PSYCH 101 Final exam Question and
answers already passed 2025/2026
What is psychopathology - correct answer ✔psychopathology refers to the psychological disorders
involving abnormal patterns of behavior, emotion, or thought
Medical model - correct answer ✔proposes that it is useful to think of abnormal behavior as a disease,
focuses on diagnosis, etiology, and prognosis
Advantages of the medical model - correct answer ✔it gives clinicians a structured way to name
disorders, study their cases, predict their course and plan treatment
Criticisms of the medical model - correct answer ✔it can increase stigma by labeling someone as
mentally ill
Criteria used to determine psychopathology - correct answer ✔the 3 D's (deviance, dysfunction, and
distress)
Deviance - correct answer ✔behavior deviates from what society considers acceptable
Dysfunction (maladaptive behavior) - correct answer ✔everyday adaptive behavior is impaired,
behavior prevents someone from functioning
Distress - correct answer ✔diagnosis is based partly on a person's report of great emotional suffering
Subjectivity in diagnosis - correct answer ✔because clinicians must interpret symptoms, behavior,
culture, context, and self reports. The assessment of abnormality is subjective so errors can occur. More
agreement for diagnoses with clearer or more obvious symptoms (schizophrenia, depression, bipolar)
and less agreement for more controversial diagnosis (DID)
,DSM-5 - correct answer ✔diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, it is the classification
system used for psychological disorders as per the american psychiatric association
How does the DSM-5 help clinicians - correct answer ✔it gives standardized criteria and a shared
language which improves diagnostic consistency, it does not completely prevent diagnosis errors as it is
categorical rather than fully dimensional, meaning people are often placed into diagnostic categories
instead of being rated along continuous dimensions
Prevalence - correct answer ✔the proportion or percentage of a population that has a disorder at a
specific time
Lifetime prevalence - correct answer ✔the percentage of people in a population who will experience a
disorder at any point in their lifetime
Onset - correct answer ✔the age or time when symptoms first appear or when the disorder begins
Etiology - correct answer ✔the causes or developmental factors involved in a disorder, including
biological psychological, environmental, and social contributors
Diagnostic creatures - correct answer ✔symptoms required for a diagnosis, the core defining features
of the disorder
Associative features - correct answer ✔characteristics commonly associated with the disorder but not
required for diagnosis
Anxiety disorders - correct answer ✔disorders marked by feelings of apprehension, fear or anxiety,
prevalence of about 19%
, Generalized anxiety disorder - correct answer ✔chronic, high level of anxiety not tied to any specific
threat
Symptoms of GAD - correct answer ✔constantly worry about many everyday things rather than one
specific feared object, trembling, muscle tension, diarrhea, dizziness,faintness, sweating, and heart
palpitations
Associative features of GAD - correct answer ✔accompanied by physical symptoms, has a prevalence of
5%, seen about twice as much in females, age of onset is around midlife
Biologically etiology of GAD - correct answer ✔anxiety disorders show modest genetic influence
through concordance studies, neurotransmitters are involved, especially GABA for anxiety
Psychologically etiology of GAD - correct answer ✔anxiety can be acquired through classical
conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning
Cognitively etiology of GAD - correct answer ✔anxious people may misinterpret harmless situations as
threatening, focus too much attention on threats, and selectively remember threatening information.
Stress also may precipitate or worsen anxiety disorders
Treatment of GAD - correct answer ✔CBT, mindfulness based therapy, SSRIs, Buspirone
Specific phobia - correct answer ✔persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents
no realistic danger, symptoms being intense fear, physical anxiety reactions and avoidance, avoidance is
common
Etiology of specific phobias - correct answer ✔can be acquired through classical conditioning but
maintained through operant conditioning, preparedness is also a factor
answers already passed 2025/2026
What is psychopathology - correct answer ✔psychopathology refers to the psychological disorders
involving abnormal patterns of behavior, emotion, or thought
Medical model - correct answer ✔proposes that it is useful to think of abnormal behavior as a disease,
focuses on diagnosis, etiology, and prognosis
Advantages of the medical model - correct answer ✔it gives clinicians a structured way to name
disorders, study their cases, predict their course and plan treatment
Criticisms of the medical model - correct answer ✔it can increase stigma by labeling someone as
mentally ill
Criteria used to determine psychopathology - correct answer ✔the 3 D's (deviance, dysfunction, and
distress)
Deviance - correct answer ✔behavior deviates from what society considers acceptable
Dysfunction (maladaptive behavior) - correct answer ✔everyday adaptive behavior is impaired,
behavior prevents someone from functioning
Distress - correct answer ✔diagnosis is based partly on a person's report of great emotional suffering
Subjectivity in diagnosis - correct answer ✔because clinicians must interpret symptoms, behavior,
culture, context, and self reports. The assessment of abnormality is subjective so errors can occur. More
agreement for diagnoses with clearer or more obvious symptoms (schizophrenia, depression, bipolar)
and less agreement for more controversial diagnosis (DID)
,DSM-5 - correct answer ✔diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, it is the classification
system used for psychological disorders as per the american psychiatric association
How does the DSM-5 help clinicians - correct answer ✔it gives standardized criteria and a shared
language which improves diagnostic consistency, it does not completely prevent diagnosis errors as it is
categorical rather than fully dimensional, meaning people are often placed into diagnostic categories
instead of being rated along continuous dimensions
Prevalence - correct answer ✔the proportion or percentage of a population that has a disorder at a
specific time
Lifetime prevalence - correct answer ✔the percentage of people in a population who will experience a
disorder at any point in their lifetime
Onset - correct answer ✔the age or time when symptoms first appear or when the disorder begins
Etiology - correct answer ✔the causes or developmental factors involved in a disorder, including
biological psychological, environmental, and social contributors
Diagnostic creatures - correct answer ✔symptoms required for a diagnosis, the core defining features
of the disorder
Associative features - correct answer ✔characteristics commonly associated with the disorder but not
required for diagnosis
Anxiety disorders - correct answer ✔disorders marked by feelings of apprehension, fear or anxiety,
prevalence of about 19%
, Generalized anxiety disorder - correct answer ✔chronic, high level of anxiety not tied to any specific
threat
Symptoms of GAD - correct answer ✔constantly worry about many everyday things rather than one
specific feared object, trembling, muscle tension, diarrhea, dizziness,faintness, sweating, and heart
palpitations
Associative features of GAD - correct answer ✔accompanied by physical symptoms, has a prevalence of
5%, seen about twice as much in females, age of onset is around midlife
Biologically etiology of GAD - correct answer ✔anxiety disorders show modest genetic influence
through concordance studies, neurotransmitters are involved, especially GABA for anxiety
Psychologically etiology of GAD - correct answer ✔anxiety can be acquired through classical
conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning
Cognitively etiology of GAD - correct answer ✔anxious people may misinterpret harmless situations as
threatening, focus too much attention on threats, and selectively remember threatening information.
Stress also may precipitate or worsen anxiety disorders
Treatment of GAD - correct answer ✔CBT, mindfulness based therapy, SSRIs, Buspirone
Specific phobia - correct answer ✔persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents
no realistic danger, symptoms being intense fear, physical anxiety reactions and avoidance, avoidance is
common
Etiology of specific phobias - correct answer ✔can be acquired through classical conditioning but
maintained through operant conditioning, preparedness is also a factor
