Deck 15: Abnormal Psychology and the Law

Question 1

People must be judged ______ to be psychiatrically (civilly) committed.

A) unable to care for their own needs
B) mentally ill, but not necessarily dangerous
C) dangerous to themselves or others but not necessarily mentally ill
D) mentally ill and dangerous to themselves or others

Answer 1

mentally ill and dangerous to themselves or others

Question 2

It was not until ______ that the United States Supreme Court ruled that persons must be judged both "mentally ill" and a clear and present danger to themselves or others
Before they may be involuntarily hospitalized.

A) 1919
B) 1939
C) 1959
D) 1979

Answer 2

1979

Question 3

People who are placed in psychiatric institutions because they were acquitted of a crime by reason of insanity are committed through a process of _______ commitment.

A) voluntary
B) institutional
C) criminal
D) civil

Answer 3

criminal

Question 4

People who are placed in psychiatric institutions because they show abnormal behaviors and are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others are committed through a process of ______
Commitment.

A) voluntary
B) institutional
C) criminal
D) civil

Question 5

One of the most vocal and persistent critics of civil commitment statutes has been ______.

A) Hans Eysenck
B) Fritz Perls
C) Egas Moniz
D) Thomas Szasz

Question 6

Someone who is in a mental hospital as a result of ______ can leave the hospital whenever she or he desires.

A) civil commitment
B) voluntary hospitalization
C) criminal commitment
D) any type of commitment or hospitalization

Question 7

Thomas Szasz, whom the text describes as stridently opposed to the entire concept of civil commitment, was a ______.

A) clinical psychologist
B) psychiatrist
C) social worker
D) attorney

Question 8

Appearing before a U.S. district court, Jared Loughner was found to be ________.

A) clinically depressed
B) suffering from schizophrenia
C) competent to stand trial
D) incompetent to stand trial

Question 9

Mental health professionals tend to ______ dangerousness in mental health patients.

A) refuse to predict
B) underpredict
C) accurately predict
D) overpredict

Question 10

The legal process of placing a person in a mental institution, even against his or her will, is known as ______ commitment.

A) civil
B) voluntary
C) criminal
D) institutional

Question 11

The Supreme Court ruled in Addington v. Texas that individuals can be hospitalized involuntarily if they are ______.

A) mentally ill and dangerous to others
B) mentally ill and dangerous to themselves
C) mentally ill and dangerous to themselves or others
D) dangerous to themselves or others

Question 12

Psychiatric commitment is the same as ______ commitment.

A) voluntary
B) institutional
C) criminal
D) civil

Question 13

The legal process of confining a person found not guilty by reason of insanity in a mental institution is called ______.

A) social commitment
B) criminal commitment
C) civil commitment
D) institutional commitment

Question 14

The formal determination of Jared Loughner's mental status at the time of the shooting he committed was__________.

A) never determined because he later pled guilty to the charges
B) severe depression with psychotic features
C) paranoid schizophrenia
D) brief psychotic disorder

Question 15

When an individual seeks admission to a mental hospital for treatment of his or her own volition, it is known as ______ hospitalization.

A) civil
B) voluntary
C) criminal
D) institutional

Question 16

The court case in which the court found that individuals must be judged to be both mentally ill and to present a clear and present danger to themselves or others in order to be involuntarily
Hospitalized was ______.

A) Youngberg v. Romeo
B) O'Connor v. Donaldson
C) Wyatt v. Stickney
D) Addington v. Texas

Question 17

______ attempted to assassinate Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords

A) John Hinckley
B) Jared Loughner
C) James Earl Ray
D) Theodore Bundy

Question 18

Which statement is true about the prediction of dangerousness by mental health professionals?

A) Psychological assessment allows clinician to be very accurate in their predictions of dangerousness.
B) They tend to underpredict dangerousness.
C) They err on the side of caution in predicting dangerousness.
D) They tend to not label individuals as dangerous when they actually are dangerous.

Question 19

Clinical predictions of dangerousness are generally less accurate than ______.

A) relatives' predictions
B) a layperson's predictions based on evidence of past violent behavior
C) police predictions based on observation
D) neighbors' predictions based on interactions

Question 20

Both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association have gone on record stating that ______ can reliably predict violence among those they treat.

