, Esteem, Self-actualization/transcendence
Maslow's HON Level 1 Biological and Physiological - correct-answer - air, food,
water, shelter, sleep, avoidance of pain
Maslow's HON Level 2 Safety - correct-answer - safe and stable environment,
security with finances and job
Maslow's HON Level 3 Belongings and Love - correct-answer - support system,
friends, family, sense of belonging
, 3
Maslow's HON Level 4 Esteem - correct-answer - need for respect of self and
others, feelings of confidence
Maslow's HON Level 5 and 6 Self-Actualization and Self-Transcendence - correct-
answer - Self-actualization: achieving one's full potential, having insight to
improve self
self-transcendence: included only in some pyramids, ability to see a higher
perspective
Bowlby's Attachment Theory - correct-answer - children are biologically
predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers as a means of increasing the
chances of their own survival
Think of a mom and child sharing a bowl of popcorn
Long term consequences of impaired attachment (Bowlby's attachment theory) -
correct-answer - depression, delinquency, aggression, reduction in intelligence
and social withdrawal. The child can progress into distress, protest, despair,
detachment.
Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development - correct-answer - A child's
psychological and physiological development maturational development,
influenced by social interactions with the environment shapes their cognitive and
intellectual competence.
Jean Piaget's 4 stages of cognitive development - correct-answer - 4 categories of
knowing and understanding
-Sensorimotor (0-2y): object permanence, sucking, grasping, looking, listening.
, 4
-Preoperational (2-7y): object identification, thinking is symbolic, words are used
to address objects, egocentric in thinking.
-Concrete Operations (7-11y): more logical and organized, understand concept
and purpose of conversing with others, start to use reasoning.
-Formal Operations (11- adult): thinking is more abstract,
ethical/social/religious/political/moral concerns
Jean Piaget Schema - correct-answer - mental and physical actions that help one
understand and know of something
Jean Piaget Assimilation - correct-answer - the process of transforming
environmental data as one progresses (seeing a cat and labeling it a cat,
progressing from sucking a breast to a bottle)
Jean Piaget Accomodation - correct-answer - changing or altering existing
schemas as new information is received (realizing a cat can bite if its hair is pulled,
progressing from a bottle to a cup)
Jean Piaget Equilibrium - correct-answer - A child creates a balance between
assimilation and accommodation (changing a behavior as new knowledge is
received)
Lawrence Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory - correct-answer - There are
three levels of moral development, and they are linked to cognitive development.
Preconventional (2-12)
Conventional (adolescent-adult)
Postconventional (adulthood)
