PSYC 210 Final Exam – Abnormal Psychology |
Answer-Marked Practice
Important: This is an original 250-question practice exam aligned to the publicly available PSYC 210 course description and commonly previewed topic
areas. It is not a leaked, copied, or guaranteed authentic Portage Learning final exam. Correct choices are marked directly with a large green check.
1. Which feature best distinguishes a clinically significant psychological disorder from ordinary variation in
behavior?
It always involves physical symptoms
It causes distress or impairment and reflects a dysfunction
It must violate a social norm
It must require hospitalization
2. The DSM is primarily
Simplified Frontal cortexused to:
brain anatomy
Cerebral cortex
Study cue: frontal cortex = planning/executive control
Amygdala
Brainstem
prescribe medication
classify and describe mental disorders using diagnostic criteria
determine criminal guilt
measure intelligence
3. Which historical physician is associated with the theory of the four humors?
Galen
Hippocrates
Freud
Pinel
4. The term “bedlam” is historically associated with:
Bethlehem Hospital
The Salem trials
The first laboratory for psychology
The Paris asylum reform
PSYC 210 • Answer-Marked Practice • Page 1
,5. A major limitation of defining abnormality solely by social deviance is that:
Historical pathway: changing views of abnormal behavior
Ancient Asylum Psychodynamic Behavioral / Modern
humoral reform Cognitive DSM-based
all deviance is harmless
cultural norms differ and deviance alone does not establish dysfunction
social norms never change
deviance is always a symptom
6. A dimensional approach to psychopathology emphasizes:
only yes/no diagnoses
symptoms occurring along continua of severity
only biological causes
only cultural explanations
7. Which approach focuses most directly on unconscious conflicts and early relationships?
Behavioral
Psychodynamic
Cognitive
Humanistic
8. Classical conditioning is most closely associated with learning through:
consequences
association between stimuli
dream interpretation
genetic inheritance
9. Operant conditioning emphasizes the role of:
reinforcement and punishment
unconscious wishes
brain ventricles
cultural rituals
PSYC 210 • Answer-Marked Practice • Page 2
,10. Cognitive theories of psychopathology emphasize:
maladaptive thoughts and interpretations
only neurotransmitter levels
only family history
social class alone
11. A biopsychosocial formulation considers:
only biological causes
biological, psychological, and social influences
only childhood experiences
only cultural explanations
12. Reliability of a diagnosis refers most directly to:
whether it predicts treatment response
consistency of measurement or diagnostic decisions
whether it is morally acceptable
whether it is biologically caused
13. Validity of a diagnostic category concerns whether it:
is easy to memorize
accurately represents what it is intended to measure
has many symptoms
is popular with patients
14. A false positive diagnosis occurs when:
a disorder is missed
a person without the disorder is incorrectly diagnosed
two clinicians agree
a diagnosis is revised
15. A false negative diagnosis occurs when:
a person with a disorder is incorrectly judged not to have it
a person without a disorder is diagnosed
a patient improves
a diagnosis is reliable
PSYC 210 • Answer-Marked Practice • Page 3
, 16. Cultural formulation is important because:
culture has no effect on symptoms
culture can shape symptom expression, meaning, and help-seeking
all cultures define disorders identically
culture replaces diagnosis
17. Stigma refers to:
a standardized treatment plan
negative stereotypes and discrimination associated with a condition
a diagnostic interview
a statistical test
18. Person-first language generally aims to:
define people entirely by diagnoses
emphasize the person rather than reduce them to a diagnosis
avoid all diagnostic terms
deny that disorders exist
19. A syndrome is best understood as:
a single symptom
a cluster of signs and symptoms that tend to occur together
a medication side effect
a legal standard
20. Comorbidity means:
a disorder has no symptoms
two or more disorders occur in the same person
a diagnosis is invalid
a disorder is hereditary
21. The vulnerability-stress model proposes that disorders may emerge when:
stress never matters
predispositions interact with environmental stressors
only genes matter
only environment matters
PSYC 210 • Answer-Marked Practice • Page 4
Answer-Marked Practice
Important: This is an original 250-question practice exam aligned to the publicly available PSYC 210 course description and commonly previewed topic
areas. It is not a leaked, copied, or guaranteed authentic Portage Learning final exam. Correct choices are marked directly with a large green check.
