2025 EPPP Neuropsychology, Clinical Psychology, and
Diagnosis and Psychopathology Exam New Latest
Version Q & A
Diagnosis and Pathophysiology
Based on the factors associated with successful smoking cessation, which of the following
individuals is most likely to relapse?
A. a single, 28 year old man who began smoking in high school
B. a married, 50 year old woman who started smoking during her medical residency
C. a co-habitating, 33 year old woman who began smoking in graduate school
D. a divorced, 44 year old man who started smoking during his last year of college ------------
Correct Answer -------------- A.
In general, the greater the level of dependence on nicotine, the harder it is to stop smoking and
the amount of smoking is typically used to determine dependence. In this question, however,
dependence is not a factor of consideration. Research indicates there are other characteristics
linked to successful smoking cessation. They include: being age 35 or older, married or living
with a partner, later age when started smoking, and being male. Considering these factors, a
young single male who started smoking at an early age is least likely to successfully quit
smoking and most likely to relapse.
People with which of the following disorders experience a heightened recall of past experiences
that have negative connotations and limited recall of past experiences that have neutral or
positive connotations?
A. Illness Anxiety Disorder
B. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
C. Avoidant Personality Disorder
D. Major Depressive Disorder ------------ Correct Answer -------------- D.
This one is so easy that you may have thought it was a trick question and picked the wrong
answer! People who are depressed tend to focus on negative events while ignoring neutral and
positive ones.
The single best way to definitively confirm a diagnosis of Neurocognitive Disorder Due to
Alzheimer's Disease:
A. brain imaging techniques.
B. comprehensive lab work.
C. a mental status exam.
D. brain autopsy after death. ------------ Correct Answer -------------- D.
There is currently no one single behavioral or biological marker that definitively confirms a
diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease in a patient who has symptoms of dementia. The diagnosis is
made by confirming the presence of characteristic symptoms with a mental status exam and
behavioral observation and then ruling out other possible causes. CT scans and MRI exams can
aid this process, but there is no specific finding that will definitively confirm the diagnosis. The
,only way to confirm the diagnosis with 100% accuracy is with a brain autopsy after death.
For a DSM-5 diagnosis of Separation Anxiety Disorder for adults, symptoms must be present for
at least:
A. three months.
B. four weeks.
C. six months.
D. eight weeks. ------------ Correct Answer -------------- C.
The DSM-5 diagnosis of Separation Anxiety Disorder requires the presence of symptoms for at
least four weeks in children and adolescents or six months in adults.
According to the tension-reduction hypothesis, substance addiction is maintained by:
A. negative reinforcement.
B. stimulus control.
C. negative punishment.
D. higher-order conditioning. ------------ Correct Answer -------------- A.
The tension-reduction hypothesis (Conger, 1956) proposes that use of alcohol or other substance
reduces stress and, as a result, substance use is negatively reinforced
A difference between tangentiality and circumstantiality is that:
A. in circumstantiality, the person is delayed in reaching the point, whereas in tangentiality, the
person never reaches the point.
B. circumstantiality is speech that is not understandable due to the lack of a meaningful
connection between words or sentences; while tangential speech is understandable.
C. in tangentiality, the person is delayed in reaching the point, whereas in circumstantiality, the
person never reaches the point.
D. tangentiality is speech that is not understandable due to the lack of a meaningful connection
between words or sentences; while circumstantial speech is understandable. ------------ Correct
Answer -------------- A.
If you are not familiar with the term "tangentiality," thinking about the phrase "going off on a
tangent" might have helped you. Tangentiality involves responding to a question in an oblique or
irrelevant way and thereby failing to make the point. Circumstantiality is a pattern of speech that
is delayed in reaching the point due to irrelevant detail or parenthetical remarks. Eventually,
however, the point is reached
Research on smokers who are trying to quit has found that:
A. most people quit on their own.
B. cognitive restructuring is the most effective treatment.
C. relaxation training is the most effective treatment.
D. flooding is the most effective treatment. ------------ Correct Answer -------------- A.
Research on cigarette smoking has found that most smokers stop on their own or with minimal
professional help (see M. C. Fiore et al., Methods used to quit smoking in the United States,
Journal of the American Medical Association, 1990, 263, 2760-2765). The factors most
important for successful cessation are a strong desire to quit, awareness of the negative health
consequences of smoking, and social support for quitting
,The DSM-5 diagnosis of Schizophrenia requires the presence of at least two characteristic
symptoms during a one-month period, with at least one symptom being:
A. delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized behavior.
B. delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech.
C. grossly disorganized behavior or inappropriate affect.
D. inappropriate affect, disorganized speech, or a negative symptom. ------------ Correct Answer
-------------- B.
