ANSWERS
Question:
1. Clinical interviews are best described as which of the following?
Answer:
Broad Coverage
Question:
2. In trying to understand and help an individual with a psychological problem, the psychologist will obtain
detailed information about the person's life and experiences as part of which of the following?
Answer:
clinical interview
Question:
3. As part of a psychological assessment, a mental status exam is used to find out how a person thinks, feels,
and behaves; its primary purpose, however, is to determine which of the following?
Answer:
If a psychological disorder might be present
Question:
4. Why do clinicians observe appearance and behavior during a mental status exam?
Answer:
To get clues regarding the presence of certain disorders
Question:
5. Dr. Brandenburg is administering a mental status exam and while doing so, considers whether the client
has a reasonable vocabulary, uses abstractions and metaphors, and seems to have good memory functioning.
What is Dr. Brandenburg assessing?
Answer:
intellectual functioning
Question:
6. Dr. Abebe is conducting a mental status exam and assessing the person's sensorium. What question is Dr.
Abebe likely to ask?
Answer:
What is today's date
Question:
7. In a mental status exam, it is important to determine if the individual's sensorium is clear and if they are
"oriented times three." What does the three in "oriented times three" refer to?
Answer:
Person, place, and time
, Question:
8. Maxwell, who has schizophrenia, has a long history of improving on medication but then refusing to take
medication and becoming very ill again. Maxwell is currently being seen by a clinician who notes
delusional beliefs. In terms of a mental status exam, the delusions would be part of which of these?
Answer:
Thought processes
Question:
9. Roger believes that powerful individuals have discovered he knows about the evil acts they are
committing and are planning to kill him. There is no objective evidence that this is the case and Roger's
"proof" consists of common words and phrases they have used in interviews, all of which have innocuous
meanings. Roger is experiencing which of the following?
Answer:
Delusions of persecution
Question:
10. Maria-Christina finds that her thoughts seem to jump from one thing to another and, when asked a
question, may start answering it but soon move on to a different, unrelated topic and then to another topic
and so on. This type of disorganized pattern is referred to as which of the following?
Answer:
Derailment
Question:
11. A clinician considering the use of the MMPI should be aware of which of the following?
Answer:
Most people find the test to tedious and time-consuming.
Question:
12. Why is the MMPI considered unique among assessment measures?
Answer:
It is empirically based.
Question:
13. Personality tests found on social media are typically which of the following?
Answer:
Not very meaningful
Question:
14. Which term refers to the names or labels of disorders? Nomenclature
Answer:
Question:
15. Which of the following is an important advantage of using a classification and diagnostic system like
DSM-5?