Abnormal Psych - Midterm Exam with
correct answers 100% 2026
1)Which of the following is Freud credited with?
a. the invention of fMRI
b. the invention of hypnosis
c. the discovery of the nervous system (from which he coined the phrase "nervous breakdown")
d. organizing formal "talk therapies" for mental illness - Correct Answerd
2)An example of the use of operant conditioning as a treatment for a psychological disorder is
where:
a)Clients with depression were given an electric shock when they reported negative thoughts.
b) A sample of individuals with schizophrenia were given rewards if they used the correct
cutlery at meal times.
c) Individuals in treatment for opioid dependence were given vouchers if their urine sample was
free of opioids.
d) Answers a and c. - Correct Answerd
3)People with severe mental illnesses are LESS likely to be ______ than they were years ago.
a) medicated with psychotropic drugs
b) hospitalized in mental institutions
c) homeless or in prison
d) treated in outpatient facilities - Correct Answerb
4)The "four Ds" of abnormality are:
a) deviance, dysfunction, disturbance, and danger.
b) danger, dread, deviance, and disturbance.
c) deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger.
,d) dysfunction, disturbance, delirium, and danger. - Correct Answerc
5)Roman is a loner. He lives in a cabin in the woods with no running water or electricity. While
he manages to survive this way, living so far from the closest city makes it very hard for him to
get and keep gainful employment. He is often unhappy with his situation, yet he feels that he
can do nothing to change it and has lived this way for years. Which term could NOT be used to
describe Roman's behavior?
a) deviant
b) dysfunctional
c) dangerous
d) distressful - Correct Answerc
6)Which statement is true about the "four Ds" of abnormality?
a) Most clinicians agree on what qualifies under each of "the four Ds."
b) Every culture has generally identical criteria of what constitutes abnormality.
c) An individual can only be diagnosed with a mental illness if (s)he has all "four Ds."
d) None of the "four Ds" is, by itself, an adequate gauge of psychological abnormality. - Correct
Answerd
7) To generate a structural image of the human brain, researchers typically use:
a. positron emission tomography (PET)
b. electromyogram (EMG)
c. magnetic resonance image (MRI)
d. electroencephalogram (EEG) - Correct Answerc, MRI
8) Freud treated patients with hypnosis and psychoanalysis because he believed that mental
illness was ________.
a. psychogenic
,b. somatogenic
c. supernatural
d. Conscious - Correct Answera
9). Ted believes that all mental illness is somatogenic. Based on this theory, what treatment of
mental illness would he most likely endorse?
a. medication
b. exorcism
c. institutionalization
d. talk therapy - Correct Answera
10) Sybil is a young woman living in Europe in the middle ages. When she starts experiencing
symptoms of mental illness, her priest diagnoses her as being ________.
a. a hysterical woman
b. a hormonally imbalanced person
c. an immoral animal
d. a possessed witch - Correct Answerd
11) Dr. Flynn, a present day psychiatrist, uses the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, 5th Ed. (DSM-) to
a. diagnose mental illness
b. treat mental illness
c. find statistics on mental illnesses
d. trace the historical changes in mental illness - Correct Answera
12) George hears voices that others do not but is not distressed by them. This illustrates that:
a) distress must always be used to determine abnormality.
, b) behavior that is not really dangerous can never be considered abnormal.
c) distress does not have to be present for a person's behavior to be considered abnormal.
d) behavior that is not distressful is not abnormal. - Correct Answerc
13) Which aspect of the definition of abnormality includes the inability to care for oneself and
work productively?
a) distress
b) deviance
c) dysfunction
d) danger to self or others - Correct Answerc
14)Which person would NOT be considered abnormal, despite the fact that the person's
behavior is dysfunctional?
a) someone who is too confused to drive safely
b) someone who parties so much that he or she cannot go to class
c) someone who goes on a hunger strike to protest social injustice
d) someone who cannot stay alone for even one night - Correct Answerc
15)Just decades ago, a woman's love for racecar driving would have been considered abnormal.
