ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 9TH EDITION
WHITBOURNE STUDY GUIDE 2026
QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS
⩥ abnormal psychology. Answer: The scientific study of abnormal
behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and ultimately change
abnormal patterns of functioning.
⩥ acute stress disorder. Answer: An anxiety disorder in which fear and
related symptoms are experienced soon after a traumatic event, often
including amnesia about the event, emotional numbing, and
derealization, and lasting less than a month. Many victims later develop
posttraumatic stress disorder.
⩥ addiction. Answer: Physical dependence on a substance marked by
tolerance, withdrawal symptoms during abstinence, or both.
⩥ affect. Answer: A subjective feeling of emotion or mood often
accompanied by bodily expressions noticeable to others.
⩥ age of onset. Answer: Person's age when he or she develops or
exhibits symptoms of a disorder.
,⩥ agnosia. Answer: Inability to recognize and name objects; may be a
symptom of dementia or other brain disorders.
⩥ agoraphobia. Answer: Anxiety about being in places or situations
from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing) or help
unavailable if panic symptoms were to occur.
⩥ alogia. Answer: Deficiency in the amount or content of speech, a
disturbance often seen in people with schizophrenia. Also known as
poverty of speech.
⩥ alternate personalities / alters. Answer: In dissociative identity
disorder, the additional identities along with the host identity. Also
known as subpersonalities.
⩥ American Law Institute (ALI) test (1955). Answer: A legal test for
insanity that holds a person to be insane at the time of committing a
crime, if during criminal conduct, the individual could not judge right
from wrong or control his or her behavior as required by law. Compare
M'Naghten Rule and irresistible impulse.
⩥ amnestic disorders. Answer: Organic disorders in which the primary
symptom is memory loss.
,⩥ anhedonia. Answer: Inability to experience pleasure, associated with
some mood and schizophrenic disorders.
⩥ anorexia nervosa. Answer: Eating disorder characterized by continual
food refusal and the pursuit of extreme thinness, leading to dangerously
low body weight.
⩥ antisocial personality disorder. Answer: A personality disorder marked
by a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of
others. Deceitful, unremorseful, manipulative, lacks anxiety and guilt.
⩥ anxiety. Answer: Mood state characterized by marked negative affect,
behaviors, and bodily symptoms of tension in which a person
apprehensively anticipates future danger or misfortune.
⩥ anxiety disorders. Answer: A varied group of disorders that all have
anxiety, fear, or tension as an essential feature. Includes specific phobias,
social phobia, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-
compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
⩥ aphasia. Answer: Impairment or loss of language skills resulting from
brain damage caused by stroke, Alzheimer's disease, or other illness or
trauma.
, ⩥ apraxia. Answer: Loss of motor activities (such as walking); one of
the symptoms of dementia.
⩥ Asperger's disorder. Answer: A pervasive developmental disorder in
which individuals display profound social impairment and restricted or
unusual behaviors, but without language delays seen in autism.
⩥ attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Answer:
Developmental disorder in which persons are unable to focus their
attention, they behave hyperactively or impulsively, or both.
⩥ auditory hallucinations. Answer: Psychotic disturbance in perception
in which a person hears sounds or voices although these are not real or
actually present. The voices are often critical, accusatory, or demanding.
⩥ attributional style. Answer: The relatively consistent explanations a
person forms about why personal stressors or other negative life events
occur, taking the form of internal vs. external, stable vs. unstable, and
global vs. specific.
⩥ autistic disorder (autism). Answer: Pervasive developmental disorder
characterized by significant impairment in social interactions, extreme
unresponsiveness to others, poor communication skills, and highly
repetitive and rigid behavior.
WHITBOURNE STUDY GUIDE 2026
QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS
⩥ abnormal psychology. Answer: The scientific study of abnormal
behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and ultimately change
abnormal patterns of functioning.
⩥ acute stress disorder. Answer: An anxiety disorder in which fear and
related symptoms are experienced soon after a traumatic event, often
including amnesia about the event, emotional numbing, and
derealization, and lasting less than a month. Many victims later develop
posttraumatic stress disorder.
⩥ addiction. Answer: Physical dependence on a substance marked by
tolerance, withdrawal symptoms during abstinence, or both.
⩥ affect. Answer: A subjective feeling of emotion or mood often
accompanied by bodily expressions noticeable to others.
⩥ age of onset. Answer: Person's age when he or she develops or
exhibits symptoms of a disorder.
,⩥ agnosia. Answer: Inability to recognize and name objects; may be a
symptom of dementia or other brain disorders.
⩥ agoraphobia. Answer: Anxiety about being in places or situations
from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing) or help
unavailable if panic symptoms were to occur.
⩥ alogia. Answer: Deficiency in the amount or content of speech, a
disturbance often seen in people with schizophrenia. Also known as
poverty of speech.
⩥ alternate personalities / alters. Answer: In dissociative identity
disorder, the additional identities along with the host identity. Also
known as subpersonalities.
⩥ American Law Institute (ALI) test (1955). Answer: A legal test for
insanity that holds a person to be insane at the time of committing a
crime, if during criminal conduct, the individual could not judge right
from wrong or control his or her behavior as required by law. Compare
M'Naghten Rule and irresistible impulse.
⩥ amnestic disorders. Answer: Organic disorders in which the primary
symptom is memory loss.
,⩥ anhedonia. Answer: Inability to experience pleasure, associated with
some mood and schizophrenic disorders.
⩥ anorexia nervosa. Answer: Eating disorder characterized by continual
food refusal and the pursuit of extreme thinness, leading to dangerously
low body weight.
⩥ antisocial personality disorder. Answer: A personality disorder marked
by a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of
others. Deceitful, unremorseful, manipulative, lacks anxiety and guilt.
⩥ anxiety. Answer: Mood state characterized by marked negative affect,
behaviors, and bodily symptoms of tension in which a person
apprehensively anticipates future danger or misfortune.
⩥ anxiety disorders. Answer: A varied group of disorders that all have
anxiety, fear, or tension as an essential feature. Includes specific phobias,
social phobia, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-
compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
⩥ aphasia. Answer: Impairment or loss of language skills resulting from
brain damage caused by stroke, Alzheimer's disease, or other illness or
trauma.
, ⩥ apraxia. Answer: Loss of motor activities (such as walking); one of
the symptoms of dementia.
⩥ Asperger's disorder. Answer: A pervasive developmental disorder in
which individuals display profound social impairment and restricted or
unusual behaviors, but without language delays seen in autism.
⩥ attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Answer:
Developmental disorder in which persons are unable to focus their
attention, they behave hyperactively or impulsively, or both.
⩥ auditory hallucinations. Answer: Psychotic disturbance in perception
in which a person hears sounds or voices although these are not real or
actually present. The voices are often critical, accusatory, or demanding.
⩥ attributional style. Answer: The relatively consistent explanations a
person forms about why personal stressors or other negative life events
occur, taking the form of internal vs. external, stable vs. unstable, and
global vs. specific.
⩥ autistic disorder (autism). Answer: Pervasive developmental disorder
characterized by significant impairment in social interactions, extreme
unresponsiveness to others, poor communication skills, and highly
repetitive and rigid behavior.