1. Which feature best distinguishes a clinically significant psychological disorder from ordinary variation in
behavior?
It always involves physical symptoms
It causes distress or impairment and reflects a dysfunction
It must violate a social norm
It must require hospitalization
2. The DSM is primarily
Simplified Frontal cortexused to:
brain anatomy
Cerebral cortex
Study cue: frontal cortex = planning/executive control
Amygdala
Brainstem
prescribe medication
classify and describe mental disorders using diagnostic criteria
determine criminal guilt
measure intelligence
3. Which historical physician is associated with the theory of the four humors?
Galen
Hippocrates
Freud
Pinel
4. The term “bedlam” is historically associated with:
Bethlehem Hospital
The Salem trials
The first laboratory for psychology
The Paris asylum reform
PSYC 210 • Answer-Marked Practice • Page 1
,5. A major limitation of defining abnormality solely by social deviance is that:
Historical pathway: changing views of abnormal behavior
Ancient Asylum Psychodynamic Behavioral / Modern
humoral reform Cognitive DSM-based
all deviance is harmless
cultural norms differ and deviance alone does not establish dysfunction
social norms never change
deviance is always a symptom
6. A dimensional approach to psychopathology emphasizes:
only yes/no diagnoses
symptoms occurring along continua of severity
only biological causes
only cultural explanations
7. Which approach focuses most directly on unconscious conflicts and early relationships?
Behavioral
Psychodynamic
Cognitive
Humanistic
8. Classical conditioning is most closely associated with learning through:
consequences
association between stimuli
dream interpretation
genetic inheritance
9. Operant conditioning emphasizes the role of:
reinforcement and punishment
unconscious wishes
brain ventricles
cultural rituals
PSYC 210 • Answer-Marked Practice • Page 2
,10. Cognitive theories of psychopathology emphasize:
maladaptive thoughts and interpretations
only neurotransmitter levels
only family history
social class alone
11. A biopsychosocial formulation considers:
only biological causes
biological, psychological, and social influences
only childhood experiences
only cultural explanations
12. Reliability of a diagnosis refers most directly to:
whether it predicts treatment response
consistency of measurement or diagnostic decisions
whether it is morally acceptable
whether it is biologically caused
13. Validity of a diagnostic category concerns whether it:
is easy to memorize
accurately represents what it is intended to measure
has many symptoms
is popular with patients
14. A false positive diagnosis occurs when:
a disorder is missed
a person without the disorder is incorrectly diagnosed
two clinicians agree
a diagnosis is revised
15. A false negative diagnosis occurs when:
a person with a disorder is incorrectly judged not to have it
a person without a disorder is diagnosed
a patient improves
a diagnosis is reliable
PSYC 210 • Answer-Marked Practice • Page 3
, 16. Cultural formulation is important because:
culture has no effect on symptoms
culture can shape symptom expression, meaning, and help-seeking
all cultures define disorders identically
culture replaces diagnosis
17. Stigma refers to:
a standardized treatment plan
negative stereotypes and discrimination associated with a condition
a diagnostic interview
a statistical test
18. Person-first language generally aims to:
define people entirely by diagnoses
emphasize the person rather than reduce them to a diagnosis
avoid all diagnostic terms
deny that disorders exist
19. A syndrome is best understood as:
a single symptom
a cluster of signs and symptoms that tend to occur together
a medication side effect
a legal standard
20. Comorbidity means:
a disorder has no symptoms
two or more disorders occur in the same person
a diagnosis is invalid
a disorder is hereditary
21. The vulnerability-stress model proposes that disorders may emerge when:
stress never matters
predispositions interact with environmental stressors
only genes matter
only environment matters
PSYC 210 • Answer-Marked Practice • Page 4
