EPPP Important Qs Flashcards
Which of the following terms is used to describe the tendency of children and adolescents to seek experiences that reinforce their genetic predispositions?
A. range of reaction
B. canalization
C. adaptation
D. niche-picking
Correct answer
D. niche-picking
Explanation
S. Scarr and K. McCartney described three types of genetic-environment interactions. One of these is niche-picking, which refers to the tendency of children and adolescents to seek experiences and environments that complement and reinforce their genetic predispositions (How people make their own environments: A theory of genotype-environment effects, Child Development, 54, 424-435, 1983).
To assign the DSM-5 diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder, the individual must be at least _____ years of age or at an equivalent developmental level.
A. three
B. six
C. nine
D. twelve
The DSM-5 diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder cannot be assigned to individuals under the chronological age of six years or the equivalent developmental level.
A meta-analysis of the research led Rhodes and Wood (1992) to conclude that _______________ are associated with the greatest susceptibility to persuasion.
A. low levels of both self-esteem and intelligence
B. moderate levels of both self-esteem and intelligence
C. low levels of self-esteem and moderate levels of intelligence
D. moderate levels of self-esteem and low levels of intelligence
Correct answer
D. moderate levels of self-esteem and low levels of intelligence
Explanation
. Rhodes and Wood found an inverted U-shaped relationship between self-esteem and influenceability with moderate levels of self-esteem being associated with the greatest susceptibility to influence. In contrast, they found a linear relationship between intelligence and influenceability, with lower levels of intelligence being associated with greater influenceability.
An organizational psychologist familiar with goal-setting theory is likely to tell a supervisor that having supervisees participate in setting their own performance goals will produce goals that are:
A. less realistic than the goals the supervisor would set alone.
B. the same in terms of difficulty as the goals the supervisor would set alone.
C. less difficult than the goals the supervisor would set alone.
D. more difficult than the goals the supervisor would set alone
Research on goal-setting theory has found that, when supervisees participate in setting their own performance goals, the goals tend to be more difficult than the goals the supervisor would have set alone.
The two most commonly used behavioral interventions for ____________ are the squeeze and start/stop techniques.
A. premature ejaculation
B. erectile dysfunction
C. delayed ejaculation
D. genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder
The squeeze and start/stop techniques are used to help delay ejaculation for men dealing with premature ejaculation.
Berscheid’s (1991) emotion-in-relationships model identifies which of the following as a cause of strong emotions in close relationships?
A. unexpected behaviors that interrupt usual behavioral routines
B. coercive interactions that gradually escalate over time
C. behaviors that fulfill each partner’s most prepotent needs
D. internal working models of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors
According to Berscheid’s emotion-in-relationships model, strong emotions are elicited in close relationships when a partner engages in an unexpected behavior that interrupts the couple’s usual behavioral routines. When the interruption has a desirable outcome, it elicits a positive emotional reaction; when it has an undesirable outcome, it elicits a negative emotional reaction.
A therapist instructs a woman who constantly starts arguments with her partner and hates cleaning the house to spend one hour cleaning the house every time she initiates an argument. The therapist is using which of the following techniques?
A. an ordeal
B. a ritual
C. positioning
D. prescribing the symptom
Ordeals are used by strategic family therapists to reduce or eliminate a client’s undesirable behavior by instructing the client to do an unpleasant task whenever he or she engages in that behavior. Ideally, the client will stop engaging in the undesirable behavior in order to avoid doing the unpleasant task.
The DSM-5 diagnosis of gender dysphoria requires marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and one’s assigned gender for at least:
A. 12 months for children and six months for adolescents and adults.
B. 18 months for children and 12 months for adolescents and adults.
C. 12 months for children, adolescents, and adults.
D. six months for children, adolescents, and adults.
Correct answer
D. six months for children, adolescents, and adults.
Explanation
The symptoms of gender dysphoria differ somewhat for children and adolescents/adults, but the DSM-5 requires a minimum duration of symptoms of six months regardless of the individual’s age.
