PSY 395 Exam Questions With
Complete Answers 100% Pass
How do mental health workers view psychological disorders? - ANSWER When behavior
is deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional. Also, when it is persistently harmful thoughts,
feelings, and actions.
What is psychological dysfunction? - ANSWER Breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or
behavioral functioning
What are some personal distress issues that becomes impairing for a person? -
ANSWER Difficulty performing appropriate and expected roles which creates
impairment
When is a response considered a disorder? - ANSWER When it becomes atypical or not
culturally expected. (violation from social norms, deviations from average, reaction is
outside of cultural norms)
What are the three factors of a psychological disorder? - ANSWER Psychological
disfunction, distress/impairment, and atypical
What is the DSM? - ANSWER Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
which is behavioral, cognitive, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are
UNEXPECTED in our culture.
What is psychopathology? - ANSWER The scientific study of the origins, symptoms, and
development of psychological disorders
What is a clinical description? - ANSWER 1. Begins with presenting the problem (what
1st brings the person into therapy)
2. FInding unique combination of behavior, thoughts, and feelings that make up a
specific disorder
3. Dysfunction vs. common experience
Three Main focuses on Clinical description - ANSWER 1. Clinical description
2. Causation (etiology)
3. treatment and outcome
In a clinical description what is the course of a disorder? - ANSWER Chronic (there
forever)
,Episodic (panic attacks)
Time limited (cold)
How does a Clinical description describe the onset of the disorder? - ANSWER Acute
(begins suddenly) vs. insidious (develops gradually over time and don't even know it)
Describe a prognosis of a clinical desription - ANSWER Anticipated course of disorder
(good or guarded)
What of onset may shape the presentation of the disorder? - ANSWER Age (
development and lifespan comes into play)
What is prevalence? - ANSWER How many people in a certain population have the
disorder (i.e. students on campus and who have the flu)
What is incidence? - ANSWER The Number of new cases over a period of time
What is the medical model? - ANSWER Psychological disorders and mental illness that
need to be diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms and cured through therapy and
treatment
What are the 4 steps of the medical model - ANSWER 1. Etiology
2. Diagnosis
3. Treatment
4.Prognosis
Causation, treatment, etiology, outcomes? Basic information - ANSWER Cause or
development of psychopathology.
Some treatment would be drugs or psychosocial
outcome questions: How do we know we have helped?
What is the psychoanalytical theory? - ANSWER refers to the definition of personality
organization and the dynamics of personality development that underlie and guide the
psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy, called psychoanalysis, a clinical
method for treating psychopathology.
Freud made a comprehensive theory on psychopathology and believed the mind was
made up of what three things? - ANSWER ID -pleasure seeking
Ego- realistic, keeps ID and superego
Superego- (very moral principals)
When the id or superego challenges the conscious ego what is a result? - ANSWER
, Anxiety
To stop the anxiety the ego uses what? - ANSWER Defense mechanisms, unconscious
protective process to keep intrapsychic conflicts in check
What is a defense mechanism? - ANSWER Occurs when the ego is losing the battle with
ID and superego
What is displacement? - ANSWER Redirecting one's anger onto a less threatening object
or person
What is denial? - ANSWER refusing to acknowledge some aspect of objective reality or a
subject experience that is apparent to others
What is rationalization? - ANSWER Concealing true motivations for actions, thoughts, or
feelings through elaborate reassuring or self-serving but incorrect explanations
What is reaction formation? - ANSWER Substituting behavior, thoughts,, or feelings that
are direct opposites of unacceptable ones.
What is projection? - ANSWER Falsely attributing one's unacceptable feelings, impulses,
or thoughts on another individual/object
What is repression? - ANSWER Blocking disturbing wishes, thoughts, or experiences
What is sublimation? - ANSWER directing potentially maladaptive feelings or impulses
into socially acceptable behavior
What are the two major parts of the behavior model? - ANSWER Operant conditioning-
Increasing/decreasing our behavior
Classical conditioning - Neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus until it
elicits a stimulus response
Complete Answers 100% Pass
How do mental health workers view psychological disorders? - ANSWER When behavior
is deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional. Also, when it is persistently harmful thoughts,
feelings, and actions.
