Psychiatry Review September 2025

Patient with cancer experiences nausea when viewing a commercial that shows the location where the patient receives chemotherapy treatment. This patient's response is best understood as an example of which of the following?

• Observational learning

• Operant conditioning

• Classical conditioning

• Negative reinforcement

• Second order conditioning

A "timeout" used to change the frequency of undesirable behaviors in children represents which type of operant conditioning?

• Positive reinforcement

• Negative reinforcement

• Positive punishment

• Negative punishment

• Extinction

A patient with depression has been using alcohol more frequently to self-medicate. The patient reports that dysphoria and anhedonia temporarily improve after a few drinks. Which of the following best explains the use of alcohol in this scenario?

• Extinction

• Positive punishment

• Negative punishment

• Positive reinforcement

• Negative reinforcement

Which pharmacologic properties allow buprenorphine to act as a functional opioid antagonist in individuals who are physically dependent on opioids?

• Low binding affinity and low intrinsic activity at the k-opioid receptor

• Low binding affinity and low intrinsic activity at the µ-opioid receptor

• High binding affinity and low intrinsic activity at the k-opioid receptor

• High binding affinity and low intrinsic activity at the µ-opioid receptor

• High binding affinity and high intrinsic activity at the µ-opioid receptor

In the treatment of opioid use disorders, naloxone is combined with buprenorphine for which purpose?

• Reduce the risk of diversion

• Minimize irritation of the gastric mucosa

• Minimize residual withdrawal phenomena

• Enhance absorption of buprenorphine

• Slow hepatic deactivation of buprenorphine

Which infant attachment style is characterized by paying little overt attention to the parent's presence?

• Secure

• Avoidant

• Resistant

• Ambivalent

• Disorganized

Which of the following cognitive responses to environmental stimuli has been found to be more characteristic of patients with anxiety disorders when compared to patients with depression?

• Misattributions regarding stimuli

• Hopelessness regarding meaning of stimuli

• Automatic negative thoughts toward the stimuli

• Attentional bias toward potentially threatening stimuli

• Lack of awareness of physiological responses to stimuli

Which therapy builds self-esteem, cohesive self, and improves interpersonal relations in severe psychopathology?

• Cognitive

• Dialectical

• Behavioral

• Supportive

• Psychodynamic

After a stranger says "hello," a 12-month-old child turns and looks at his mother before responding. When the mother smiles and nods her head, the infant laughs and smiles in response to the stranger. This behavior is an example of:

• Secure attachment

• Object constancy

• Object permanence

• Theory of mind

• Social referencing

Egocentrism is most associated with which stage of development?

• Infancy, birth–2 years

• Early childhood, 2–7 years

• Middle childhood, 7–11 years

• Adolescence, 11–19 years

• Early adulthood, 20–29 years