Test Bank for Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative
Approach, 6th Edition, David H. Barlow, V. Mark
Durand, Stefan G. Hofmann Martin L. Lalumière
Page 1
,Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. Why was electroconvulsive therapy originally used as a therapy for schizophrenia?
a. It was (mistakenly) observed that schizophrenia was rarely found in people with epilepsy.
b. It was (mistakenly) observed that it could reduce brain seizures, providing a cure.
c. It was (mistakenly) observed to induce convulsions and stimulated appetite in psychotic patients.
d. It was (mistakenly) observed to alleviate the depression that often accompanies schizophrenia.
2. According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, individuals will be unable to achieve high levels of self-
actualization and self-esteem unless which of the following has taken place?
a. unless they have been raised with unconditional positive regard from primary caregivers
b. unless they have first met more basic human requirements such as food, sex, and friendship
c. unless they have developed sufficient ego strength
d. unless they have gratified their basic needs and satisfied their drive for physical pleasure through the five
psychosexual stages of development
3. How do most mental health professionals view psychoanalysis as a treatment technique?
a. It has been proven effective.
b. It has been subject to careful measurement criteria.
c. It is basically unscientific.
d. It is noted for consistency in analytic interpretation.
4. After receiving the results of four different sets of tests, Mary’s doctor tells her that she has cancer. Mary states, “This
can’t be true; I’m going to get a second opinion.” Which defence mechanism does this example illustrate?
a. displacement b. denial
c. projection d. repression
5. What is the name for learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired with a response until it elicits that response?
a. operant conditioning b. classical conditioning
c. systematic desensitization d. extinction
6. Statistical data are relevant to researchers. For example, one major epidemiological study found that about 7.8 percent
of people in North America have had a mood disorder at some point in their lives and 3.7 percent have experienced a
mood disorder over the past year. What do the 7.8 percent and 3.7 percent statistics refer to, respectively?
a. incidence; prevalence b. incidence; recurrence
c. proportion; prevalence d. prevalence; incidence
7. When 20-year-old Larry was first identified as suffering from schizophrenia, his family wanted to know how the
disorder would progress and how it would affect him in the future. In medical terms, what did the family want to know?
a. Larry’s psychosocial profile b. Larry’s pathology
c. Larry’s diagnosis d. Larry’s prognosis
8. Ron has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia and hospitalized. What would Thomas Szasz most likely argue?
a. Ron should not be hospitalized because doing so will only make his symptoms worse.
b. Ron’s behaviour does not represent an illness like diabetes, and “schizophrenia” is merely a label applied on
the basis of highly subjective judgments.
c. Ron’s schizophrenia is a serious illness that is best treated with a combination of drugs and family therapy.
d. Ron should be assessed further because mistakes in diagnosis are made frequently.
Page 2
, 9. According to psychoanalytic theory, what function does a person develop early in life to ensure that they can adapt to
the demands of the real world while still finding ways of meeting their basic needs?
a. id b. conscience
c. superego d. ego
10. A four-year-old girl sucks her thumb, a teenager binges on food, and an adult woman bites her fingernails. According
to the Freudian theory of psychosexual development, what underlies all these behaviours?
a. repression of aggressive impulses
b. a fixation at the oral stage of psychosexual development
c. a trauma during the toilet-training phase
d. denial of unacceptable feelings, thoughts, or wishes
11. In the Middle Ages, one of the chief advisers to France’s King Charles V, Nicholas Oresme, suggested that which of
the following was responsible for bizarre behaviour?
a. the moon b. religion
c. melancholy d. greed
12. Bloodletting, often through the use of leeches, was a treatment devised centuries ago. What was this treatment used
for?
a. to reduce excessive blood in the brain
b. to correct a chemical imbalance in the brain
c. to reduce the negative effects of stress
d. to restore the balance of humors
13. Who is the concept of a “hierarchy of needs” most strongly associated with?
a. Carl Rogers b. Anna Freud
c. Abraham Maslow d. Carl Jung
14. You are listening to old musical tunes, including “Melancholy Baby.” Your friends are impressed when you tell them
that “melancholic,” referring to a depressive personality, derives from the Greek term melancholer. What does this term
mean?
a. yellow bile b. phlegm
c. blood d. black bile
15. In most Western societies, what happens when a person enters a trance state and believes he or she is possessed?
a. The person is believed to be suffering from a psychotic disorder.
b. The person is diagnosed with a dissociative disorder.
c. The person may be viewed as having a psychological disorder.
d. The person can be cured with antipsychotic medication.
16. Which Greek philosopher suggested that maladaptive behaviour was rooted in social and cultural factors?
a. Galen b. Hippocrates
c. Plato d. Aristotle
17. Which of the following is a characteristic of how defence mechanisms affect coping styles?
a. They are dependent upon the age of the person and how they are used.
b. They can be either adaptive or maladaptive.
c. They are self-defeating.
d. They are adaptive.
Page 3
Approach, 6th Edition, David H. Barlow, V. Mark
Durand, Stefan G. Hofmann Martin L. Lalumière
Page 1
,Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. Why was electroconvulsive therapy originally used as a therapy for schizophrenia?
a. It was (mistakenly) observed that schizophrenia was rarely found in people with epilepsy.
b. It was (mistakenly) observed that it could reduce brain seizures, providing a cure.
c. It was (mistakenly) observed to induce convulsions and stimulated appetite in psychotic patients.
d. It was (mistakenly) observed to alleviate the depression that often accompanies schizophrenia.
2. According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, individuals will be unable to achieve high levels of self-
actualization and self-esteem unless which of the following has taken place?
a. unless they have been raised with unconditional positive regard from primary caregivers
b. unless they have first met more basic human requirements such as food, sex, and friendship
c. unless they have developed sufficient ego strength
d. unless they have gratified their basic needs and satisfied their drive for physical pleasure through the five
psychosexual stages of development
3. How do most mental health professionals view psychoanalysis as a treatment technique?
a. It has been proven effective.
b. It has been subject to careful measurement criteria.
c. It is basically unscientific.
d. It is noted for consistency in analytic interpretation.
4. After receiving the results of four different sets of tests, Mary’s doctor tells her that she has cancer. Mary states, “This
can’t be true; I’m going to get a second opinion.” Which defence mechanism does this example illustrate?
a. displacement b. denial
c. projection d. repression
5. What is the name for learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired with a response until it elicits that response?
a. operant conditioning b. classical conditioning
c. systematic desensitization d. extinction
6. Statistical data are relevant to researchers. For example, one major epidemiological study found that about 7.8 percent
of people in North America have had a mood disorder at some point in their lives and 3.7 percent have experienced a
mood disorder over the past year. What do the 7.8 percent and 3.7 percent statistics refer to, respectively?
a. incidence; prevalence b. incidence; recurrence
c. proportion; prevalence d. prevalence; incidence
7. When 20-year-old Larry was first identified as suffering from schizophrenia, his family wanted to know how the
disorder would progress and how it would affect him in the future. In medical terms, what did the family want to know?
a. Larry’s psychosocial profile b. Larry’s pathology
c. Larry’s diagnosis d. Larry’s prognosis
8. Ron has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia and hospitalized. What would Thomas Szasz most likely argue?
a. Ron should not be hospitalized because doing so will only make his symptoms worse.
b. Ron’s behaviour does not represent an illness like diabetes, and “schizophrenia” is merely a label applied on
the basis of highly subjective judgments.
c. Ron’s schizophrenia is a serious illness that is best treated with a combination of drugs and family therapy.
d. Ron should be assessed further because mistakes in diagnosis are made frequently.
Page 2
, 9. According to psychoanalytic theory, what function does a person develop early in life to ensure that they can adapt to
the demands of the real world while still finding ways of meeting their basic needs?
a. id b. conscience
c. superego d. ego
10. A four-year-old girl sucks her thumb, a teenager binges on food, and an adult woman bites her fingernails. According
to the Freudian theory of psychosexual development, what underlies all these behaviours?
a. repression of aggressive impulses
b. a fixation at the oral stage of psychosexual development
c. a trauma during the toilet-training phase
d. denial of unacceptable feelings, thoughts, or wishes
11. In the Middle Ages, one of the chief advisers to France’s King Charles V, Nicholas Oresme, suggested that which of
the following was responsible for bizarre behaviour?
a. the moon b. religion
c. melancholy d. greed
12. Bloodletting, often through the use of leeches, was a treatment devised centuries ago. What was this treatment used
for?
a. to reduce excessive blood in the brain
b. to correct a chemical imbalance in the brain
c. to reduce the negative effects of stress
d. to restore the balance of humors
13. Who is the concept of a “hierarchy of needs” most strongly associated with?
a. Carl Rogers b. Anna Freud
c. Abraham Maslow d. Carl Jung
14. You are listening to old musical tunes, including “Melancholy Baby.” Your friends are impressed when you tell them
that “melancholic,” referring to a depressive personality, derives from the Greek term melancholer. What does this term
mean?
a. yellow bile b. phlegm
c. blood d. black bile
15. In most Western societies, what happens when a person enters a trance state and believes he or she is possessed?
a. The person is believed to be suffering from a psychotic disorder.
b. The person is diagnosed with a dissociative disorder.
c. The person may be viewed as having a psychological disorder.
d. The person can be cured with antipsychotic medication.
16. Which Greek philosopher suggested that maladaptive behaviour was rooted in social and cultural factors?
a. Galen b. Hippocrates
c. Plato d. Aristotle
17. Which of the following is a characteristic of how defence mechanisms affect coping styles?
a. They are dependent upon the age of the person and how they are used.
b. They can be either adaptive or maladaptive.
c. They are self-defeating.
d. They are adaptive.
Page 3
