BAPSY Abnormal Psychology and Diagnosis 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which DSM-5 specifier indicates that a major depressive episode occurs exclusively during a particular time of year?
- With melancholic features
- With seasonal pattern (Correct answer)
- With atypical features
- With anxious distress
Correct answer: With seasonal pattern
The 'with seasonal pattern' specifier applies when depressive episodes consistently begin and remit at characteristic times of year.
Question 2: A patient hears voices commenting on their behavior but has no other psychotic symptoms and maintains normal functioning. This best fits which diagnosis?
- Brief psychotic disorder (Correct answer)
- Schizophrenia
- Schizotypal personality disorder
- Schizophreniform disorder
Correct answer: Brief psychotic disorder
Brief psychotic disorder involves one or more psychotic symptoms lasting at least 1 day but less than 1 month, after which the person returns to their prior level of functioning.
Question 3: Which term describes the phenomenon where a person cannot recall autobiographical information from their past without a clear neurological cause?
- Dissociative fugue
- Dissociative amnesia (Correct answer)
- Depersonalization disorder
- Dissociative identity disorder
Correct answer: Dissociative amnesia
Dissociative amnesia involves an inability to recall important autobiographical information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature, that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.
Question 4: In the diathesis-stress model, 'diathesis' refers to:
- Environmental stressors that trigger symptoms
- A biological or psychological predisposition to disorder (Correct answer)
- The severity of a current episode
- The course of illness over time
Correct answer: A biological or psychological predisposition to disorder
Diathesis refers to a pre-existing vulnerability or predisposition — genetic, biological, or psychological — that interacts with stress to produce a disorder.
Question 5: Which anxiety disorder is characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks AND persistent concern about future attacks?
- Specific phobia
- Social anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder (Correct answer)
- Agoraphobia
Correct answer: Panic disorder
Panic disorder requires both recurrent unexpected panic attacks and at least one month of persistent concern about additional attacks or significant maladaptive behavioral change.
Question 6: The 'negative symptoms' of schizophrenia include all of the following EXCEPT:
- Avolition
- Alogia
- Auditory hallucinations (Correct answer)
- Flat affect
Correct answer: Auditory hallucinations
Auditory hallucinations are a positive symptom (an excess or distortion of normal function); negative symptoms reflect diminution or absence of normal behaviors like motivation, speech, and affect.
Question 7: Which personality disorder cluster is described as 'odd or eccentric' in the DSM-5?
- Cluster A (Correct answer)
- Cluster B
- Cluster C
- Cluster D
Correct answer: Cluster A
Cluster A includes paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders, characterized by odd, eccentric thinking or behavior.
BAPSY Abnormal Psychology and Diagnosis 2
Which DSM-5 specifier indicates that a major depressive episode occurs exclusively during a particular time of year?