1. Which of the following statement is the best definition of ‘diathesis’?

1. The person’s risk of developing a mental disorder
2. The interaction of personality and stress that produces a mental disorder
3. The personality disposition that makes people susceptible to a mental disorder
4. The constitutional factor that determines who will develop a mental disorder

2. Which statement best captures the relationship between diathesis and stress?

1. The stronger the diathesis, the more stress required to trigger a disorder
2. The stronger the diathesis, the less stress required to trigger a disorder
3. The greater the stress, the stronger the diathesis needed to trigger a disorder
4. The greater the stress, the weaker the diathesis needed to trigger a disorder

3. Which statement about diathesis-stress models is correct?

1. The kind of stress that triggers a disorder is seen as specific to that disorder
2. The diathesis is understood to be biological in nature
3. Stressful events need not be experienced as negative or undesirable
4. None of the above

4. According to research on pessimistic attributional style, stable and global attributions for negative events create vulnerability to depression. This is because they make people …

1. hopeless and helpless, respectively
2. self-blaming and confused, respectively
3. anhedonic and overwhelmed, respectively
4. sad and pessimistic, respectively

5. Which of the following characteristics is an aspect of ‘schizotypy’?

1. Delusions
2. Hallucinations
3. Social anxiety
4. Disorganized thinking

6. Which of the following personality attributes is associated with vulnerability to obsessive-compulsive disorder?

1. Having a pathological commitment to autonomy
2. Being overly excitable
3. Holding perfectionistic expectations about the self
4. Believing thoughts are equivalent to actions

7. Personality disorders were recognized as a distinct group of conditions in which edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)?

1. Second
2. Third
3. Fourth
4. Fifth

8. What are the names of the three ‘clusters’ of personality disorders?

1. Odd, dramatic, and emotional
2. Strange, impulsive, and anxious
3. Odd, dramatic, and anxious
4. Strange, impulsive, and emotional

9. Which list of personality disorder matches (in correct order) the following characteristic personality traits: detached, unstable, and submissive?

1. Schizotypal, antisocial, and dependent
2. Schizoid, antisocial, and obsessive-compulsive
3. Schizotypal, borderline, and obsessive-compulsive
4. Schizoid, borderline, and dependent

10. Which two Big Five traits are associated with most of the DSM personality disorders?

1. (high) Neuroticism and (low) Agreeableness
2. (high) Neuroticism and (low) Conscientiousness
3. (low) Extraversion and (low) Agreeableness
4. (low) Extraversion and (low) Conscientiousness

11. According to research on the ‘interpersonal circle’, people with narcissistic personality disorder tend to have an interpersonal style that is:

1. warm and assertive
2. cold and dominant
3. egotistical and aloof
4. aggressive and selfish

12. Controversy about ‘co-morbidity’ of personality disorders is based on the fact that …

1. they are often very damaging
2. they often coexist with physical illnesses
3. people with them share a pessimistic view on life
4. several disorders are often diagnosed in the same person

13. The finding that personality disorders are ‘dimensional’ means that …

1. people should never be labelled with personality disorder diagnoses
2. personality disorders are correlated with personality trait dimensions
3. there is no underlying category boundary between people who have a particular disorder and those who do not
4. personality disorders differ from one another along a few dimensions

14. Which statement about multiple personality (dissociative identity disorder) is correct?

1. The ‘alter’ personalities are usually more timid than the ‘host’ personality
2. People who suffer from it are easily hypnotized
3. It is equally common in men and women
4. It has been diagnosed at a steady rate over the past century

15. According to the traumatic theory of dissociative identity disorder, what is ‘dissociation’?

1. A splitting of consciousness
2. A form of internal avoidance
3. A way of protecting the self against trauma
4. All of the above