A) neither psychologists nor psychiatrists
B) psychologists, but not psychiatrists
C) psychiatrists, but not psychologists
D) both psychologists and psychiatrists

Question 21

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Past violent behavior may not be the best predictor of future violent behavior.
B) Clinicians, because of their specialized training, possess a special knowledge and ability for predicting violence that goes far beyond that of the average person.
C) Hospital staff are always permitted access to criminal records that would reveal past violent behavior.
D) Some critics believe that "dangerousness" should be dropped as a criterion for civil commitment.

Question 22

The likelihood of violence in people with serious psychiatric problems is increased by ______.

A) lengthy hospitalization
B) financial problems
C) substance abuse
D) extent of I.Q. over 100

Question 23

Which of the following types of threats is the MOST reliable indicator of dangerousness?

A) a vague, indirect threat
B) a specific, indirect threat
C) a vague, direct threat
D) a specific, direct threat

Question 24

Which classic movie featured abuses in the mental health system?

A) Come Back Little Sheba
B) Mr. Roberts
C) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
D) Ship of Fools

Question 25

The federal court case of ______ established a minimum standard of care in psychiatric hospitals

A) Marbury v. Madison
B) Lamson v. Alabama
C) O'Connor v. Donaldson
D) Wyatt v. Stickney

Question 26

Predictions of dangerousness based on clinical judgments of psychologists and psychiatrists ______.

A) are less accurate than predictions based on chance alone
B) are no more accurate than predictions based on chance alone
C) are more accurate than predictions based on chance alone, but less accurate than evidence based on evidence of past violent behavior
D) are more accurate than predictions based on chance alone or evidence of past violent behavior

Question 27

In O'Connor v. Donaldson, Kenneth Donaldson had lived in a state psychiatric hospital for ______ without needing or obtaining treatment before his lawsuit.

A) 5 years
B) 9 years
C) 14 years
D) 19 years

Question 28

The case of Larry Hogue involves ______.

A) the difficulties in trying to predict dangerousness
B) the political problems involved in the "duty to warn"
C) how to balance the rights of the individual with the rights of society
D) how to evaluate one's competency to stand trial

Question 29

Margot, a college senior who majors in criminology, fancies herself as skilled in predicting dangerousness when she reads case histories of teenage thieves. Which piece of information
Would be most instrumental in enhancing Margot's accuracy in predicting violence?

A) victimized by sexual abuse as a child
B) no father in the home
C) engaged in past violence
D) degree of introversion

Question 30

In O'Connor v. Donaldson, Kenneth Donaldson had originally been committed to a psychiatric hospital by ______.

A) the police
B) his son
C) his brother
D) his father

Question 31

In psychotherapy, threats of violence are likely to be ______.

A) directed at the therapist
B) clear and specific
C) directed at a member of the patient's family
D) vague and nonspecific

Question 32

The "base-rate problem" refers to ______.

A) the large number of people with potentially dangerous mental health problems
B) the shortage of trained professionals to thoroughly evaluate people with serious mental health problems
C) the shortage or properly equipped facilities to treat people with serious mental health problems
D) the relative difficulty of making predictions of infrequent or rare events

Question 33

Incorrectly failing to predict the occurrence of a problematic behavior is known as a(n) ______.

A) inherent negative bias
B) inherent positive bias
C) false negative
D) false positive

Question 34

When a potentially violent patient is being released from the hospital, what is considered the best predictor of future violence?

A) quality of behavioral control in the hospital community
B) quality of behavioral control when the patient lived in the general community
C) quality and quantity of the patient's individual psychotherapy while hospitalized
D) quality and quantity of the patient's group psychotherapy while hospitalized

Question 35

Incorrectly predicting the occurrence of a problematic behavior is known as a(n) ______.

A) inherent negative bias
B) inherent positive bias
C) false negative
D) false positive

Question 36

A mental health professional should be particularly alarmed about potential violence if a schizophrenic person reports experiencing ______.

A) command hallucinations
B) auditory hallucinations
C) delusions of grandeur
D) delusions of persecution

Question 37

Which of the following is a factor cited to account for the inability of professionals to predict dangerousness?

