Medical Tests Medical Tests Certifications MCAT-TEST Questions & Answers

• Question 371:

  Which one of the following chemicals would UNLIKELY be involved in the onset of a panic attack?

  A. Melatonin

  B. Epinephrine

  C. Norepinephrine

  D. Serotonin

  Correct Answer: A

  A is correct. Melatonin helps to sustain people's circadian rhythms. It is mainly involved in the sleep-wake cycle regulation. It is secreted into the bloodstream at night, inducing drowsiness and making the person feel sleepy. It has been found to be effective in the treatment of anxiety due to its calming effects. These effects suggest that melatonin is not involved in the outset of acute anxiety episodes. Moreover, no findings have yet associated low or high levels of melatonin with anxiety disorders. B and C. These are incorrect. The hormone epinephrine (or adrenaline) and the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (or noradrenaline) are released in greater quantities during stressing, threatening situations. Anxiety disorders involve experiencing normal situations as menacing. This perception prompts fight-or-flight, stress-related responses. For example, the person's blood flow, arousal, alertness, attention and memory are boosted; and the chemicals epinephrine and norepinephrine are released in great quantities. Thus, these substances could be present during the onset of a panic attack. D. This is incorrect. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter. It is mainly involved in the regulation of homeostatic processes, such as sleep and appetite. It also plays an important role in the regulation of mood. Low levels of serotonin can result in the development of both depressive and anxiety disorders. Thus, serotonin levels might decrease during the onset of panic attack.

• Question 372:

  The process by which individuals decide and choose to seek assistance for health or mental health problems is called help-seeking. Table 1 displays the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic White adults who received mental health or counseling treatment in 2008

  Help-seeking is a complex process and individuals will choose to obtain treatment for a variety of reasons. One of the strongest individual-related help-seeking predictors amounts to perceiving the need to do so. Other individual-related factors are the educational and the socioeconomic status. There may also be systematic factors that prevent people from doing so, such as general mistrust of health, mental health, and social service institutions, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities. It has been speculated that some of the mistrust stems from research studies, sponsored by medical establishments, where racial and ethnic minorities express concerns of being recruited for the purpose of serving as guinea pigs. Focus groups with African Americans and Chinese immigrants confirmed this anxiety and fear.

  Thus, cultural factors also play a role in the help-seeking process. Western cultural norms about medicine are premised on norms of individualism. However, individuals from other cultures and racial and ethnic minority groups tend to be both more collectivistic and fatalist. Disease, both medical and mental, is believed to occur because of fate. It is not something where one should spend much time and effort fighting; the needs of the family and even of the extended family are to come first.

  Table 1 Access to health care: Percentage of adults who received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year, 2008

  

  Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,"Mental Health and American Indians/ Alaska Natives"

  What variables will a researcher interested in investigating the relationship between the "Big Five" personality traits and help-seeking behaviors include in the study?

  A. Traditional, egalitarian, patriarchal, matriarchal, and androgynous

  B. Overgeneralizations, polarized thinking, personalization, catastrophizing, and blaming

  C. Neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness

  D. Persona, shadow, anima, animus, and self

  Correct Answer: C

  C is correct. Based on longitudinal empirical research, it is believed there are five broad dimensions of personality, which include neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Together, these dimensions are named "Big Five" theory or model. To date, it is still controversial whether personality can be reduced to these five categories.

  A. This is incorrect. The first two are descriptors of gender role stereotypes. The third and fourth terms refer to male and female dominated societies, respectively. The fifth term refers to having both masculine and feminine traits. These are not part of the "Big Five."

  B. This is incorrect. These are examples of cognitive distortions and not part of the "Big Five." D. This is incorrect. These are Carl Jung's examples of archetypes. These are not part of the "Big Five."

• Question 373:

  The process by which individuals decide and choose to seek assistance for health or mental health problems is called help-seeking. Table 1 displays the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic White adults who received mental health or counseling treatment in 2008

  Help-seeking is a complex process and individuals will choose to obtain treatment for a variety of reasons. One of the strongest individual-related help-seeking predictors amounts to perceiving the need to do so. Other individual-related factors are the educational and the socioeconomic status. There may also be systematic factors that prevent people from doing so, such as general mistrust of health, mental health, and social service institutions, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities. It has been speculated that some of the mistrust stems from research studies, sponsored by medical establishments, where racial and ethnic minorities express concerns of being recruited for the purpose of serving as guinea pigs. Focus groups with African Americans and Chinese immigrants confirmed this anxiety and fear.

