Psychological Disorders 579
Practice Quiz How much do you remember?
Pick the best answer.
- Which of the following is not an accurate portrayal of antisocial
personality disorder?
a. Most people with this disorder are female.
b. Most people with this disorder are male.
c. People with this disorder suffer little or no guilt for their criminal
acts.
d. People with this disorder are consistently irresponsible and don’t
keep commitments. - Studies show that _ personality disorders occur more
frequently in women while ___ personality disorders
happen more often in men.
a. antisocial; borderline
b. borderline; schizotypal
c. schizotypal; antisocial
d. borderline; antisocial
3. One suggested physiological cause of antisocial personality disorder
is that people with this condition have:
a. lack of appropriate short-term memory related to ethical and
moral rules, caused by deficient function in the hippocampus.
b. lower-than-normal levels of stress hormones.
c. increased synaptic pruning in the prefrontal cortex.
d. heightened sensitivity to external stimuli in the amygdala
4. Due to the types and degree of emotions often experienced
by people with borderline personality disorder, their personal
relationships are often characterized by __.
a. periods of domestic bliss
b. long-term stability
c. intense emotions, impulsivity, and relative instability
d. long periods of boredom
APA Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and
Critical Thinking
Learning More: Psychological Disorders
Addresses APA Learning Objective 2.2: Demonstrate psychology
information literacy.
We have covered several areas of research that have prompted various levels of contro-
versy, and for various reasons. You have read about the possible comorbidity of ADHD and
bipolar disorders in children. You have also read about genetics research in psychological
disorders. How might this knowledge impact your personal behavior or thinking about the
disorders themselves or the people they affect? While these topics can certainly raise mul-
tiple ethical questions, consider each of them from a psychological information and literacy
perspective.
What information would you want to know as the parent of a child with ADHD or bipolar
disorder? If you are the spouse or partner of someone with a psychological disorder, how
might the knowledge of genetic contributions impact decisions to have children, or what
might you want to be mindful of in the children you already have?
Several research studies have been cited and summarized in this chapter. If you
wanted to look beyond your text, what sources of information would be most useful to you
in trying to learn more about a possible disorder or the contribution of genetics? Where
would you find or obtain those sources? What would you look for in each? What are some
characteristics of objective data, as opposed to personal reports? Do you know how to
interpret a graph or chart? How do you determine if the information is relevant? Can it be
generalized to your current situation?