You have been hired by a company to assist with its hiring process by administering, scoring, and interpreting a battery of tests to applicants for sales jobs. The director of human resources has asked you to include a personality test that you know has not been validated as a predictor of job performance for salespeople. As an ethical psychologist, you will tell the director that:
A. you cannot comply with this request.
B. you’ll administer the test but will not base your evaluation of applicants on its results.
C. you’ll have to get consent from applicants before administering the test to them.
D. the test has not been validated as a predictor of job performance but you’ll let her make the final decision about whether or not to include it in the evaluation process.
Standard 9.02(a) of the Ethics Code requires psychologists to “administer, adapt, score, interpret, or use assessment techniques, interviews, tests, or instruments in a manner and for the purposes that are appropriate in light of the research on or evidence of the usefulness and proper application of the techniques.” Since you know the personality test has not been validated as a predictor of job performance for salespeople, you would not want to use it to evaluate job applicants. This answer is also consistent with the requirements of Standards II.13, II.14, and II.18 of the Canadian Code of Ethics.
You are preparing a brochure to advertise your professional services and would like to include testimonials from satisfied clients. To be consistent with ethical requirements, you can solicit testimonials from:
A. former (but not current) clients.
B. former (but not current) clients as long as they’re not vulnerable to undue influence.
C. current and former clients as long as they’re not compensated for providing them.
D. current and former clients as long as they do not include misleading or false information about your services.
Correct answer
B. former (but not current) clients as long as they’re not vulnerable to undue influence.
Explanation
This answer is most consistent with the requirements of Standard 5.04 of the APA Ethics Code, which prohibits psychologists from soliciting testimonials from current therapy clients and others “who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence.” It is also consistent with the requirements of Standards II.18 and III.5 of the Canadian Code of Ethics.
To ensure she obtains a sufficient number of volunteers for her research, Dr. Turay offers volunteers a gift card to the local restaurant of their choice. With regard to ethical guidelines, this is:
A. unacceptable under any circumstances.
B. acceptable since the inducement is a gift card rather than cash.
C. acceptable only if volunteers can choose either cash or a gift card.
D. acceptable as long as a gift card is not likely to coerce participation.
Offering inducements to research participants is addressed in Standard 8.06 of the APA Ethics Code and Standard III.29 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 8.06 states that “psychologists make reasonable efforts to avoid offering excessive or inappropriate financial or other inducements for research participation when such inducements are likely to coerce participation.”
In a(n) ____________ interaction, one partner adopts a dominant “one-up” position while the other partner adopts a submissive “one-down” position.
A. closed
B. open
C. complementary
D. symmetrical
Correct answer
C. complementary
Explanation
Some practitioners of family therapy distinguish between complementary and symmetrical interactions. Symmetrical interactions reflect equality, while complementary interactions reflect inequality. For example, when both partners in a relationship are domineering and neither backs down during interactions, their interactions are symmetrical. In contrast when one partner is domineering and the other partner is submissive, their interactions are complementary.
When considering the optimal method of training, you would most likely choose vestibule training because:
A. it’s less costly than off-the-job training.
B. it’s useful for teaching higher-order cognitive skills.
C. it’s less dangerous than on-the-job training.
D. it allows training to be self-administered.
Correct answer
C. it’s less dangerous than on-the-job training.
Explanation
Vestibule training is a type of off-the-job training that allows trainees to acquire skills using the actual machinery or equipment they’ll use on-the-job. It’s useful when on-the-job training would be too dangerous.
Dr. Liu, a licensed psychologist, is asked to provide emergency mental health services to members of a nearby rural community that has just been devastated by a flood. Dr. Liu has never worked with victims of natural disasters, but she completed a course in crisis intervention in graduate school and there’s no one else in or near the community who has relevant experience. To be consistent with ethical requirements, Dr. Liu should:
A. decline to provide the requested services because of her lack of experience.
B. provide the requested services because no one else is available to do so.
C. provide the services only if she is able to obtain appropriate consultation while doing so.
D. provide the services only until they’re no longer needed or alternative services become available.
This answer is most consistent with Standard 2.02 of the APA Ethics Code, which states that psychologists may provide services in emergency situations when they do not have the necessary training if alternative services are unavailable and they discontinue providing the services as soon as the emergency ends or appropriate services become available. This answer is also consistent with the “spirit” of the Canadian Code of Ethics (see, e.g., Standard II.8).