The DSM-5 diagnosis of Schizophrenia requires the presence of at least two characteristic
symptoms during a one-month period with at least one symptom being delusions, hallucinations,
or disorganized speech plus continuous signs of the disturbance for six months or longer
Your new client is Billy, age 14. Your initial impression is that his symptoms meet the criteria
for a DSM-5 diagnosis of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder. Which of the following
would rule out this diagnosis?
A. Billy has temper outbursts three or four times a week.
B. Billy's symptoms began when he was 12 years of age.
C. Billy has never had a symptom-free period that lasted more than three months since the onset
of his symptoms.
D. Billy's has been persistently irritable between temper outbursts most of the day, nearly every
day. ------------ Correct Answer -------------- B.
The diagnosis of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder requires an onset of symptoms prior
to 10 years of age. The characteristics listed in the other answers are consistent with this
diagnosis.
An elderly man who is just out of surgery is at highest risk for:
A. dissociation.
B. delirium.
C. amnesia.
D. dementia. ------------ Correct Answer -------------- B.
Surgery increases the risk for delirium, especially for older adults.
According to the DSM-5, the prevalence rate of ADHD for children is approximately ____
percent.
A. 5
B. 2.5
C. 10
D. 18 ------------ Correct Answer -------------- A.
The DSM-5 reports prevalence rates of ADHD in most cultures of about 5% for children and
2.5% for adults, with a male to female gender ratio of about 2:1 for children and 1.6:1 for adults.
Delirium can be the result of intoxication for all of the following substances except:
A. cocaine
B. LSD
C. cannabis
D. caffeine ------------ Correct Answer -------------- D.
Hallucinogens (e.g., LSD), cocaine, and cannabis -- as well as alcohol, amphetamines, inhalants,
, opioids, PCP, and sedatives -- may produce Intoxication Delirium. Caffeine, however, does not
cause Delirium.
By the time an individual with __________________ reaches the fourth decade of life,
symptoms often become less evident or remit and no longer meet all of the disorder's diagnostic
criteria.
A. Histrionic Personality Disorder
B. Avoidant Personality Disorder
C. Schizotypal Personality Disorder
D. Antisocial Personality Disorder ------------ Correct Answer -------------- D.
According to the DSM-5, the symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), particularly
criminal behaviors, often become less evident or remit by the time the person reaches the fourth
decade of life
Following prolonged heavy alcohol consumption, a person is most likely to exhibit:
A. a comparable pattern of deficits in visuospatial and verbal skills.
B. deficits in either visuospatial or verbal skills, depending on whether the person is left- or
right-
brain dominant.
C. greater deficits in visuospatial skills than in verbal skills.
D. greater deficits in verbal skills than in visuospatial skills. ------------ Correct Answer -----------
--- C.
Studies investigating cognitive impairments due to prolonged, heavy alcohol use have found that
it is more likely to cause problems in visuospatial skills than in verbal skills
Research on the genetic contribution to Major Depressive Disorder indicates that the risk for
depression for biological offspring is:
A. higher if they have one parent with depression than if they have two parents with depression.
B. essentially the same whether they have one or two parents with depression.
C. higher if they have a mother with depression than if they have a father with depression.
D. substantially higher if they have two parents with depression than if they have only one
parent
with depression. ------------ Correct Answer -------------- B.
Research findings show having a biological parent with depression increases an offspring's risk
for major depression. What may be surprising however is that the risk is similar whether one or
both parents experience major depression. Studies also indicate maternal and paternal depression
affect biological offspring similarly in terms of rates of major depression.
Depressive episodes that occur in a seasonal pattern most likely include:
A. loss of weight
B. increased sleep
C. increased craving for protein-rich foods
D. increased energy ------------ Correct Answer -------------- B.
Major Depressive Disorder with seasonal pattern (also known as seasonal affective disorder) is
diagnosed when major depressive episodes consistently occur at the same time of year (most
often in the fall and winter months in the northern hemisphere). Symptoms of seasonal affective