What is psychological dysfunction? - ANSWER Breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or
behavioral functioning
What are some personal distress issues that becomes impairing for a person? -
ANSWER Difficulty performing appropriate and expected roles which creates
impairment
When is a response considered a disorder? - ANSWER When it becomes atypical or not
culturally expected. (violation from social norms, deviations from average, reaction is
outside of cultural norms)
What are the three factors of a psychological disorder? - ANSWER Psychological
disfunction, distress/impairment, and atypical
What is the DSM? - ANSWER Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
which is behavioral, cognitive, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are
UNEXPECTED in our culture.
What is psychopathology? - ANSWER The scientific study of the origins, symptoms, and
development of psychological disorders
What is a clinical description? - ANSWER 1. Begins with presenting the problem (what
1st brings the person into therapy)
2. FInding unique combination of behavior, thoughts, and feelings that make up a
specific disorder
3. Dysfunction vs. common experience
Three Main focuses on Clinical description - ANSWER 1. Clinical description
2. Causation (etiology)
3. treatment and outcome
In a clinical description what is the course of a disorder? - ANSWER Chronic (there
forever)
,Episodic (panic attacks)
Time limited (cold)
How does a Clinical description describe the onset of the disorder? - ANSWER Acute
(begins suddenly) vs. insidious (develops gradually over time and don't even know it)
Describe a prognosis of a clinical desription - ANSWER Anticipated course of disorder
(good or guarded)
What of onset may shape the presentation of the disorder? - ANSWER Age (
development and lifespan comes into play)
What is prevalence? - ANSWER How many people in a certain population have the
disorder (i.e. students on campus and who have the flu)
What is incidence? - ANSWER The Number of new cases over a period of time
What is the medical model? - ANSWER Psychological disorders and mental illness that
need to be diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms and cured through therapy and
treatment
What are the 4 steps of the medical model - ANSWER 1. Etiology
2. Diagnosis
3. Treatment
4.Prognosis
Causation, treatment, etiology, outcomes? Basic information - ANSWER Cause or
development of psychopathology.
Some treatment would be drugs or psychosocial
outcome questions: How do we know we have helped?
What is the psychoanalytical theory? - ANSWER refers to the definition of personality
organization and the dynamics of personality development that underlie and guide the
psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy, called psychoanalysis, a clinical
method for treating psychopathology.
Freud made a comprehensive theory on psychopathology and believed the mind was
made up of what three things? - ANSWER ID -pleasure seeking
Ego- realistic, keeps ID and superego
Superego- (very moral principals)
When the id or superego challenges the conscious ego what is a result? - ANSWER
, Anxiety
To stop the anxiety the ego uses what? - ANSWER Defense mechanisms, unconscious
protective process to keep intrapsychic conflicts in check
What is a defense mechanism? - ANSWER Occurs when the ego is losing the battle with
ID and superego
What is displacement? - ANSWER Redirecting one's anger onto a less threatening object
or person
What is denial? - ANSWER refusing to acknowledge some aspect of objective reality or a
subject experience that is apparent to others
What is rationalization? - ANSWER Concealing true motivations for actions, thoughts, or
feelings through elaborate reassuring or self-serving but incorrect explanations
What is reaction formation? - ANSWER Substituting behavior, thoughts,, or feelings that
are direct opposites of unacceptable ones.
What is projection? - ANSWER Falsely attributing one's unacceptable feelings, impulses,
or thoughts on another individual/object
What is repression? - ANSWER Blocking disturbing wishes, thoughts, or experiences
What is sublimation? - ANSWER directing potentially maladaptive feelings or impulses
into socially acceptable behavior
What are the two major parts of the behavior model? - ANSWER Operant conditioning-
Increasing/decreasing our behavior
Classical conditioning - Neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus until it
elicits a stimulus response