  Thus, cultural factors also play a role in the help-seeking process. Western cultural norms about medicine are premised on norms of individualism. However, individuals from other cultures and racial and ethnic minority groups tend to be both more collectivistic and fatalist. Disease, both medical and mental, is believed to occur because of fate. It is not something where one should spend much time and effort fighting; the needs of the family and even of the extended family are to come first.

  Table 1 Access to health care: Percentage of adults who received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year, 2008

  

  Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,"Mental Health and American Indians/ Alaska Natives" Research makes a strong case that racial minorities' mistrust in the healthcare system stems from historical incidents, including:

  A. Shays' Rebellion.

  B. the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.

  C. the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5).

  D. the glass ceiling effect.

  Correct Answer: B

  B is the correct answer. Starting in 1932, the Public Health Service conducted a study on syphilis with African American men in Tuskegee, Alabama. This study is now known as the Tuskegee Study. The objective of the research was to observe how the disease progressed over time among African American men. However, none of research subjects was informed they had syphilis. Over the course of the study, penicillin became the accepted course of treatment in 1945, but researchers also did not inform the research subjects of the available treatment. Thus, the ethical principles that presently regulate research, and include the requirement of gathering informed consent, or allow for non-disclosure of intents in very specific circumstances, censor the procedures adopted at the time. This study, along with alike now deemed unethical studies, are argued to have generated mistrust in the system among minorities. A. This is incorrect. Shays' Rebellion related to general economic and civil rights. It was not a rebellion against racial disparities in the healthcare system. C. This is incorrect. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) was never subjected to race-related criticism or mentioned as a cause of racial minorities' mistrust in healthcare system. D. This is incorrect. The glass ceiling effect is a term used to describe the barriers women encounter in their careers that impede them from attaining higher positions. It is not concerned with racial minorities and their distrust in health systems.

• Question 374:

  The process by which individuals decide and choose to seek assistance for health or mental health problems is called help-seeking. Table 1 displays the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic White adults who received mental health or counseling treatment in 2008

  Help-seeking is a complex process and individuals will choose to obtain treatment for a variety of reasons. One of the strongest individual-related help-seeking predictors amounts to perceiving the need to do so. Other individual-related factors are the educational and the socioeconomic status. There may also be systematic factors that prevent people from doing so, such as general mistrust of health, mental health, and social service institutions, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities. It has been speculated that some of the mistrust stems from research studies, sponsored by medical establishments, where racial and ethnic minorities express concerns of being recruited for the purpose of serving as guinea pigs. Focus groups with African Americans and Chinese immigrants confirmed this anxiety and fear.

  Thus, cultural factors also play a role in the help-seeking process. Western cultural norms about medicine are premised on norms of individualism. However, individuals from other cultures and racial and ethnic minority groups tend to be both more collectivistic and fatalist. Disease, both medical and mental, is believed to occur because of fate. It is not something where one should spend much time and effort fighting; the needs of the family and even of the extended family are to come first.

  Table 1 Access to health care: Percentage of adults who received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year, 2008

  

  Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,"Mental Health and American Indians/ Alaska Natives"

  How might Sandra Bem's theory about masculinity and femininity explain the gender differences in access to mental health and counseling services among Native American Indians, depicted in Table 1?

  A. Gender role conflict is more often experienced by men. Therefore, they are more likely to internalize symptoms and not seek treatment.

  B. As a result of the stereotypical characteristics associated with femininity, women are more likely to seek formal assistance. Also, due to stereotypical traits associated with masculinity, the opposite trend is observed in men.

  C. Native American Indian females are more collectivism-oriented. This is based on feminine traits, and is less frequent observed in males.

  D. Differences in attributes between men and women are rooted in neurobiology, and this then influences help-seeking behaviors.

  Correct Answer: B

  B is correct. Sandra Bem, a feminist psychologist, was known for developing the gender schema theory. She maintains that certain traits or attributes are linked to males and females. These are perpetuated and reinforced by societal and cultural norms that stem from stereotypes we hold about what is characteristic of men and women. That is, individuals hold gender schemata of masculinity and femininity, which would translate into different help-seeking behaviors. They can be assessed through the Bem Sex Role Inventory.

  A. This is incorrect. In general, women tend to internalize difficulties more than men. They are more likely to seek counseling partly for this reason. C. This is incorrect. Collectivistic culture emphasizes the role of interconnectivity with others such as the family and community. Individualistic cultures emphasize the autonomy of the individual. Most Western countries are individualistically oriented. This is unrelated to Bem's theory or feminist traits.

  D. This is incorrect. According to Bem, femininity and masculinity are sociocultural schemas; they are not rooted in neurobiological differences.

• Question 375:

  The process by which individuals decide and choose to seek assistance for health or mental health problems is called help-seeking. Table 1 displays the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic White adults who received mental health or counseling treatment in 2008

  Help-seeking is a complex process and individuals will choose to obtain treatment for a variety of reasons. One of the strongest individual-related help-seeking predictors amounts to perceiving the need to do so. Other individual-related factors are the educational and the socioeconomic status. There may also be systematic factors that prevent people from doing so, such as general mistrust of health, mental health, and social service institutions, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities. It has been speculated that some of the mistrust stems from research studies, sponsored by medical establishments, where racial and ethnic minorities express concerns of being recruited for the purpose of serving as guinea pigs. Focus groups with African Americans and Chinese immigrants confirmed this anxiety and fear.

  Thus, cultural factors also play a role in the help-seeking process. Western cultural norms about medicine are premised on norms of individualism. However, individuals from other cultures and racial and ethnic minority groups tend to be both more collectivistic and fatalist. Disease, both medical and mental, is believed to occur because of fate. It is not something where one should spend much time and effort fighting; the needs of the family and even of the extended family are to come first.

  Table 1 Access to health care: Percentage of adults who received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year, 2008 Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,"Mental Health and American Indians/ Alaska Natives"

  

  A practitioner using the theory of planned behavior to inform mental health educational programs would most likely:

  A. identify cognitive schemas and their influence on the execution of behaviors.

  B. determine the level of dissonance or tension created by attitudes and beliefs.

  C. explore levels of self-efficacy in individuals' planning.

  D. take into account individuals' intentions, attitudes toward behavior, and subjective norms.

  Correct Answer: D

  D is correct. Icek Azjen's theory of planned behavior focuses on how individuals' beliefs, attitudes and subjective norms influence their intentions, which then influence their behaviors. This theory has been used to understand how to change people's health behaviors and their intentions toward seeking formal assistance. Health educators use it often to formulate health promotion communication strategies and to dissemination educational information related to disease prevention.

  A: This is incorrect. Cognitive schemas are ways of organizing, categorizing, and interpreting information. Cognitive theorists often identify which cognitive schemas held by individuals help them to organize their knowledge in memory. This is unrelated to the theory of planned behavior. B. This is incorrect. Cognitive dissonance theory was developed by Leon Festinger. He posited that we experience a feeling of discomfort or dissonance when there is an inconsistency between our beliefs or attitudes and our behavior. In states of dissonance, people may feel impelled to reduce this dissonance and achieve consistency by changing their attitudes or beliefs or their behaviors. This is unrelated to the theory of planned behavior. C. This is incorrect. Self-efficacy refers to individuals' confidence in their skills and abilities to master tasks and achieve goals. Self-efficacy is a concept that stems from Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory. In revised versions off the theory of planned behavior, self-efficacy is one of the components that can affect subsequent behavior. Inspecting levels of self-efficacy alone would amount to a very incomplete application of the theory of planned behavior.

• Question 376:

  Each of the following is an example of the transmission of knowledge through symbolic culture EXCEPT:

  I. A young macaque monkey learning to rinse off food in the ocean from an older monkey, even when the food is not covered in dirt or sand.

  II. A child learning the rules of baseball from a parent.

  III.

  A new group of inductees in a military organization experiencing hazing rituals from older students, which they then later carry out on new recruits.

  A.

  I only

  B.

  III only

  C.

  I and III only

  D.

  II and III only

  Correct Answer: A

  Symbolic culture is a form of knowledge transmission that only humans possess. It entails beliefs about the world, and behaviors elicited in response to those beliefs, which are symbolic ?that is, non-physical. While many animal species may develop a form of culture, such as the macaques mentioned in (I), it is not symbolic culture. Things like the rules of baseball, or the traditions by which new members are brought into a group relate to non-physical things, and are thus examples of symbolic culture.

• Question 377:

  The process by which individuals decide and choose to seek assistance for health or mental health problems is called help-seeking. Table 1 displays the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic White adults who received mental health or counseling treatment in 2008

  Help-seeking is a complex process and individuals will choose to obtain treatment for a variety of reasons. One of the strongest individual-related help-seeking predictors amounts to perceiving the need to do so. Other individual-related factors are the educational and the socioeconomic status. There may also be systematic factors that prevent people from doing so, such as general mistrust of health, mental health, and social service institutions, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities. It has been speculated that some of the mistrust stems from research studies, sponsored by medical establishments, where racial and ethnic minorities express concerns of being recruited for the purpose of serving as guinea pigs. Focus groups with African Americans and Chinese immigrants confirmed this anxiety and fear.

