PSYC300 Final- Exam Questions with Verified Solutions Latest Update (2025-2026) Rated A+
emotion - Answers affect-physiological, cognitive, behavioral
mood - Answers prolonged emotion that colors life
mood disorder - Answers prolonged, abnormal mood
DSM-5 Depressive disorders - Answers symptoms confined to low mood; includes major depressive
disorder (MDD), persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)
major depressive episode symptoms - Answers at least 5 for at least 2 weeks (at least one of *two):
- *depressed mood most of the day nearly every day
- *diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities
- significant weight loss (more severe depression) or weight gain (usually more mild)
- insomnia (severe) or hypersomnia (mild)
- psychomotor agitation or retardation (physical slowness)
- feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt
- diminished ability to concentrate or indecisiveness
- recurrent thoughts of death
MDD psychotic features - Answers delusions: guilt, impoverishment, disease, punishment/persecution,
nihilistic (world ending); hallucinations: auditory, visual, gustatory (bad taste)
persistent depressive disorder (chronic depression) - Answers depressed mood (lower symptom severity
and frequency), persistence (at least 2 years) (low grade chronic depressed mood), impairment (less
treatment responsive, more likely to suicide)
"double depression" - Answers MDD episodes imposed on PDD - low grade persistent depression for at
least 2 years and then fall into major depressive episodes amongst PDD; increases chance of recurrence
depression epidemiology - Answers very prevalent; girls at greater risk (after reaching adolescence)
(boys/men harder to diagnose), 15-24 year olds at greatest risk/average age of onset 25 but lowering
particularly for adolescent girls
biological factors for depression - Answers difficult to identify specific genetic substrates, but family and
twin studies show heritability; heritable component shared with anxiety
neurological correlates to depression - Answers PFC: decrease in cortical thickness in vmPFC which
regulates affect/associated with approach behavior (social/curiosity); hippocampus: smaller in women
, with MDD, may be result of stress; decreased activity in anterior cingulate cortex (connects amygdala
and PFC); stress increases dendrite branching and reactivity in amygdala
biochemical/neuroendocrine models of depression - Answers neurotransmitter dysregulation; serotonin
low compared to dopamine and norepinephrine; chronically elevated HPA activation (stressful life
events) results in dysregulation of glutamate circuits
biological treatments for depression - Answers tricyclics and tetracyclics (TCAs), MAO-inhibitors,
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs, SNRIs) (some fewer side effects to TCAs but similar effectiveness),
ketamine infusions (up regulates biochemicals (glutamate) that promote neural growth); exercise
(effective in mild to moderate cases) (may increase effectiveness of pharmacotherapy)
electroshock therapy (EST) - Answers depression treatment best alternative for those not responsive to
other treatments; much safer now (limited sessions and muscle relaxants); may cause short term
memory loss but usually remits within 2 weeks
social contributors to depression - Answers stressful life events, interpersonal events
interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) - Answers works on person's current interpersonal problems: role
disputes (marital conflict), relationship loss, relationship initiation, deficient social skills
depression cognitive processes - Answers shoulds, self criticism, negative social comparisons, arbitrary
inference, overgeneralization, selective abstraction (judging event by one specific negative
moment/interaction), activation of negative schema
cognitive therapy - Answers automatic thought records, behavioral experiments, goal: modification of
cognitive process
behavioral models of depression - Answers positive mood dependent on positive reinforcement, self
generation of reinforcement through goal directed activities, depression arises from reduction in usual
level of reinforcement
behavioral treatments for depression - Answers behavioral activation, pleasant event scheduling, as
effective as cognitive therapy, programmed exercise helps
depression treatment summary - Answers medication produces rapid effects but has higher relapse
rates, CBT takes longer but has significantly lower relapse rate, combination - 15%+ benefit, sequential
antidepressants and then therapy reduces relapse and recurrence
bipolar disorders - Answers symptoms include both elevated (mania) and lowered (depressive) mood
manic episode - Answers distinct period of abnormally elevated mood; at least 3 of the below symptoms
