Discuss research studies on the relationship between mental illness and dangerousness. Describe symptoms that correlate with an increased risk of violence among the mentally ill.

What will be an ideal response?


Sample Answer: Deciding whether someone is dangerous to himself or herself or others is critical to the civil commitment process. The general population and media tend to assume that the mentally ill are more dangerous than they are, which can increase the risk of involuntary commitment. However, research suggests that mental illness causes only a moderate increase in the risk of violence, with hallucinations, delusions, and comorbid personality disorders being key factors. Unfortunately, predicting future violence is inaccurate at best, and the mentally ill may be unfairly treated on the basis of false assumptions about how dangerous they are.

Psychology

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Researchers who were studying plant growth raised plants in two separate rooms. One room had taped conversations playing 24 hours a day; the other room was silent. The researchers found that the plants grew better in the room that had the conversations playing. In this study, the type of room (conversation or silence) would be

a. the dependent variable. b. an extraneous variable. c. a placebo. d. the independent variable.

Psychology

According to the family lifecycle approach, the initial stage of the family cycle involves a

a. preschool boy and girl being socialized into the role of a father or mother. b. dating couple. c. married couple without children. d. married couple that have just had their first child (the childbearing family).

Psychology

Popper considered Freud's psychoanalytic theories to be _______ because no matter what happened, the psychoanalyst could claim that the observed behavior supported the theory.

a. weak b. deterministic c. strong d. falsifiable

Psychology

The __________ is vital to the storage of new information in the brain

Fill in the blank(s) with correct word

Psychology