A) Recognizing violent tendencies after a violent incident is easier than predicting it beforehand.
B) Violent acts like murder and assault are so common that it is difficult to sort out who will and who won't commit such acts.
C) There is consistency among experts for defining the criteria for violent or dangerous behavior.
D) Generalized perceptions of violent tendencies often predict specific acts of violence.

Question 38

In predicting dangerousness, clinicians tend to have an excess of ______.

A) true positives
B) true negatives
C) false positives
D) false negatives

Question 39

Ricky Wyatt, the lead plaintiff in Wyatt v. Stickney, was ______.

A) schizophrenic
B) manic depressive
C) mentally retarded
D) sociopathic

Question 40

In the case that established minimum standards of care for mental patients, the federal court required that mental hospitals must provide which of the following?

A) Restitution to patients who had been previously mistreated.
B) A humane psychological and physical environment.
C) The right for the patient to use her own bedding and to decorate the room she is residing in.
D) Choice in terms of when the patient wants to eat and the types of available foods.

Question 41

The court case in which the court decided that "mental illness [alone] cannot justify a State's locking a person up against his will and keeping him indefinitely in simple custodial confinement"
Was ______.

A) Youngberg v. Romeo
B) O'Connor v. Donaldson
C) Wyatt v. Stickney
D) Addington v. Texas

Question 42

The Tarasoff ruling places the therapist's duty to warn in direct conflict with ______.

A) the duty to heal
B) principles of confidentiality
C) principles of competency to stand trial
D) judgments of legal sanity or insanity

Question 43

The case of ______ established certain patient rights, including the right not to be required to perform work that is for the sake of maintaining the facility.

A) Addington v. Texas
B) O'Connor v. Donaldson
C) Wyatt v. Stickney
D) Tarasoff v. Regents of UC

Question 44

The outcome of Poddar's criminal trial was that he ______.

A) served a sentence for manslaughter and returned to India
B) was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence
C) was convicted of murder and was executed
D) was acquitted by reason of insanity

Question 45

Which of the following is listed in the "Patient's Bill of Rights" established by the federal court?

A) Patients have the right to community entertainment such as shopping, movies, and cultural events.
B) Patients shall never be kept in restraints or isolation.
C) Patients have a right to visitation and telephone privileges.
D) Patients shall not be expected to participate in their treatment plan.

Question 46

In the Tarasoff case, the court ruled that a therapist ______.

A) has a duty to warn an intended victim if during therapy a client makes statements indicating that he or she poses a serious threat to that potential victim
B) has a duty to contact police if during therapy a client makes statements indicating that he or she is a threat to the health and safety of others
C) cannot disclose confidential statements made during therapy sessions, even to warn someone of a threat against them, unless the client has a previous history of violence
Towards others
D) cannot disclose confidential statements made during therapy sessions, even to warn someone of a threat against them

Question 47

When Kenneth Donaldson sued a Florida state mental hospital for failing to provide treatment for him during 14 years of confinement, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the state
Has ______.

A) a right to involuntarily confine a person for mental illness even if that person poses no danger and could safely survive in the community
B) a right to involuntarily confine a person in a mental hospital if the person is dangerous, even if that person is not mentally ill
C) no right to involuntarily confine a person who is dangerous unless the person is proven to be mentally ill
D) no right to confine a person for mental illness unless that person poses a clear and present danger or cannot safely survive in freedom

Question 48

The court case in which the court ruled that patients have a right to training to help them function free of restraints, but only when that training can be provided in reasonable safety, is ______.

A) Youngberg v. Romeo
B) O'Connor v. Donaldson
C) Wyatt v. Stickney
D) Addington v. Texas

Question 49

The Tarasoff ruling recognized that the rights of the _______.

A) psychotherapy client are as important as those of the intended victim
B) psychotherapy client are already specified in state and national laws
C) intended victim outweigh the rights of confidentiality
D) intended victim cannot impact the sanctity of the psychotherapy session

Question 50

Which of the following is a reason why the Tarasoff decision may actually increase the risk of violence?

