Chapter 9 Bates Test Questions All
Answered Correct 2025-2026 Updated.
During an examination, the nurse can assess mental status by which activity?
a. Examining the patients
electroencephalogram
b. Observing the patient as he or she performs
an intelligence quotient (IQ) test
c. Observing the patient and inferring health or
dysfunction
d. Examining the patient’s response to a specific
set of questions - Answer ANS: C
Mental status cannot be directly scrutinized like the characteristics of skin or heart sounds. Its
functioning is inferred through an assessment of an individual's behaviors, such as
consciousness, language, mood and affect, and other aspects.
The nurse is assessing the mental status of a child. Which statement about children and mental
status is true?
a. All aspects of mental status in children are
interdependent.
b. Children are highly labile and unstable until
the age of 2 years.
c. Children's mental status is largely a function
of their parents level of functioning until the
age of 7 years.
d. A child's mental status is impossible to assess
until the child develops the ability to
concentrate. - Answer ANS: A
Separating and tracing the development of only one aspect of mental status is
difficult. All aspects are interdependent. For example, consciousness is rudimentary
, The nurse is assessing a 75-year-old man. As the nurse begins the mental status portion of the
assessment, the nurse expects that this patient:
a. Will have no decrease in any of his abilities,
including response time.
b. Will have difficulty on tests of remote
memory because this ability typically
decreases with age.
c. May take a little longer to respond, but his
general knowledge and abilities should not
have declined.
d. Will exhibit had a decrease in his response
time because of the loss of language and a
decrease in general knowledge. - Answer ANS: C
The aging process leaves the parameters of mental status mostly intact. General
knowledge does not decrease, and little or no loss in vocabulary occurs. Response
time is slower than in a youth. It takes a little longer for the brain to process
information and to react to it. Recent memory, which requires some processing, is
somewhat decreased with aging, but remote memory is not affected.
When assessing aging adults, the nurse knows that one of the first things that should be
assessed before making judgments about their mental status is:
a. Presence of phobias
b. General intelligence
c. Presence of irrational thinking patterns
d. Sensory-perceptive abilities - Answer ANS: D
Age-related changes in sensory perception can affect mental status. For example,
vision loss may result in apathy, social isolation, and depression. Hearing changes are common
in older adults, which produces frustration, suspicion, and social isolation
and makes the person appear confused.
Answered Correct 2025-2026 Updated.
During an examination, the nurse can assess mental status by which activity?
a. Examining the patients
electroencephalogram
b. Observing the patient as he or she performs
an intelligence quotient (IQ) test
c. Observing the patient and inferring health or
dysfunction
d. Examining the patient’s response to a specific
set of questions - Answer ANS: C
Mental status cannot be directly scrutinized like the characteristics of skin or heart sounds. Its
functioning is inferred through an assessment of an individual's behaviors, such as
consciousness, language, mood and affect, and other aspects.
The nurse is assessing the mental status of a child. Which statement about children and mental
status is true?
a. All aspects of mental status in children are
interdependent.
b. Children are highly labile and unstable until
the age of 2 years.
c. Children's mental status is largely a function
of their parents level of functioning until the
age of 7 years.
d. A child's mental status is impossible to assess
until the child develops the ability to
concentrate. - Answer ANS: A
Separating and tracing the development of only one aspect of mental status is
difficult. All aspects are interdependent. For example, consciousness is rudimentary
, The nurse is assessing a 75-year-old man. As the nurse begins the mental status portion of the
assessment, the nurse expects that this patient:
a. Will have no decrease in any of his abilities,
including response time.
b. Will have difficulty on tests of remote
memory because this ability typically
decreases with age.
c. May take a little longer to respond, but his
general knowledge and abilities should not
have declined.
d. Will exhibit had a decrease in his response
time because of the loss of language and a
decrease in general knowledge. - Answer ANS: C
The aging process leaves the parameters of mental status mostly intact. General
knowledge does not decrease, and little or no loss in vocabulary occurs. Response
time is slower than in a youth. It takes a little longer for the brain to process
information and to react to it. Recent memory, which requires some processing, is
somewhat decreased with aging, but remote memory is not affected.
When assessing aging adults, the nurse knows that one of the first things that should be
assessed before making judgments about their mental status is:
a. Presence of phobias
b. General intelligence
c. Presence of irrational thinking patterns
d. Sensory-perceptive abilities - Answer ANS: D
Age-related changes in sensory perception can affect mental status. For example,
vision loss may result in apathy, social isolation, and depression. Hearing changes are common
in older adults, which produces frustration, suspicion, and social isolation
and makes the person appear confused.
