General Psychology 210: Exam 2 Study Guide | Study notes Psychology

General Psychology 210 Dr. Richard Flicker Fall 2019

STUDY GUIDE for EXAM 2

There will be 100 multiple choice questions on Exam 2. Many will describe hypothetical situations – if you

understand the concepts (and didn’t just memorize definitions), you should be able to figure out what is happening

in each example. Study to understand the material – don’t just memorize it.

The exam will be based on information covered in both lecture and the 8th Edition of the textbook “Psychology”

by Hockenbury & Nolan.

► Lecture: Anything discussed and/or said in class since the first exam.

► Textbook – Chapter 13: Stress, Health & Coping

► Textbook – Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders

► Textbook – Chapter 15: Therapies

********************************************************************************************************

If you can answer the following questions, you should do well on the exam. Some of the topics below

will appear in one or more of the exam questions as one of the four choices. Some of the topics will be

the basis of the question itself. And some will appear as both. That’s why there are more than 100

questions below.

Chapter 13: Stress, Health & Coping (approximately 23 questions on exam)

1. How does Richard Lazarus’ cognitive appraisal model determine the amount of stress a person experiences?

2. What is the Holmes-Rahe “Social Readjustment Rating Scale?” What life events are most stressful?

3. What is the relationship between well-being and the number of negative events experienced over a lifetime?

How much adversity in life (e.g., low, moderate, high) appears to result in a longer, healthier life?

4. What does the term “resilience” refer to?

5. About what percentage of people experience a traumatic event in their lifetime? What percentage experience

post-traumatic stress disorder following a traumatic event?

6. What appears to have a greater effect on mental and physical illness than major life and/or traumatic events?

7. When someone is experiencing “burnout,” what are the typical symptoms?

8. How do social and cultural sources of stress affect a person?

9. What is “acculturative stress” and some of the different ways people deal with being in a new culture?

10. What are the three stages in Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome? What happens in each?

11. What chemical is known as the “stress hormone?” What triggers its production/release in the body?

12. What does the term “psychoneuroimmunology” refer to? How does stress affect the immune system?

13. How people are affected by stressors depends on what major factor(s)?

14. How does the feeling of personal control over a situation affect the degree of stress experienced?

15. How do social factors such as having a social support system affect health and well-being?

Partial preview of the text

Download General Psychology 210: Exam 2 Study Guide and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!

General Psychology 210 Dr. Richard Flicker Fall 2019

STUDY GUIDE for EXAM 2

There will be 100 multiple choice questions on Exam 2. Many will describe hypothetical situations – if you understand the concepts (and didn’t just memorize definitions), you should be able to figure out what is happening in each example. Study to understand the material – don’t just memorize it. The exam will be based on information covered in both lecture and the 8 th^ Edition of the textbook “Psychology” by Hockenbury & Nolan. ► Lecture: Anything discussed and/or said in class since the first exam. ► Textbook – Chapter 13 : Stress, Health & Coping ► Textbook – Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders ► Textbook – Chapter 15: Therapies

If you can answer the following questions, you should do well on the exam. Some of the topics below will appear in one or more of the exam questions as one of the four choices. Some of the topics will be the basis of the question itself. And some will appear as both. That’s why there are more than 100 questions below. Chapter 13: Stress, Health & Coping (approximately 23 questions on exam)

How does Richard Lazarus’ cognitive appraisal model determine the amount of stress a person experiences?
What is the Holmes-Rahe “Social Readjustment Rating Scale?” What life events are most stressful?
What is the relationship between well-being and the number of negative events experienced over a lifetime? How much adversity in life (e.g., low, moderate, high) appears to result in a longer, healthier life?
What does the term “resilience” refer to?
About what percentage of people experience a traumatic event in their lifetime? What percentage experience post-traumatic stress disorder following a traumatic event?
What appears to have a greater effect on mental and physical illness than major life and/or traumatic events?
When someone is experiencing “burnout,” what are the typical symptoms?
How do social and cultural sources of stress affect a person?
What is “acculturative stress” and some of the different ways people deal with being in a new culture?
What are the three stages in Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome? What happens in each?
What chemical is known as the “stress hormone?” What triggers its production/release in the body?
What does the term “psychoneuroimmunology” refer to? How does stress affect the immune system?
How people are affected by stressors depends on what major factor(s)?
How does the feeling of personal control over a situation affect the degree of stress experienced?
How do social factors such as having a social support system affect health and well-being?

How do people with an optimistic vs. pessimistic (explanatory) style differ in response to negative events? How about people who are generally positive vs. those who are generally negative in their emotions?
What is the difference between emotional support, tangible support and informational support? What support behaviors are generally most helpful to a person experiencing stress? Unhelpful?
What bodily systems are involved with the “fight-or-flight” response to stressful threats?
What effect does allowing older people to make choices/decisions affecting their lives?
What is the difference between a “Type A” vs. “Type B” personality or behavior pattern?
What does it mean to say that a person is coping with a stressful situation – how do people cope?
How do “problem-focused” and “emotion-focused” coping strategies differ?
How do men and women react differently after a highly stressful day? Who is more likely to respond with “tend-and-befriend” and who with “fight-or-flight?”
What were some of the suggestions provided in the textbook for minimizing the effects of stress?
What is mindfulness meditation? Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders (approximately 4 4 questions on exam)
What do we call the scientific study of the origins, symptoms and development of psychological disorders?
What 3 criteria (beginning with letter D) are required to diagnose someone as having a psychological disorder? What word (also beginning with D) is not required for the diagnosis of a psychological disorder?
What percentage of people experience at least one psychological disorder at some point in their life?
What is the difference between an “acute” disorder and a “chronic” disorder?
What term is used when someone has more than one psychological disorder at the same time?
What reference book do mental health professionals use to diagnose and understand psychological disorders?
About how many different psychological disorders have been identified by mental health professionals?
What are the various disorders which fall under the heading “anxiety disorders?”
What are the symptoms of “generalized anxiety disorder?”
What are “panic attacks” and when do we use the term “panic disorder?”
What is “agoraphobia” and why is it sometimes associated with panic disorders?
What is a phobia? How is it different from a normal fear of something? What causes a phobia?

What are the symptoms of “paranoid personality disorder?” What does “paranoid” or “paranoia” mean?
What are the symptoms of “dependent personality disorder?”
What are some of the various “dissociative disorders” and what are their symptoms?
What terms used to be used instead of “dissociative identity disorder?”
What are the symptoms of “dissociative identity disorder?” How common is this disorder?
What is “dissociative amnesia?”
What is “dissociative fugue?”
What is the difference between “hallucinations” and “delusions?” What are some types of delusions?
What is “schizophrenia” and what are its positive and negative symptoms? [The term “positive” does not mean that the symptoms are good – it means that the symptoms exist or are present when they normally should not exist; the term negative means that certain normal things are lacking or missing.]
What is “catatonia” or a “catatonic” state? [Some people with schizophrenia display this symptom, but most don’t.]
What is “word salad?” The textbook doesn’t define this term – instead, it mentions that people with schizophrenia sometimes ramble incoherently, stringing together words or ideas that are nonsensical (don’t make sense to the listener). An example of word salad might be the following: “You need to fill your bathtub with #2 fruit loops for the exam, because otherwise giraffes will steal your answers while you’re coagulating in the microwave.” If this sentence made no sense to you, it shouldn’t have. That’s word salad.
The textbook discusses several factors related to the cause of schizophrenia; what are they?
If someone has to check their phone constantly (all day and night long), feels stressed if not allowed to look it at for a few minutes (e.g., while taking an exam), what might they be suffering from?
What is “Korsakov’s Psychosis” and what causes it? [ NOT in the textbook. Your professor volunteered at a large state mental hospital while in college. One patient was a former newspaper sports writer. He used to be a heavy drinker, hanging out in bars to watch sports. Because of excessive alcohol consumption, he suffered brain damage to the area of the brain associated with short term memory. As a result, if you’d ask him what he ate for lunch, he’d fabricate (make up) a detailed story about what he ate (e.g., he may say that they served fried chicken, peas and mashed potatoes, apple pie for dessert) in order to cover up his bad memory. On the other hand, his long-term memory was excellent – he could remember baseball ballgames in great detail from 30 - 40 years ago.] On the next page is a photo of the main building of the psychiatric hospital (on Ward’s Island in New York City) where your professor volunteered during college. It dates back to the Civil War (1863) and was originally called the New York City Asylum for the Insane. The main building is 17 stories tall. In the early 1900’s, it had 4,400 beds and was the largest psychiatric hospital in the world. It now has only about 500 beds.

 The hospital where Dr. Flicker volunteered when in college. Students at his college (City College of New York) had to do a semester of volunteering in the community for 1 course credit – with a grade of P (Pass) or F (Fail) – no letter grade. Dr. Flicker passed the class by volunteering one afternoon a week at this hospital during his junior year. He enjoyed the experience so much, that he continued to volunteer for another year (for no college credit). ***** In case you didn’t know, all Southern University students have to perform 60 hours of community volunteerism as a graduation requirement by registering for a course called Service Learning (SVLR). You can take SVLR 4 00 and earn 3.0 credits by doing 60 hours in one semester, or you can register for SVLR 100, 200 and 300 in three semesters where you do 20 hours a semester for 1.0 credit per semester.**

What should you do if a friend tells you that he or she is contemplating suicide? At the end of Chapter 14, the textbook provides several guidelines.
What groups are most at risk for committing suicide? Males or females? Children, adolescents, middle age, elderly? In general, what are the risk factors for suicide? Chapter 15: Therapies (approximately 33 questions on exam)
What is the difference between “psychotherapy” and “biomedical therapies” in the treatment of psychological disorders?
There are different types of mental health professionals with different types of training and backgrounds. Which one is also a “medical doctor?” (i.e., has an M.D. degree)
“Psychoanalysis” is a specific form of psychotherapy and is closely tied to Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality. What is the basic underlying assumption and/or goal of psychoanalysis and what are some of the techniques used?
In psychoanalysis, what does the term “resistance” refer to?
In psychoanalysis, what does the term “transference” refer to?
What is “interpersonal therapy?” What does it focus on?
What is “client-centered” or “person-centered” therapy? What word did Carl Rogers specifically avoid using when naming this type of therapy and why?
What is “motivational interviewing” in psychotherapy?

What are some possible approaches suggested in the textbook for increasing access to treatment for psychological disorders?
What qualities of a therapist did Carl Rogers (Humanistic Therapy) believe are important?
What is “virtual reality therapy?” For what types of psychological problems is it generally used?
According to the textbook, is one form of psychotherapy superior to other forms in treating psychological disorders?
How long does it take for psychotherapy to be effective, and is it effective?
What is a “psychotropic” medication?
What are some of the drawbacks or negatives of “antipsychotic” medications? NOTE for the next question(s): Neurotransmitter substances are discussed in Chapter 2 (pages 47-52) – we have not covered that material yet. Basically – information from our sensory organs (eyes, ears, etc.) travels through our nervous system to our brain and then from our brain to our muscles/organs by pathways called nerves – which are chains of cells called neurons. Neurons are not actually connected … there is a small gap called a synapse between neurons. The information travels along each neuron (entering the dendrites and leaving through the axon terminals) … when it gets to the end of one neuron, it releases a chemical into the synapse which then stimulates the next neuron. That chemical is called a “neurotransmitter” or “neurotransmitter substance.” When the next neuron is stimulated by the chemical, the process repeats itself from neuron to neuron, with neurotransmitters being released into the synapses between neurons in the chain. When the neurotransmitter stimulates the next neuron, it then gets sucked back into the neuron from which it was released – this is called reuptake. Different drugs affect the production of neurotransmitter substances – sometimes increasing its production; sometimes inhibiting its production.
How do “antipsychotic” medications such as reserpine and chlorpromazine (thorazine) reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia? What neurotransmitter substance in the brain do they reduce?
What do we know about “antianxiety” medications such as Valium and Xanax? For example, how long do they take to work, are there side effects, are they safe?
What medication is most commonly prescribed to treat “bipolar disorder?”
How has the development of “antidepressant” medications evolved over time? What are “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors” (SSRIs) such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, etc.?
Do antidepressant medications work better than placebos?
What is “electroconvulsive” or “electroshock” therapy or just “shock” therapy? For what psychological disorder is it most likely to be used as a last resort treatment? Why is it controversial?
What are some guidelines cited in the textbook for knowing what to expect from psychotherapy?

*** Below are some films dealing with psychological disorders. You will NOT be tested on this page, but thought that you might want to check out some of the films when you have some free time. Most of them are classics. Psychological Disorders in Film There have been many movies over the years which depict psychological disorders and psychological issues

some accurately and some inaccurately. For a fairly extensive listing of such movies, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_disorders_in_film#Antisocial_personality_disorder Many of these movies can be viewed for free on line. I go to Google and type in the name of the movie followed by “full movie online free.” Example: “Silence of the Lambs full movie online free” … then hit one of the first few websites. If not available for free on line, might be on Netflix or Amazon; or can be checked out in DVD from the East Baton Rouge Public Library. Some Classic Movies Involving Psychological Disorders “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975 Academy Award Winning Film) “A Beautiful Mind” (2001 Academy Award Winning Film) “David and Lisa” (1962) “Silence of the Lambs” (1991 Academy Award Winning Film) “Rain Man” (1998 Academy Award Winning Film) “Still Alice” (2014 Academy Award Winning Film) “Psycho” (1960 Academy Award Nominated Film by famed director Alfred Hitchcok)

General Psychology 210: Exam 2 Study Guide, Study notes of Psychology

Related documents

Partial preview of the text

Download General Psychology 210: Exam 2 Study Guide and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!

STUDY GUIDE for EXAM 2