A) Clients may be less willing to confide in their therapists and therefore have built up feelings of anger and resentment that may be discharged more readily into the community.
B) Clients may be more likely to act out their violent impulses on therapists rather than on the original intended victims.
C) Potentially violent people may be less likely to enter therapy.
D) Therapists are more likely to decline the referral of any client dealing with a romantic break-up or conflicted relationships.

Question 51

The case of a profoundly retarded man who was kept in restraints in a Pennsylvania state hospital because he kept injuring himself was ______.

A) Youngberg v. Romeo
B) O'Connor v. Donaldson
C) Wyatt v. Stickney
D) Addington v. Texas

Question 52

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in ______ included an opinion that judges and juries should not ordinarily second guess mental health professionals.

A) Rogers v. Orkin
B) Addington v. Texas
C) O'Connor v. Donaldson
D) Youngberg v. Romeo

Question 53

The case that established the legal basis for a therapist's duty to warn was the ______.

A) Jones case
B) Tarasoff case
C) Durham case
D) M'Naghten case

Question 54

In the Tarasoff case, Poddar's therapist ______.

A) ignored his threat to kill Tatiana Tarasoff
B) informed the campus police that he was dangerous
C) informed Tatiana Tarasoff's parents that he wanted to kill their daughter
D) informed only his colleagues of his concern about his dangerousness

Question 55

The Tarasoff ruling was made by ______.

A) the U.S. Supreme Court
B) a Texas court
C) the California Supreme court
D) the North Carolina Supreme court

Question 56

The Tarasoff ruling occurred in ______.

A) 1966
B) 1976
C) 1986
D) 1996

Question 57

Aside from threat of violence, another murky area where therapists must balance confidentiality with duty to warn obligations is in treating people who ______.

A) are unfaithful to their spouses
B) have committed crimes like burglary or drug sales
C) have disclosed issues about sexual harassment to the therapist
D) have not disclosed that they are HIV-positive to their partners

Question 58

The confidentiality of a client's communication to a psychotherapist is ______.

A) absolute
B) only breached when the therapist has a duty to warn
C) the therapist's privilege to handle at his or her discretion
D) limited by certain conditions

Question 59

Which of the following is listed in the "Patient's Bill of Rights" established by the federal court?

A) Patients have a right to suitable opportunities to interact with the opposite sex.
B) Patients have a right to bring their own bed linens and furniture to the hospital setting.
C) Patients have a right to refuse any treatment which they find objectionable.
D) Patients have a right to regular exercise and to spend time in the community at their leisure.

Question 60

During the middle of a psychotherapy appointment, Jason confesses to Dr. Hill that he is going to kill his girlfriend because she is talking about breaking up. "If I can't have her,
Nobody can have her," Jason angrily stated. According to ______, Dr. Hill must ______.

A) Wyatt v. Stickney; honor his agreement of confidentiality with Jason
B) Tarasoff v. Regents of the Regents of the University of California; honor his agreement of confidentiality with Jason
C) Wyatt v. Stickney; warn Jason's girlfriend about the threat to her life
D) Tarasoff v. Regents of the Regents of the University of California; warn Jason's girlfriend about the threat to her life

Question 61

Overall, the guilty but mentally ill verdict ______.

A) has proven to be completely unworkable and is likely to be eliminated in most states at some point in the near future
B) is a social experiment that has not yet proved its usefulness
C) is viewed as a major step forward in helping juries and judges find an appropriate sentence in cases in which the insanity plea is used
D) has proven to be a panacea, virtually eliminating most problems associated with the use of the insanity defense

Question 62

John Hinckley's trial for attempting to assassinate President Reagan resulted in a decision that Hinckley was ______.

A) guilty and sentenced to life in prison
B) guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison
C) guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison
D) not guilty by reason of insanity

Question 63

In an 1834 Ohio case, the court ruled that ______.

A) patients have the right to refuse medication under certain conditions
B) people do not bear criminal responsibility for their acts if they are unable to tell right from wrong
C) people cannot be held responsible if they are compelled to commit criminal actions because of impulses they are unable to resist
D) people cannot be hospitalized against their will unless they present a clear and present danger to themselves or others

Question 64

Which of the following is a major case that bears on the insanity defense?

