,Chapter 1: Abnormal Psychology: An Overview
Multiple-Choice Questions
1.1-1. Which of the following is an example of family aggregation?
a. Both Jane and her husband are alcoholic.
b. Jim and John, 21-year-old friends, are both schizophrenic.
c. Karen, her mother, and her grandmother all have been diagnosed with
generalized anxiety disorder.
d. Kim's suicide was apparently a reaction to her mother's abuse.
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-1
Page Ref: 2
Topic: Abnormal Psychology:An Overview
Skill: Applied
Answer: c. Karen, her mother, and her grandmother all have been diagnosed with
generalized anxiety disorder.
1.1-2. What does Monique’s case best illustrate?
a. Most individuals with mental disorders are violent.
b. Women are more likely to commit suicide than men.
c. Most individuals who experience a mental breakdown are clearly unwell long
before treatment is sought.
d. Mental illness can have a significant impact on one's life.
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1- 2
Page Ref: 2
Topic: Abnormal Psychology:An Overview
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: d. Mental illness can have a significant impact on one's life.
1.1-3. What does Monique’s case best illustrate?
a. Abnormal behavior usually produces more distress in others than the person
who engages in the abnormal behavior.
b. Abnormal behavior covers a wide range of behavioral disturbances.
c. Most people who suffer from abnormal behavior are quickly identified as
deviant by other people.
d. When people suffer from mental disorders, they are unable to work or live
independently.
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-3
Page Ref: 2
Topic: Abnormal Psychology:An Overview
Skill: Conceptual
Copyright © 2014, 2013, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
,Answer: b. Abnormal behavior covers a wide range of behavioral disturbances.
1.1-4. What makes defining abnormality difficult?
a. There are so many types of abnormal behavior that they can't be accurately
described.
b. There is no one behavior that serves to make someone abnormal.
c. Most of us are abnormal much of the time so that we cannot tell what is normal.
d. Criteria for abnormality have yet to be developed.
Difficulty: 2
Question ID: 1.1-4
Page Ref: 3
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. There is no one behavior that serves to make someone abnormal.
1.1-5. Which of the following is a sufficient element to determine abnormality?
a. Suffering
b. Maladaptiveness
c. Deviancy
d. There is no single sufficient element.
Difficulty: 2
Question ID: 1.1-5
Page Ref: 3
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. There is no single sufficient element.
1.1-6. The fact that body piercings are commonplace today while they would once
have been viewed as abnormal illustrates that
a. modern society is unlikely to change.
b. what is acceptable for men and women is no longer different.
c. American culture values independence.
d. the values of a society may change over time.
Difficulty: 2
Question ID: 1.1-6
Page Ref: 5
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: d. the values of a society may change over time.
1.1-7. Brett persistently injects himself with pain killers. This has greatly increased
his chance of overdosing and dying. His behavior harms no one else. According to
the DSM-5, is Brett's behavior consistent with the definition of a mental disorder?
a. Yes, because many people in society engage in this behavior.
Copyright © 2014, 2013, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
2
, b. Yes, because he is persistently acting in a way that harms him.
c. No, because his behavior must also harm the well-being of others in the
community.
d. No, because there is no evidence that his actions are out of his own control.
Difficulty: 2
Question ID: 1.1-7
Page Ref: 4
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. Yes, because he is persistently acting in a way that harms him.
1.1-8. According to the DSM, when is deviant behavior viewed as indicative of a
mental disorder?
a. Always
b. Only when the behavior is inconsistent with cultural norms
c. When it is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual
d. Never
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-8
Page Ref: 7
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Factual
Answer: c. When it is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual
1.1-9. In the field of abnormal psychology, what does DSM stand for?
a. Disorders, Science, and the Mind
b. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
c. Descriptors for the Science of the Mind
d. Diagnostic Science of the Mind
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-9
Page Ref: 5
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
1.1-10. Which of the following is included in the DSM-5?
a. A discussion of the various causes of mental disorders
b. A means of identifying different mental disorders
c. A description of all conditions for mental illness
d. A description of all of the possible treatments for each disorder
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-10
Page Ref: 5
Copyright © 2014, 2013, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
3
Multiple-Choice Questions
1.1-1. Which of the following is an example of family aggregation?
a. Both Jane and her husband are alcoholic.
b. Jim and John, 21-year-old friends, are both schizophrenic.
c. Karen, her mother, and her grandmother all have been diagnosed with
generalized anxiety disorder.
d. Kim's suicide was apparently a reaction to her mother's abuse.
