IB Psychology SL : Abnormal psychology
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Abnormal Psychology
Which of the following is not hypothesized as a contributing factor of depression?
Learned helplessness
Excess levels of dopamine in the brain
The cognitive triad
Low levels of serotonin in the brain
Genetic predisposition
Excess levels of dopamine in the brain
Genetics, low serotonin, learned helplessness, and the cognitive triad are all hypothesized to be contributing factors to depression; however, excess levels of dopamine contribute to schizophrenia, not depression.
Learned helplessness is the idea that a person has learned from past experiences that they cannot control parts of their life, which can contribute to depression. Beck's cognitive triad examines the explanations people make about themselves, their future, and their world. When something happens, someone can decide that it was either caused by them or caused by an external factor (internal/external), generalize the event to all events or keep it specific to the event at hand (global / specific), and decide whether he or she thinks it will continue in the future or will end soon (stable/unstable). When someone is depressed, they tend to believe that good events are external, specific, and unstable, while bad events are internal, global, and stable.
Example Question #2 : Abnormal Psychology
Which of the following is not hypothesized as a contributing factor of depression?
Genetic predisposition
Learned helplessness
The cognitive triad
Low levels of serotonin in the brain
Excess levels of dopamine in the brain
Excess levels of dopamine in the brain
Genetics, low serotonin, learned helplessness, and the cognitive triad are all hypothesized to be contributing factors to depression; however, excess levels of dopamine contribute to schizophrenia, not depression.
Learned helplessness is the idea that a person has learned from past experiences that they cannot control parts of their life, which can contribute to depression. Beck's cognitive triad examines the explanations people make about themselves, their future, and their world. When something happens, someone can decide that it was either caused by them or caused by an external factor (internal/external), generalize the event to all events or keep it specific to the event at hand (global / specific), and decide whether he or she thinks it will continue in the future or will end soon (stable/unstable). When someone is depressed, they tend to believe that good events are external, specific, and unstable, while bad events are internal, global, and stable.
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