A) the 1975 O'Connor v. Donaldson case
B) the 1982 Youngberg v. Romeo case
C) the 1976 Tarasoff ruling
D) the 1954 Durham v. United States case

Question 65

In the Hinckley case, the prosecutor was burdened to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that __________.

A) the concept of insanity has never been adequately proven and should not factor into the verdict
B) Hinckley did not have capacity to control his behavior and appreciate its wrongfulness.
C) Hinckley had the capacity to control his behavior and appreciate its wrongfulness.
D) Hinckley had never exhibited any psychological problems before the assassination attempt and therefore his attempt had malevolent intentions.

Question 66

In modern law, there is (are) ______ major court ruling(s) that bear on the insanity defense.

A) one
B) three
C) five
D) seven

Question 67

___________of patient refusals to take medication are overridden by the courts.

A) Very few
B) All
C) None
D) The great majority

Question 68

Legal protections ensuring patients' rights to refuse psychiatric treatments appear to have had ______ on mental-health services or the people receiving these services.

A) few damaging or disruptive effects
B) few disruptive effects, although there have been some seriously damaging effects
C) few damaging effects, although there have been some seriously disruptive effects
D) serious long-term damaging and disruptive effects

Question 69

About ______ percent of patients refuse medication.

A) 10
B) 20
C) 30
D) 40

Question 70

People acquitted by reason of insanity ______.

A) must go to prison as soon as they are cleared by a psychiatric hospital
B) are often confined to mental hospitals for longer periods than they would have spent in prison
C) usually have tricked the jury
D) are underestimated in frequency by the public

Question 71

In a 1979 Massachusetts court case, the court ruled that hospitalized mental patients have ______.

A) a right to refuse medication in any situation
B) a right to refuse medication except when it is an emergency in which the patients' behavior poses physical risks to themselves or others
C) a right to refuse only medications deemed by the court to be "high-risk" medications
D) no right to refuse medications that their caregivers deem a necessary and appropriate part of treatment

Question 72

Society has long held to the doctrine of ______ as a basis for determining responsibility for wrongdoing.

A) informed consent
B) let the buyer beware
C) free will
D) social duty

Question 73

As an aftermath of the Hinckley verdict, many states changed their statute to ______.

A) eliminate the insanity defense
B) limit the insanity defense to cases of schizophrenia and profound mental retardation
C) place greater burden of proof on the defense
D) place greater burden of proof on the prosecution.

Question 74

In the 1979 case of Rogers v. Okin, the court ruled that ______ has a right to exercise bad judgment within certain broad limits.

A) neither a patient with a mental illness nor one without a mental illness
B) a patient with a mental illness, but not a patient without a mental illness
C) a patient without a mental illness, but not a patient with a mental illness
D) a patient with or without a mental illness

Question 75

The public ______ the proportion of defendants acquitted on the basis of insanity and ______ the length of hospitalization of those who are confined.

A) underestimates, underestimates
B) underestimates, overestimates
C) overestimates, underestimates
D) overestimates, overestimates

Question 76

The public perception of the insanity plea is that it is ______ and ______ successful.

A) rarely used, rarely
B) widely used , rarely
C) rarely used, highly
D) widely used, highly

Question 77

The court case in which the court ruled that committed patients cannot be forcefully medicated except in emergency situations is ______.

A) Rogers v. Okin
B) O'Connor v. Donaldson
C) Wyatt v. Stickney
D) Addington v. Texas

Question 78

The insanity defense is actually used in ______ percent of all felony cases.

A) less than 1
B) about 2
C) about 4
D) about 8

Question 79

A person receiving a "guilty but mentally ill" verdict in a criminal trial will receive ______.

A) jail time but no extra treatment for mental illness
B) hospitalization in lieu of jail time
C) hospitalization until cured, and will then serve the remainder of their sentence in jail
D) imprisonment, but will receive treatment for their illness while serving their sentence

Question 80

The "guilty but mentally ill" verdict was a reaction to ______.

A) the Tarasoff decision
B) the trial of James Earl Ray
C) John Hinckley's acquittal
D) Andrea Watts's conviction