What Is True About The Study Of Personality Disorders

Question: Some theorists believe that borderline personality disorder is a special form of:

Answer: posttraumatic stress disorder

Question: Imani suffered from separation anxiety as a child, the symptoms of which were never fully addressed and never fully went away. Given what you know about personality disorders, which diagnosis is she MOST at risk of developing as an adult?

Answer: dependent personality disorder

Question: Which personality disorder is currently of great concern for many theorists since they believe that gender and other cultural differences are significant in its development and diagnosis?

Answer: borderline personality disorder

Question: _____ drugs prescribed in low doses have been shown to be of some help to those suffering from schizotypal personality disorder.

Answer: Antipsychotic

Question: Many theorists challenge the use of a categorical approach to personality disorders in favor of a(n) _____ approach.

Answer: dimensional

Question: This personality disorder used to be called hysterical personality disorder.

Answer: histrionic personality disorder

Question: The symptoms of personality disorders typically become recognizable in:

Answer: adolescence or early adulthood

Question: ________ has consistently been found to be the MOST effective treatment for antisocial personality disorder.

Answer: There are no truly effective treatments for people with antisocial personality disorder

Question: Which personality disorder is listed twice in DSM-5?

Answer: schizotypal personality disorder

Question: A number of theorists argue that it would be best to describe all people with personality disorders as being high, low, or in between on:

Answer: the supertraits of the Big Five model.

Question: ____ personality disorder shares many features with social anxiety disorder.

Answer: Avoidant

Question: When the psychodynamic and humanistic perspectives were dominant in psychology, personality disorders were called:

Answer: neurotic character disorders

Question: ____ explanations of paranoid personality disorder suggest that the disorder is the result of early interactions with rigid and distant fathers and over controlling and rejecting mothers.

Answer: Psychodynamic

Question: People with _____ personality disorder have difficulty with separation, whereas people with _____ personality disorder have difficulty initiating relationships.

Answer: dependent; avoidant

Question: According to multiculturalists, borderline personality disorder is the result of all these EXCEPT:

Answer: immortality

Question: According to multiculturalists, borderline personality disorder is the result of:

Answer: powerlessness, marginality and social failure

Question: The cluster of "dramatic" personality disorders does NOT include which diagnosis?

Answer: dependent personality disorder

Question: The framers of DSM-5 have designed a dimensional approach to personality disorders for possible future use. The approach involves a diagnosis of personality disorder—trait:

Answer: specified

Question: Which personality disorders in this cluster are MORE commonly diagnosed than the others listed here?

Answer: "dramatic" personality disorders

Question: The trait of Machiavellianism includes all these characteristics EXCEPT:

Answer: being unempathetic

Question: The trait of Machiavellianism includes all these characteristics

Answer: being manipulative, amoral and self-interested

Question: It is common for a person with a personality disorder to also suffer from another disorder, a relationship called:

Answer: comorbidity

Question: Many theorists believe that _____ is(are) a prerequisite for the development of borderline personality disorder, particularly for females.

Answer: childhood traumas

Question: Which statement about clinicians' study of personality disorders is NOT true?

Answer: Based on research findings, many clinicians believe that personality cannot be defined or studied, because it is so easily shaped by situations and is therefore not stable.

Question: Theorists believe that avoidant personality disorder has the same causes as:

Answer: anxiety disorders

Question: Which statement about mass murders is NOT true?

Answer: There is a clear link between two personality disorders and mass murderers.

Question: Which treatment for narcissistic personality disorder is the MOST effective?

Answer: No therapeutic approach has shown clear success in treating narcissistic personality disorder.

Question: This PDTS group consists of traits related to people who behave impulsively, without reflecting on potential future consequences.

Answer: disinhibition

Question: Which appears to be the LEAST successful form of therapy for treating histrionic personality disorder?

Answer: drug therapy

Question: This personality disorder is characterized by an individual's extreme discomfort in close relationships, odd patterns of thinking and perceiving, and behavioral eccentricities.

Answer: schizotypal personality disorder

Question: What is TRUE about the study of personality disorders?

Answer: there has been little multicultural research conducted on personality disorders.

Question: What is a key task of a therapist when treating an individual with avoidant personality disorder?

Answer: gaining the individual's trust

Question: Which disorder is NOT categorized within the cluster of "odd" personality disorders?

Answer: narcissistic personality disorder

Question: Which personality disorder is characterized by a pattern of clinging and obedience, a fear of separation, and an ongoing need to be taken care of?

Answer: dependent personality disorder

Question: DSM-5 identifies _____ personality disorders.

Answer: 10

Question: Which trait is NOT part of the Dark Triad?

Answer: delirium

Question: Individuals with this personality disorder avoid social contact simply because they want to be alone.

Answer: schizoid personality disorder

Question: What kind of relationship has research found between measures of narcissism and the number of selfies people post?

Answer: no relationship

Question: This personality disorder is marked by instability in an individual's mood, behavior, self-image, and interpersonal relationships.

Answer: borderline personality disorder

Question: Javier is 42 years old and tends to have very few friends. Whenever he develops a new friendship, he invariably loses it quickly because he begins to accuse the "friend" of trying to take advantage of him. He constantly sees conspiracies where none exist, and he is forever on guard against people trying to hurt or abuse him. Because he has had these tendencies for the better part of his life, going all the way back into childhood, Javier should probably be diagnosed as suffering from _____ personality disorder.

Answer: paranoid

Question: People with this personality disorder experience extreme discomfort in social situations, severe sensitivity to negative evaluation, and overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, but they do desire to have intimate relationships.

Answer: schizotypal personality disorder

Question: According to recent studies, who is MORE likely to qualify for a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder?

Answer: Hispanic Americans

Question: Psychodynamic theory has attempted to explain obsessive-compulsive personality disorder as arising from fixation at one of the psychosexual stages of development during childhood. What type of fixation has been specifically suggested as the culprit behind this personality disorder?

Answer: anal retentive

Question: In the past 20 years, one integrative approach to treating borderline personality disorder has emerged as the treatment of choice. It is called _____ therapy.

Answer: dialectical behavior

Question: Marta works as a long-distance truck driver. She goes days, and even weeks sometimes, with little to no contact with other people, except at gas stations, restaurants, and motels. She spends 99 percent of her time by herself, rarely expresses emotions, and has little interest in romance or sex. She has no friends to speak of, and she genuinely prefers to be alone. Marta might BEST be described as suffering from _____ personality disorder.

Answer: schizoid

Question: Which statement about personality disorders is NOT true?

Answer: Personality disorders are straightforward to diagnose and easy to treat.

Question: Which psychological perspective proposes that people with schizoid personality disorder have an inability to pick up emotional cues from others and are therefore unable to respond to emotions?

Answer: cognitive-behavioral

Question: Which psychological perspective holds that histrionic personality disorder partially stems from an exaggeration of femininity as our culture once defined it?

Answer: the sociocultural theory perspective

Question: Kumar is often described as a "strange duck" by his peers. He dresses strangely, has very unusual habits, and believes that he has ESP and can interpret future events. He has very few close friends, and he typically keeps to himself because people make him anxious. Which type of personality disorder BEST fits Kumar's case?

Answer: schizotypal personality disorder

Question: Which is NOT a disorder for which people with dependent personality disorder are at risk?

Answer: schizophrenia

Question: This is an enduring, rigid pattern of inner experience and outward behavior that impairs one's sense of self, emotional experiences, goals, capacity for empathy, and sometimes capacity for intimacy

Answer: personality disorder

Question: How does the cognitive-behavioral perspective explain narcissistic personality disorder?

Answer: Narcissistic personality disorder may develop when admiring or doting parents reward children for minor accomplishments or no accomplishments at all, leading the children to overvalue their self-worth.

Question: With regard to treating individuals with paranoid personality disorder:

Answer: these individuals do not typically see themselves as needing help and so do not enter treatment.

Question: Many theorists today believe that personality disorders should be classified using:

Answer: dimensions

Question: Cognitive-behavioral theorists propose that people with antisocial personality disorder have genuine difficulty recognizing different:

Answer: points of view

Question: People with this personality disorder are typically "emotionally charged" and constantly seeking to be the center of attention.

Answer: histrionic personality disorder

Question: All these factors have been linked to schizotypal personality disorder EXCEPT:

Answer: larger temporal lobes

Question: Which is NOT one of the groups of problematic traits that would be eligible for a diagnosis of personality disorder—trait specified?

Answer: inhibition

Question: Who is LESS likely to display the Dark Triad?

Answer: ethnic/racial minorities

Question: This type of therapy includes both individual therapy sessions, featuring cognitive-behavioral interventions, and group sessions that focus on social-skills building and support.

Answer: dialectical behavior therapy

Question: From a(n) _____ perspective, the grandiose self-image that accompanies narcissistic personality disorder is interpreted as an attempt by these individuals to convince themselves that they are totally self-sufficient and in no need of any close, warm relationships with their parents or anyone else.

Answer: object relations

Question: Group therapy formats are of particular use to those who suffer from avoidant personality disorder because these formats:

Answer: provide a social circumstance where interactions with others can be practiced and where support can be both given and received.

Question: Believing that dichotomous, or "black-and-white," thinking plays a key role in producing and maintaining dependent personality disorder comes from the _____ perspective.

Answer: cognitive-behavioral

Question: Dr. Vasquez is evaluating his client, Julia, using the supertraits of the Big Five model of personality. He determines that Julia is high in neuroticism, medium in agreeableness and conscientiousness, and very low in extroversion and openness to new experiences. According to your textbook, individuals with this combination of personality traits are MOST likely to have _____ personality disorder.`

Answer: Avoidant

Question: Which cluster of personality disorders appears to have the MOST helpful treatments for it?

Answer: "anxious" personality disorders

Question: Which grouping does NOT represent one of the clusters of personality disorders?

Answer: linguistic, referential, disorganized

Question: _____ explanations of paranoid personality disorder suggest that the disorder is the result of early interactions with rigid and distant fathers and over controlling and rejecting mothers.

Answer: Psychodynamic

Question: Which attachment style is associated with borderline personality disorder?

Answer: disorganized

Question: People with an "odd"-cluster personality disorder often display symptoms that are related to but are not as severe as:

Answer: schizophrenia

Question: Which therapy for schizoid personality disorder attempts to help individuals experience more positive emotions and more satisfying social interactions by having the individuals write down and remember pleasurable experiences, as well as by using role-play and exposure techniques?

Answer: cognitive-behavioral therapy

Question: Which of these is NOT a reason why the current DSM-5 method of categorizing personality disorders has been criticized?

Answer: With the current method of categorizing personality disorders, diagnoses of personality disorders are not assigned as often as they should be.

Question: At a recent wedding, Loida drew much attention to herself during the reception by dancing in an overtly sexual manner with all the men (including those who were married or who were at the wedding with a date). She also insisted on being permitted to make an impromptu speech during the wedding dinner, claiming that she and the bride were "inseparable," when the truth was that they had been friends during childhood who had only recently reconnected. Of the following, Loida is most likely to be diagnosed with _____ personality disorder.

Answer: histrionic

Question: The treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder is complicated by one major factor, a factor that is also problematic in treating narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders. What is the factor that so impedes the successful treatment of these problems?

Answer: Individuals with the disorder simply do not accept the notion that anything is wrong with them, and thus they are not motivated to seek treatment or participate cooperatively with treatment.

Question: Which PDTS group is made up of the problematic traits of manipulativeness, deceitfulness, grandiosity, attention seeking, callousness, and hostility?

Answer: the antagonism group

Question: Caroline doesn't have any close relationships and she is feeling increasingly isolated and lonely. She wishes she could find a few people with whom she could spend time and share like friends do but feels that she can't reach out and meet people. She is afraid that if she says something silly or acts in an inappropriate way, she will be criticized and/or shamed by the individuals with whom she wants to be friends and they will not want to be her friend—the thoughts of humiliation and rejection are too much for Caroline. Because she has always struggled with this problem, she has thus lived a relatively isolated life for quite a few years. Caroline might be diagnosed as having _____ personality disorder.

Answer: avoidant

Question: With this personality disorder, individuals experience an intense focus on orderliness, perfectionism, and control, which results in loss of flexibility and efficiency.

Answer: obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Question: People with this type of personality disorder are sometimes described as "psychopaths" or "sociopaths."

Answer: antisocial personality disorder

Question: When listing personality disorders, which approach does DSM-5 use?

Answer: categorical

Question: Dr. Quinones is seeing a client who clearly suffers from a personality disorder, but instead of adhering to the "category" method of diagnosing this problem, she chooses to assess the client as being high, medium, or low on several different personality traits. Dr. Quinones feels that this will give more insight into the client's unique pathology, and thus will inform the client's treatment. Dr. Quinones is clearly a proponent of the _____ approach.

Answer: dimensional