  Thus, cultural factors also play a role in the help-seeking process. Western cultural norms about medicine are premised on norms of individualism. However, individuals from other cultures and racial and ethnic minority groups tend to be both more collectivistic and fatalist. Disease, both medical and mental, is believed to occur because of fate. It is not something where one should spend much time and effort fighting; the needs of the family and even of the extended family are to come first.

  Table 1 Access to health care: Percentage of adults who received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year, 2008

  

  Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,"Mental Health and American Indians/ Alaska Natives"

  What would the main focus of supporters of a medicalized approach to mental health be?

  A. They would disregard mental health as a myth, and mainly inquire about and treat clients' physical symptoms through the use of prescription drugs.

  B. They would mainly focus on establishing a strong, healthy relationship with clients, and attempt to build up their psychological strengths.

  C. They would insist that mental illness should be viewed in a holistic manner and employ complementary alternative medicines as a first avenue of intervention.

  D. Just like with any other physical disease, they would inquire about existing symptoms, formulate a diagnosis, and attempt to treat or cure the diagnosed disease.

  Correct Answer: D

  D is correct. Those who support a medicalized approach to mental health approach these illnesses in the same way they approach medical and physical diseases. Symptoms are listed, a diagnosis is put forward, and adequate treatments for such diagnosis ensued. These treatments usually, but not necessarily involve the use of prescription drugs or surgery. It has been widely criticized for issues such as being extremely positivist; disregarding the strengths or healthy aspects of individuals; and dehumanizing, de- contextualizing and reducing the person to a disease. Every psychosocial aspect may be "pathologized", that is, regarded as a medical problem that urgently needs to be corrected, removed, cured, changed, or treated.

  A. This is incorrect. Thomas Szasz is known for advocating that mental illness is a myth - though not necessarily insisting on treating exclusively physical symptoms through the use of drugs. Unlike wise, those who support the medicalization of mental health do not necessarily claim it is a myth. B. This is incorrect. Positive psychology and more humanistic clinical psychology trends would address mental health issues by emphasizing relational aspects and psychological strengths. They would stand against the medicalization of mental health.

  C. This is incorrect. Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) and holistic treatments are not advocated by those who support the medicalization of mental health.

• Question 378:

  All of the following are example of sensory, or neural, adaptation EXCEPT:

  A. After putting on a shirt, you eventually no longer feel the sensation of the fabric on your back.

  B. After first walking into a crowded room, you no longer are distracted by the buzz of conversation around you.

  C. After first walking outside on a sunny day, you no longer are blinded by the initial brightness of the light.

  D. After first walking into an anatomy lab, you no longer notice the smell of formaldehyde.

  Correct Answer: C

  Choices A, B, and D are all examples of sensory adaptation occurring the due to the brain's adaptation to a constant neural stimulus. Choice C, on the other hand, is due to the contraction of the iris, which in narrows the pupil and restricts the amount of light being received by our retina. It is therefore not an example of our brain's adaptation to a constant neural stimulus, but a muscular contraction that changes the amount of stimulus.

• Question 379:

  As a result of substance abuse throughout adolescence, a young adult suffers from a number of psychological symptoms reflecting diminished executive functioning. Which of the following are likely true of this patient?

  I. Pathological changes to the prefrontal cortex.

  II. Increased susceptibility to auditory hallucinations.

  III.

  Reduced behavioral impulse control.

  A.

  I only

  B.

  III only

  C.

  I and III only

  D.

  II and III only

  Correct Answer: C

  Executive functioning, or the ability to formulate and stick to long term plans, exercise judgment and impulse control with respect to those plans, is controlled primarily by the prefrontal cortex. In a patient with diminished executive functioning, both (I) and (III) would likely be seen. Thus, (C) is the right answer.

  II: The prefrontal cortex is not part of the auditory processing pathway. Thus, there is no reason why a patient with diminished executive functioning would likely have auditory hallucinations.

• Question 380:

  In response to period of extreme psychological trauma, a patient begins experiencing a feeling of detachment. He says, "I felt like it wasn't real while it was happening. I was just watching myself do it without any control. I mean, you know, I knew it was happening but I didn't feel like it was." The patient is describing:

  A. dissociative identity disorder.

  B. an anxiety disorder.

  C. depersonalization disorder.

  D. a schizophrenic episode.

  Correct Answer: C

  A: Dissociative identity disorder involves 2 or more personalities with imperfect recall between them.

  B: Anxiety disorders are mood disorders characterized by excessive levels of arousal.

  D: Schizophrenia is characterized by hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking.