[To the online textbook Psychology: An Introduction (2017) by Russ Dewey]
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Revised 11/23/2016. Welcome to the self-quiz on the Human Nervous System. These questions accompany Chapter 12 (Abnormal Psychology) of the online textbook Psychology: An Introduction). They are general enough to be useful for students using other textbooks as well.
Read the question and click on an answer. You will jump to a correction or (if the answer is correct) a confirmation.
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[The remainder of the page is not meant to be read sequentially; it consists of answers and explanations separated by stretches of nothing. You will jump back and forth to these as you click on possible answers of the questions.]
You picked...
if a police officer judges the person to be insane
No, "insanity" in itself is not enough to get somebody committed to a mental institution in the U.S., and a police officer would never make this judgment independently anyway; a doctor (usually a psychiatrist, often two) would have to be involved.
You picked...
if a psychiatrist says the person presents a danger to self or others
Yes...this is what leads to a person being involuntarily committed in the U.S. Typically the case is reevaluated after a few days.
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if relatives agree on commitment
No, that is not enough to get a person put into a mental hospital, in the U.S., although parents can have a child committed if clinicians agree it is necessary.
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if the person is always intoxicated
No; many alcoholics are never committed to mental hospitals.
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if the person hears voices
No; this is a common symptom of schizophrenia, but it is not enough to get a person committed unless they have additional problems.
You picked...
autism
No, autism is regarded as a spectrum disorder; it can range from very disabling to near-normal.
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OCD
No, many people think it is possible to have "a touch" of OCD such as isolated compulsions, some people have disabling versions of it, and there is everything in between.
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bipolar disorder
No, one specialist even said, "We now ask how much a person is bipolar, not whether they are." Symptoms vary along a dimension.
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depression
No, depression is recognized as varying greatly and is not (for example) always "clinical strength" or "disabling" but can still be quite noticeable.
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general level of adaptive functioning
Right. That is a dimension along which people can be rated (like intelligence) but it is not a disorder. If you stay with known psychiatric disorders, it is actually difficult to come up with any that do not vary along a spectrum of strength. For example, the entire category of Personality Disorders has been described as exaggerations of normal personality traits (to the point where they become harmful).
You picked...
nightmares
No...actually, schizophrenics often report a striking lack of dreaming, although that is not considered a diagnostic sign.
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an obsession with cleanliness
No...that is not typically associated with schizophrenia. In severe cases of schizophrenia, simple tasks such as bathing or getting dressed may be difficult for a person to perform.
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excessive "checking"
No, that is a classic symptom of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), not schizophrenia.
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heart palpatations
No, rapid or irregular heartbeats are typically associated with anxiety attacks, but not schizophrenia.
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hallucinations
Yes: hallucinations (such as hearing voices) are a fairly serious symptom of psychosis such as schizophrenia.
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bursts of activity
No, bursts of activity are typical of mania.
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persistence
Yes; people in the midst of a manic episode tend not to be persistent; rather, they are likely to jump from one project to the next without finishing any of them.
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intense emotions
No, intense "affect" (emotion) is typical of a manic episode.
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a "flight of ideas"
No, a so-called flight of ideas is typical of manic episode. This occurs when thoughts jump suddenly between very different topics.
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wild plans
No, the creation of wild or very ambitious plans are typical of a person who is having a manic episode.
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hallucinations
No, hallucinations are not typically part of OCD.
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excessive concern with cleanliness
No...some people with OCD are obsessed with avoiding germs, but this is a not a defining characteristics of OCD.
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phobias
No, phobias might be a part of OCD, but they do not define it.
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forbidden wishes
No, OCD is more about avoiding anxiety than pursuing forbidden goals.
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irrational impulses
Yes. Whether it is obsessions (persistent thoughts) or compulsions (urges to carry out action) the person with OCD has irrational impulses which are hard to control, even if the person realizes intellectually that the impulses make no sense or are "crazy."
You picked...
amnesia
No, dissociative amnesia (as amnesia of psychological origins is labeled in DSM-IV) is not typically part of a depersonalization disorder.
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killing someone without guilt
No, that would be more typical of a person with the antisocial personality disorder (a "psychopath").
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elective mutism
No...elective mutism is a decision to remain silent. That is not part of the depersonalization disorder.
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delusions
No, although a person with a depersonalization disorder could have delusions (for example, could believe that episodes of depersonalization are caused by UFOs) that is not part of the definition of the syndrome.
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feelings of unreality
Yes. Depersonalization disorder is characterized by feelings of being disattached from one's body or one's self, as if living in a dream or outside one's body. These states are often labeled as "feeling unreal" or "not being part of reality."
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delusions
No, delusions are likely to be present with schizophrenia, but that is not the same thing as the schizoid personality disorder.
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voluntary loneliness
Yes. A person with schizoid personality disorder is sometimes described as a "loner by choice," disinclined to participate in social relationships, happier in solitary activity.
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rambling speech
No, rambling speech would be more typical of a schizophrenic person, not a person with a schizoid personality disorder. They are not the same thing.
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multiple personality
No, multiple personality is labeled "dissociative identity disorder," not schizoid personality disorder.
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anger and suspicion
No, that would be more typical of someone with the paranoid personality disorder, not the schizoid personality disorder.
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guilt and pride
No; a person with the antisocial personality disorder is usually free of guilt, even after doing terrible things.
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anger and aggression
No, a person with the antisocial personality disorder may be aggressive, but that is not part of the definition.
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amorality and impulsiveness
Yes; the person with an antisocial personality disorder typically does not see any reason to operate under normal moral codes and will impulsively do things which harm people or property.
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hallucinations and delusions
No, these are symptoms of schizophrenia more than the antisocial personality disorder.
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hatred of society and willingness to take action against it
No; although the person with antisocial personality disorder is willing to do antisocial things, obviously, such a person does not necessarily "hate society" but simply does not feel compelled to follow rules or respect other people's lives or property.
You picked...
easily distracted
No; a person with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD) typically is easily distracted.
You picked...
mean or aggressive to other children
Yes; this is not part of the attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD) syndrome.
You picked...
difficulty playing games according to the rules
No, this is a typical symptom of attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD).
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moves about excessively during sleep
No, parents of children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD) often notice excessive movement during sleep.
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impulsive
No, people with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD) do tend to be impulsive.
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any impairment of language processing
No, dyslexia is more specific than this.
You picked...
an impairment of language processing due to minimal brain damage
No; this was a theory of dyslexia a few years back, but nobody has turned up evidence of brain damage in dyslexics (at least, not to my knowledge).
You picked...
inability to retrieve difficult vocabulary words, on command
No, this is not the dyslexic person's problem.
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a group of symptoms including stuttering and letter-reversals
No; people associate letter reversals in childhood with dyslexia, and some dyslexics do that, but that is not part of the definition of the syndrome, nor is it typical in adulthood.
You picked...
specific problems with reading
Yes; by definition, dyslexia involves difficulty comprehending what is read. In DSM-IV it is labeled simply "Reading Disorder."
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