This statement illustrates:
a) how dangerous most mentally ill people actually are.
b) that abnormality can be situational.
c) that everyone is a little eccentric. d) that drug use causes people to become mentally ill. -
Correct Answerb
16)College students who drink so much that it interferes with their lives, health, and academic
careers are often not diagnosed as engaging in abnormal behavior because:
correct answers 100% 2026
1)Which of the following is Freud credited with?
a. the invention of fMRI
b. the invention of hypnosis
c. the discovery of the nervous system (from which he coined the phrase "nervous breakdown")
d. organizing formal "talk therapies" for mental illness - Correct Answerd
2)An example of the use of operant conditioning as a treatment for a psychological disorder is
where:
a)Clients with depression were given an electric shock when they reported negative thoughts.
b) A sample of individuals with schizophrenia were given rewards if they used the correct
cutlery at meal times.
c) Individuals in treatment for opioid dependence were given vouchers if their urine sample was
free of opioids.
d) Answers a and c. - Correct Answerd
3)People with severe mental illnesses are LESS likely to be ______ than they were years ago.
a) medicated with psychotropic drugs
b) hospitalized in mental institutions
c) homeless or in prison
d) treated in outpatient facilities - Correct Answerb
4)The "four Ds" of abnormality are:
a) deviance, dysfunction, disturbance, and danger.
b) danger, dread, deviance, and disturbance.
c) deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger.
,d) dysfunction, disturbance, delirium, and danger. - Correct Answerc
5)Roman is a loner. He lives in a cabin in the woods with no running water or electricity. While
he manages to survive this way, living so far from the closest city makes it very hard for him to
get and keep gainful employment. He is often unhappy with his situation, yet he feels that he
can do nothing to change it and has lived this way for years. Which term could NOT be used to
describe Roman's behavior?
a) deviant
b) dysfunctional
c) dangerous
d) distressful - Correct Answerc
6)Which statement is true about the "four Ds" of abnormality?
a) Most clinicians agree on what qualifies under each of "the four Ds."
b) Every culture has generally identical criteria of what constitutes abnormality.
c) An individual can only be diagnosed with a mental illness if (s)he has all "four Ds."
d) None of the "four Ds" is, by itself, an adequate gauge of psychological abnormality. - Correct
Answerd
7) To generate a structural image of the human brain, researchers typically use:
a. positron emission tomography (PET)
b. electromyogram (EMG)
c. magnetic resonance image (MRI)
d. electroencephalogram (EEG) - Correct Answerc, MRI
8) Freud treated patients with hypnosis and psychoanalysis because he believed that mental
illness was ________.
a. psychogenic
,b. somatogenic
c. supernatural
d. Conscious - Correct Answera
9). Ted believes that all mental illness is somatogenic. Based on this theory, what treatment of
mental illness would he most likely endorse?
a. medication
b. exorcism
c. institutionalization
d. talk therapy - Correct Answera
10) Sybil is a young woman living in Europe in the middle ages. When she starts experiencing
symptoms of mental illness, her priest diagnoses her as being ________.
a. a hysterical woman
b. a hormonally imbalanced person
c. an immoral animal
d. a possessed witch - Correct Answerd
11) Dr. Flynn, a present day psychiatrist, uses the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, 5th Ed. (DSM-) to
a. diagnose mental illness
b. treat mental illness
c. find statistics on mental illnesses
d. trace the historical changes in mental illness - Correct Answera
12) George hears voices that others do not but is not distressed by them. This illustrates that:
a) distress must always be used to determine abnormality.
, b) behavior that is not really dangerous can never be considered abnormal.
c) distress does not have to be present for a person's behavior to be considered abnormal.
d) behavior that is not distressful is not abnormal. - Correct Answerc
13) Which aspect of the definition of abnormality includes the inability to care for oneself and
work productively?
a) distress
b) deviance
c) dysfunction
d) danger to self or others - Correct Answerc
14)Which person would NOT be considered abnormal, despite the fact that the person's
behavior is dysfunctional?
a) someone who is too confused to drive safely
b) someone who parties so much that he or she cannot go to class
c) someone who goes on a hunger strike to protest social injustice
d) someone who cannot stay alone for even one night - Correct Answerc
15)Just decades ago, a woman's love for racecar driving would have been considered abnormal.
This statement illustrates:
a) how dangerous most mentally ill people actually are.
b) that abnormality can be situational.
c) that everyone is a little eccentric. d) that drug use causes people to become mentally ill. -
Correct Answerb
16)College students who drink so much that it interferes with their lives, health, and academic
careers are often not diagnosed as engaging in abnormal behavior because:
