E 6 Flashcards
Which of the following best describes the provisions of the ethics codes of the American and Canadian Psychological Associations regarding sexual relationships with students?
A. Sexual relationships with students over whom psychologists have evaluative authority are prohibited.
B. Sexual relationships with students are acceptable only in the “most unusual circumstances.”
C. Sexual relationships with current and former students are prohibited under any circumstances.
D. Sexual relationships with current (but not former) students are prohibited.
A. Sexual relationships with students over whom psychologists have evaluative authority are prohibited.
Which of the following neuroimaging techniques is most useful for distinguishing between neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurocognitive disorders?
A. MRI
B. CT
C. fMRI
D. FDG-PET
D. FDG-PET
Which of the following best describes ethical requirements regarding the use of automated and other professional test scoring and interpretation services?
A. Psychologists should ordinarily avoid using these services.
B. Psychologists should use only services that have been approved by the APA or other professional organization.
C. Psychologists may use these services only for tests that are objectively scored.
D. Psychologists may use these services but the psychologists are responsible for the appropriate application, interpretation, and use of tests.
D. Psychologists may use these services but the psychologists are responsible for the appropriate application, interpretation, and use of tests.
Elevated levels of dopamine in the __________ pathway of the brain are responsible for the reinforcing effects of alcohol, psychostimulants, and opiates.
A. mesolimbic
B. nigrostriatal
C. cortico-striatal
D. cortico-accumbens
A. mesolimbic
Providing adults with training on a demanding working memory task is likely to:
A. have no effect on their fluid intelligence.
B. improve their fluid intelligence only when the working memory task is similar in format to the fluid intelligence task.
C. improve their fluid intelligence even when the working memory task is not similar in format to the fluid intelligence task.
D. improve their fluid intelligence whether or not the working memory task is similar in format to the fluid intelligence task but only for individuals with initially low levels of fluid intelligence.
C. improve their fluid intelligence even when the working memory task is not similar in format to the fluid intelligence task.
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is best described as a type of:
A. historical research.
B. action research.
C. ethnographic research.
D. developmental research.
B. action research.
Based on the results of their meta-analysis of the research, Shockley and her colleagues (2018) concluded that:
A. men and women experience similar levels of work-family conflict.
B. women experience significantly more work-family conflict than men do.
C. men and women both experience significantly greater family interference with work than work interference with family.
D. men and women both experience significantly greater work interference with family than family interference with work
A. men and women experience similar levels of work-family conflict.
Research by Lickel et al. (2014) found that experiencing which of the following self-conscious emotions elicits the greatest motivation to change oneself?
A. embarrassment
B. shame
C. regret
D. guilt
B. shame
Epigenetics is concerned with how:
A. DNA sequences in a person’s genes are passed from one generation to the next.
B. genes affect the development and functioning of the nervous system.
C. environmental and developmental factors affect how a gene is expressed.
D. environmental and developmental factors change a person’s genotype.
C. environmental and developmental factors affect how a gene is expressed.
With regard to factors that affect the moral development of children:
A. Piaget and Kohlberg both viewed the influence of peers as more important than the influence of parents.
B. Piaget and Kohlberg both viewed the influence of parents as more important than the influence of peers.
C. Piaget viewed the influence of peers as more important, but Kohlberg viewed the influence of parents as more important.
D. Piaget viewed the influence of parents as more important, but Kohlberg viewed the influence of peers as more important.
A. Piaget and Kohlberg both viewed the influence of peers as more important than the influence of parents.
To evaluate the validity of a new aptitude test that will be used to facilitate the college admissions process, a test developer administers the test to a sample of high school juniors and seniors who are admitted to college without use of their aptitude test scores. She then obtains the GPAs of the same students at the end of their second year of college and calculates a correlation coefficient for the students’ aptitude test scores and GPAs, which provides information about the test’s ________ validity.
A. concurrent
B. incremental
C. divergent
D. predictive
D. predictive
Consumption of alcohol by pregnant women is most likely to cause major birth defects in their offspring when drinking occurs during which of the following periods of prenatal development?
A. fetal
B. gestational
C. antenatal
D. embryonic
D. embryonic
Elena, a 22-year-old college student, has come to therapy at the insistence of her parents. She tells you she doesn’t really know who she is and frequently changes her mind about her opinions, future goals, religious and political beliefs, and even the clothes she likes to wear. She says her mood often changes at unexpected times and that she sometimes gets very angry when there doesn’t seem to be any reason for doing so. Elena says that she often thinks about suicide and that she deliberately drove her mother’s car into a tree when she was 19. She also states that she’s afraid of being abandoned by her friends and constantly seeks reassurance from them and looks for signs that they’re going to leave her and that she becomes very angry whenever she thinks one of them is avoiding her. Based on these symptoms, the most likely diagnosis for Elena is ________ personality disorder.
A. borderline
B. histrionic
C. dependent
D. narcissistic
A. borderline
Conduction aphasia involves:
A. nonfluent (slow, halting) speech, relatively intact comprehension, some impairment in repetition and naming.
B. fluent (normal) speech, relatively intact comprehension, intact repetition, and impaired naming.
C. fluent (but paraphasic) speech, relatively intact comprehension, poor word repetition, and impaired naming.
D. fluent (but paraphasic) speech, impaired comprehension, and severely impaired word repetition and naming.
C. fluent (but paraphasic) speech, relatively intact comprehension, poor word repetition, and impaired naming.
There’s evidence that, for some patients, depressive symptoms can be alleviated by either a placebo or an antidepressant and that a placebo and antidepressants affect the same area of the brain. More specifically, the research has found that:
A. a placebo and antidepressants both produce increased activity in the prefrontal cortex.
B. a placebo and antidepressants both produce decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex.
C. a placebo produces decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex while antidepressants produce increased activity.
D. a placebo produces increased activity in the prefrontal cortex while antidepressants produce decreased activity.
D. a placebo produces increased activity in the prefrontal cortex while antidepressants produce decreased activity.
In the context of research, between-methods triangulation involves:
A. including two or more qualitative methods to collect data.
B. including both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data.
C. using multiple theories to interpret research results.
D. collecting data at different times, in different places, or from different people.
B. including both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data.
African American therapy clients are most likely to prefer:
A. a collaborative, client-centered, nondirective approach.
B. an authoritative, educational/informational approach.
C. an egalitarian, problem-focused, time-limited approach.
D. a nondirective, insight-oriented approach.African American therapy clients are most likely to prefer:
C. an egalitarian, problem-focused, time-limited approach.
Research evaluating guided internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (iCBT) as a treatment for social anxiety disorder has found that iCBT is:
A. significantly less effective than in-person CBT for reducing symptoms.
B. equivalent to in-person CBT for reducing symptoms.
C. equivalent to in-person CBT for reducing symptoms but only for individuals with mild symptoms.
D. equivalent to in-person CBT in terms of short-term (but not long-term) effects on symptoms.
B. equivalent to in-person CBT for reducing symptoms.
The “in-basket test” is most likely to be included as part of which of the following?
A. cross-training
B. vestibule training
C. assessment center
D. job evaluation
C. assessment center
Research suggests that ____________ is most useful for understanding the “testing effect.”
A. interference theory
B. the encoding specificity principle
C. the mediator effectiveness hypothesis
D. the levels of processing model
C. the mediator effectiveness hypothesis
The internal validity of a research study is threatened by statistical regression when:
A. more participants with average scores on the pretest dropped out of the study than did participants with high or low scores.
B. more participants with average scores responded favorably to the independent variable than did other participants.
C. participants were chosen for inclusion in the study because they obtained extremely low scores on a pretest.
D. participants were chosen for inclusion in the study because they obtained average scores on a pretest.
C. participants were chosen for inclusion in the study because they obtained extremely low scores on a pretest.
The ______ gene variant has been identified as a high risk factor for neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease.
A. APOE4
B. APOE3
C. APOE2
D. APOE1
A. APOE4
During your second session with Anita A., she says she wants to tell you something she hasn’t told anyone else. After a few moments of silence, she reveals that she’s been seeing another therapist for three months but started seeing you because she’s concerned about his behavior. She tells you that, in her last few sessions with that therapist, he touched her inappropriately and said he was doing so to help her deal with her fear of physical and sexual intimacy. As an ethical psychologist, you should:
A. convince Anita to terminate therapy with the other therapist immediately and then help her work through her feelings about what has happened.
B. encourage Anita to terminate therapy with the other therapist immediately and file a complaint against him with the ethics committee.
C. explain to Anita the seriousness of her allegation and discuss the options she has in this situation.
D. tell Anita you’re ethically required to file a complaint against the other therapist because of the seriousness of her allegation.
C. explain to Anita the seriousness of her allegation and discuss the options she has in this situation.
As defined by George Kelly (1963), personal constructs are:
A. essential determinants of a person’s style of life.
B. mental representations that are used to interpret and predict events.
C. comparable to Jung’s archetypes.
D. comparable to Glasser’s basic innate needs.
B. mental representations that are used to interpret and predict events.
When test scores represent an interval or ratio scale and the distribution of scores is skewed, the best measure of central tendency for the distribution is usually which of the following?
A. mode
B. mean
C. median
D. minuend
C. median
Dr. Maddox has been in private practice for nearly 25 years, and her specialty has been treating depression in adolescents and young adults. Now that she’s turned 50, she has more interest in working with older adults. To be consistent with ethical requirements, Dr. Maddox should:
A. see older adults in therapy only if alternative mental health services for members of this population are unavailable in her community.
B. take a relevant APA-approved continuing education course before accepting older adults as clients.
C. see older adults in therapy if she’s able to obtain consultation while doing so with a colleague who has experience working with members of this population.
D. see older adults in therapy but closely monitor her effectiveness and obtain consultation or additional education if she encounters any problems.
C. see older adults in therapy if she’s able to obtain consultation while doing so with a colleague who has experience working with members of this population.
A practitioner of which of the following would encourage a new client who is depressed to adopt the “sick role”?
A. reality therapy
B. personal construct therapy
C. interpersonal therapy
D. motivational interviewing
C. interpersonal therapy
Which of the following is most useful for explaining racial/ethnic disparities in mental and physical health?
A. cultural encapsulation
B. minority stress theory
C. diagnostic overshadowing
D. social identity theory
B. minority stress theory
Which of the following best describes ethical requirements regarding in-person solicitation of business?
A. Psychologists must never engage in in-person solicitation of business.
B. Psychologists must never engage in uninvited in-person solicitation of business.
C. Psychologists must not engage in in-person solicitation of business from current therapy clients who are vulnerable to undue influence.
D. Psychologists must not engage in uninvited in-person solicitation of business from current or potential therapy clients or others who are vulnerable to undue influence.
D. Psychologists must not engage in uninvited in-person solicitation of business from current or potential therapy clients or others who are vulnerable to undue influence.
Which of the following questions is most likely to be included in a covert integrity test?
A. Do your friends ever steal from their employers?
B. Would your friends describe you as impulsive?
C. How often do you tell the truth?
D. Do you think it’s stealing to take small items home from work?
B. Would your friends describe you as impulsive?
The point at which an item characteristic curve intercepts the Y (vertical) axis provides information about which of the following?
A. the ability of the item to discriminate between examinees with high and low ability
B. the probability of answering the item correctly by guessing
C. the item’s difficulty level
D. the degree to which the item correlates with other items in the test
B. the probability of answering the item correctly by guessing
In their study comparing the effects of age-based stereotype threat and self-stereotyping on memory performance, O’Brien and Hummert (2006) found that late middle-aged adults ages 48 through 62 who had:
A. a youthful (vs. older) identity did more poorly on a memory task when they were told their performance would be compared to the performance of older (vs. younger) adults.
B. a youthful (vs. older) identity did more poorly on a memory task when they were told their performance would be compared to the performance of younger (vs. older) adults.
C. an older (vs. youthful) identity did more poorly on a memory task when they were told their performance would be compared to the performance of older (vs. younger) adults.
D. an older (vs. youthful) identity did more poorly on a memory task when they were told their performance would be compared to the performance of younger (vs. older) adults.
C. an older (vs. youthful) identity did more poorly on a memory task when they were told their performance would be compared to the performance of older (vs. younger) adults.
Prader-Willi syndrome is most often caused by:
A. an extra chromosome 21.
B. an extra chromosome 15.
C. deletion of a segment on maternal chromosome 21.
D. deletion of a segment on paternal chromosome 15.
D. deletion of a segment on paternal chromosome 15.
The ASPPB’s Supervision Guidelines for Education and Training Leading to Licensure as a Health Service Provider states that a psychology intern’s primary supervisor:
A. must be a licensed psychologist.
B. must be a licensed psychologist or a board certified psychiatrist.
C. may be a licensed psychologist or other licensed mental health professional.
D. may be a licensed psychologist or other licensed mental health professional designated by a licensed psychologist.
A. must be a licensed psychologist.
A Cohen’s d of .60 indicates a _________, and it’s interpreted in terms of __________.
A. medium correlation; shared variability
B. medium effect; standard deviation units
C. large correlation; shared variability
D. large effect; standard deviation units
B. medium effect; standard deviation units
Complaints of memory loss are common in criminal cases, with defendants claiming they have no memory of committing the crime. When determining whether a defendant’s memory loss is genuine or feigned, genuine memory loss is more likely when:
A. the beginning and end of the period of memory loss are both sudden and the defendant is unable to recall any events that occurred during that period.
B. the beginning and end of the period of memory loss are both sudden and the defendant can recall fragments of some events that occurred during that period.
C. the beginning and end of the period of memory loss are both gradual and blurred and the defendant is unable to recall any events that occurred during that period.
D. the beginning and end of the period of memory loss are both gradual and blurred and the defendant can recall fragments of some events that occurred during that period.
D. the beginning and end of the period of memory loss are both gradual and blurred and the defendant can recall fragments of some events that occurred during that period.
Aversion therapy makes use of which of the following?
A. positive reinforcement
B. negative reinforcement
C. extinction
D. counterconditioning
D. counterconditioning
When conducting research to evaluate the outcomes of a new treatment for a mental disorder:
A. efficacy studies that maximize internal validity are usually conducted first and effectiveness studies that maximize external validity are conducted next.
B. effectiveness studies that maximize internal validity are usually conducted first and efficacy studies that maximize internal validity are conducted next.
C. efficacy studies that maximize external validity are usually conducted first and effectiveness studies that maximize internal validity are conducted next.
D. effectiveness studies that maximize external validity are usually conducted first and efficacy studies that maximize internal validity are conducted next.
A. efficacy studies that maximize internal validity are usually conducted first and effectiveness studies that maximize external validity are conducted next.
The item difficulty index ranges from __________, with 0 indicating a __________.
A. 0 to +1.0; very difficult item
B. 0 to +1.0; very easy item.
C. -10 to +10; moderately difficult item
D. -1.0 to +1.0; moderately difficult item
A. 0 to +1.0; very difficult item
When forming a work team to complete an important project, it’s important to keep in mind that social loafing is most likely to have a negative effect on the team’s performance when:
A. the team is large and only the total group performance will be assessed.
B. the team is small and only the total group performance will be assessed.
C. the team is large and individual and group performance will be assessed.
D. the team is small and individual and group performance will be assessed.
A. the team is large and only the total group performance will be assessed.
Baddeley’s (2000) multi-component model describes working memory as consisting of a central executive and three subsystems. Which of the following is not one of the three subsystems?
A. phonological loop
B. episodic buffer
C. semantic register
D. visuo-spatial sketchpad
C. semantic register
Fiedler’s contingency model proposes that the optimal leadership style depends on which of the following?
A. the employee’s work-related level of motivation and ability to perform the job
B. the levels of skill variety, autonomy, and feedback provided by the job
C. the leader’s expertise, the employees’ expertise, and the importance of the employees’ commitment to the chosen course of action
D. the leader’s position power, the nature of the relationships between the leader and the employees, and the task structure
D. the leader’s position power, the nature of the relationships between the leader and the employees, and the task structure
The MMPI-2’s _____ scale consists of infrequently endorsed items.
A. FB
B. S
C. TRIN
D. VRIN
A.FB
The best conclusion about the results of research on the use of pharmacological treatments for cocaine addiction (substance use disorder in the DSM-5) is which of the following?
A. The studies have confirmed that pharmacological treatment, especially with an antidepressant or mood stabilizer, is the treatment-of-choice.
B. The studies have confirmed that pharmacological treatment is an effective approach as long as the choice of medications is tailored to an individual patient’s circumstances.
C. The studies have found that pharmacological and psychosocial treatments are equally effective for this disorder and that combining them does not produce an increase in effectiveness.
D. The studies have not yet identified a pharmacological treatment that is consistently effective for this disorder.
D. The studies have not yet identified a pharmacological treatment that is consistently effective for this disorder.
A two-point code of 4-9 on the MMPI-2 is most associated with which of the following?
A. impulsivity, antisocial tendencies, and low frustration tolerance
B. passive-aggressive behavior, anger, and poor insight
C. emotional turmoil, psychosis, and pessimism
D. excessive worry, depression, and physical complaints
A. impulsivity, antisocial tendencies, and low frustration tolerance
Research investigating age and gender differences in self-esteem has found that:
A. females have higher levels of self-esteem than males do beginning in late childhood and persisting into late adulthood.
B. males have higher levels of self-esteem than females do beginning in late childhood and persisting into late adulthood.
C. females have higher levels of self-esteem than males do in late childhood and adolescence, but males have higher levels of self-esteem in adulthood.
D. males have higher levels of self-esteem than females do in late childhood and adolescence, but females have higher levels of self-esteem in adulthood.
B. males have higher levels of self-esteem than females do beginning in late childhood and persisting into late adulthood.
A middle school student receives a full-scale IQ score of 105 on an intelligence test that has a mean of 100, standard deviation of 15, and standard error of measurement of 3. The 95% confidence interval for this student’s score is:
A. 102 to 108.
B. 99 to 111.
C. 96 to 114.
D. 94 to 106.
B. 99 to 111.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-TES-Test Validity – Criterion-Related Validity-003 Answer B is correct. To construct a 95% confidence interval, two standard errors of measurement are added to and subtracted from the examinee’s obtained score. The standard error of measurement for this test is 3, so the 95% confidence interval is calculated by adding and subtracting 6 (2 x 3) to and from the examinee’s obtained score of 105: 105 minus 6 is 99 and 105 plus 6 is 111. Therefore, the 95% confidence interval for this student is 99 to 111.
Which of the following tests is best described as a measure of response inhibition?
A. Tower of London
B. Stroop Color-Word Association Test
C. Vineland-II
D. Bender-Gestalt II
B. Stroop Color-Word Association Test
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PAS-Clinical Tests-004 Answer B is correct. The Stroop Color-Word Association Test presents an examinee with a list of color names that are printed in a different color ink (e.g., the word “green” might be printed in red ink). The examinee is asked to state the color of the ink rather than read the word. Because the prepotent response is to read the word, the examinee has to suppress (inhibit) the prepotent response in order to do so.
Development of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was based on which of the following?
A. Eysenck’s theory of personality traits
B. Friedman and Rosenman’s personality types
C. Jung’s theory of psychological types
D. Murray’s concepts of “needs” and “press”
C. Jung’s theory of psychological types
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PAS-Other Measures of Personality-003 Answer C is correct. Development of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was based on Jung’s theory of psychological types and the personality research of Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine Cook Briggs. It categorizes personality in terms of four bipolar dimensions – extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving.
The presence of which of the following core and suggestive features would help confirm a DSM-5 diagnosis of probable major or mild neurocognitive disorder with Lewy bodies?
A. absence seizures and concurrent non-REM sleep behavior disorder
B. absence seizures and concurrent REM sleep behavior disorder
C. visual hallucinations and concurrent non-REM sleep behavior disorder
D. visual hallucinations and concurrent REM sleep behavior disorder
D. visual hallucinations and concurrent REM sleep behavior disorder
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Neurocognitive Disorders-013 Answer D is correct. The DSM-5 diagnosis of probable major or mild neurocognitive disorder with Lewy bodies requires that (a) the patient meet the criteria for major or mild neurocognitive disorder, (b) the patient’s symptoms had an insidious onset and gradual progression, and (c) the patient’s symptoms include at least two core features or one core feature and one suggestive feature. Visual hallucinations are a core feature and concurrent REM sleep behavior disorder is a suggestive feature. Absence seizures are not a core or suggestive feature of this disorder.
Nisbett (1993) uses the “culture of honor” to help explain:
A. why homicide rates for White males are higher in America’s Southern states than in its Northern states.
B. why it’s acceptable in some patriarchal societies for females who bring shame to the family to be murdered by a relative.
C. why members of collectivist cultures place more value on “saving face” than members of individualist cultures do.
D. why, in certain circumstances, individuals are likely to exhibit altruism toward members of an ingroup but hostility toward members of an outgroup.
A. why homicide rates for White males are higher in America’s Southern states than in its Northern states.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-SOC-Prosocial Behavior and Prejudice/Discrimination-011 Answer A is correct. R. E. Nisbett notes that the homicide rates for White southern males are substantially higher than those for White northern males (especially in rural areas), and he attributes the difference to a culture of honor in the South. According to Nisbett, “the South has a culture of honor with historical roots that underlies its preferences for violence … [with violence being viewed] as an appropriate response to insults, as a means of self-protection, and as a socialization tool in training children” [Violence and U.S. regional culture, American Psychologist, 48(4), 441-449, 1993].
The manual for a test of fluid intelligence reports that, for the standardization sample, Cronbach’s alpha was .93. This suggests that the test has adequate:
A. incremental validity.
B. construct validity.
C. inter-rater reliability.
D. internal consistency reliability.
D. internal consistency reliability.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-TES-Item Analysis and Test Reliability-001 Answer D is correct. Cronbach’s alpha is also known as coefficient alpha, and it provides information on a test’s internal consistency reliability.
To decrease an undesirable behavior and increase one or more specific alternative desirable behaviors that already occur at least occasionally, you would use which of the following?
A. DRL
B. DRA
C. DRO
D. DRI
B. DRA
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LEA-Interventions Based on Operant Conditioning-008 Answer B is correct. DRA (differential reinforcement for alternative or appropriate behavior) is used to reduce or eliminate an undesirable behavior and increase one or more specific desirable behaviors that already occur at least occasionally. It involves removing all reinforcement (e.g., attention) following the undesirable behavior and providing reinforcement whenever a specified alternative behavior occurs. DRL (differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior) is used to reduce a behavior to a more acceptable level by providing reinforcement only when the behavior occurs at or below that level. It does not involve reinforcing alternative behaviors. DRO (differential reinforcement of other behavior) is used to reduce or eliminate an undesirable behavior by providing reinforcement after specified intervals of time only when the individual hasn’t engaged in the undesirable behavior during each interval. In contrast to DRA, DRO does not require the individual to engage in any specific alternative behaviors during each interval, only that he/she doesn’t engage in the undesirable behavior. DRI (differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior) is used to reduce or eliminate an undesirable behavior and increase a desirable and physically incompatible behavior (i.e., a behavior that cannot be performed at the same time as the undesirable behavior is performed). Because the question doesn’t mention that the desirable behaviors are incompatible with the undesirable behavior, this is not the best answer.
Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a research supported treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder that combines which of the following?
A. challenging problematic cognitions related to the trauma and writing and reading a detailed description of the trauma
B. challenging dysfunctional thoughts related to the trauma and stress inoculation training
C. reality testing dysfunctional thoughts related to the trauma and prolonged exposure using an anxiety hierarchy
D. bilateral eye movements with cognitive processing of traumatic memories
A. challenging problematic cognitions related to the trauma and writing and reading a detailed description of the trauma
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Trauma/Stressor-Related, Dissociative, and Somatic Symptom Disorders-005 Answer A is correct. CPT has received considerable research support as a treatment for PTSD and combines cognitive therapy with exposure. The cognitive therapy component focuses on identifying and challenging negative beliefs (“stuck points”) that keep the person from recovering from the trauma. The exposure component involves writing a detailed description of the traumatic event and reading it aloud to the therapist.
An initial step in choosing the appropriate function-based intervention for a child is identifying:
A. the goal(s) of the child’s problematic behavior.
B. risk and protective factors related to the child’s problematic behavior.
C. appropriate quality-of-life measures.
D. evidence-based options.
A. the goal(s) of the child’s problematic behavior.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LEA-Interventions Based on Operant Conditioning-014 Answer A is correct. Function-based interventions are based on the assumption that disruptive behaviors and other undesirable behaviors are performed to achieve certain goals – e.g., to gain something or to avoid or escape from something. Once the goal(s) of a child’s undesirable behavior are identified from the results of a functional behavioral assessment, the next step is to create conditions in which the child’s goals can be met without engaging in the undesirable behavior. For example, if a child engages in disruptive behavior in the classroom because doing so allows him to get attention from the teacher, the teacher would stop paying attention to the child when he’s disruptive and, instead, pay attention to him whenever he engages in desirable behaviors (e.g., participates in classroom activities).
The tendency to believe that the personal attitudes of a member of a group are similar to the personal attitudes of all members of the group is referred to as the:
A. fundamental attribution error.
B. false consensus error.
C. ultimate attribution error.
D. group attribution error.
D. group attribution error.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-SOC-Social Cognition – Causal Attributions-009 Answer D is correct. For the exam you want to be sure you know the difference between the ultimate attribution error and the group attribution error, which are sometimes confused because they both address attributions made about groups rather than individuals. The ultimate attribution error occurs when the negative behaviors of members of one’s own in-group are attributed to situational factors while the negative behaviors of members of out-groups are attributed to dispositional factors, and vice versa for positive behaviors. The group attribution error occurs when people believe that an individual group member’s beliefs, attitudes, and preferences are the same as those of all members of the group. Note that the false consensus error (answer B) is actually known as the false consensus effect and is not an attributional bias. It refers to the tendency to overestimate the extent to which other people share our opinions, values, and beliefs.
McGuire’s (1973) attitude inoculation hypothesis addresses the usefulness of __________ for increasing resistance to persuasion.
A. forewarning
B. reactance
C. a supportive defense
D. a refutational defense
D. a refutational defense
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-SOC-Persuasion-002 Answer D is correct. McGuire’s attitude inoculation hypothesis is based on the medical model of immunization and proposes that an effective way to increase resistance to persuasion is to “immunize” people against attempts to change their attitudes. This involves providing them with weak arguments against their current attitudes along with counterarguments that refute those arguments (i.e., a refutational defense) before they’re exposed to a persuasive message.
A structural family therapist is using which of the following techniques when he listens attentively to a family’s communications and then adopts the content of their communications to facilitate his ability to join the family and foster changes in the family structure?
A. mimesis
B. tracking
C. enactment
D. maintenance
B. tracking
EPPP-P6-CLI-Family Therapies and Group Therapies-009 Answer B is correct. Tracking, mimesis, and maintenance are methods used by structural family therapists to facilitate joining. Tracking involves adopting the content of a family’s communications; mimesis involves adopting the family’s communication, affective, and behavioral style; and maintenance involves providing the family with support.
Risperidone and other second-generation (atypical) antipsychotic drugs are:
A. serotonin agonists and dopamine antagonists.
B. serotonin antagonists and dopamine agonists.
C. serotonin and dopamine antagonists.
D. serotonin and dopamine agonists.
C. serotonin and dopamine antagonists.
EPPP-P6-PHY-Psychopharmacology – Antipsychotics and Antidepressants-013 Answer C is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question you have to know (a) that second-generation antipsychotics exert their effects by blocking dopamine and serotonin receptors and (b) that an antagonist blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter and an agonist increases or mimics the effects of a neurotransmitter.
Balancing on one foot for three seconds, catching a ball with stiff arms, and pedaling a tricycle are skills that are usually first evident when toddlers are between ________ months of age.
A. 18 and 23
B. 24 and 30
C. 31 and 36
D. 37 and 42
C. 31 and 36
EPPP-P6-LIF-Physical Development-011 Answer C is correct. Reported ages at which gross motor milestones are first evident vary somewhat from author to author, but most identify the skills listed in this question as being acquired when a child is between 31 and 36 months of age.
You have developed a new selection test for your client, the Acme Company, to help the company make better hiring decisions. After administering the test to samples of job applicants and current employees, you decide to raise the test’s cutoff score. Doing so will have which of the following effects?
A. It will increase the number of false negatives and true positives.
B. It will decrease the number of false negatives and false positives.
C. It will increase the number of true positives and decrease the number of false negatives.
D. It will decrease the number of false positives and increase the number of true negatives.
D. It will decrease the number of false positives and increase the number of true negatives.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-TES-Test Validity – Criterion-Related Validity-008 Answer D is correct. This is a difficult question and, to identify the correct answer, you need to know that raising the predictor (selection test) cutoff score will result in fewer applicants being hired. This decreases the number of true and false positives (which eliminates answers A and C) and increases the number of true and false negatives (which eliminates answer B).
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ordinarily has an:
A. insidious onset that’s followed by a rapid decline in functioning.
B. insidious onset that’s followed by a gradual progression of impairment.
C. acute onset that’s followed by a rapid decline in functioning.
D. acute onset that’s followed by a gradual progression of impairment.
A. insidious onset that’s followed by a rapid decline in functioning.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Neurocognitive Disorders-009 Answer A is correct. Neurocognitive disorder due to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is categorized in DSM-5 as neurocognitive disorder due to prion disease. Like other neurocognitive disorders due to prion disease, it typically has an insidious onset that’s followed by a rapid decline in functioning.
The most likely diagnosis for your new client is schizotypal personality disorder if the client:
A. says he has few friends because he’s concerned about being abandoned or betrayed by other people.
B. says he doesn’t gain any pleasure from spending time with people and he seems to prefer being alone.
C. says he’d like to have friends but he’s very uncomfortable around people and he seems uninterested in taking steps to develop friendships.
D. says he “has lots of friends” but he can’t name any friends or describe any social events that he participates in.
C. says he’d like to have friends but he’s very uncomfortable around people and he seems uninterested in taking steps to develop friendships.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Personality Disorders-008 Answer C is correct. As described in the DSM-5, people with schizotypal personality disorder have a “pervasive pattern of social and interpersonal deficits marked by acute discomfort with, and reduced capacity for, close relationships as well as by cognitive distortions and eccentricities of behavior” (p. 655). The DSM-5 also notes that people with this disorder may express unhappiness about not having friends but their behavior indicates a lack of interest in developing friendships.
Penfield (1974) found that electrical stimulation of certain areas of the __________ lobes elicited memories of events that were so vivid that patients felt they were actually experiencing the events.
A. frontal
B. occipital
C. parietal
D. temporal
D. temporal
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Cerebral Cortex-004 Answer D is correct. Penfield discovered the effects of electrical stimulation of certain areas of the temporal lobes while performing surgery on patients to control their severe epilepsy. The memories elicited by this stimulation were vivid and highly detailed, and the same memory could be repeatedly elicited by stimulating the same area.
Physical and psychological fidelity are associated with which of the following?
A. the principle of identical elements
B. the principle of equipotentiality
C. time and motion studies
D. overlearning
A. the principle of identical elements
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-Training Methods and Evaluation-ORG-017 Answer A is correct. According to the principle of identical elements, the more similar the training and work situations are, the greater the transfer of training. Identical elements is also known as physical and psychological fidelity: Physical fidelity refers to the extent to which the physical training and work conditions are similar, while psychological fidelity refers to the degree to which training addresses the KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics) needed to perform the job satisfactorily. [The principle of equipotentiality (answer B) is another name for the principle of multifinality and predicts that systems can achieve dissimilar outcomes when they have the same starting point.]
It’s common for children of immigrants to act as language brokers. Research on the effects of language brokering has found that it has:
A. positive effects on the child but negative effects on the parent-child relationship.
B. negative effects on the child but positive effects on the parent-child relationship.
C. positive effects on the child and the parent-child relationship.
D. both positive and negative effects on the child and the parent-child relationship.
D. both positive and negative effects on the child and the parent-child relationship.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LIF-Language Development-015 Answer D is correct. As defined by A. Morales, O. F. Yakushko, and A. J. Castro, language brokering “is the act of translating and interpreting within immigrant families by children and adolescents for their parents, other family members, and other adults” [Language brokering among Mexican-immigrant families in the Midwest: A multiple case study, The Counseling Psychologist, 40(4), 520-553, 2012]. Studies on the effects of language brokering have produced mixed results. For example, with regard to the parent-child relationship, language brokering has been linked to a greater sense of connection between the child and his/her parents but also to role reversals within the family that force the parents to become overly dependent on the child [e.g., A. J. Umana-Taylor, Language brokering as a stressor for immigrant children and their families, in M. Coleman and L. Ganong (Eds.), Points and counterpoints: Controversial relationship and family issues in the 21st century (pp. 157-159), Los Angeles, Roxbury, 2002].
A therapist asks clients what they want and desire and what they’re doing to fulfill their wants and desires and then helps them evaluate the effectiveness of their behaviors and develop a plan of action. This therapist is a practitioner of which of the following?
A. reality therapy
B. Gestalt therapy
C. personal construct therapy
D. acceptance and commitment therapy
A. reality therapy
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies-008 Answer A is correct. R. Wubbolding developed the WDEP system to describe the cycle of reality therapy. This system consists of four components: wants, doing, evaluation, and plan (Using reality therapy, New York, Harper & Row, 1988).
According to Lazarus’s (1991) cognitive appraisal theory, __________ appraisal occurs when a person determines what resources he or she has to cope with a stressful event.
A. central
B. peripheral
C. primary
D. secondary
D. secondary
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PHY-Emotions and Stress-005 Answer D is correct. Cognitive appraisal theory distinguishes between three types of appraisal: primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, and reappraisal. It proposes that the immediate response to an external event is primary appraisal, which involves determining if the event is relevant and, if so, whether it’s nonstressful or stressful. If the event is stressful, the person then engages in secondary appraisal, which involves determining what personal and environmental resources he/she has to help cope with the event.
Overcorrection consists of restitution and positive practice, which can be used alone or together. Positive practice is most similar to which of the following?
A. chaining
B. negative punishment
C. discrimination training
D. habit reversal training
D. habit reversal training
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LEA-Interventions Based on Operant Conditioning-002 Answer D is correct. Positive practice involves having the individual practice appropriate behaviors that are alternatives to his or her inappropriate behavior. Habit reversal training similarly involves eliminating an undesirable behavior by having the individual practice an alternative, usually incompatible, behavior.
For members of cultural groups that emphasize high-context communication:
A. knowledge is transferable and nonverbal messages are most important.
B. knowledge is transferable and verbal messages are most important.
C. knowledge is situational and nonverbal messages are most important.
D. knowledge is situational and verbal messages are most important.
C. knowledge is situational and nonverbal messages are most important.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Cross-Cultural Issues – Terms and Concepts-021 Answer C is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question, you need to know that, for members of cultural groups that emphasize high-context communication, knowledge depends largely on the nature of the situation and communication relies primarily on nonverbal messages. In contrast, for members of cultural groups that emphasize low-context communication, knowledge depends less on the situation and, instead, is viewed as something that is easily transferred from one person to another. In addition, communication relies primarily on verbal messages. (Even if the statements about knowledge are unfamiliar or confusing, a good “guess” would have been to choose answer C because “situational” seems compatible with the importance of the context for high-context communications.)
The studies suggest that children exhibit the greatest number of internalizing and externalizing behaviors and other problems when their divorced parents remarry when the children are:
A. between five and eight years old.
B. between nine and 12 years old.
C. in early adolescence.
D. in late adolescence.
C. in early adolescence.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LIF-School and Family Influences-006 Answer C is correct. The research has found that children’s adjustment to parental remarriage is affected by several factors including the child’s age, with the poorest adjustment occurring when children are in early adolescence at the time a parent remarries. Note that there’s also evidence that, with regard to gender, girls often exhibit more adjustment problems than boys do following the remarriage of their parents. See, e.g., E. M. Hetherington, An overview of the Virginia Longitudinal Study of Divorce and Remarriage: A focus on early adolescence, Journal of Family Psychology, 7, 39-56, 1993.
A person whose primary symptom is psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) is most likely to receive which of the following diagnoses?
A. dissociative fugue
B. phencyclidine use disorder
C. functional neurological symptom disorder
D. obstructive sleep apnea
C. functional neurological symptom disorder
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Trauma/Stressor-Related, Dissociative, and Somatic Symptom Disorders–014 Answer C is correct. Functional neurological symptom disorder (formerly conversion disorder) is characterized by one or more symptoms that involve a disturbance in voluntary motor or sensory functioning, with symptoms being incompatible with any known neurological or medical condition. It can involve psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) that resemble true epileptic seizures in terms of behavioral symptoms but are not accompanied by the brain electrical activity associated with true epileptic seizures. [Note that obstructive sleep apnea can trigger seizures, but these seizures (unlike PNES) are true seizures that are associated with abnormal brain electrical activity.]
A barrier to using cost benefit analysis is that:
A. it’s often difficult to express the outcomes of mental health programs in monetary terms.
B. it doesn’t permit comparisons of programs that have different types of costs.
C. it’s often difficult to obtain the information needed to calculate quality of adjusted life-years (QALYs).
D. it cannot be used when the outcomes of the programs being compared are not directly comparable.
A. it’s often difficult to express the outcomes of mental health programs in monetary terms.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Prevention, Consultation, and Psychotherapy Research-015 Answer A is correct. When using cost benefit analysis to compare two or more programs, a cost/benefit ratio is calculated for each program and the ratios are compared. This means that the costs and benefits (outcomes) of the programs must be expressed in monetary terms, which is often difficult to do. For example, it would be difficult to assign a dollar value to life satisfaction. Answer B can be eliminated because cost benefit analysis can be used when programs have different types of costs because the total monetary (dollar) cost – not the types of costs – is used to calculate a cost-benefit ratio for each program being evaluated. Answer C can be eliminated because cost benefit analysis does not require the calculation of QALYs. Therefore, the inability to calculate QALYs is not a barrier to its use. (Cost utility analysis is useful for comparing the effects of two or more interventions on QALYs). Answer D can be eliminated because the outcomes of the programs being compared are converted to monetary (dollar) values, which are directly comparable.
A test developer is calculating a test’s __________ when she divides the number of true positives identified by the test by the number of true positives plus false negatives.
A. sensitivity
B. specificity
C. positive predictive value
D. negative predictive value
A. sensitivity
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-TES-Test Validity – Criterion-Related Validity-007 Answer A is correct. Sensitivity is the proportion of people with a disorder who are identified by a test as having the disorder. It’s calculated by dividing the true positives identified by the test by the true positives plus the false negatives (TP/TP + FN).
The initial session of strategic family therapy consists of four stages, the first of which involves:
A. describing the nature of strategic family therapy to family members.
B. welcoming family members and helping members feel comfortable.
C. joining with the family and accommodating to its style.
D. eliciting each family member’s view of the family’s problems.
B. welcoming family members and helping members feel comfortable.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Family Therapies and Group Therapies-025 Answer B is correct. Answers B and D describe the first and second stages, respectively, of strategic family therapy and are referred to as the social stage and problem stage. The third and fourth stages are the interactional stage (during which the therapist has family members discuss the family’s problem to determine how they interact when doing so) and the goal-setting stage (during which the therapist helps family members agree on a definition of the family’s problem and on concrete therapy goals that target the problem). Describing the nature of strategic family therapy to family members (answer A) is not part of the social stage of strategic family therapy. The three main phases of structural family therapy are joining the family and accommodating to its style (answer C), evaluating the family’s structure to make a structural diagnosis, and intervening to transform the family’s structure.
Which of the following best describes ethical requirements about denying tenure or promotion to employees who have made or are the subjects of an ethics complaint?
A. Psychologists may deny tenure or promotion to an employee who is the complainant or respondent in a pending ethics complaint.
B. Psychologists may deny tenure or promotion to an employee who is the respondent (but not the complainant) in a pending ethics complaint.
C. Psychologists may deny tenure or promotion to an employee who is the respondent (but not the complainant) in a pending ethics complaint as long as they reconsider the tenure or promotion decision if the employee is acquitted.
D. Psychologists may not deny tenure or promotion to an employee solely because that employee is the complainant or respondent in a pending ethics complaint.
D. Psychologists may not deny tenure or promotion to an employee solely because that employee is the complainant or respondent in a pending ethics complaint.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Overview and Standards 1 & 2-001 Answer D is correct. This situation is addressed by Standard 1.08 of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standard I.13 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 1.08 prohibits psychologists from denying a person employment, tenure, or promotion solely because the person has filed or is the subject of an ethics complaint.
Changing alpha from .01 to .05 has which of the following effects?
A. It increases the probability of making a Type I error when the null hypothesis is true and decreases the probability of making a Type II error when the null hypothesis is false.
B. It decreases the probability of making a Type I error when the null hypothesis is true and increases the probability of making a Type II error when the null hypothesis is false.
C. It decreases the probability of making a Type I error when the null hypothesis is false and increases the probability of making a Type II error when the null hypothesis is true.
D. It increases the probability of making a Type I error when the null hypothesis is false and decreases the probability of making a Type II error when the null hypothesis is true.
A. It increases the probability of making a Type I error when the null hypothesis is true and decreases the probability of making a Type II error when the null hypothesis is false.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-RMS-Overview of Inferential Statistics-007 Answer A is correct. A change in alpha from .01 to .05 is an increase in alpha, and an increase in alpha makes it easier to reject the null hypothesis whether it’s actually true or false. When this occurs, a researcher is more likely to make a Type I error (reject a true null hypothesis) and, conversely, less likely to make a Type II error (retain a false null hypothesis).
Data collected from the U.S. Medicare Outcome Survey (Jia & Lubetkin, 2020) confirmed that, for individuals between 65 and 95 years of age, the estimated life expectancy in years was longest for:
A. married women.
B. married men.
C. never married women.
D. never married men.
A. married women.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LIF-School and Family Influences-020 Answer A is correct. The longitudinal U.S. Medicare Health Outcome Survey (HOS) confirmed the results of other studies that have found that women tend to live longer than men do and that, for both genders, married people tend to live longer than never married people do. For example, the HOS found that, for people 65 years of age, the life expectancy for married women was 21.1 years, for never married women was 19.3 years, for married men was 18.6 years, and for never married men was 16.2 years.
As described by Helms (1995), each stage of White racial identity development involves a different information processing strategy (IPS). For example, the IPS for the __________ status is suppression of information and ambivalence.
A. contact
B. pseudoindependence
C. immersion/emersion
D. disintegration
D. disintegration
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Cross-Cultural Issues – Identity Development Models-011 Answer D is correct. Helms’s model of White racial identity development distinguishes between six identity statuses, and each status is characterized by a different information processing strategy (IPS). Disintegration is the second status in this model, and its IPS is suppression of information and ambivalence [J. E. Helms, An update of Helms’s White and people of color racial identity models, in J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, and C. M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp. 181-191), Thousand Oaks, CA, SAGE, 1995].
Which of the following is not included in the DSM-5 as a symptom of a panic attack?
A. a sense of that one’s feelings and thoughts do not belong to oneself
B. increased sensitivity to environmental stimuli
C. concern about losing control of one’s mental functions
D. tingling or other abnormal dermal sensation
B. increased sensitivity to environmental stimuli
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder-028 Answer B is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question, you need to notice that it’s asking which symptom is not included in the DSM-5 as a symptom of a panic attack. The symptoms listed in answers A, C, and D are all included in DSM-5, albeit with slightly different language – i.e., the symptoms listed in DSM-5 include depersonalization (being detached from oneself), fear of losing control or “going crazy,” and paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations). Increased sensitivity to environmental stimuli is not listed as a characteristic symptom of a panic attack.
An employee of the Acme Company always orders inventory as soon as the level of inventory falls below a specified point. This is an example of:
A. a programmed decision.
B. a nonprogrammed decision.
C. an allocentric decision.
D. an idiocentric decision.
A. a programmed decision.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ORG-Organizational Decision-Making-019 Answer A is correct. Organizational decisions can be categorized as programmed or nonprogrammed: Programmed decisions are repetitive and routine and are governed by rules, policies, and procedures, while nonprogrammed decisions are non-repetitive and complex and rely on the decision-maker’s judgment and problem-solving skills. Automatically ordering inventory when the level of inventory falls below a certain point is an example of a programmed decision. The terms allocentric and idiocentric (answers C and D) are not relevant to decision-making but are applied to several phenomena including personality: A person with an allocentric personality is group centered, while a person with an idiocentric personality is self-centered.
Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory is based on the assumption that:
A. leaders who ensure that each subordinate’s job satisfies the subordinate’s prepotent needs are the most effective leaders.
B. leaders who adopt a relations-oriented (participative) leadership style are the most effective leaders.
C. leaders adopt different behaviors with different subordinates and these behaviors depend on the quality of the leader-subordinate relationship.
D. leaders adopt different behaviors with different subordinates and these behaviors are determined by the subordinate’s willingness to be a “team player.”
C. leaders adopt different behaviors with different subordinates and these behaviors depend on the quality of the leader-subordinate relationship.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-Organizational Leadership-ORG-011 Answer C is correct. LMX theory is based on the assumption that leaders treat different subordinates differently, depending on the quality of the interactions between the leader and each subordinate. More specifically, it proposes that subordinates are treated as in-group or out-group members based on whether or not the leader perceives them as being competent, trustworthy, and willing to assume responsibility: In-group members have high-quality relationships with their leaders, while out-group members have low-quality relationships with their leaders.
Damage to the __________ is often fatal because of its role in the regulation of breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital functions.
A. globus pallidus
B. caudate nucleus
C. medulla oblongata
D. suprachiasmatic nucleus
C. medulla oblongata
EPPP-P6-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Subcortical Forebrain Structures-002 Answer C is correct. The medulla oblongata is part of the hindbrain. Because it regulates a number of vital life functions, damage can result in death.
Some college students without ADHD take methylphenidate and other stimulant drugs to improve their attention and concentration while studying and thereby improve their grades. Research on the nonmedical use of stimulant drugs by students without ADHD suggests that they have:
A. positive effects on attention, mood, and GPA.
B. positive effects on attention and mood but no beneficial effects on GPA.
C. no effects on attention and mood but a beneficial effect or no effect on GPA.
D. no effects on attention, mood, or GPA.
B. positive effects on attention and mood but no beneficial effects on GPA.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PHY-Psychopharmacology – Other Psychoactive Drugs-012 Answer B is correct. The research is not entirely consistent, but the best conclusion that can be drawn from the existing research is that, for college students who do not have ADHD and take psychostimulants to improve their cognitive functioning, these drugs have positive effects on attention and mood but no beneficial effect on GPA. See, e.g., A. M. Arria et al., Do college students improve their grades by using prescription stimulants nonmedically?, Addictive Behaviors, 65, 245-249, 2017; L. L. Weyandt, et al., Neurocognitive, autonomic, and mood effects of Adderall: A pilot study of healthy college students, Pharmacy, 6(3), 58, 2018.
In a factor matrix, a communality indicates the proportion of variability:
A. in multiple tests that’s accounted for by a single identified factor.
B. in multiple tests that’s accounted for by all of the identified factors.
C. in a single test that’s accounted for by a single identified factor.
D. in a single test that’s accounted for by all of the identified factors.
D. in a single test that’s accounted for by all of the identified factors.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-TES-Test Validity – Content and Construct Validity-012 Answer D is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question, you have to know that a communality indicates the amount of variability in each test included in the factor analysis that’s explained by all of the identified factors. Alternatively, knowing that each test in a factor matrix has its own communality would have helped you eliminate answers A and B. Then, knowing that it’s a factor loading (not a communality) that indicates the proportion of variability in a single test that’s accounted for by a single factor would have helped you eliminate answer C.
Which of the following is not one of the factors identified by the Health Belief Model as contributing to the likelihood that a person will engage in behaviors that reduce the risk that he/she will develop a disorder?
A. self-efficacy
B. perceived barriers
C. behavioral norms
D. cues to action
C. behavioral norms
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-SOC-Attitudes and Attitude Change-007 Answer C is correct. The Health Belief Model identifies the following factors as contributors to the likelihood that a person will engage in behaviors that reduce the risk for developing a disorder: perceived susceptibility to the disorder, perceived severity of the consequences of having the disorder, perceived benefits of taking action, perceived barriers to taking action, self-efficacy, and cues to action.
Based on a review of psychotherapy outcome studies, Hans Eysenck (1952) concluded that:
A. 72% of patients with neuroses can be expected to experience spontaneous recovery without treatment.
B. 66% of patients with neuroses can be expected to experience spontaneous recovery without treatment.
C. 72% of patients with neuroses who received psychoanalytic psychotherapy can be expected to show little or no improvement in symptoms.
D. 66% of patients with neuroses who received eclectic psychotherapy can be expected to show little or no improvement in symptoms.
A. 72% of patients with neuroses can be expected to experience spontaneous recovery without treatment.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Prevention, Consultation, and Psychotherapy Research-004 Answer A is correct. Based on his review of 24 psychotherapy outcome studies, Eysenck concluded that 72% of untreated patients, 66% of patients receiving eclectic psychotherapy, and 44% of patients receiving psychoanalytic psychotherapy experienced a substantial decrease in symptoms. In other words, many untreated patients were better off than the treated patients, and he attributed the improvement of untreated patients to spontaneous recovery.
When visual or auditory hints or cues that are used to help students recall information are gradually reduced, this is referred to as:
A. thinning.
B. fading.
C. shaping.
D. chaining.
B. fading.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LEA-Operant Conditioning-011 Answer B is correct. Fading is sometimes confused with thinning (answer A): However, the gradual removal of visual or auditory hints or cues (prompts) is referred to as fading, while the reduction of reinforcers is referred to as thinning.
Ridley’s (1984) concept of “healthy cultural paranoia” is useful for understanding:
A. why a Black high school student deliberately tries to get low grades.
B. why a Black high school student puts in extra work to ensure she gets the highest grades in all of her classes.
C. why a Black therapy client resists disclosing personal information to a White therapist.
D. why a Black therapy client prefers to see a White therapist than a Black therapist.
C. why a Black therapy client resists disclosing personal information to a White therapist.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Cross-Cultural Issues – Terms and Concepts-005 Answer C is correct. Ridley proposed that the unwillingness of Black therapy clients to disclose personal information to a White therapist is an adaptive coping mechanism (“healthy cultural paranoia”) when it’s due to cultural distrust that’s based on past experiences with prejudice and discrimination.
According to the DSM-5, the onset of tics is usually between the ages of:
A. 4 and 6 years.
B. 6 and 8 years.
C. 8 and 10 years.
D. 10 and 12 years.
A. 4 and 6 years.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Neurodevelopmental Disorders-016 Answer A is correct. According to the DSM-5, the onset of tics is typically between 4 and 6 years of age, with the severity of tics ordinarily peaking between 10 and 12 years of age.
Which of the following is true about the rates of major depressive disorder among individuals from various age groups?
A. Among children, the rates are about the same for males and females but, by late-adolescence, the rate for females is about twice the rate for males.
B. Among children, the rates are about the same for males and females but, beginning in the mid- to late-20s, the rate for females is about twice the rate for males.
C. Among children, the rate for females is about twice the rate for males but, by late adolescence, the rate for females is about three to four times the rate for males.
D. Among children, the rate for males is about twice the rate for females but, beginning in the early 20s, this reverses and the rate for females becomes about twice the rate for males.
A. Among children, the rates are about the same for males and females but, by late-adolescence, the rate for females is about twice the rate for males.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Bipolar and Depressive Disorders-003 Answer A is correct. The prevalence rates of major depressive disorder are about the same for boys and girls until puberty when there’s a substantial increase in the rates for girls and the difference begins to approach the 2:1 female-to-male ratio that is found among adults. See, e.g., R. Wicks-Nelson and A. C. Israel, Abnormal child and adolescent psychology: DSM-5 update (8th ed.), New York, Taylor and Francis Group, 2015.
Sam wants a glass of wine and moves the unopened wine bottle on the counter closer to him with one hand and picks up the corkscrew with the other hand. However, he doesn’t open the wine bottle because he doesn’t know what motor actions are necessary to remove the cork from the bottle. This is an example of which of the following?
A. apraxia
B. ataxia
C. akinesia
D. akathisia
A. apraxia
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Subcortical Forebrain Structures-015 Answer A is correct. For the exam, you want to be familiar with all of the terms listed in the answers to this question. Apraxia is the inability to perform purposeful movements in the absence of paralysis, muscle weakness, or impaired coordination and best describes Sam’s inability to remove the cork from the wine bottle. Ataxia (answer B) involves a lack of muscle control and impaired balance and coordination, akinesia (answer C) is the loss of the ability to move, and akathisia (answer D) is a feeling of restlessness that makes it difficult to sit or stand still.
As described in the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a therapist can deny clients access to their protected health information when they believe that access is:
A. reasonably likely to cause psychological or emotional harm to the client or other person.
B. reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of the client or other person.
C. reasonably likely to endanger the psychological or physical health of the client or other person.
D. not in the best interests of the client or another person.
B. reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of the client or other person.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-009 Answer B is correct. Denial of access to protected health information is addressed in 45 CFR 164.524(a)(2)-(4), and the language of this answer is most similar to Section (a)(3)(i). It states that a licensed health care professional can deny an individual access to his/her protected health information, when the “professional has determined, in the exercise of professional judgment, that the access requested is reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of the individual or another person.” Note that, in this situation, the client has the right to have the denial reviewed by another designated licensed health care professional.
Which of the following describes career development as paralleling the eight psychosocial stages identified by Erikson?
A. Krumboltz’s social learning theory of career decision-making
B. Tiedeman and O’Hara’s career decision-making model
C. Driver and Brousseau’s career concept model
D. Holland’s theory of career choice
B. Tiedeman and O’Hara’s career decision-making model
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ORG-Career Choice and Development-023 Answer B is correct. The career decision-making model developed by Tiedeman and his colleagues (e.g., Tiedeman & O’Hara, 1963) views career identity development as an ongoing process that’s linked to Erikson’s psychosocial stages of ego identity development.
Sally S., age 14, began therapy at the request of her parents who were concerned about her increasing moodiness and oppositional behaviors. During her fifth therapy session, Sally tells you she’s been thinking about killing herself. When you express your concern, she says she’s “just kidding” and asks you not to say anything to her parents. Your best course of action would be to:
A. maintain Sally’s confidentiality but monitor her suicidal ideation in future therapy sessions.
B. continue to discuss Sally’s feelings about killing herself to determine if she is actually at risk for attempting suicide.
C. contact her parents immediately to inform them of her suicidal ideation and discuss their options in this situation.
D. tell Sally you won’t contact her parents as long as she signs a no-suicide contract.
B. continue to discuss Sally’s feelings about killing herself to determine if she is actually at risk for attempting suicide.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-020 Answer B is correct. Suicide threats should always be taken seriously and, in this situation, you’d want to determine if Sally is actually at risk for attempting suicide before contacting her parents or taking any other action. Note that there’s evidence that no-suicide contracts (answer D) do not guarantee a person’s safety and should be used only as one element of a comprehensive intervention.
Csikszentmihaly (1990), one of the founders of positive psychology, describes ________ as “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it” (p.4).
A. thriving
B. flow
C. transcendence
D. self-actualization
B. flow
EPPP-P6-CLI-Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies-012 Answer B is correct. Csikszentmihaly coined the term flow to describe a state of engagement, focused attention, and complete absorption that a person can experience when working on a task that’s challenging and intrinsically rewarding and that’s accompanied by a sense of fulfillment and loss of the feeling of self-consciousness.
A gambler who regularly shakes or blows on the dice while playing craps is exhibiting which of the following?
A. confirmation bias
B. gambler’s fallacy
C. illusory control
D. counterfactual thinking
C. illusory control
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-SOC-Social Cognition – Errors, Biases, and Heuristics-005 Answer C is correct. Gamblers may exhibit a number of cognitive biases and distortions including the gambler’s fallacy and illusory control. The gambler’s fallacy is the belief that the likelihood that a chance event will occur is affected by how often it has or has not occurred in the past. Illusory control is the belief that certain superstitious objects or rituals (e.g., blowing on dice) can alter outcomes, especially outcomes that are random or due to chance.
To measure the degree of association between high school diploma (yes or no) and yearly income in dollars, you would use which of the following correlation coefficients?
A. Spearman rho
B. point biserial
C. contingency coefficient
D. eta
B. point biserial
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-RMS-Correlation and Regression-004 Answer B is correct. The point biserial correlation coefficient is the appropriate correlation coefficient when one variable is a true dichotomy and the other is measured on a continuous (interval or ratio) scale. High school diploma (yes or no) is a true dichotomy and yearly income in dollars is measured on a continuous scale.
Latane and Darley (1970) used which of the following to explain the murder of Kitty Genovese in New York in 1964?
A. scapegoat theory
B. bystander effect
C. groupthink
D. deindividuation
B. bystander effect
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-SOC-Prosocial Behavior and Prejudice/Discrimination-008 Answer B is correct. Kitty Genovese was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in 1964 outside her New York City apartment. Despite her cries for help during the attack, none of the 38 people who witnessed the crime called the police. Latane and Darley (1970) subsequently developed the concept of bystander apathy (also known as the bystander effect) to explain why she received no help. Note that this question illustrates the use of a term you may be unfamiliar but looks like an alternative to the term that you are familiar with. This occurs sometimes on the exam, and you want to be sure you don’t eliminate an answer because it doesn’t match the term you know.
For practitioners of acceptance and commitment therapy, “dirty discomfort” is the result of:
A. disapprobation.
B. unwillingness.
C. cognitive errors.
D. emotional dysregulation.
B. unwillingness.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies-007 Answer B is correct. An assumption of acceptance and commitment therapy is that a natural level of physical or psychological discomfort (clean discomfort) combined with unwillingness results in suffering (dirty discomfort). Unwillingness is the opposite of willingness, which refers to the ability to accept and be in contact with clean discomfort. See, e.g., P. E. Flaxman, J. T. Blackledge, and F. W. Bond, Acceptance and commitment therapy, New York, Routledge, 2011.
Studies comparing the effectiveness of exposure and response prevention, an antidepressant that inhibits the reuptake of serotonin, and the combination of the two for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder have generally found that:
A. exposure with response prevention alone is superior to an antidepressant alone and to the combined treatment.
B. an antidepressant alone is superior to exposure with response prevention alone and to the combined treatment.
C. exposure with response prevention alone and an antidepressant alone have similar effects and their effects may be enhanced by combining the two treatments.
D. exposure with response prevention alone and an antidepressant alone have similar effects and their effects are not enhanced by combining the two treatments.
C. exposure with response prevention alone and an antidepressant alone have similar effects and their effects may be enhanced by combining the two treatments.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder-023 Answer C is correct. As usual, the research is not entirely consistent. However, most studies have found that exposure with response prevention alone and an SSRI or the tricyclic clomipramine alone are about equally effective and that the combination of the two treatments may be superior to either treatment used alone (e.g., Dougherty, Rauch, & Jenike, 2015).
____________ career concept model distinguishes between four career concepts that differ in terms of key motives, direction of career movement, and frequency of career change.
A. Tiedeman’s
B. Driver and Brousseau’s
C. Krumboltz’s
D. Dawis and Lofquist’s
B. Driver and Brousseau’s
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ORG-Career Choice and Development-003 Answer B is correct. Driver and Brousseau’s career concept model distinguishes between four career concepts (linear, expert, spiral, and transitory) that differ in terms of the factors listed in this question.
Research on smoking cessation interventions suggests that:
A. neither counseling nor medication are effective when used alone and, therefore, should always be combined.
B. counseling and medication are each effective when used alone but the combination of counseling and medication is most effective.
C. counseling alone is as effective as counseling plus medication.
D. medication alone is as effective as medication plus counseling.
B. counseling and medication are each effective when used alone but the combination of counseling and medication is most effective.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders-007 Answer B is correct. The studies have found that counseling (especially problem solving/skills training and social support) and medication (especially nicotine nasal spray and varenicline, a nicotine receptor partial agonist) are both effective when used alone but that interventions that combine counseling and medication are most effective. See, e.g., M. C. Fiore, C. R. Jaen, T. Baker, et al., Treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 update, Rockville, MD, USDHHS, U.S. Public Health Service, 2008.
The principle of ________ predicts that different systems that have the same starting point may reach different endpoints.
A. equilibrium
B. disequilibrium
C. equifinality
D. multifinality
D. multifinality
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ORG-Organizational Theories-014 Answer D is correct. The concepts of equifinality and multifinality are derived from general systems theory and are included in Katz and Kahn’s (1978) open-system theory which applies systems theory to organizational behavior. According to the principle of equifinality, different systems can achieve the same outcomes when they have different starting points; according to the principle of multifinality, systems can achieve dissimilar outcomes when they have the same starting point.
As defined by Maslach and colleagues (2001), which of the following is not one of the core characteristics of job burnout?
A. depersonalization
B. exhaustion
C. resistance
D. a sense of inefficacy
C. resistance
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ORG-Satisfaction, Commitment, and Stress-024 Answer C is correct. According to Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter (2001), job burnout has three core characteristics: exhaustion, depersonalization and cynicism, and a sense of inefficacy. Resistance is the second stage of the general adaptation syndrome.
The WAIS-IV’s Global Ability Index (GAI) is based on subtests for which of the following Indexes?
A. Processing Speed and Working Memory
B. Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Reasoning
C. Working Memory and Perceptual Reasoning
D. Verbal Comprehension and Working Memory
B. Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Reasoning
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PAS-Stanford-Binet and Wechsler Tests-001 Answer B is correct. An examinee’s GAI score is based on Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Reasoning subtest scores. It’s useful when an examiner wants to obtain a measure of general intelligence that’s not affected by processing speed or working memory, which are both sensitive to the effects of brain injury and age.
According to the transtheoretical model, which of the following accurately matches a stage of change with an optimal process of change?
A. precontemplation: self-reevaluation
B. contemplation: stimulus control
C. action: self-liberation
D. maintenance: counterconditioning
D. maintenance: counterconditioning
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Brief Therapies-006 Answer D is correct. The transtheoretical model is based on the assumptions that change occurs in stages and, to help clients progress to the next stage, interventions must match their current stage. According to this model, consciousness raising is an optimal strategy for clients in the precontemplation stage and contemplation stages, stimulus control is optimal for clients in the action or maintenance stage, self-liberation is optimal for clients in the preparation stage, and counterconditioning is another optimal intervention for clients in the action or maintenance stage. See, e.g., J. O Prochaska and C. DiClemente, The transtheoretical approach, in J. C. Norcross and M. R. Goldfried (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy integration (pp. 147-171), New York, Oxford University Press, 2005.
Jenny J. is conducting a study for extra credit in her Psychology 101 class. She recruits a group of volunteers and divides them into two groups. Subjects assigned to Group A are asked to memorize the 10 word pairs in List 1, are then asked to memorize the 10 word pairs in List 2, and are then asked to recall as many word pairs from List 1 as they can. Subjects assigned to Group B are also asked to memorize the 10 word pairs in List 1. However, they’re then asked to solve several simple addition and subtraction problems to keep them from rehearsing List 1 before they’re asked to recall as many word pairs from List 1 as they can. Apparently, the purpose of Jenny’s study is to investigate the effects of __________ interference.
A. proactive
B. retroactive
C. indirect
D. direct
B. retroactive
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LEA-Memory and Forgetting-005 Answer B is correct. Retroactive interference occurs when recently learned information interferes with the ability to recall previously learned information. It’s most likely to occur when recently and previously learned information are similar – e.g., when recently and previously learned material are different lists of paired words.
A hypertensive crisis may occur when foods containing tyramine are consumed while taking which of the following drugs?
A. imipramine
B. phenelzine
C. sertraline
D. fluoxetine
B. phenelzine
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PHY-Psychopharmacology – Antipsychotics and Antidepressants-006 Answer B is correct. A hypertensive crisis may result when an MAOI is taken in conjunction with foods containing tyramine or with certain drugs (e.g., antihistamines, amphetamines). Of the antidepressants listed in the answers, only phenelzine is an MAOI.
Which of the following is most useful for understanding the effectiveness of emotionally focused therapy for couples?
A. mindfulness
B. transtheoretical model
C. attachment theory
D. socioemotional selectivity theory
C. attachment theory
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Family Therapies and Group Therapies-027 Answer C is correct. Emotionally focused therapy for couples is an evidence-based treatment for distressed couples. Attachment theory is one of its influences, and “process research confirms that … [its positive effects] on relationship distress arise from expressing and responding to attachment needs in an emotionally meaningful way during therapy” [A. Carr, The evidence base for couple therapy, family therapy and systemic interventions for adult-focused problems, Journal of Family Therapy, 36(2), 158-194, 2014]. Mindfulness and the transtheoretical model (answers A and B) are not relevant to emotionally focused therapy. Carstensen’s socioemotional selectivity theory (answer D) predicts that our social goals are related to our perception of time left in life. According to this theory, younger adults perceive time as unlimited and tend to prefer partners who can provide information, while older adults perceive time as constrained and tend to prefer partners who can provide emotional gratification.
Which of the following descriptions is most consistent with guidelines provided in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association?
A. adults afflicted with cerebral palsy
B. adults with a mental illness
C. black and white adults
D. non-White adults
B. adults with a mental illness
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ETH-Professional Issues-012 Answer B is correct. “Adults with a mental illness” is consistent with the guidelines, but answers A, C, and D are not consistent: “Adults afflicted with cerebral palsy” is not an emotionally neutral description because of its inclusion of the word “afflicted,” “black and white adults” should be “Black and White adults,” and “non-White adults” implies a judgment regarding race.
When a psychologist is evaluating a defendant’s competency to stand trial, the evaluation focuses on which of the following?
A. the defendant’s current DSM diagnosis
B. the defendant’s mental status at the time he/she committed the crime
C. the defendant’s ability to understand the charges against him/her
D. the defendant’s ability to take responsibility for his/her actions
C. the defendant’s ability to understand the charges against him/her
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ETH-Professional Issues-021 Answer C is correct. An evaluation of a defendant’s competency to stand trial focuses on his/her ability to understand the charges against him/her and the nature and range of possible penalties and the defendant’s ability to cooperate with his/her attorney. When a defendant is found incompetent, judicial proceedings are suspended until the defendant receives treatment and his/her competency is restored.
A personnel director says she didn’t hire a recent African American job applicant because the applicant didn’t have sufficient work experience. However, she never hires African American applicants regardless of their experience even though she believes that she’s “colorblind” and treats everyone equally, regardless of their race or ethnicity. This is an example of:
A. neo-racism.
B. ethnocentrism.
C. overt racism.
D. covert racism.
D. covert racism.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-SOC-Prosocial Behavior and Prejudice/Discrimination-013 Answer D is correct. Covert racism is often difficult to recognize because it’s more subtle than overt racism and is often disguised. Symbolic, aversive, and ambivalent racism are types of covert racism. The personnel director described in this question is exhibiting unintentional covert racism because she believes she’s “colorblind” and doesn’t seem to be aware of the reasons for her actions and their harmful consequences. Neo-racism (answer A) is also known as cultural racism and is justified on the basis of cultural differences rather than racial or ethnic differences. Ethnocentrism (answer B) is the tendency to evaluate other cultures based on the norms and standards of one’s own culture.
Supervision guidelines identify which of the following as a supervisor’s primary ethical and legal obligation?
A. protecting the welfare of the clients of supervisees
B. protecting the welfare of supervisees
C. preparing supervisees for independent practice
D. assessing the readiness of supervisees for autonomous practice
A. protecting the welfare of the clients of supervisees
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ETH-Professional Issues-023 Answer A is correct. The APA’s Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology states that the highest duty of a supervisor is the protection of a supervisee’s clients. In addition, the ASPPB’s Supervision Guidelines identifies “the protection of and accountability to the public … [as the] paramount goals of supervision” (p. 1), and it lists the following as additional goals: protecting the supervisee, acting as a gatekeeper by assessing the supervisee’s readiness for autonomous practice, facilitating the supervisee’s professional development, remediating areas where the supervisee is not meeting the criteria for competence or ethical standards, and preparing the supervisee for independent practice.
As described by Kahneman and Tversky (1974), the representativeness heuristic is most similar to which of the following?
A. illusory correlation
B. counterfactual thinking
C. confirmation bias
D. base rate fallacy
D. base rate fallacy
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-SOC-Social Cognition – Errors, Biases, and Heuristics-014 Answer D is correct. The base rate fallacy (also known as base rate neglect) is the tendency to ignore or underuse base rate information and to rely, instead, on irrelevant information. Of the cognitive errors and biases listed in the answers, it’s most similar to the representativeness heuristic. When relying on this heuristic to make judgments about the likelihood of an event, a person ignores base rates and other important information and focuses, instead, on the extent to which the event resembles a typical case. Some experts believe the base rate fallacy is the result of relying on the representativeness heuristic.
Lewinsohn’s (1974) model of depression attributes it to:
A. a chronic boundary disturbance.
B. “depressogenic” cognitions.
C. a low rate of response-contingent reinforcement.
D. inadequate stimulus discrimination.
C. a low rate of response-contingent reinforcement.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Bipolar and Depressive Disorders-018 Answer C is correct. Knowing that Lewinsohn’s model of depression is known as social reinforcement theory would have helped you identify the correct answer to this question. The model is based on the principles of operant conditioning and attributes depression to low rates of response-contingent reinforcement for social behaviors due to a lack of reinforcement in the environment and/or poor social skills.
Carstensen, Gottman, and Levenson (1995) found that, compared to dissatisfied middle-aged married couples, dissatisfied older married couples:
A. show more restraint in expressing negative emotions.
B. are more likely to blame each other for their problems.
C. spend less time discussing past pleasant events.
D. express greater commitment to their relationships.
A. show more restraint in expressing negative emotions.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Attachment, Emotions, and Social Relationships-008 Answer A is correct. L. L. Carstensen, J. M. Gottman, and R. W. Levenson found that dissatisfied older married couples were less likely than dissatisfied middle-aged couples and satisfied older and middle-aged couples to engage in “negative start up” – i.e., they were less likely to respond to their partners’ expressions of neutral affect with expressions of anger, disgust, or other negative emotions during discussions of their marital problems [Emotional behavior in long-term marriage, Psychology and Aging, 10(1), 140-149, 1995].
To be consistent with ethical guidelines when conducting research, psychologists:
A. must always debrief research participants immediately after their participation.
B. must debrief research participants after their participation only when they may have been physically or psychologically harmed by their participation in the study.
C. should ordinarily debrief research participants immediately after their participation but, when that isn’t possible, should take steps to reduce the risk for harm.
D. should debrief research participants immediately after their participation if they’ve been deceived about some aspects of the study.
C. should ordinarily debrief research participants immediately after their participation but, when that isn’t possible, should take steps to reduce the risk for harm.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 7 & 8-028 Answer C is correct. This answer is most consistent with Standard 8.08 of the APA’s Ethics Code and Principles II.47 and III.25 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 8.08(a) states that “psychologists provide a prompt opportunity for participants to obtain appropriate information about the nature, results, and conclusions of the research, and they take reasonable steps to correct any misconceptions that participants may have of which the psychologists are aware. Standard 8.08(b) states “if scientific or humane values justify delaying or withholding this information, psychologists take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of harm.”
Tom watches a very violent movie and, on his way out of the crowded movie theater, his skinny friend accidentally steps on Tom’s foot. Tom reacts by becoming very angry and yelling at and shoving his friend. Tom’s behavior toward his friend is best explained by which of the following?
A. excitation transfer theory
B. social facilitation
C. mere exposure effect
D. frustration aggression hypothesis
A. excitation transfer theory
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-SOC-Prosocial Behavior and Prejudice/Discrimination-010 Answer A is correct. Excitation transfer “occurs when the arousal caused by one stimulus is added to the arousal from a second stimulus and the combined arousal is attributed (erroneously) to the second stimulus” (C. A. Sanderson, Social psychology, Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2010, p. 423) In the situation described in this question, Tom experienced physiological arousal from watching the violent movie and, when his friend stepped on his foot, the arousal from that event combined with the arousal from the movie. Consistent with the prediction of excitation transfer theory, Tom attributed the combined arousal to having his foot stepped on and overreacted by becoming angry and yelling at and shoving his friend. Note that the frustration-aggression hypothesis (answer D) predicts that the inability to achieve a goal leads to frustration which, in turn, leads to aggressive behavior. This doesn’t describe Tom’s experience.
Neuroimaging studies of individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have linked it to a reduced volume of the hippocampus and:
A. increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and decreased activity in the amygdala.
B. decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and increased activity in the amygdala.
C. increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala.
D. decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala.
B. decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and increased activity in the amygdala.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Subcortical Forebrain Structures-020 Answer B is correct. Neuroimaging studies have linked PTSD to several brain abnormalities, including a hyperactive amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex, a hypoactive ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and a reduced volume of the hippocampus, with some studies finding increased activity of the hippocampus and other studies finding decreased activity.
The last step in Meichenbaum’s self-instructional training is:
A. application and follow-through.
B. evaluation of self-instructions.
C. inductive instruction.
D. covert self-instruction.
D. covert self-instruction.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies-028 Answer D is correct. Meichenbaum’s self-instructional training was originally developed to help impulsive children have greater self-control when completing tasks by teaching them to use helpful self-statements to guide their behaviors. It consists of five steps: cognitive modeling, overt external guidance, overt self-guidance, faded overt self-guidance, and covert self-instruction. (Answer A is the final step in stress inoculation training and answers B and C are “made-up” terms that aren’t relevant to self-instructional training.)
__________ processing is data driven.
A. Top-down
B. Bottom-up
C. Parallel
D. Serial
B. Bottom-up
EPPP-P6-PHY-Sensation and Perception-008 Answer B is correct. Bottom-up processing is data driven (driven by information), while top-down processing is concept-driven. In terms of perception, bottom-up processing begins with incoming sensory information and continues upward to the brain where it is perceived, interpreted, and stored. In contrast, top-down processing begins with the brain’s use of preexisting knowledge and expectations to interpret incoming sensory information.
Which subtests make up the Processing Speed Index of the WAIS-IV?
A. Digit Span and Coding
B. Cancellation and Letter-Number Sequencing
C. Arithmetic and Digit Span
D. Symbol Search and Coding
D. Symbol Search and Coding
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PAS-Stanford-Binet and Wechsler Tests-007 Answer D is correct. The WAIS-IV Processing Speed Index assesses speed of mental and graphomotor processing. It consists of two core subtests (Symbol Search and Coding) and one supplemental subtest (Cancellation).
According to Selman (1980), children ages 3 to 6 are most likely to say that friends are children who:
A. do nice things for them.
B. do what they want them to do.
C. like the same things they do.
D. play with or live near them.
D. play with or live near them.
EPPP-P6-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Attachment, Emotions, and Social Relationships-017 Answer D is correct. R. L. Selman distinguishes between five overlapping stages of friendship: Level 0 (momentary playmate) extends from about 3 to 6 years of age. During this stage, a child says friends are children whom they play with or live nearby. The other stages are Level 1 (one-way assistance; ages 5-9), Level 2 (two-way, fair weather cooperation; ages 7-12), Level 3 (intimate, mutually shared relationships; ages 8-15), and Level 4 (mature friendship; ages 12+). [The child as a friendship philosopher, in S. R. Asher and J. M. Gottman (Eds.), The development of children’s friendships (pp. 242-272), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1980.]
A recently hired employee gets his first performance review and notices that, while the review is very positive and his supervisor has said many nice things about him, the supervisor has included a minor criticism of his written reports. This single criticism causes the employee to conclude that he’s worthless and will never get promoted out of his entry-level job. Aaron Beck would consider the employee’s conclusion to be an example of which of the following?
A. personalization
B. selective abstraction
C. dichotomous thinking
D. arbitrary inference
B. selective abstraction
EPPP-P6-CLI-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies-003 Answer B is correct. Selective abstraction is a type of cognitive distortion that involves drawing a conclusion based on one detail while ignoring the “bigger picture.” In the situation described in this question, the employee has decided that he’s worthless and not likely to be promoted based on a single criticism while ignoring the fact that he received a very positive performance review. Selective abstraction is sometimes confused with arbitrary inference (answer D). However, selective abstraction involves drawing a conclusion based on a detail that’s taken out of context, while arbitrary inference involves drawing a conclusion without any corroborating evidence.
The fraternal birth order effect (FBOE) predicts that:
A. the larger the number of older biological or adopted brothers a boy has, the more likely he will have a homosexual orientation.
B. the larger the number of older biological brothers a boy has, the more likely he will have a homosexual orientation.
C. the larger the number of older biological or adopted brothers and/or sisters a boy has, the more likely he will have a homosexual orientation.
D. the larger the number of older biological brothers and/or sisters a boy has, the more likely he will have a homosexual orientation.
B. the larger the number of older biological brothers a boy has, the more likely he will have a homosexual orientation.
EPPP-P6-LIF-Physical Development-004 Answer B is correct. The FBOE predicts that the likelihood that a boy will have a homosexual orientation increases with each older male biological sibling (Blanchard, 2018). The maternal immune hypothesis proposes that the FBOE is of prenatal origin and is due to the progressive increase in the immune response of some mothers to antigens produced by successive sons during pregnancy. Note that the FBOE accounts for only a small percent of variance in sexual orientation and has been challenged by several investigators.
Based on the results of their research, Howard and his colleagues (1986) concluded that about ___% of psychotherapy clients show measurable improvements in symptoms by the 26th therapy session with an additional ___% showing measurable improvements by the 52nd session.
A. 50; 10
B. 50; 25
C. 75; 10
D. 75; 20
C. 75; 10
EPPP-P6-CLI-Prevention, Consultation, and Psychotherapy Research-010 Answer C is correct. K. I. Howard, S. Kopta, M. S. Krouse, and D. E. Orlinsky concluded that psychotherapy has a “dose effect,” with about 50% of patients showing measurable improvements by eight to 13 therapy sessions, 75% by 26 sessions, and 85% by 52 sessions (The dose-effect relationship in psychotherapy, American Psychologist, 41, 159-164, 1986).
Alvin, age 22, has experienced delusions and hallucinations for several months. The most likely diagnosis for Alvin is schizoaffective disorder if he has also experienced:
A. concurrent episodes of major depression or mania for the entire duration of the disorder.
B. concurrent episodes of major depression or mania for the duration of the disorder except for at least one month when delusions and hallucinations were present without mood episodes.
C. concurrent episodes of major depression or mania for the duration of the disorder except for at least two weeks when delusions and hallucinations were present without mood episodes.
D. concurrent episodes of major depression or mania for the duration of the disorder except for at least two weeks when mood symptoms were present without delusions or hallucinations.
C. concurrent episodes of major depression or mania for the duration of the disorder except for at least two weeks when delusions and hallucinations were present without mood episodes.
EPPP-P6-PPA-Schizophrenia Spectrum/Other Psychotic Disorders-002 Answer C is correct. The DSM-5 diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder requires the presence of concurrent psychotic symptoms and mood episodes for the duration of the disorder except for two or more weeks when psychotic symptoms were present without mood symptoms.
Dr. Stein is a family therapist who believes therapy is most effective when all members of the immediate family attend all therapy sessions. During his second session with the Miller family, Mr. Miller is absent and Mrs. Miller says that, while her husband came to the first therapy session, he is unwilling to attend any additional sessions. The best course of action in this situation is for Dr. Stein to:
A. continue seeing Mrs. Miller and the children but encourage Mrs. Miller to convince Mr. Miller to attend at least some of the therapy sessions.
B. continue seeing Mrs. Miller and the children only if Mr. Miller agrees to see Dr. Stein in individual therapy.
C. continue seeing Mrs. Miller and the children only if his initial impression is that the family’s presenting problem is due primarily to Mrs. Miller’s relationships with her children.
D. refer Mrs. Miller to another family therapist who is willing to see only some members of the family.
D. refer Mrs. Miller to another family therapist who is willing to see only some members of the family.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 9 & 10-024 Answer D is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question, you have to notice that the question states that Dr. Stein “believes therapy is most effective when all members of the immediate family attend all therapy sessions.” Some family therapists are amenable to seeing only some family members. However, Dr. Stein is not one of these therapists, so a referral to another therapist is the best course of action.
Rosenfeld and Roesler (2019) compared the rates of marital dissolution of couples who had or had not cohabited prior to marriage. They found that couples who had cohabited had:
A. a decreased risk for marital dissolution during the first year of marriage only.
B. an increased risk for marital dissolution during the first year of marriage only.
C. an increased risk for marital dissolution during the first and subsequent years after marriage.
D. a decreased risk for marital dissolution during the first and subsequent years of marriage.
A. a decreased risk for marital dissolution during the first year of marriage only.
EPPP-P6-LIF-School and Family Influences-018 Answer A is correct. Rosenfeld and Roesler (2019) found that, in the first year of marriage, couples who had cohabited before marriage had a lower rate of marital dissolution than did couples who had not cohabited. However, they also found that the apparent advantage of living together with a partner before marriage no longer applied in subsequent years, with the rate for couples who cohabited prior to marriage becoming higher than the rate for couples who had not cohabited.
Stoltenberg and McNeill’s (2010) integrated developmental model (IDM) of supervision describes a supervisee’s stages of development in terms of three characteristics. Which of the following is not one of these characteristics?
A. motivation
B. self-other awareness
C. competency
D. autonomy
C. competency
EPPP-P6-ETH-Professional Issues-016 Answer C is correct. Like other developmental models, IDM focuses on the developmental levels of supervisees and proposes that supervision is most effective when a supervisor’s actions match a supervisee’s developmental level. IDM distinguishes between three developmental levels that differ in terms of a supervisee’s level of self-other awareness, motivation, and autonomy.
A psychology intern working at a mental health clinic tells her supervisor that, during the first session with a new client, he revealed that he’s gay. The intern says she does not want to work with this client or any other gay or lesbian clients because homosexuality violates her religious beliefs. The supervisor should:
A. tell the intern that she should just treat the client like any other client and volunteer to provide her with additional supervision as needed to help her do so.
B. tell the intern that she has to work with diverse clients (including homosexual clients) to complete her internship and volunteer to provide her with additional supervision to help her resolve the conflict between her religious beliefs and the requirements of her internship.
C. determine if it’s necessary to reassign the intern’s current client to another therapist and reassure the intern that she has the right to refuse to work with gay and lesbian clients.
D. determine if it’s necessary to reassign the intern’s current client to another therapist and discuss with the intern ways that might help her reconcile the conflict between her religious beliefs and the requirement that psychologists work effectively with diverse (including homosexual) clients.
D. determine if it’s necessary to reassign the intern’s current client to another therapist and discuss with the intern ways that might help her reconcile the conflict between her religious beliefs and the requirement that psychologists work effectively with diverse (including homosexual) clients.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 7 & 8-026 Answer D is correct. Conflicts between religious values and professional competence when working with diverse clients have been addressed by a number of experts. For example, the APA’s Virtual Working Group on Restrictions Affecting Diversity Training in Graduate Education developed a Sample Program Policy Statement that articulates the policy for APA-accredited programs when trainees experience conflicts when working with diverse clients. Among other things, its states that the program is committed to helping trainees develop the knowledge and skills they need to work with diverse clients and to providing trainees with additional time and faculty support to help them integrate their personal values with the professional competence they need to work with all clients. Answer D is the best answer because it not only reflects this position but also takes into account the welfare of the intern’s current client. See, e.g., E. H. Wise, K. J. Bieschke, L. Forrest, J. Cohen-Filpic, W. L. Hathaway, and L. A. Douce, Psychology’s proactive approach to conscience clause court cases and legislation, Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 9, 259-268, 2015.
A concurrent validity study finds that a selection test has the same validity coefficient for men and women and that men and women obtained similar job performance scores. However, women obtained significantly lower scores than men on the selection test. Which of the following terms is used to describe this situation?
A. criterion deficiency
B. measurement error
C. test unfairness
D. divergent validity
C. test unfairness
EPPP-P6-ORG-Employee Selection – Evaluation of Techniques-002 Answer C is correct. As defined in the EEOC’s Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, test unfairness occurs when a criterion-related validity coefficient is the same for two groups and the two groups achieve similar scores on the criterion but their scores on the predictor are significantly different.
You would use Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices to assess:
A. the nonverbal intelligence of a 7-year-old child with limited English skills.
B. the nonverbal intelligence of a 26-year-old gifted adult.
C. the general reasoning ability of a 19-year-old college student.
D. the school readiness of a 4-year-old child.
A. the nonverbal intelligence of a 7-year-old child with limited English skills.
EPPP-P6-PAS-Other Measures of Cognitive Ability-002 Answer A is correct. The Coloured Progressive Matrices is a version of Raven’s Progressive Matrices for children ages 5 to 11, older adults, and individuals with mental or physical impairments. Like the other versions, it assesses nonverbal intelligence and, because instructions are simple and can be pantomimed if necessary, it’s useful for individuals who are hearing-impaired or non-English speakers.
Which of the following decreases the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)?
A. breastfeeding the baby and having the baby sleep on his/her back
B. having the baby sleep on his/her stomach and keeping the crib as bare as possible
C. breast feeding the baby and having the baby co-sleep with his/her parents
D. using crib bumpers in the baby’s crib and having the baby sleep on his/her back
A. breastfeeding the baby and having the baby sleep on his/her back
EPPP-P6-LIF-Physical Development-024 Answer A is correct. Breast feeding the baby, having the baby sleep on his back, and keeping the crib as bare as possible are associated with a decreased risk for SIDS. In contrast, having the baby sleep on his/her stomach, having the baby co-sleep with his/her parents, and using crib bumpers have been linked to an increased risk.
Your new client’s primary symptoms are aggressive outbursts that have been recurrent and impulsive but have not caused damage or destruction of property or physical injury to other people or animals. To meet the diagnostic criteria for a DSM-5 diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder, the client’s aggressive outbursts must have occurred, on average, at least _____ weekly for at least _____ months.
A. twice; four
B. once; six
C. twice; three
D. once; four
C. twice; three
EPPP-P6-PPA-Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders-011 Answer C is correct. The DSM-5 diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder requires that the individual exhibit recurrent impulsive and aggressive outbursts that are manifested as either (a) verbal aggression or physical aggression for, on average, at least twice a week for at least three months, with physical aggression not causing damage or destruction of property or physical injury to other people or animals, or (b) three or more outbursts during a 12-month period that caused damage or destruction of property and/or physical injury to other people or animals.
A number of studies have investigated the effects of parental ethnic/racial socialization on various outcomes for African American children and adolescents. With regard to ethnic identity, these studies suggest that:
A. cultural socialization and preparation for bias have both been consistently linked to the development of a positive ethnic identity.
B. cultural socialization has been more consistently linked to the development of a positive ethnic identity than preparation for bias has.
C. preparation for bias has been more consistently linked to the development of a positive ethnic identity than cultural socialization has.
D. cultural socialization and preparation for bias have not been consistently linked to the development of a positive ethnic identity.
B. cultural socialization has been more consistently linked to the development of a positive ethnic identity than preparation for bias has.
EPPP-P6-LIF-School and Family Influences-019 Answer B is correct. Racial-ethnic socialization refers to the implicit and explicit practices of parents that communicate information about race and ethnicity to their children and takes the form of cultural socialization, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, and/or egalitarianism. Of these, cultural socialization (which focuses on teaching children about their cultural history and traditions and promoting cultural pride) and preparation for bias (which emphasizes making children aware of discrimination and teaching them ways to cope with it) have been studied the most. The results of these studies indicate that cultural socialization is most consistently linked to positive outcomes for children and adolescents (including the development of a positive ethnic identity), while preparation for bias is associated with both positive and negative outcomes [D. Hughes, J. Rodriguez, E. Smith, D. Johnson, H. Stevenson, and P. Spicer, Parents’ ethnic–racial socialization practices: A review of research and directions for future study, Developmental Psychology, 42(5), 747-770, 2006].
When using aversive counterconditioning to treat a client’s fetishistic disorder, the fetish object is the:
A. primary reinforcer.
B. secondary reinforcer.
C. unconditioned stimulus.
D. conditioned stimulus.
D. conditioned stimulus.
EPPP-P6-LEA-Interventions Based on Classical Conditioning-003 Answer D is correct. When using aversive counterconditioning to treat a fetishistic disorder, the fetish object is the conditioned stimulus, and presentation of the fetish object is paired with presentation of an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., electric shock) that naturally elicits fear or other undesirable response. As a result, the sexual arousal elicited by the fetish object is replaced with fear or other undesirable response.
When one parent has a single autosomal dominant gene for Huntington’s disease, this means that:
A. 25% of that parent’s biological children are likely to have that disease.
B. 50% of that parent’s biological children are likely to have that disease.
C. each biological child of that parent has a 50% chance of having that disease.
D. each biological child of that parent has a 100% chance of having that disease
C. each biological child of that parent has a 50% chance of having that disease.
EPPP-P6-PHY-Neurological and Endocrine Disorders-011 Answer C is correct. Huntington’s disease is caused by a single autosomal dominant gene and, when one parent has that gene with a corresponding normal gene, this means that there’s a 50% chance that each of the biological children of that parent will inherit the defective gene. In other words, there’s a 50% chance that each child will inherit the defective gene and a 50% chance that he/she will inherit the normal gene. It’s not possible to predict what percent of the parent’s children will inherit the defective gene, which is why answers A and B can be eliminated: All of the children, some of the children, or none of the children might inherit that gene.
When using the multitrait-multimethod matrix, a small heterotrait-monomethod coefficient provides evidence of a test’s:
A. incremental validity.
B. convergent validity.
C. divergent validity.
D. differential validity.
C. divergent validity.
EPPP-P6-TES-Test Validity – Content and Construct Validity-005 Answer C is correct. The heterotrait-monomethod coefficient indicates the correlation between the test being evaluated for construct validity and a measure of a different trait (heterotrait) using the same method of measurement (monomethod). For example, if the multitrait-multimethod matrix is being used to assess the construct validity of a self-report measure of assertiveness, a heterotrait-monomethod coefficient might be the correlation between the self-report measure of assertiveness and a self-report measure of seriousness. This coefficient should be small and, when it is, it provides evidence of the test’s divergent validity. (A measure’s construct validity is demonstrated when the measure has adequate levels of both divergent and convergent validity.)
Ryder and his colleagues (2008) compared the symptoms of depression of Chinese outpatients residing in China and Euro-Canadian outpatients and found that:
A. Chinese patients were more likely than Euro-Canadian patients to express somatic symptoms and less likely to express psychological symptoms.
B. Chinese patients were more likely than Euro-Canadian patients to express psychological symptoms and less likely to express somatic symptoms.
C. Chinese patients and Euro-Canadian patients expressed a similar proportion of somatic and psychological symptoms.
D. Chinese outpatients expressed both somatic and psychological symptoms while Euro-Canadian patients expressed psychological symptoms only.
A. Chinese patients were more likely than Euro-Canadian patients to express somatic symptoms and less likely to express psychological symptoms.
EPPP-P6-PPA-Bipolar and Depressive Disorders-022 Answer A is correct. If you’re not familiar with the Ryder et al. (2008) study, knowing that patients belonging to certain ethnic and cultural groups (including Chinese patients) are more likely to express depression as somatic complaints would have helped you identify the correct answer to this question. These investigators found that Euro-Canadian and Chinese outpatients both expressed a mixture of somatic and psychological symptoms but that Euro-Canadian patients expressed a greater proportion of psychological symptoms while Chinese patients expressed a greater proportion of somatic symptoms. Ryder et al. attribute the propensity of Chinese patients to somaticize depression to “externally oriented thinking,” which occurs because their culture tends to discourage focusing on internal emotional states and, as a result, they’re more likely to notice somatic symptoms. [A. G. Ryder et al., The cultural shaping of depression: Somatic symptoms in China, psychological symptoms in North America?, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117(2), 300-313, 2008]
A research study involves comparing the short- and long-term effects of three brief behavioral treatments for social anxiety disorder by randomly assigning clinic patients who have just received the diagnosis to one of the three treatments and assessing their symptoms before treatment and then one week, four weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks following treatment. Which of the following research designs is being used in this study?
A. counterbalanced
B. mixed
C. between groups
D. within subjects
B. mixed
EPPP-P6-RMS-Research – Single-Subject and Group Designs-001 Answer B is correct. A mixed design is being used when a study has at least two independent variables and one variable is a between groups variable and the other is a within subjects variable. The study described in this question has two independent variables – treatment and time: Treatment is a between subjects variable because each subject will receive only one of the three treatments, while time is a within subjects variable because all subjects will be assessed at five different times.
In the context of factor analysis, “orthogonal” means:
A. statistically significant.
B. statistically insignificant.
C. uncorrelated.
D. correlated.
C. uncorrelated.
EPPP-P6-TES-Test Validity – Content and Construct Validity-002 Answer C is correct. The factors extracted (identified) in a factor analysis can be either orthogonal or oblique. Orthogonal factors are uncorrelated, while oblique factors are correlated.
Which of the following is true about the pharmacological treatment of major depressive disorder?
A. SSRIs and SNRIs are both considered first-line pharmacological treatments.
B. SSRIs are considered first-line pharmacological treatments and SNRIs are prescribed only when SSRIs have been ineffective.
C. SNRIs are considered first-line pharmacological treatments and SSRIs are prescribed only when SNRIs have been ineffective.
D. SSRIs are considered first-line pharmacological treatments and SNRIs are prescribed only when neuropathic pain is comorbid with depression.
A. SSRIs and SNRIs are both considered first-line pharmacological treatments.
EPPP-P6-PHY-Psychopharmacology – Antipsychotics and Antidepressants-014 Answer A is correct. The SSRIs and SNRIs are both generally viewed as first-line pharmacological treatments for major depressive disorder [e.g., E. Dale, B. Bang-Andersen, and C. Sanchez, Emerging mechanisms and treatments for depression beyond SSRIs and SNRIs, Biochemical Pharmacology, 95(2), 81-97, 2015]. SNRIs are more effective than SSRIs when neuropathic pain is comorbid with depression, but answer D can be eliminated because SNRIs aren’t prescribed only in this situation.
Which of the following are evidence-based treatments for binge-eating disorder?
A. cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy
B. cognitive-behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing
C. family focused therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy
D. family-based treatment and acceptance and commitment therapy
A. cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy
EPPP-P6-PPA-Feeding/Eating and Sleep-Wake Disorders–010 Answer A is correct. The adaptations of cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy for eating disorders are evidence-based treatments for binge-eating disorder and are recommended by the American Psychological Association’s Society of Clinical Psychology (https://div12.org/treatments).
Implicit memories are recorded and recalled without conscious effort. These memories are stored in which of the following areas of the brain?
A. cerebellum and basal ganglia
B. hippocampus and prefrontal cortex
C. cerebellum and hippocampus
D. thalamus and prefrontal cortex
A. cerebellum and basal ganglia
EPPP-P6-PHY-Memory and Sleep-021 Answer A is correct. Knowing that implicit memories include memories of learned skills and actions (procedural memory) and conditioned responses would have helped you identify the cerebellum and basal ganglia as the correct answer since these areas of the brain mediate motor responses. The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus are responsible for explicit memory.
____________ conditioning is the most effective method for establishing a conditioned response.
A. Backward
B. Trace
C. Delay
D. Simultaneous
C. Delay
EPPP-P6-LEA-Classical Conditioning-001 Answer C is correct. Delay conditioning is a type of forward conditioning in which presentation of the conditioned stimulus precedes and overlaps presentation of the unconditioned stimulus. Of the methods for presenting the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, delay conditioning produces the fastest acquisition of the conditioned response.
A group leader familiar with Janis’s groupthink is most likely to describe a “mindguard” as:
A. a critical evaluator.
B. the group placater.
C. an information filter.
D. an authentic dissenter.
C. an information filter.
EPPP-P6-ORG-Organizational Decision-Making-018 Answer C is correct. As described by Janis (1982), self-appointed mindguards shield group members from disconfirming or problematic information that might have an adverse effect on the group’s cohesiveness. In other words, they act as an information filter.
Damage to the frontal lobe is least likely to have an adverse effect on which of the following?
A. motivation
B. judgment
C. memory
D. IQ
D. IQ
EPPP-P6-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Cerebral Cortex-017 Answer D is correct. Frontal lobe damage often has an adverse effect on motivation, judgment, and memory but not on IQ test scores. One explanation for this is that frontal lobe damage seems to have a negative impact on divergent thinking but not on convergent thinking which is what is measured by standard IQ tests [B. Kolb and I. Q. Whishaw, Fundamentals of human neuropsychology (6th ed.), New York, Worth Publishers, 2009].
A measure of fluid intelligence would include items that assess all of the following except:
A. short-term memory.
B. numerical reasoning.
C. ability to solve novel problems.
D. inductive reasoning.
B. numerical reasoning.
EPPP-P6-PAS-Stanford-Binet and Wechsler Tests-010 Answer B is correct. Crystallized intelligence (Gc) depends on prior learning and experience, is affected by cultural experiences, and is important for tasks that require the application of acquired knowledge and skills – e.g., general information, vocabulary, and numerical reasoning (which is the ability to understand and apply numerical information). In contrast, fluid intelligence (Gf) does not depend on prior learning or experience, is fairly culture-free, and is important for tasks that involve inductive and deductive reasoning, the ability to solve novel problems, and encode short-term memories.
Rods and cones are the two types of photoreceptors in the eye. The cones are responsible for all of the following except:
A. color vision.
B. vision in bright light.
C. peripheral vision.
D. visual acuity.
C. peripheral vision.
EPPP-P6-PHY-Sensation and Perception-019 Answer C is correct. The cones work best in bright light and are responsible for visual acuity (sharpness and precise detail) and the perception of color. The rods do not perceive color but are most important for peripheral vision and, because they’re more sensitive to light, are responsible for vision in dim light.
Toward the end of his second date with Susie S., Dr. Browne realizes that Susie is the sister of one of his clients. Dr. Brown is very attracted to Susie, would like to continue dating her, and thinks she could be “the one.” However, as an ethical psychologist, Dr. Browne:
A. will continue dating Susie only if she’s the sister of a former (not current) client of his.
B. will continue dating Susie if she’s the sister of a current client only if he discusses the potential for problems with the client and with Susie.
C. will continue dating Susie if she’s the sister of a current client only if he terminates therapy with the client.
D. will not continue dating Susie whether she’s the sister of a current or a former client.
A. will continue dating Susie only if she’s the sister of a former (not current) client of his.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 9 & 10-008 Answer A is correct. This situation is addressed in Standard 10.06 of the APA’s Ethics Code. It states that “psychologists do not engage in sexual intimacies with individuals they know to be close relatives, guardians, or significant others of current clients/patients … [and they] do not terminate therapy to circumvent this standard.” This answer is also consistent with the requirements of Standard III.28 of the Canadian Code of Ethics.
A newly developed aptitude test that will be used to help make college admissions decisions was administered to 100 high school seniors whose grade point averages ranged from 3.5 to 4.0, and a split-half reliability coefficient of .75 was calculated from their scores. The aptitude test was then administered to another sample of 100 high school seniors whose grade point averages ranged from 2.0 to 4.0. The split-half reliability coefficient for the second sample of students will most likely be:
A. equal to .75.
B. larger than .75.
C. smaller than .75.
D. between about .70 and .80.
B. larger than .75.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-TES-Item Analysis and Test Reliability-011 Answer B is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question, you have to know that the magnitude of a test’s reliability coefficient (or any correlation coefficient) is affected by several factors, including the range (heterogeneity) of scores: All other things being equal, the greater the range of scores, the larger the reliability coefficient will be. Because the second sample has a larger range of GPA scores than the first sample did, the reliability coefficient for the second sample will most likely be larger than .75.
During your fifth session with Bonnie, she tells you that her boyfriend, Bruno, is very angry with you because he thinks you’re trying to get her to leave him and he’s threatening to “beat you up.” You know from what Bonnie has told you in previous sessions that Bruno is a violent person and has spent time in jail for physical assault more than once. To be consistent with ethical requirements, you:
A. should continue seeing Bonnie in therapy but contact the police about Bruno’s threat.
B. should suggest that Bonnie bring her boyfriend with her to the next therapy session.
C. may terminate therapy with Bonnie but must provide her with pretermination counseling and referrals before doing so.
D. may terminate therapy with Bonnie with or without providing her with pretermination counseling and referrals.
D. may terminate therapy with Bonnie with or without providing her with pretermination counseling and referrals.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 9 & 10-010 Answer D is correct. This situation is addressed in Standard 10.10 of the APA’s Ethics Code and the Values Statement for Principle II of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 10.10(b) states that psychologists may terminate therapy with clients when they’re “threatened or otherwise endangered by the client/patient or another person with whom the client/patient has a relationship.” And Standard 10.10(c) states that, “except where precluded by the actions of clients/patients or third-party payors, prior to termination psychologists provide pretermination counseling and suggest alternative service providers as appropriate.” As noted by C. B. Fisher, Standard 10.10(c) applies when a psychologist terminates therapy with a client because he/she is endangered by the client or someone involved in a relationship with the client [Decoding the ethics code (4th ed.), Los Angeles, SAGE, 2017].
Multicollinearity occurs when:
A. scores on one or more explanatory variables have low correlations with scores on one or more of the other explanatory variables.
B. scores on one or more explanatory variables are highly correlated with scores on one or more of the other explanatory variables.
C. scores on one or more explanatory variables have high correlations with scores on some response variables but low correlations with scores on other response variables.
D. scores on one or more explanatory variables have low correlations with scores on the response variable.
B. scores on one or more explanatory variables are highly correlated with scores on one or more of the other explanatory variables.
EPPP-P6-RMS-Correlation and Regression-005 Answer B is correct. The term multicollinearity is used in the context of multiple regression and similar multivariate techniques to describe high correlations between predictors, which means that the predictors are providing redundant (rather than unique) information about the factors that contribute to performance on the criterion. Even if you’re familiar with multicollinearity, this may have been a difficult question because it uses unfamiliar terms – i.e., explanatory variable instead of predictor and response variable instead of criterion. Unfortunately, exam questions sometimes contain unfamiliar or unexpected language; however, as long as you’re sufficiently familiar with the concept that’s being asked about, you should be able to identify the correct answer.
A prenatal care program that’s available to all pregnant women in a community is an example of which of the following types of prevention?
A. indicated
B. universal
C. selective
D. secondary
B. universal
EPPP-P6-CLI-Prevention, Consultation, and Psychotherapy Research-019 Answer B is correct. The three types of prevention listed in answers A, B, and C were described by Gordon (1983). Universal prevention programs are aimed at a designated population or specific members of that population regardless of their level of risk for a disorder or condition (e.g., all pregnant women in a community). Selective prevention programs (answer C) are aimed at members of a subgroup of a designated population who are known to be at above-average risk for a disorder or condition (e.g., all low-income pregnant women in a community). Indicated prevention programs (answer A) are aimed at individuals who are known to have a characteristic that puts them at high risk for a disorder or condition (e.g., all low-income pregnant women who have had a miscarriage or whose newborns had problems that were due to inadequate prenatal care). Another method for describing prevention programs is to classify them as primary, secondary, or tertiary. Secondary prevention programs (answer D) are aimed at specific individuals who have been identified as being at elevated risk for a disorder or condition.
During his third therapy session, a client tells his therapist that he’s HIV positive. He also says that he engaged in unsafe sex with three partners after receiving his test results 18 months ago but is no longer doing so. The 1976 Tarasoff decision:
A. applies in this situation and the therapist must file a report with the local health department or other appropriate agency.
B. applies in this situation and the therapist should contact the three partners of the client to notify them of the client’s HIV status.
C. applies in this situation and the appropriate actions for the therapist and client depend on state or provincial laws.
D. does not apply in this situation and the appropriate actions for the therapist and client depend on state or provincial laws.
D. does not apply in this situation and the appropriate actions for the therapist and client depend on state or provincial laws.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-017 Answer D is correct. The original Tarasoff decision established a “duty to warn” an intended victim of a therapy client, but this was changed in a 1976 rehearing of the case to a “duty to protect” an intended victim by warning him or her directly, notifying the police, or taking other appropriate action (e.g., hospitalizing the client). Many experts agree that Tarasoff isn’t relevant in situations like the one described in this question because (a) it doesn’t apply to past behavior, (b) it applies only when potential victim(s) are identifiable (it’s not clear if the client’s partners are identifiable), and (c) the risk for harm does not necessarily rise to the level of foreseeable harm (dangerousness) required by Tarasoff since unsafe sex involves risk but not certainty that HIV will be transmitted. Note that there are other options in this situation – e.g., educating clients about safe-sex practices and encouraging clients to inform sexual partners of their HIV status, possibly with the assistance of the therapist. In addition, it’s important for psychologists to be familiar with state and provincial laws that address the actions that should be taken in situations involving HIV (e.g., partner notification laws). See, e.g., T. Chenneville, Tarasoff and HIV: Some considerations for therapists, Focus, 22(5), 5-8, 2007.
In a normal distribution, which of the following represents the highest score?
A. T score = 65
B. z score = 1.0
C. percentile rank = 84
D. stanine = 5
A. T score = 65
EPPP-P6-TES-Test Score Interpretation-004 Answer A is correct. In a normal distribution, a stanine score of 5 is equivalent to raw scores that equal the mean or are slightly above or below the mean, a z-score of 1.0 and a percentile rank of 84 are equivalent to the raw score that is one standard deviation above the mean, and a T-score of 65 is equivalent to the raw score that is one and one-half standard deviations above the mean.
Research comparing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy (IPT), and antidepressant drugs as treatments for severe depression has found that ________ has the fastest time to remission of symptoms.
A. antidepressant drugs
B. CBT
C. IPT
D. ECT
D. ECT
EPPP-P6-PPA-Bipolar and Depressive Disorders–001 Answer D is correct. Research has shown that ECT produces remission within 1 to 3 weeks compared to 6 to 10 weeks for IPT or CBT and 4 to 12 weeks for antidepressant medications (Rush et al., 2006).
At the end of the initial therapy session with a married couple who say they constantly argue, a practitioner of __________ therapy will assign them a task to complete before the next session that requires them to identify things in their relationship that they want to continue.
A. solution-focused
B. interpersonal
C. reality
D. acceptance and commitment
A. solution-focused
EPPP-P6-CLI-Brief Therapies-024 Answer A is correct. Each session of solution-focused therapy is structured and involves asking questions, providing feedback, and assigning a task to complete before the next session. For example, the formula first session task is assigned at the end of the first session and requires clients to identify something in their lives that they want to continue.
Behavioral treatments for narcolepsy are often not adequate and, consequently, are usually combined with medications. Which of the following medications is most useful for reducing daytime sleepiness, improving nighttime sleep, and reducing cataplexy?
A. modafinil
B. sodium oxybate
C. fluoxetine
D. methylphenidate
B. sodium oxybate
EPPP-P6-PPA-Feeding/Eating, Elimination, and Sleep-Wake Disorders-025 Answer B is correct. This is a difficult question because all of the drugs listed in the answers are used to treat narcolepsy. However, only sodium oxybate has been found to be effective for reducing daytime sleepiness, improving nighttime sleep, and reducing cataplexy. Modafinal, methylphenidate, and other stimulant drugs are useful for reducing daytime sleepiness, while antidepressants (e.g., fluoxetine) are useful for reducing cataplexy. See, e.g., S. V. Kothare and J. Kaleyias, Pharmacotherapy of narcolepsy: Focus on sodium oxybate, Clinical medical insights: Therapeutics, 2, 37-52, 2010.
Which of the following is not a type of nonrandom sampling?
A. convenience sampling
B. quota sampling
C. cluster sampling
D. snowball sampling
C. cluster sampling
EPPP-P6-RMS-Types of Variables and Data-011 Answer C is correct. Cluster sampling is a type of random (probability) sampling that can involve one or two stages: One-stage cluster sampling involves dividing the population of interest into clusters (groups) and then using simple random sampling to select clusters from the population and including all individuals in the selected clusters to participate in the research study. Two-stage cluster sampling begins in the same way as one-stage cluster sampling but ends with randomly selecting individuals from each of the selected clusters to participate in the research study. The other sampling techniques listed in the answers are nonrandom (non-probability) sampling techniques: Convenience sampling (answer A) involves including any individuals in the study who are available and meet specified criteria (e.g., all clients in a clinic who have received a diagnosis of major depressive disorder). When using quota sampling (answer B), the researcher identifies the major groups of interest, determines the number of participants to include from each group, and then selects convenience samples of the desired size from each group. When using snowball sampling, participants are obtained by asking the first person who is located or volunteers for the study to identify other possible participants who meet specified criteria, then asking those people to identify other possible participants, and so on until a sufficient number of participants is obtained. This method is useful when it’s difficult to locate members of a special population (e.g., homeless individuals, gang leaders).
As described by Leyens et al. (2000), infrahumanization is characterized by:
A. ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation.
B. ingroup derogation and outgroup favoritism.
C. ingroup and outgroup favoritism.
D. ingroup and outgroup derogation.
A. ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation.
EPPP-P6-SOC-Prosocial Behavior and Prejudice/Discrimination-012 Answer A is correct. According to infrahumanization theory, people tend to humanize members of ingroups by attributing secondary emotions to them (pride, compassion, remorse and other emotions that are unique to humans) which, in turn, elicits empathy and prosocial behaviors toward them. In contrast, people tend to dehumanize members of outgroups by attributing fewer secondary emotions to them which, in turn, elicits less empathy toward and acceptance of them (J. P. Leyens, A. Rodriguez-Perez, R. Rodriguez-Torres, R. Gaunt, P. M. Paladino, J. Vaes, and S. Demoulin, Psychological essentialism and the differential attribution of uniquely human emotions to ingroups and outgroups, European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 359-411, 2001).
__________ describe(s) temperament as constitutionally based individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation.
A. Bem
B. Kagan
C. Thomas and Chess
D. Rothbart and Derryberry
D. Rothbart and Derryberry
EPPP-P6-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Temperament and Personality-013 Answer D is correct. Rothbart and Derryberry (1981) describe temperament as “constitutional differences in reactivity and self-regulation, with ‘constitutional’ seen as the relatively enduring biological makeup of the organism influenced over time by heredity, maturation, and experience” (p. 37).
A patient with a brain injury who is nonagitated but confused and responds to simple, familiar commands but has difficulty retaining new information would most likely receive a __________ rating on the Rancho Scale of Cognitive Functioning Revised.
A. Level I
B. Level III
C. Level V
D. Level VIII
C. Level V
EPPP-P6-PAS-Clinical Tests-006 Answer C is correct. Ratings on the Rancho Scale range from Level I to Level X. A patient who receives a rating of Level V (Confused/Inappropriate Nonagitated) is confused but nonagitated; responds to simple, familiar commands; is not oriented to person, place, or time; has difficulty learning new information; and may wander randomly with a vague intention of going home.
Piferi, Jobe, and Jones (2006) asked college students why they donated money or provided other assistance to victims of 9/11. The results of a follow-up study indicated that students who gave which of the following reasons were most likely to continue to give assistance one year later?
A. because others would do the same thing for them
B. because it was the patriotic thing to do
C. because the victims were suffering
D. because it helped reduce their own pain
C. because the victims were suffering
EPPP-P6-SOC-Prosocial Behavior and Prejudice/Discrimination-004 Answer C is correct. R. L. Piferi, R. L. Jobe, and W. H. Jones’s study found that altruistic motivation for helping victims of a tragedy (helping to improve the victims’ well-being) was more predictive than egoistic motivation (helping to alleviate one’s own suffering) for predicting future helping [Giving to others during national tragedy: The effects of altruistic and egoistic motivations in long-term giving, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 23(1), 171-184, 2006].
Kobasa’s (1982) concept of __________ is useful for understanding the traits that are needed to cope successfully with stress.
A. psychological hardiness
B. dispositional resilience
C. personal efficacy
D. psychological optimism
A. psychological hardiness
EPPP-P6-ORG-Satisfaction, Commitment, and Stress-013 Answer A is correct. As long as you have Kobasa linked with the concept of hardiness, you would have been able to easily identify the correct answer to this question. The phrase “to successfully cope with stress” may have acted as a cue to help you recall this link if the name Kobasa didn’t immediately help you identify the correct answer. Note that, even if you do not know that Kobasa’s concept of hardiness is also known as psychological hardiness, you would want to choose answer A because, of the answers given, it comes closest to what you know.
Dr. Bernstein, a school psychologist, has just been hired by a school district in a Southwestern town. Part of his job will be to administer tests to students to help determine if they qualify for special education. Spanish is likely to be the first language of some of the students he will evaluate, and many of these students will have limited English skills. To be consistent with ethical requirements when evaluating these students, Dr. Bernstein:
A. must use only tests that have a Spanish-language version.
B. must use only tests that have a Spanish-language version or are culture-fair tests that do not require verbal instructions or responses.
C. may use an interpreter who is fluent in both Spanish and English and has appropriate training.
D. may use an interpreter who is fluent in both Spanish and English and has appropriate training and must indicate the possible limitations of the test results in his report.
D. may use an interpreter who is fluent in both Spanish and English and has appropriate training and must indicate the possible limitations of the test results in his report.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 9 & 10-013 Answer D is correct. This answer is most consistent with Standard 9.03(c) of the APA’s Ethics Code and Principles I.24, I.27, and III.8 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 9.03(c) states that “psychologists using the services of an interpreter obtain informed consent from the client/patient to use that interpreter, ensure that confidentiality of test results and test security are maintained, and include in their recommendations, reports, and diagnostic or evaluative statements … discussion of any limitations on the data obtained.” Answers A and B are not the best answers because available Spanish-language versions of tests and culture-fair tests may not be adequate for the purposes of Dr. Bernstein’s evaluations and because ethical guidelines do not state that psychologists MUST use these tests when evaluating children with limited English skills. Answer C is not the best answer because it does not include the requirement to discuss the possible limitations of the test data in recommendations.
A psychotherapist who has an emic perspective:
A. focuses on changing characteristics of the client to better fit environmental demands.
B. focuses on changing the client’s environment to better fit the client’s needs.
C. recognizes the differences between cultural groups.
D. tends to overlook important cultural differences.
C. recognizes the differences between cultural groups.
EPPP-P6-CLI-Cross-Cultural Issues – Terms and Concepts-022 Answer C is correct. A psychologist who has an emic perspective believes that behavior is affected by culture and, as a result, views the causes and manifestations of and optimal interventions for psychological disorders as being affected by a person’s cultural background. In contrast, a psychologist who has an etic perspective does not consider the impact of culture and views the causes and manifestations of and optimal interventions for psychological disorders as being essentially the same for members of all cultures. Answers D describes an etic perspective. Answers A and B refer to autoplastic and alloplastic interventions, respectively.
When using the Taylor-Russell tables to estimate the incremental validity of a new selection test, the tables will indicate that the test has the greatest incremental validity when the selection ratio is _____ and the base rate is _____.
A. .95; .10
B. .50; .50
C. .50; .25
D. .10; .50
D. .10; .50
EPPP-P6-ORG-Employee Selection – Evaluation of Techniques-007 Answer D is correct. Regardless of the size of a test’s validity coefficient, the test will have the greatest incremental validity when the selection ratio is low (e.g., .10) and the base rate is moderate (e.g., .50).
Piaget proposed that, during substage 3 (secondary circular reactions) of the sensorimotor stage, an infant:
A. repeats enjoyable motor or sensory responses that involve his/her own body.
B. repeats behaviors that elicit a response from a person or object.
C. deliberately changes a behavior to determine the consequences of doing so.
D. coordinates two or more responses to solve a problem.
B. repeats behaviors that elicit a response from a person or object.
EPPP-P6-LIF-Cognitive Development-003 Answer B is correct. As described by Piaget, the substages of the sensorimotor stage involve different types of circular reactions, which are actions that are performed to repeat an event that first occurred by chance. Substage 3 occurs between four and eight months of age and is characterized by secondary circular reactions, which are goal-directed actions that elicit a response from a person or object. For example, an infant might repeatedly kick the mobile hanging over his crib to make it move.
A person who obtains the highest score on the realistic scale of Holland’s Self-Directed Search would most likely say he/she likes to:
A. follow set procedures and routines.
B. lead and persuade people.
C. work with ideas and solve problems.
D. work with tools and machinery.
D. work with tools and machinery.
EPPP-P6-ORG-Career Choice and Development-015 Answer D is correct. People who obtain the highest score on Holland’s realistic scale prefer to work with things (e.g., tools and machinery) rather than people. People who obtain the highest score on the conventional scale prefer jobs that involve following set procedures and routines (answer A). Those who obtain the highest score on the enterprising scale like to lead and persuade people (answer B), and those who obtain the highest score on the investigative scale prefer to work with ideas and solve problems (answer C).
Your current client, Maggie M., invites you to a party she’s having to celebrate the completion of her dissertation. As an ethical psychologist, you:
A. refuse the invitation and explain to Maggie why it would be unethical for you to attend her party.
B. accept the invitation but make sure Maggie understands that you normally don’t attend social events with clients but will attend this party because it’s a special occasion.
C. discuss the potential conflicts that could arise with Maggie and ways to avoid them before accepting her invitation.
D. consider the nature of your therapeutic relationship with Maggie and the potential effect on her of your acceptance or refusal of her invitation before deciding whether or not to accept the invitation.
D. consider the nature of your therapeutic relationship with Maggie and the potential effect on her of your acceptance or refusal of her invitation before deciding whether or not to accept the invitation.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-019 Answer D is correct. Standard 3.05 of the APA’s Ethics Code prohibits multiple relationships that “could be reasonably expected to impair the psychologist’s objectivity, competence, or effectiveness … or otherwise risks exploitation or harm to the person.” And Standard III.30 of the Canadian Code of Ethics requires psychologists to “avoid dual relationships … that are not justified by the nature of the activity, by cultural or geographic factors, or where there is a lack of reasonably accessible alternatives.” Neither document prohibits all types of multiple relationships; and, in the situation described in this question, your first action would be to consider the nature of your therapeutic relationship with Maggie and the possible effects on that relationship of accepting or refusing her invitation. Discussing potential conflicts with Maggie (answer C) isn’t a better answer because it implies that you would accept her invitation regardless of the outcome of that discussion.
In the context of operant conditioning, the matching law:
A. predicts the effects of two or more concurrent schedules of reinforcement on the behaviors that are being reinforced.
B. predicts the effects of gradually reducing a reinforcement schedule on a well-established behavior.
C. is used to determine the most effective reinforcement schedule based on the current frequency of the target behavior.
D. is used to identify the optimal discriminative stimulus-behavior-consequence sequence when using chaining to establish a new behavior.
A. predicts the effects of two or more concurrent schedules of reinforcement on the behaviors that are being reinforced.
EPPP-P6-LEA-Operant Conditioning-004 Answer A is correct. According to the matching law, the relative rate of responding to two or more stimuli is equal to the relative rate of reinforcement received for responding. For example, if a pigeon is reinforced with a food pellet after every 20 pecks on key #1 and is concurrently reinforced with a food pellet after every 10 pecks on key #2, the pigeon will peck key #2 twice as often as it pecks key #1.
Which of the following best describes the frequency of the insanity defense and acquittals?
A. It’s raised in less than 1% of all felony cases and leads to acquittal only about 25% of the time.
B. It’s raised in 5 to 15% of all felony cases and leads to acquittal only about 30% of the time.
C. It’s raised in about 25% of all felony cases and leads to acquittal about 50% of the time.
D. It’s raised in about 50% of all felony cases and leads to acquittal only about 25% of the time.
A. It’s raised in less than 1% of all felony cases and leads to acquittal only about 25% of the time.
EPPP-P6-ETH-Professional Issues-025 Answer A is correct. The not guilty by reason of insanity defense is relatively rare in felony cases and is usually unsuccessful. The rates of occurrence vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but, overall, the insanity defense is raised in less than 1% of all felony cases and is successful only about 25% of the time. See, e.g., C. R. Bartol and A. M. Bartol, Psychology and law: Research and practice (2nd ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA, SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019.
Mr. Wolf, age 47, says he has had a resting tremor in his right hand and stiffness in his right arm for about a year. He also states that he has problems with coordination and balance, has trouble falling asleep, can’t walk very fast and sometime feels like his feet are “stuck to the floor,” and has been feeling “kind of depressed.” Based on these symptoms, the most effective pharmacological treatment for Mr. Wolf is likely to be which of the following?
A. rivastigmine
B. carbamazepine
C. levodopa
D. buspirone
C. levodopa
EPPP-P6-PHY-Psychopharmacology – Other Psychoactive Drugs-022 Answer C is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question, you have to recognize that Mr. Wolf’s symptoms are characteristic of Parkinson’s disease and know that Parkinson’s is caused by a decrease in dopamine levels and that levodopa (also known as L-dopa) is a useful treatment in the beginning stages of this disorder because it increases dopamine levels. Rivastigmine (answer A) is a cognition-enhancing drug that’s used to treat Alzheimer’s disease and other neurocognitive disorders. Carbamazepine (answer B) is an anticonvulsant drug that’s used to treat seizures and bipolar disorder. Buspirone (answer D) is used to treat anxiety disorders.
The __________ is known as the “body’s clock” because of its regulation of the sleep-wake cycle and other circadian rhythms.
A. suprachiasmatic nucleus
B. pons
C. reticular activating system
D. globus pallidus
A. suprachiasmatic nucleus
EPPP-P6-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Subcortical Forebrain Structures-003 Answer A is correct. The suprachiasmatic nucleus is located in the hypothalamus and controls the body’s circadian rhythms (24-hour cycles), which include the sleep-wake cycle and daily changes in core body temperature and the secretion of several hormones.
When initially hired by the Acme Company three years ago, Jill Doe was told she’d receive regular raises as long as her work is satisfactory. Although Jill has consistently received excellent job evaluations from her supervisor, she has not received the raises she was promised. According to expectancy theory, which of Jill’s beliefs is most negatively affected by this situation?
A. valence
B. instrumentality
C. predictability
D. expectancy
B. instrumentality
EPPP-P6-ORG-Theories of Motivation-016 Answer B is correct. Expectancy theory proposes that work motivation is affected by three beliefs: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. Instrumentality is the belief that one’s job performance will be rewarded. In the situation described in this question, Jill’s excellent job performance has not been rewarded with regular raises, which were promised to her when she was hired. Valence (answer A) refers to a worker’s beliefs about the value of the rewards he/she receives. Expectancy (answer D) refers to a worker’s belief that effort will lead to successful job performance. And predictability (answer C) is not one of the determinants of motivation identified by expectancy theory.
Research on the serial position effect suggests that the primacy effect is due to:
A. latent learning.
B. retroactive interference.
C. continued rehearsal of information in working memory.
D. transfer of information from short- to long-term memory.
D. transfer of information from short- to long-term memory.
EPPP-P6-LEA-Memory and Forgetting-009 Answer D is correct. The serial position effect occurs when a person is asked to memorize a list of unrelated words and then asked to recall as many words as possible in any order either immediately or after a brief delay. Research on the serial position effect suggests that the ability to recall items from the beginning of the list of words (primacy effect) is due to the transfer of the words from short- to long-term memory, while the ability to recall items from the end of the list (recency effect) is due to the fact that the words are still present in short-term memory.
When using competency modeling, the process of identifying core competencies begins with specifying:
A. which employees will act as models and trainers.
B. the job’s most important duties and tasks.
C. the organization’s primary values, goals, and strategies.
D. the skills and behaviors that are required for successful job performance.
C. the organization’s primary values, goals, and strategies.
EPPP-P6-ORG-Job Analysis and Performance Assessment-008 Answer C is correct. Competency modeling is similar to job analysis but focuses on the core competencies that are required to successfully perform all jobs or a subset of jobs within an organization and are linked to the organization’s values, goals and strategies. Therefore, specifying these values, goals, and strategies is an initial step when using competency modeling.
Which of the following best describes ethical requirements regarding the use of deception in research studies that may subject participants to pain?
A. Deception is never acceptable when a study’s procedures may cause participants physical pain.
B. Deception is never acceptable when a study’s procedures may cause participants physical pain or severe emotional distress.
C. Deception may be acceptable when a study’s procedures may cause participants pain when the deception is justified by the study’s prospective value.
D. Deception may be acceptable when a study’s procedures may cause participants pain when the deception is justified by the study’s prospective value and alternative procedures are unavailable.
B. Deception is never acceptable when a study’s procedures may cause participants physical pain or severe emotional distress.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 7 & 8-006 Answer B is correct. This situation is covered in Standard 8.07(b) of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standards I.20 and III.23 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 8.07(b) states that “psychologists do not deceive prospective participants about research that is reasonably expected to cause physical pain or severe emotional distress.”
A psychology intern has just started his geriatric rotation at a state hospital. After two weeks, he tells his supervisor that he’s having trouble with this rotation because his grandmother just received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and most of the patients he’s seeing have the same diagnosis. The supervisor has noticed that the intern’s performance in the geriatric rotation is not up to his excellent performance in his other rotations. The best course of action for the supervisor is to:
A. transfer the intern to another rotation.
B. recommend that the intern start psychotherapy to deal with his grandmother’s diagnosis.
C. tell the intern that his internship will have to be suspended if he’s unable to complete this rotation.
D. tell the intern that this rotation will provide him with opportunities to learn to deal with the difficult situations he’ll likely encounter during his career.
A. transfer the intern to another rotation.
EPPP-P6-ETH-Professional Issues-015 Answer A is correct. Of the answers given, this is the best choice because the intern’s problems are limited to a specific rotation and are probably time-limited since he’s reacting to his grandmother’s recent diagnosis. Although the intern may want to seek therapy to help deal with his grandmother’s diagnosis (answer B), this isn’t the best answer because it doesn’t address the intern’s current ability to provide patients with Alzheimer’s disease with appropriate services.
The most common genetic cause of intellectual disability is:
A. phenylketonuria.
B. Tay Sachs disease.
C. fragile X syndrome.
D. Down syndrome.
D. Down syndrome.
EPPP-P6-PPA-Neurodevelopmental Disorders-015 Answer D is correct. Genetic causes account for about 45% of all cases of intellectual disability with an identifiable cause and include chromosomal abnormalities, single gene disorders, mitochondrial disorders, and multifactorial disorders that involve an interaction between the environment and the actions of multiple genes. Down syndrome is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability and is due to a chromosomal abnormality. Fragile X syndrome is the second most common genetic cause and is an abnormality on a single gene. Note that, if the question asked which disorder is the most common inherited genetic cause of intellectual disability, fragile X syndrome (answer C) would be the correct answer because Down syndrome is not inherited. Phenylketonuria (answer A) is a rare inherited disorder which, if untreated, can cause intellectual disability and a number of serious health problems. Tay Sachs disease is also a rare inherited disorder. Its symptoms include loss of motor skills, vision and hearing loss, seizures, and delays in mental and social development. See, e.g., M. L. Batshaw, N. J. Roizen, and G. R. Lotrecchiano, Children with disabilities: A medical primer (7th ed.), Baltimore, Brookes, 2013.
Which of the following illustrates the actor-observer bias?
A. Your boss usually ignores your good performance but constantly brags about his own good performance.
B. A co-worker usually attributes good things that happen to her to her own effort but good things that happen to other people to “good luck.”
C. A friend tends to attribute his own behaviors to situational factors but the behaviors of other people to dispositional factors.
D. Your neighbor tends to attribute her own behaviors to specific factors but the behaviors of other people to global factors.
C. A friend tends to attribute his own behaviors to situational factors but the behaviors of other people to dispositional factors.
EPPP-P6-SOC-Social Cognition – Causal Attributions-001 Answer C is correct. The actor-observer bias is an attributional bias and refers to the tendency to attribute our own behaviors to situational (external) factors and the behavior of other people to dispositional (internal) factors.
The validity of a job performance measure is affected by _______________ when a supervisor’s knowledge of an employee’s performance on the selection tests used to hire the employee 12 months ago affects how the supervisor rates the employee on the measure of job performance.
A. criterion deficiency
B. criterion contamination
C. the illusory correlation
D. the similarity bias
B. criterion contamination
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ORG-Job Analysis and Performance Assessment-001 Answer B is correct. Criterion contamination occurs when ratings on a criterion (performance) measure are affected by factors unrelated to the individual’s actual performance – for example, when a supervisor’s performance ratings for an employee are affected by the rater’s knowledge of how well the employee did on the selection tests that were used to hire the employee.
In the context of classical conditioning, latent inhibition is due to which of the following?
A. blocking
B. overshadowing
C. CS preexposure
D. US preexposure
C. CS preexposure
EPPP-P6-LEA-Classical Conditioning-013 Answer C is correct. Latent inhibition occurs when pre-exposure to the intended CS alone on multiple occasions prior to conditioning trials reduces the likelihood that the intended CS will actually become a CS and elicit a CR after it’s subsequently paired with the US. In other words, preexposure to the intended CS alone inhibits or disrupts learning the association between the intended CS and the US.
Ten-year-old Tyler was brought to therapy by his mother at the recommendation of the school counselor who’s concerned about the recent decline in Tyler’s grades and increasing oppositional behavior toward his teachers. After Tyler’s fourth therapy session, you receive a letter from the counselor asking about the progress of Tyler’s therapy. The counselor’s letter is accompanied by an authorization to release information signed by Tyler’s mother. To be consistent with ethical requirements, you should:
A. send the requested information to the counselor.
B. send the requested information to the counselor only if she’s a licensed mental health professional.
C. send the counselor only information you believe is relevant to Tyler’s problems at school.
D. discuss this issue with Tyler and his mother before you send any information to the counselor.
C. send the counselor only information you believe is relevant to Tyler’s problems at school.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-003 Answer C is correct. This answer is most consistent with Standard 4.04(a) of the APA’s Ethics Code, which requires psychologists to “include in written and oral reports and consultations only information germane to the purpose for which the communication is made.” It’s also consistent with the requirements of Standards I.37 and I.45 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Because Tyler’s mother has signed an authorization to release information, it would be acceptable to provide the counselor with information relevant to Tyler’s problems at school.
Which of the following best describes the results of research investigating the effects of treatments for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on children’s neurocognitive functioning?
A. Only chemotherapy is associated with deficits in neurocognitive functioning.
B. Only cranial irradiation is associated with deficits in neurocognitive functioning.
C. Chemotherapy and cranial irradiation are both associated with deficits in neurocognitive functioning.
D. Neither chemotherapy nor cranial irradiation are associated with deficits in neurocognitive functioning.
C. Chemotherapy and cranial irradiation are both associated with deficits in neurocognitive functioning.
EPPP-P6-LIF-Cognitive Development-012 Answer C is correct. Research has found that, when used to treat ALL, chemotherapy and cranial irradiation are both associated with subsequent neurocognitive deficits and problems related to academic achievement [e.g., A. Kingma, L. A. Rammeloo, A. van Der Does-van den Berg, L. Rekers-Mombarg, and A. Postma. Academic career after treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Archives of disease in childhood, 82(5), 353–357, 2000]. Note that this is an example of the very difficult questions you’ll encounter on the exam. Fortunately, there won’t be very many of these and, when you encounter them, you won’t want to spend too much time trying to determine the correct answer if you’re unfamiliar with what is being asked about.
Which of the following is considered the most effective way to transfer new information from short- to long-term memory?
A. verbal mnemonics
B. visual imagery mnemonics
C. elaborative rehearsal
D. maintenance rehearsal
C. elaborative rehearsal
EPPP-P6-LEA-Memory and Forgetting-010 Answer C is correct. Elaborative rehearsal involves making new information meaningful by, for example, relating it to something you already know or generating personally meaningful examples. Of the memory techniques, it’s considered the best way to ensure that new information is transferred to and can be retrieved from long-term memory.
Emiko E. was a client of Dr. Beck for seven months. She ended therapy with Dr. Beck four months ago but calls to request an appointment because she’s feeling very anxious and depressed and has started thinking about killing herself. For the past three months, Dr. Beck has been reducing his practice by referring current clients to other therapists and not accepting new clients because he and his wife are planning to move to another state to be closer to their adult son and his family. The best course of action for Dr. Beck is to:
A. explain to Emiko that he’s no longer accepting clients and provide her with a referral to a colleague.
B. explain to Emiko that he’s no longer accepting clients and provide her with a referral to a colleague and tell her he’s willing to consult with the new therapist.
C. agree to see Emiko in therapy until her crisis has passed and then provide her with a referral to a colleague if she needs additional therapy sessions.
D. tell Emiko to have a friend or family member take her to the hospital if she starts feeling that she can’t control the impulse to kill herself.
C. agree to see Emiko in therapy until her crisis has passed and then provide her with a referral to a colleague if she needs additional therapy sessions.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 9 & 10-027 Answer C is correct. This situation is not directly addressed in ethical guidelines. However, this answer is most consistent with the “spirit” of the guidelines because it’s the response that best addresses Emiko’s welfare (see, e.g., Standard 10.09 of the APA’s Ethics Code and Principle II.35 of the Canadian Code of Ethics). Answers A and B are not the best answers because Emiko seems to need immediate assistance due to her suicidal ideation, and starting therapy with a new therapist (who may not be able to see her right away) would not be adequate. And answer D is not the best answer because Emiko may or may not be capable of or motivated to follow through on the suggestion to have someone take her to the hospital if she starts feeling like she can’t control the impulse to attempt suicide.
The size of the standard error of the mean increases as:
A. the population standard deviation increases and the sample size decreases.
B. the population standard deviation decreases and the sample size increases.
C. the population standard deviation and the sample mean both decrease.
D. the population standard deviation and the sample mean both increase.
A. the population standard deviation increases and the sample size decreases.
EPPP-P6-RMS-Overview of Inferential Statistics-002 Answer A is correct. The standard error of the mean is the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the mean and is calculated by dividing the population standard deviation by the square root of the sample size. Consequently, as the population standard deviation (the numerator) increases and the sample size (the denominator) decreases, the standard error of the mean increases.
Practitioners of Glasser’s (1998) reality therapy are most likely to agree that the primary source of human motivation is which of the following?
A. basic innate needs
B. striving for superiority
C. an innate self-actualizing tendency
D. future goals
A. basic innate needs
EPPP-P6-CLI-Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies-001 Answer A is correct. Glasser proposed that five basic innate needs act as the primary sources of motivation: survival, freedom, love and belonging, power, and fun.
A researcher would use the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to analyze the data she has collected to:
A. statistically remove the effects of one or more extraneous variables on one or more dependent variables.
B. statistically analyze the main and interaction effects of an extraneous variable on one dependent variable.
C. analyze the main and interaction effects of one or more independent variables on one dependent variable.
D. simultaneously analyze the effects of one or more independent variables on two or more dependent variables.
D. simultaneously analyze the effects of one or more independent variables on two or more dependent variables.
EPPP-P6-RMS-Inferential Statistical Tests-003 Answer D is correct. The MANOVA is used to simultaneously analyze the effects of one or more independent variables on two or more dependent variables that are each measured on an interval or ratio scale.
With regard to ethical requirements, which of the following is true about withholding a therapy client’s record for nonpayment of fees?
A. Withholding a client’s record for nonpayment of fees is always unethical when it’s needed for the client’s treatment.
B. Withholding a client’s record for nonpayment of fees is always unethical when it’s needed for the client’s emergency treatment.
C. Withholding a client’s record for nonpayment of fees is ethical only when the client has not responded to multiple requests for payment.
D. Withholding a client’s record for nonpayment of fees is ethical only when the client had been informed of this practice during the informed consent process.
B. Withholding a client’s record for nonpayment of fees is always unethical when it’s needed for the client’s emergency treatment.
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 5 & 6-005 Answer B is correct. This answer is most consistent with Standard 6.03 of the APA’s Ethics Code. It states that “psychologists may not withhold records under their control that are requested and needed for a client’s/patient’s emergency treatment solely because payment has not been received.” This answer is also consistent with the Preamble and Standards II.1 and II.2 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. (Note that withholding client records for nonpayment of fees in any situation may be illegal or inconsistent with laws or institutional regulations, but this question is asking specifically about ethical requirements.)
Erikson described which of his stages of development as a period of psychosocial moratorium?
A. autonomy vs. shame and doubt
B. identity vs. role confusion
C. industry vs. inferiority
D. generativity vs. stagnation
B. identity vs. role confusion
EPPP-P6-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Temperament and Personality-023 Answer B is correct. Erikson (1963) identified moratorium as a characteristic of his identity vs. role confusion stage of development and described it as follows: “The adolescent mind is essentially the mind of the moratorium, a psychosocial stage between childhood and adulthood, between the morality learned by the child, and the ethics to be developed by the adult” [E. H. Erikson, Childhood and society (2nd ed.), New York, Norton, 1963, p. 263]. If you’re unfamiliar with Erikson’s use of the term, knowing that Marcia (1966) expanded Erikson’s ideas about adolescent identity to describe four identity statuses (moratorium, diffusion, foreclosure, and achievement) would have helped you identify the correct answer to this question.
Research investigating the outcomes of the compressed workweek has found that it:
A. has a strong positive effect on job productivity, satisfaction, and absenteeism.
B. has a strong positive effect on job productivity and absenteeism but a weaker effect on job satisfaction.
C. has a strong positive effect on job satisfaction, a weaker positive effect on job productivity, and an unclear effect on absenteeism.
D. has a strong positive effect on job productivity, a weaker positive effect on job satisfaction, and an unclear effect on absenteeism.
C. has a strong positive effect on job satisfaction, a weaker positive effect on job productivity, and an unclear effect on absenteeism.
EPPP-P6-ORG-Organizational Change and Development-010 Answer C is correct. The research results are not entirely consistent, but the best conclusion is that the compressed workweek has a strong positive effect on job satisfaction, a positive but weaker effect on job productivity, and unclear effects on absenteeism.
Informational influence is usually stronger than normative influence when the task is:
A. unambiguous and difficult.
B. ambiguous and difficult.
C. unambiguous and easy.
D. ambiguous and easy.
B. ambiguous and difficult.
EPPP-P6-SOC-Social Influence – Types of Influence-006 Answer B is correct. Informational influence occurs when people conform to the judgments of others because they think others know more than they do and, consequently, is stronger than normative influence when the task is ambiguous and difficult.
Dyslexia is the most common reading disorder and, of the types of dyslexia, _______ is most common.
A. surface dyslexia
B. deep dyslexia
C. phonological dyslexia
D. pure alexia
C. phonological dyslexia
EPPP-P6-PPA-Neurodevelopmental Disorders-027 Answer C is correct. There are several types of dyslexia, and different experts use different names for them. The three types listed in answers A, B, and C are developmental forms of dyslexia. Phonological dyslexia is the most common type and is also known as dysphonic, dysphonetic, and auditory dyslexia. People with phonological dyslexia cannot sound out words very well and, as a result, have trouble pronouncing new words and pseudowords. Individuals with surface dyslexia have trouble reading words that have irregular pronunciations (e.g., chalk, steak); and individuals with deep dyslexia have trouble with function words (e.g., read “at” for “in”), and they often substitute words that have similar meanings or are related in some other way to the printed word (e.g., read “man” for “boy” and “comb” for “brush”). Alexia is an acquired type of reading disorder that’s caused by brain pathology. It’s also known as acquired dyslexia and is characterized by an inability to read normally (e.g., to read very slowly) and to understand written language.
Which of the following theories proposes (a) that emotions are due to a combination of physiological arousal in response to an external event and cognitive attributions for that arousal and (b) that physiological arousal is similar for all emotions and that differences in the experience of emotions is due to differences in the attributions.
A. James-Lange
B. Schachter-Singer
C. Cannon-Bard
D. Lazarus-Papez
B. Schachter-Singer
EPPP-P6-PHY-Emotions and Stress-010 Answer B is correct. According to Schachter and Singer’s cognitive arousal theory (also known as two-factor theory), the experience of emotion is the result of physiological arousal elicited by an event followed by an attribution (“cognitive label”) for that arousal. The James-Lange theory (answer A) proposes that exposure to an event causes a physiological reaction that, in turn, is perceived as an emotion and that the physiological states associated with different emotions are distinct from one another. Like the Schachter-Singer theory, Cannon-Bard theory (answer C) views all emotions as involving similar physiological arousal, but it proposes that the physiological reaction and subjective emotional reaction to an event occur simultaneously and independently. There is no Lazarus-Papez theory (answer D), but Lazarus developed the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion which predicts that physiological arousal follows the cognitive appraisal of an event and Papez was among the first to link emotions to specific areas of the brain.
Family-based treatment for bulimia (FB-BN) and anorexia (FB-AN) are similar, but one important difference is that FB-BN:
A. focuses less on the affected adolescent’s psychiatric comorbidity.
B. involves greater collaboration between parents and the affected adolescent.
C. focuses more on challenging the cognitive distortions that are contributing to the affected adolescent’s symptoms.
D. involves greater emphasis on the acquisition of radical acceptance and other distress tolerance skills by the affected adolescent.
B. involves greater collaboration between parents and the affected adolescent.
EPPP-P6-PPA-Feeding/Eating and Sleep-Wake Disorders–006 Answer B is correct. FB-BN and FB-AN differ somewhat in terms of procedures. For example, FB-BN involves greater collaboration between parents and the affected adolescent in the initial stages of therapy because, in contrast to adolescents with anorexia, those with bulimia often experience their symptoms as distressing and ego-dystonic and, as a result, are more motivated to change. Answer A is incorrect because psychiatric comorbidity rates are higher for bulimia than anorexia and must be addressed to ensure that comorbid symptoms do not interfere with the treatment of bulimia. Answer C is incorrect because challenging cognitive distortions is not a focus of either FB-BN or FB-AN. Answer D is incorrect because skills are addressed in FB-BN and FB-AN, but the focus is on communication, problem-solving, and relapse prevention skills. Although tolerating distress may be addressed, it is not emphasized more in FB-BN than in FB-AN. In addition, helping clients acquire radical acceptance and other distress tolerance skills is a primary focus of dialectical behavior therapy.
The first-line treatment for female orgasmic disorder (FOD) is generally considered to be which of the following?
A. orgasmic reconditioning
B. relaxation training
C. Kegel exercises
D. directed masturbation
D. directed masturbation
EPPP-P6-PPA-Sexual Dysfunctions, Gender Dysphoria, and Paraphilic Disorders–004 Answer D is correct. Behavioral and cognitive-behavioral techniques have been found effective for treating FOD. Of these, directed masturbation is the most empirically supported technique (especially for lifelong FOD) and is considered to be the first-line treatment for this disorder.
Which of the following is considered the most effective medication for treatment-resistant schizophrenia?
A. risperidone
B. chlorpromazine
C. clozapine
D. haloperidol
C. clozapine
EPPP-P6-PPA-Schizophrenia Spectrum/Other Psychotic Disorders–026 Answer C is correct. Clozapine is a second-generation antipsychotic that has been found to be the most effective antipsychotic for treatment-resistant (refractory) schizophrenia. As defined in the American Psychiatric Association’s Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Patients with Schizophrenia, treatment-resistant schizophrenia occurs when “a patient’s symptoms have shown no response or partial or suboptimal response to two antipsychotic medication trials of at least 6 weeks each at an adequate dosage of medication” (2021, p. 88).
In their study of the relationship between IQ and socioeconomic status (SES), Capron and Duyme (1989) compared the later IQ scores obtained by four groups of children who had been adopted soon after birth and whose biological parents and adoptive parents were either high or low in SES. Their study found that:
A. being adopted by high-SES parents had a positive effect on children’s IQs regardless of the SES of their biological parents, but being adopted by low-SES parents had no effect on children’s IQs regardless of the SES of their biological parents.
B. being adopted by low-SES parents had a negative effect on children’s IQs regardless of the SES of their biological parents, but being adopted by high-SES parents had no effect on children’s IQs regardless of the SES of their biological parents.
C. being adopted by high-SES parents had a positive effect on children’s IQs and being adopted by low-SES parents had a negative effect on children’s IQs regardless of the SES of their biological parents.
D. being adopted by high-SES parents had a positive effect only on the IQs of children with low-SES biological parents, and being adopted by low-SES parents had a negative effect only on the IQs of children with high-SES biological parents.
C. being adopted by high-SES parents had a positive effect on children’s IQs and being adopted by low-SES parents had a negative effect on children’s IQs regardless of the SES of their biological parents.
EPPP-P6-LIF-Early Influences on Development: Nature vs. Nurture-002 Answer C is correct. Capron and Duyme found that children born into low- or high-SES families and adopted soon after birth by high-SES families later obtained higher average IQs than children adopted by low-SES families. Conversely, children born into low- or high-SES families and adopted soon after birth by low-SES families later obtained lower average IQs than children adopted by high-SES families.
According to Cummings and Worley (2009), the primary focus during the beginning of the first phase of planned change is on:
A. identifying the causes and consequences of the organization’s problems and best practices.
B. identifying the relevant client(s) for addressing the organization’s problems.
C. specifying how the OD practitioner and client(s) will work together.
D. fostering clients’ readiness for change and overcoming any resistance to change.
B. identifying the relevant client(s) for addressing the organization’s problems.
EPPP-P6-ORG-Organizational Change and Development-025 Answer B is correct. T. G. Cummings and C. G. Worley’s (2009) general model of planned change distinguishes between the following phases: entering and contracting, diagnosing, planning and implementing change, and evaluating and institutionalizing change [Organization development and change (9th ed.), Mason, OH, South-Western Cengage Learning, 2009]. As described by these investigators, an OD practitioner’s initial tasks during the entering and contracting phase include clarifying the organization’s problems, determining the relevant clients (organizational members) for addressing the problems, and establishing a collaborative relationship with those individuals. Identifying the causes and consequences of the organization’s problems and best practices (answer A) occurs during the diagnosing phase and helps determine the most appropriate interventions. Specifying how the OD practitioner and client(s) will work together (answer C) is a final step in the contracting process, not an initial step in the entering and contracting phase. Fostering clients’ readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change (answer D) are part of the planning and implementing change phase.
Which of the following best describes the prediction of goal-setting theory about the relationship between a supervisee’s participation in goal setting and his or her commitment to goals?
A. A supervisee’s participation in setting goals is always necessary to ensure his/her acceptance of and commitment to goals.
B. A supervisee’s participation in setting goals is likely to affect his/her commitment to goals only when the supervisor has a participative leadership style.
C. A supervisee’s participation in setting goals is not always necessary for his/her commitment to goals but is important when a supervisee is not likely to accept assigned goals.
D. A supervisee’s participation in setting goals is not necessary for his/her commitment to goals unless the supervisee is low in need for achievement and is not likely to accept assigned goals.
C. A supervisee’s participation in setting goals is not always necessary for his/her commitment to goals but is important when a supervisee is not likely to accept assigned goals.
EPPP-P6-ORG-Theories of Motivation-005 Answer C is correct. Goal-setting theory predicts (a) that a supervisee’s acceptance of goals is most important for ensuring that the supervisee will be committed to achieving those goals and (b) that participation in goal-setting is not always necessary for ensuring a supervisee’s commitment to goals but is useful when the supervisee is high in need for achievement and/or is not likely to accept goals assigned by the supervisor.
A practitioner of Beck’s cognitive-behavior therapy is likely to ask clients to complete a Dysfunctional Thought Record that requires them to record negative automatic thoughts that support their presenting problems and which of the following?
A. times when they were able to suppress negative automatic thoughts
B. obstacles to changing negative automatic thoughts
C. how their negative automatic thoughts were internally and/or externally reinforced
D. rational responses to their automatic thoughts
D. rational responses to their automatic thoughts
EPPP-P6-CLI-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies-013 Answer D is correct. When using the Dysfunctional Thought Record, clients initially record each situation that preceded an unpleasant emotion, the negative automatic thought that occurred in response to the situation, and the nature of the emotion and its intensity. As therapy progresses, clients also record a rational response to each negative automatic thought and the outcomes of the rational response.
The goal of Scared Straight programs is to reduce the likelihood that juvenile offenders and youth at risk for becoming juvenile offenders will engage in future criminal behaviors by having them visit prisons and interact with adult inmates. Research evaluating the effectiveness of these programs has found that they:
A. are effective only when they rely on confrontational techniques.
B. are effective only for seriously delinquent youth.
C. decrease the likelihood that participants will engage in future criminal behaviors.
D. increase the likelihood that participants will engage in future criminal behaviors.
D. increase the likelihood that participants will engage in future criminal behaviors.
EPPP-P6-PPA-Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders-019 Answer D is correct. A. Petrosino, C. Turpin-Petrosino, M. E. Hollis-Peel, and J. G. Lavenberg’s (2013) meta-analysis of the research found that Scared Straight programs have harmful effects – i.e., they increase the likelihood that juvenile offenders and at-risk juveniles will engage in criminal behavior in the future. The analysis also found that confrontational and nonconfrontational approaches have similar negative effects and that the programs may have even worse outcomes for seriously delinquent youths (“Scared Straight” and other juvenile awareness programs for preventing juvenile delinquency, Cochrane Data Base of Systematic Reviews, Issue 4, Article No. CD002796).
Diazepam, alprazolam, and lorazepam are:
A. opioids that are used to treat chronic pain.
B. antidepressants that are used to treat atypical depression.
C. benzodiazepines that are used to treat anxiety and insomnia.
D. barbiturates that are used to treat anxiety and seizures.
C. benzodiazepines that are used to treat anxiety and insomnia.
EPPP-P6-PHY-Psychopharmacology – Other Psychoactive Drugs-016 Answer C is correct. Diazepan (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), and lorazepam (Ativan) are benzodiazepines and are one type of sedative-hypnotics (barbiturates are another type). The benzodiazepines increase GABA activity and are used to treat anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and alcohol withdrawal.
Mirror self-recognition has been identified as a prerequisite for the emergence of the initial secondary emotions which include:
A. shame and disgust.
B. fear and surprise.
C. embarrassment and envy.
D. joy and anger.
C. embarrassment and envy.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Temperament and Personality-021 Answer C is correct. Children’s early emotions can be divided into two types: Primary emotions include joy, surprise, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger and are apparent before 6 months of age. Secondary emotions are also referred to as self-conscious emotions and include embarrassment, envy, empathy, pride, shame, and guilt. Secondary emotions do not appear until after a child develops self-awareness, which occurs at about 18 months of age and can be assessed with the mirror self-recognition test. Of the secondary emotions, embarrassment, envy, and empathy occur first at about 18 to 24 months of age and are followed by pride, shame, and guilt at 30 to 36 months of age.
A meta-analysis of 17 investigations using neuroimaging to study the brain activity of individuals with major depressive disorder before and after psychotherapy suggested that therapy caused changes in emotional processing areas of the brain. Specifically, the analysis indicated that therapy decreased activity in the left precentral gyrus and increased activity in the:
A. substantia nigra.
B. cingulate cortex.
C. hypothalamus.
D. thalamus.
B. cingulate cortex.
EPPP-P6-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Subcortical Forebrain Structures-025 Answer B is correct. This is a difficult question. However, even if you’re not familiar with the meta-analysis being asked about, you may have been able to identify the correct answer if you know that the cingulate cortex has been linked to depression or, if not, know that the cingulate cortex is part of the limbic system and, therefore, seems like it would be accurate to describe it as an emotional processing area of the brain. The study referred to in this question found that, following cognitive-behavior therapy, patients with major depressive disorder showed decreased activation in the left precentral gyrus (an area in the prefrontal cortex) and, following cognitive-behavior therapy or psychodynamic psychotherapy, increased activation in the left rostral anterior cingulate cortex (A. Sankar, A. Melin, V. Lorenzetti, P. Horton, S. G. Costafreda, and C. H. Y. Fu, A systematic review and meta-analysis of the neural correlates of psychological therapies in major depression, Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 30, 31-39, 2018).
The initial stage of most racial/ethnic identity development models is characterized by which of the following?
A. curiosity about one’s own racial/ethnic identity
B. disinterest in or rejection of one’s own racial/ethnic identity
C. dissatisfaction with contradictions in one’s own attitudes toward race/ethnicity
D. sudden awareness of the nature of race/ethnic relations in society
B. disinterest in or rejection of one’s own racial/ethnic identity
EPPP-P6-CLI-Cross-Cultural Issues – Identity Development Models-018 Answer B is correct. The models of racial/ethnic identity development differ somewhat with regard to the nature of each stage. However, for most models, the initial stage is characterized by the person’s lack of acceptance and/or awareness of his/her own culture as an element of his/her identity. You may have been able to identify the correct answer to this question even if you’re familiar with only one or two models. For example, the first stage in Atkinson, Morten, and Sue’s (1998) Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model is the conformity stage. During this stage, individuals have either neutral or negative attitudes toward members of their own minority group and other minority groups and positive attitudes toward members of the majority group.
People who struggle with pragmatic language often have difficulty:
A. combining words into sentences.
B. understanding humor and sarcasm.
C. asking and answering questions.
D. understanding the literal meanings of words and sentences.
B. understanding humor and sarcasm.
EPPP-P6-LIF-Language Development-025 Answer B is correct. Pragmatics refers to the understanding and use of verbal and nonverbal language in different social contexts. Among other difficulties, people who struggle with pragmatic language often have trouble understanding idioms, metaphors, humor, sarcasm, and other non-literal language.
Of the following, Bowlby’s theory of attachment was most influenced by:
A. learning theory.
B. ecological systems theory.
C. excitation-transfer theory.
D. ethological theory.
D. ethological theory.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Attachment, Emotions, and Social Relationships-010 Answer D is correct. Bowlby’s attachment theory was influenced by the work of Lorenz, Harlow, and other ethologists who studied animal behaviors in natural environments and viewed behavior as evolutionarily adaptive. In contrast to learning theories (answer A) that describe attachment as a learned behavior acquired through classical and/or operant conditioning, Bowlby proposed that caregiver-infant attachment is an innate, adaptive process that helps ensure the survival of the infant.
Which of the following areas of the brain has been identified as “ground zero” for Alzheimer’s disease?
A. amygdala
B. thalamus
C. locus coeruleus
D. corpus callosum
C. locus coeruleus
EPPP-P6-PPA-Neurocognitive Disorders-029 Answer C is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question, you have to know that the term “ground zero” is used to refer to the starting point of an event and that the locus coeruleus (an area in the brain stem) has been identified as the first area of the brain to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease (Mather & Harley, 2016). As the disorder progresses, many other areas of the brain are affected including the amygdala, thalamus, and corpus callosum.
__________ spend the greatest proportion of their sleep time in REM sleep.
A. Infants
B. Children
C. Adolescents
D. Older adults
A. Infants
EPPP-P6-PHY-Memory and Sleep-018 Answer A is correct. Infants spend about 16 to 20 hours each day sleeping, with about 50% of this time in REM sleep. The proportion of REM sleep drops to about 25% by age five and continues at that level during the rest of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood [D. M. Kaufman, H. L. Geyer, and M. J. Milstein, Kaufman’s clinical neurology for psychiatrists (8th ed.), Philadelphia, Elsevier, 2017].
When scoring and interpreting the Rorschach test, form quality provides information on which of the following?
A. what in the inkblot determined the examinee’s response
B. the extent to which the examinee’s response matches the stimulus properties of the inkblot
C. the category to which the examinee’s response belongs
D. the extent to which the examinee’s response is similar to responses given by other examinees
B. the extent to which the examinee’s response matches the stimulus properties of the inkblot
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PAS-Other Measures of Personality-009 Answer B is correct. Form quality is a measure of perceptual accuracy and indicates the extent to which the examinee’s response corresponds to the actual shape of the inkblot. Determinants indicates the characteristic(s) of the inkblot (e.g., form or color) that determined the examinee’s response (answer A). Content indicates the category (e.g., whole human, human detail, whole animal, animal detail, landscape, food) to which the examinee’s response belongs (answer C). And popularity indicates the extent to which the examinee’s response is similar to responses given by other examinees (answer D).
Hackman and Oldham’s (1980) job characteristics model predicts that designing a job so it provides employees with five core job characteristics will have the greatest positive impact on employees who are:
A. low in self-monitoring.
B. high in self-monitoring.
C. low in growth-need strength.
D. high in growth-need strength.
D. high in growth-need strength.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ORG-Theories of Motivation-021 Answer D is correct. According to Hackman and Oldham, the effects of the five core job characteristics on job outcomes are moderated by an employee’s growth-need strength: Workers with high growth-need strength (those who seek to fulfill higher-order needs) are more likely than those with low growth-need strength to be positively affected by a job that provides the five core characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback). Self-monitoring (answers A and B) is not identified by Hackman and Oldham as a characteristic related to their job characteristics model. It refers to the extent to which people rely on internal or external cues to guide their behaviors: People low in self-monitoring rely on their own attitudes, beliefs, and feelings to determine how to act in social situations and, therefore, act similarly in different social situations. In contrast, people who are high in self-monitoring are concerned about the impressions that others have of them and adapt their actions to fit the emotions and behaviors of other people. As a result, they may act differently in different social situations.
Interest inventories are least useful for predicting which of the following?
A. job choice
B. job satisfaction
C. job performance
D. job persistence
C. job performance
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PAS-Interest Inventories-012 Answer C is correct. Research evaluating the validity of interest inventories has found that they are good predictors of job choice, satisfaction, and persistence. However, they are less valid than intelligence tests for predicting academic and job performance, apparently because performance depends more on ability than interests.
Research comparing patients with schizophrenia living in Western industrialized countries and non-Western developing countries has found that these patients differ in terms of which of the following?
A. onset and course of the disorder and rate of remission
B. onset and course of the disorder but not rate of remission
C. rate of remission only
D. course of the disorder only
A. onset and course of the disorder and rate of remission
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PPA-Schizophrenia Spectrum/Other Psychotic Disorders-017 Answer A is correct. Studies of patients who have received a diagnosis of schizophrenia have found that patients residing in non-Western developing countries are more likely than those residing in Western industrialized countries to experience an acute onset of symptoms, a shorter course of the disorder, and a higher rate of remission (e.g., Hopper & Wanderling, 2000).
When acquiring new knowledge or a new skill, overlearning is particularly important:
A. for tasks that do not provide performance feedback.
B. for tasks that will be performed frequently.
C. when the training task has low fidelity.
D. when performance errors are likely to be costly.
D. when performance errors are likely to be costly.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ORG-Training Methods and Evaluation-009 Answer D is correct. Overlearning is learning or practicing a task beyond the point of mastery, and it produces automaticity, which occurs when information is recalled or a behavior is performed with little conscious effort or awareness. It’s particularly important when the task will be performed infrequently or when performance errors are costly in terms of safety or other factors (e.g., for responses to emergencies).
An initial goal in structural family therapy is most likely to be which of the following?
A. increasing the strength of diffuse boundaries or the flexibility of rigid boundaries
B. increasing the differentiation of all family members
C. helping family members perceive their problems in alternative ways
D. replacing problem-saturated stories with alternative, more satisfying ones.
A. increasing the strength of diffuse boundaries or the flexibility of rigid boundaries
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Family Therapies and Group Therapies-026 Answer A is correct. The primary goal of structural family therapy is to resolve the family’s presenting problem by altering the family’s structure. An initial step is to achieve agreement between the therapist and family members that the goal of therapy is to eliminate the problem, which is followed by the use of strategies that alter the structural elements that are maintaining the problem. Depending on the nature of the problem, this may include using strategies that create clear boundaries between family members and subsystems by increasing the strength of diffuse boundaries or the flexibility of rigid boundaries. Increasing the differentiation of all family members (answer B) is a goal of extended family systems therapy. Helping family members perceive their problems in alternative ways (answer C) is a goal of Milan systemic family therapy. Replacing problem-saturated stories with alternative, more satisfying ones (answer D) is the primary goal of narrative family therapy.
The best conclusion that can be drawn from research on the impact of age and gender on psychotherapy outcomes is that:
A. age and gender both have a significant impact on psychotherapy outcomes with older women having the best outcomes.
B. gender has little or no impact on psychotherapy outcomes but age has a significant impact with older men and women having better outcomes than younger men and women.
C. age has little or no impact on psychotherapy outcomes, but gender has a significant impact with men having the best outcomes.
D. age and gender have little or no consistent impact on psychotherapy outcomes.
D. age and gender have little or no consistent impact on psychotherapy outcomes.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-CLI-Prevention, Consultation, and Psychotherapy Research-023 Answer D is correct. Studies investigating the effects of age and gender on psychotherapy outcomes have not produced entirely consistent results, but the best overall conclusion is that age and gender have little or no impact on outcomes and that apparent differences are actually due to other factors. For example, one study found that, when the initial severity of symptoms was controlled, the age of clients explained essentially none of the variance in psychotherapy outcomes. See, e.g., J. F. Boswell, M. J. Constantino, and L. M. Anderson, Potential obstacles to treatment success in adults: Client characteristics, in S. Maltzman (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of treatment processes and outcomes in psychology: A multidisciplinary biopsychosocial approach (pp. 183-205), New York, Oxford University Press , 2016.
According to Hans Selye, exposure to stress triggers three predictable stages, which he named the general adaptation syndrome (GAS). During the __________ stage, the hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system and stimulates the adrenal medulla to release epinephrine and norepinephrine and the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).
A. resolution
B. exhaustion
C. alarm reaction
D. resistance
C. alarm reaction
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ORG-Satisfaction, Commitment, and Stress-006 Answer C is correct. Selye’s general adaptation syndrome consists of three stages: alarm reaction, resistance, and exhaustion. During the initial alarm reaction stage, the hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system and stimulates (a) the adrenal medulla to release epinephrine and norepinephrine and (b) the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which, in turn, stimulates the adrenal cortex to release cortisol. Elevated levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol cause the physical changes that allow the body to response to a stressor with a fight-or-flight response.
Medical malpractice is an unintentional tort that involves which of the following?
A. conversion
B. intentional infliction of emotional distress
C. negligence
D. fraud/deceit
C. negligence
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 5 & 6-022 Answer C is correct. A tort is a civil wrongdoing that results from a negligent breach of duty that results in injury or harm to a patient. Torts can be intentional or unintentional. Conversion (theft of or damage to personal property), infliction of emotional distress, and fraud/deceit are types of intentional torts. Unintentional torts (e.g., malpractice) involve negligence and are also known as negligence torts. Being familiar with the four conditions required for a claim of malpractice would have helped you identify the correct answer to this question: (a) The psychologist must have had a professional relationship with the patient that established the psychologist’s duty to conform to a professional standard of care. (b) There was a breach of the duty (i.e., negligence) on the part of the psychologist. (c) The patient suffered injury or harm as a result of this breach. (d) The psychologist’s breach of duty was the direct or proximate cause of the patient’s harm or injury.
When the dendrites of a neuron receive sufficient stimulation from other neurons:
A. polarization occurs as positively charged sodium ions enter the neuron.
B. depolarization occurs as positively charged sodium ions enter the neuron.
C. polarization occurs as negatively charged sodium ions enter the neuron.
D. depolarization occurs as negatively charged sodium ions enter the neuron.
B. depolarization occurs as positively charged sodium ions enter the neuron.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P6-PHY-Nervous System, Neurons, and Neurotransmitters-023 Answer B is correct. In its resting state, the fluid inside a neuron is negatively charged relative to fluid outside the neuron. However, when the dendrites of a neuron are sufficiently stimulated, channels in the membrane of the neuron open, allowing positively charged sodium ions to enter the neuron, which causes it to become depolarized (less negative). When stimulation reaches a minimum threshold, complete depolarization occurs and triggers an action potential, which is an electrical impulse that travels through the neuron. After an action potential occurs, the neuron returns to its resting state.