A criticism of behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) is that:
A. they’re useful only for managerial-level jobs.
B. they’re time-consuming to develop.
C. they’re time-consuming to use when there are many employees to assess.
D. they focus on extreme (rather than typical) behaviors.
Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) are a type of graphic rating scale in which each point on a scale is “anchored” with a description of a specific job-related behavior. Disadvantages of BARS are that they’re time-consuming to develop and they’re job-specific, which means that different scales must be developed for different jobs.
Marsha comes to her first therapy session 10 minutes late. She’s disheveled, seems very nervous, and says she doesn’t “really want to be here” but her roommate insisted it was a good idea. When you begin taking notes, Marsha says she doesn’t want you to keep a record of her sessions. As an ethical psychologist, you should:
A. find out the reason for her request and, if it seems valid, agree not to keep a record of her sessions.
B. tell her that you’ll comply with her request for now but will probably want to discuss it again in a subsequent session.
C. discuss her concerns and tell her that you need to keep a record of her sessions and explain your reasons for doing so.
D. tell her that you need to keep a record of her sessions and reassure her that anything you include in her record will be confidential.
Correct answer
C. discuss her concerns and tell her that you need to keep a record of her sessions and explain your reasons for doing so.
Explanation
Standard 6.01 of the APA Ethics Code, APA’s Record Keeping Guidelines, and Standard II.21 of the Canadian Code of Ethics require psychologists to create and maintain adequate records. Of the answers given, this is the best one because it includes discussing the client’s concerns and informing her of the reasons why record keeping is necessary.
Glasser’s (1998) reality therapy is based on the premise that ____________ leads to the development of a failure identity.
A. a boundary disturbance
B. irresponsible behavior
C. an unresolved intrapsychic conflict
D. incongruence between self and experience
Correct answer
B. irresponsible behavior
Explanation
According to Glasser, when people satisfy their needs in a responsible way (in a way that does not interfere with the ability of other people to satisfy their needs), they have adopted a success identity. In contrast, when people are unable to fulfill their needs or do so in an irresponsible way, they have adopted a failure identity.
According to classical test theory, variability in test scores is due to a combination of:
A. true score variability and random error.
B. true score variability and systematic error.
C. observed variability and divergent error.
D. observed variability and convergent error.
Correct answer
A. true score variability and random error.
Explanation
. Classical test theory describes observed variability in test scores as being the result of a combination of true score variability (variability in what the test is measuring) and measurement error (variability due to random error).
Providing patients who have just completed substance abuse treatment with training in coping and relapse prevention skills is an example of:
A. primary prevention.
B. secondary prevention.
C. tertiary prevention.
D. quaternary prevention.
Correct answer
C. tertiary prevention.
Explanation
Prevention programs are often classified as primary, secondary, or tertiary. Tertiary preventions are aimed at reducing the severity or duration of a disorder and/or reducing the risk for relapse.
A psychologist is engaged in consultee-centered case consultation when he:
A. helps a recently licensed psychotherapist derive a diagnosis and treatment plan for a new client who has symptoms of multiple disorders.
B. helps a recently licensed psychotherapist acquire the knowledge and skills she needs to work with clients from a cultural group she has not worked with before.
C. works collaboratively with a colleague to develop a relapse prevention program for patients receiving treatment at a community mental health clinic.
D. works collaboratively with a team of educational and mental health experts to determine if students qualify for special education.
Correct answer
B. helps a recently licensed psychotherapist acquire the knowledge and skills she needs to work with clients from a cultural group she has not worked with before.
Explanation
As its name suggests, the focus of consultee-centered case consultation is on the consultee (rather than on a client or program) and involves helping a therapist, teacher, or other consultee acquire the knowledge, skills, or objectivity needed to effectively perform his/her professional duties.
When an occupational interest test provides ipsative scores, this means that an examinee’s scores indicate:
A. the degree of consistency of his/her interests.
B. his/her likelihood of success in different occupations.
C. the relative strength of each occupational interest assessed by the test.
D. the absolute strength of each occupational interest assessed by the test.
Correct answer
C. the relative strength of each occupational interest assessed by the test.
Explanation
Ipsative scores are also known as intraindividual scores and provide information on the examinee’s relative (rather than absolute) strengths with regard to the interests or other characteristic measured by the test.
Which of the following is not a condition for a claim of malpractice against a psychologist?
A. The psychologist had a legal duty to provide professional services to the client.
B. The client was psychologically or physically harmed or injured.
C. The psychologist breached his/her legal duty by providing services that did not meet the professional standard of care.
D. The psychologist knew or should have known the professional services he/she provided would cause harm to the client.
Correct answer
D. The psychologist knew or should have known the professional services he/she provided would cause harm to the client.
Explanation
Four conditions must be met for a claim of malpractice: (1) The psychologist must have a legal duty to provide professional services to the client. (2) The psychologist must have breached that duty as the result of negligence or by providing services that did not meet the professional standard of care. (3) The client was psychologically or physically harmed or injured. (4) The psychologist’s breach of duty was the cause of the client’s harm or injury.
Sleepwalking and sleep terror are categorized in the DSM-5 as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep arousal disorders. In contrast to people with nightmare disorder, people with a NREM sleep arousal disorder:
A. experience incomplete awakening from sleep after an event and, when awakened, have little or no memory for the event.
B. experience incomplete awakening from sleep after an event and, when awakened, have a vivid memory for the event.
C. awaken easily and completely after an event and have little or no memory for the event.
D. awaken easily and completely after an event and have a vivid memory for the event.
Correct answer
A. experience incomplete awakening from sleep after an event and, when awakened, have little or no memory for the event.
Explanation
People with NREM sleep arousal disorder experience incomplete awakening from sleep after an episode of sleepwalking or sleep terror and, when awakened, have amnesia for the episode.
You’re conducting a research study that will involve interviewing and observing 50 sixth grade students. To fulfill ethical requirements, you should obtain:
A. an informed consent from each student.
B. assent from each student and permission from the school principal.
C. assent from each student and permission from the parent(s) of each student.
D. informed consent from the parent(s) of each student.
Correct answer
C. assent from each student and permission from the parent(s) of each student.
Explanation
This answer is consistent with Standard 3.10(b) of the APA Ethics Code. It states that, for minors and others not capable of giving informed consent, “psychologists should provide them with an appropriate explanation, consider their best interests, seek their assent, and obtain permission from a legally authorized person when doing so is permitted or required by law.”
The symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (e.g., restlessness, difficulty concentrating, irritability) are similar for individuals of all ages, but the content of an individual’s worries are often related to his/her age. For example children with generalized anxiety disorder are most likely to worry about:
A. abandonment by friends and family members.
B. academic and athletic performance.
C. safety and physical health.
D. everyday hassles.
The ____________ is based on the Cattell-Horn-Carroll model of cognitive abilities and provides scores on five factors derived from that model: knowledge, fluid reasoning, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory.
A. SB5
B. WAIS-IV
C. KABC-II
D. WJ-IV
Correct answer
A. SB5
Explanation
The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of cognitive ability integrates Horn and Cattell’s distinction between fluid and crystallized intelligence with Carroll’s three-stratum theory that includes general intelligence (g), several broad cognitive abilities, and multiple narrow cognitive abilities that each contribute to one of the broad abilities. The CHC model is a theoretical foundation for many cognitive ability tests including the SB5, WAIS-IV, KABC-II, and WJ-IV, but only the SB-5 provides scores on the five factors listed in the question.
According to Donald Super, the primary determinant of a person’s occupational choice is which of the following?
A. self-concept
B. dominant interest(s)
C. life experience
D. prepotent needs
According to Super (Super, Savickas, & Super, 1996), a person’s self-concept develops throughout the lifespan. It influences and is influenced by the career development process and is the major determinant of a person’s career decisions.
To evaluate the test-retest reliability of a newly developed measure of intelligence, a test developer administers the test to the same sample of examinees on two separate occasions. When he correlates the two sets of scores, he obtains a reliability coefficient of .60. To increase this reliability coefficient, the test developer should:
A. increase the number of test items and make sure the new sample of examinees is heterogeneous with regard to level of intelligence.