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-1
Page Ref: 2
Topic: Abnormal Psychology:An Overview
Skill: Applied
Answer: c. Karen, her mother, and her grandmother all have been diagnosed with
generalized anxiety disorder.
1.1-2. What does Monique’s case best illustrate?
a. Most individuals with mental disorders are violent.
b. Women are more likely to commit suicide than men.
c. Most individuals who experience a mental breakdown are clearly unwell long
before treatment is sought.
d. Mental illness can have a significant impact on one's life.
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1- 2
Page Ref: 2
Topic: Abnormal Psychology:An Overview
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: d. Mental illness can have a significant impact on one's life.
1.1-3. What does Monique’s case best illustrate?
a. Abnormal behavior usually produces more distress in others than the person
who engages in the abnormal behavior.
b. Abnormal behavior covers a wide range of behavioral disturbances.
c. Most people who suffer from abnormal behavior are quickly identified as
deviant by other people.
d. When people suffer from mental disorders, they are unable to work or live
independently.
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-3
Page Ref: 2
Topic: Abnormal Psychology:An Overview
Skill: Conceptual
Copyright © 2014, 2013, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
,Answer: b. Abnormal behavior covers a wide range of behavioral disturbances.
1.1-4. What makes defining abnormality difficult?
a. There are so many types of abnormal behavior that they can't be accurately
described.
b. There is no one behavior that serves to make someone abnormal.
c. Most of us are abnormal much of the time so that we cannot tell what is normal.
d. Criteria for abnormality have yet to be developed.
Difficulty: 2
Question ID: 1.1-4
Page Ref: 3
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. There is no one behavior that serves to make someone abnormal.
1.1-5. Which of the following is a sufficient element to determine abnormality?
a. Suffering
b. Maladaptiveness
c. Deviancy
d. There is no single sufficient element.
Difficulty: 2
Question ID: 1.1-5
Page Ref: 3
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. There is no single sufficient element.
1.1-6. The fact that body piercings are commonplace today while they would once
have been viewed as abnormal illustrates that
a. modern society is unlikely to change.
b. what is acceptable for men and women is no longer different.
c. American culture values independence.
d. the values of a society may change over time.
Difficulty: 2
Question ID: 1.1-6
Page Ref: 5
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: d. the values of a society may change over time.
1.1-7. Brett persistently injects himself with pain killers. This has greatly increased
his chance of overdosing and dying. His behavior harms no one else. According to
the DSM-5, is Brett's behavior consistent with the definition of a mental disorder?
a. Yes, because many people in society engage in this behavior.
Copyright © 2014, 2013, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
2
, b. Yes, because he is persistently acting in a way that harms him.
c. No, because his behavior must also harm the well-being of others in the
community.
d. No, because there is no evidence that his actions are out of his own control.
Difficulty: 2
Question ID: 1.1-7
Page Ref: 4
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. Yes, because he is persistently acting in a way that harms him.
1.1-8. According to the DSM, when is deviant behavior viewed as indicative of a
mental disorder?
a. Always
b. Only when the behavior is inconsistent with cultural norms
c. When it is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual
d. Never
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-8
Page Ref: 7
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Factual
Answer: c. When it is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual
1.1-9. In the field of abnormal psychology, what does DSM stand for?
a. Disorders, Science, and the Mind
b. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
c. Descriptors for the Science of the Mind
d. Diagnostic Science of the Mind
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-9
Page Ref: 5
Topic: What Do We Mean by Abnormality?
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
1.1-10. Which of the following is included in the DSM-5?
a. A discussion of the various causes of mental disorders
b. A means of identifying different mental disorders
c. A description of all conditions for mental illness
d. A description of all of the possible treatments for each disorder
Difficulty: 1
Question ID: 1.1-10
Page Ref: 5
Copyright © 2014, 2013, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
3