for at least 1 week:
emotion - Answers affect-physiological, cognitive, behavioral
mood - Answers prolonged emotion that colors life
mood disorder - Answers prolonged, abnormal mood
DSM-5 Depressive disorders - Answers symptoms confined to low mood; includes major depressive
disorder (MDD), persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)
major depressive episode symptoms - Answers at least 5 for at least 2 weeks (at least one of *two):
- *depressed mood most of the day nearly every day
- *diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities
- significant weight loss (more severe depression) or weight gain (usually more mild)
- insomnia (severe) or hypersomnia (mild)
- psychomotor agitation or retardation (physical slowness)
- feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt
- diminished ability to concentrate or indecisiveness
- recurrent thoughts of death
MDD psychotic features - Answers delusions: guilt, impoverishment, disease, punishment/persecution,
nihilistic (world ending); hallucinations: auditory, visual, gustatory (bad taste)
persistent depressive disorder (chronic depression) - Answers depressed mood (lower symptom severity
and frequency), persistence (at least 2 years) (low grade chronic depressed mood), impairment (less
treatment responsive, more likely to suicide)
"double depression" - Answers MDD episodes imposed on PDD - low grade persistent depression for at
least 2 years and then fall into major depressive episodes amongst PDD; increases chance of recurrence
depression epidemiology - Answers very prevalent; girls at greater risk (after reaching adolescence)
(boys/men harder to diagnose), 15-24 year olds at greatest risk/average age of onset 25 but lowering
particularly for adolescent girls
biological factors for depression - Answers difficult to identify specific genetic substrates, but family and
twin studies show heritability; heritable component shared with anxiety
neurological correlates to depression - Answers PFC: decrease in cortical thickness in vmPFC which
regulates affect/associated with approach behavior (social/curiosity); hippocampus: smaller in women
, with MDD, may be result of stress; decreased activity in anterior cingulate cortex (connects amygdala
and PFC); stress increases dendrite branching and reactivity in amygdala
biochemical/neuroendocrine models of depression - Answers neurotransmitter dysregulation; serotonin
low compared to dopamine and norepinephrine; chronically elevated HPA activation (stressful life
events) results in dysregulation of glutamate circuits
biological treatments for depression - Answers tricyclics and tetracyclics (TCAs), MAO-inhibitors,
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs, SNRIs) (some fewer side effects to TCAs but similar effectiveness),
ketamine infusions (up regulates biochemicals (glutamate) that promote neural growth); exercise
(effective in mild to moderate cases) (may increase effectiveness of pharmacotherapy)
electroshock therapy (EST) - Answers depression treatment best alternative for those not responsive to
other treatments; much safer now (limited sessions and muscle relaxants); may cause short term
memory loss but usually remits within 2 weeks
social contributors to depression - Answers stressful life events, interpersonal events
interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) - Answers works on person's current interpersonal problems: role
disputes (marital conflict), relationship loss, relationship initiation, deficient social skills
depression cognitive processes - Answers shoulds, self criticism, negative social comparisons, arbitrary
inference, overgeneralization, selective abstraction (judging event by one specific negative
moment/interaction), activation of negative schema
cognitive therapy - Answers automatic thought records, behavioral experiments, goal: modification of
cognitive process
behavioral models of depression - Answers positive mood dependent on positive reinforcement, self
generation of reinforcement through goal directed activities, depression arises from reduction in usual
level of reinforcement
behavioral treatments for depression - Answers behavioral activation, pleasant event scheduling, as
effective as cognitive therapy, programmed exercise helps
depression treatment summary - Answers medication produces rapid effects but has higher relapse
rates, CBT takes longer but has significantly lower relapse rate, combination - 15%+ benefit, sequential
antidepressants and then therapy reduces relapse and recurrence
bipolar disorders - Answers symptoms include both elevated (mania) and lowered (depressive) mood
manic episode - Answers distinct period of abnormally elevated mood; at least 3 of the below symptoms
for at least 1 week:
