Download Answer each of the following in no more than 2 short sentences

47.272 Abnormal Psychology
Fall 2011
ASSIGNMENT #1: due November 1
Answer each of the following in no more than 2-3 short sentences. Note that the
questions are focused on cases from Meyer et al. but your answers should be based both
on what Meyer et al. presented as well as your own understanding based also on what
you have learned from the Butcher et al. text and from class. Be sure in your answers to
demonstrate that you have a good understanding of DSM terminology and criteria.
When you are ready to answer the questions below, go to our course website, click the
link to Assignments, and open Assignment 1, which appears there as a Word document.
Save the Word document, Assignment_1, to your computer, and enter your answers in
the Answers section that appears underneath these questions. When entering your
answers, be sure to place your cursor under each number and case name so as not to
disturb the number formatting. Be sure to enter your name on the document, then print it
and submit it in class on October 27.
DESCRIBING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
1. Chapter 3: What symptom most clearly justifies Agnes's diagnosis of agoraphobia,
rather than some other form of anxiety disorder? What is the correct DSM term
for this pattern of psychopathology?
2. Chapter 3: Describe the focus of Bess's obsession, and then describe one of her
specific compulsions. What allows us to think of them as obsessions and
compulsions?
3. Chapter 3 describes Paul's reaction to the trauma of 9/11. But the experience of
trauma alone is not enough to warrant a diagnosis of PTSD. What do we see in
Paul that does warrant that diagnosis?
4. Chapter 5: Pain is a common symptom of many medical illnesses; what
specifically is it about Pam that justifies a diagnosis of somatoform (or
psychogenic) pain disorder?
5. Chapter 6: Sally is described as showing signs of "undifferentiated"
schizophrenia; what does this term mean, and does it fit Sally? Explain.
6. Chapter 7: In this chapter, Joseph is referred to as having a "unipolar" mood
disorder, while Virginia is said to have a "bipolar" mood disorder. What is
different about the two cases that justifies this distinction?
7. Chapter 8: Most people reading about the case of Jeffrey Dahmer view him as a
monster, but he is presented in this chapter as illustrating a mental disorder. What
is that mental disorder, and how does Dahmer's case illustrate it?
8. Chapter 9 uses the terms alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, somewhat
interchangeably. Which of the two seems to be a better fir for Betty, and why?
9. Chapter 10 describes anorexia and bulimia, which can share some features in
common (e.g., purging) but which are fundamentally different. What is the
essential difference between Karen and Diana that leads Meyer to refer to Karen
as a case of anorexia and Diana as a case of bulimia?
10. Chapter 11: The term "schizoid" obviously suggests some connection to
"schizophrenia." Even though many of us might think of the "Unabomber" as
some type of lunatic, what is it about Theodore that supports the diagnosis of SPD
rather than schizophrenia?
11. Chapter 11: In the discussion of Ted Bundy, Meyer describes him as a "high
Factor 1 psychopath." What does this mean, and how does Bundy warrant that
characterization? What is the closest DSM term for this pattern of
psychopathology, and how does it differ?
12. Chapter 12: Many people gamble; perhaps you do, too. What justifies Meyer et
al.'s characterization of Dostoyevsky as an example of pathological, or
compulsive, gambling?
NAME:
ANSWERS
1. Agnes
2. Bess
3. Paul
4. Pam
5. Sally
6. Joseph and Virginia
7. Jeffrey
8. Betty
9. Karen and Diana
10. Theodore K
11. Ted
12. Fyodor