Exam 15: Psychological Disorders

A major advantage of the DSM is that:

The biological model of drug/alcohol addiction emphasizes that addiction is due primarily to a person's biochemistry, metabolism, and genetic predisposition.

Beginning in adolescence, women are more likely than men to develop a ruminating, introspective style of cognition, rehearsing the reasons for their unhappiness.

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorders enjoy rituals, such as checking the oven and the locks three times, before sleeping.

The two dominant approaches to understanding addiction and drug abuse are:

People who have panic disorder are found throughout the world, although culture influences the particular symptoms that are experienced. Describe some of the cultural differences in the manifestation of panic attacks.

When individuals are diagnosed with OCD, are the obsessive thoughts usually positive or negative? Illustrate your answer with an example of an obsessive thought.

If a friend is talking about suicide, then he or she will not really do it, because most people with serious plans don't signal their intentions.

The authors of our textbook would be most likely to agree with all of the following EXCEPT:

Why is agoraphobia called "the fear of fears"? Explain, in detail, the underlying fear in this disorder and the manner in which it often begins.

If heredity plays a role in alcoholism, more than one gene is involved.

The most disabling fear disorder is agoraphobia.

We encounter dilemmas when we try to define "mental disorders." The text considers three viewpoints in attempting to formulate this definition. What is the definition of "mental disorder" that the authors decide upon?

Compulsion involves repetitive, ritualized behaviours designed to reduce anxiety.

Match the description with the appropriate diagnostic category from the DSM-IV. -These disorders involve an inability to resist performing some act that is harmful to the individual or to others.

Everyone experiences occasional shyness and social anxiety, but the person with a social phobia has intense reactions of fear. What are some of the common social phobias?

Candice experiences a continuous state of anxiety marked by feelings of worry and dread, apprehension, difficulties in concentration, and signs of motor tension. According to the DSM, this disorder is called:

Research on the genetic predisposition toward schizophrenia has indicated that:

Mary went to the emergency room for the second time in a month complaining of difficulty breathing and chest pain that had come on suddenly. She thought she was having a heart attack and was afraid she was dying, but the doctor could not find anything wrong. She may be suffering from:

Social and environmental stressors that may bear on a person's condition would be considered on the ________ axis, or dimension, of the DSM.