B. increase the number of test items and make sure the new sample of examinees is homogeneous with regard to level of intelligence.
C. decrease the number of test items and make sure the new sample of examinees is heterogeneous with regard to level of intelligence.
D. decrease the number of test items and make sure the new sample of examinees is homogeneous with regard to level of intelligence.
Correct answer
A. increase the number of test items and make sure the new sample of examinees is heterogeneous with regard to level of intelligence.
A test’s reliability coefficient is affected by several factors including the length of the test and the degree of similarity of examinees with regard to the attribute(s) measured by the test: In general, longer tests are more reliable than shorter tests and reliability coefficients are larger when they’re derived from a sample that has an unrestricted range of scores – i.e., when examinees in the sample are heterogeneous with regard to the attribute(s) measured by the test.
The method of loci is most useful for:
A. memorizing a short speech.
B. remembering how to pronounce foreign-language words.
C. remembering a list of unrelated words.
D. linking a list of words to their definitions.
Answer C is correct.
The method of loci uses a visual image to help encode and recall a list of unrelated words. It involves choosing a familiar location and visually placing each word in a different place in that location. For example, to remember a shopping list, you might visualize your kitchen and place each item in the list in a different place – on the stove, on the counter next to the stove, next to the coffee maker on the counter, etc. Then, to recall the items, you visually “walk through” the kitchen.
In the context of research design, external validity refers to:
A. consistency.
B. accuracy.
C. causality.
D. generalizability.
Answer D is correct.
A research study has good external validity when its results can be generalized to other people, settings, and conditions.
Before using a newly developed 10-item screening test to identify people who are depressed, you administer the test to a sample of clinic patients along with an established (validated) 50-item measure of depression and correlate the two sets of scores. In this situation, you are evaluating the screening test’s:
A. content validity.
B. divergent validity.
C. differential validity.
D. concurrent validity.
Previous Question
Answer D is correct.
Concurrent validity is a type of criterion-related validity that involves determining how well a new predictor (e.g., a screening test) estimates current scores on a criterion (e.g., a validated measure of depression).
Tourette’s disorder is associated with a number of psychiatric disorders, with the most frequent comorbid diagnosis being:
A. disruptive behavior disorder.
B. social anxiety disorder.
C. ADHD.
D. specific learning disorder.
Answer C is correct.
Reported rates of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses for Tourette’s disorder vary somewhat from study to study. However, of the disorders listed in the answers, ADHD is most often identified as the most common comorbidity.
When a patient with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has not responded adequately to an SSRI or SNRI, the most likely drug-of-choice is:
A. propranolol.
B. buspirone.
C. valproic acid.
D. risperidone.
Answer B is correct. The first-line drugs for GAD are SSRIs and SNRIs. When symptoms do not respond to these antidepressants, the drug-of-choice is often the anxiolytic buspirone (Buspar) or a benzodiazepine.
During process consultation, an organizational development (OD) consultant will most likely focus on which of the following?
A. job satisfaction and motivation
B. theft, sabotage, and other counterproductive behaviors
C. perceptions related to organizational justice
D. communication, decision-making, and problem-solving
Answer D is correct. As its name suggests, process consultation focuses on communication, decision-making, problem-solving, and other organizational processes that are contributing to performance problems.
Which of the following uses eye opening, verbal, and motor responses to stimuli to evaluate a patient’s level of consciousness?
A. Mini Mental State Exam
B. Rancho Scale of Cognitive Functioning
C. Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test
D. Glasgow Coma Scale
When using the Glasgow Coma Scale to assess level of consciousness, the patient is rated on his/her best eye opening, verbal, and motor responses. The total rating ranges from 3 (deep coma or brain death) to 15 (normal).
Which of the following best describes sensory memory?
A. large capacity and brief duration
B. large capacity and long duration
C. small capacity and brief duration
D. small capacity and long duration
Previous QuestionPause
Sensory memory is also known as sensory register and receives information directly from the environment. It has a large capacity for information, but stores it for a very brief period of time (from about one-fourth second to four seconds).
B. F. Skinner (1948) delivered food pellets to pigeons every 15 seconds regardless of their behavior. After a brief period of time, the pigeons began performing unusual behaviors such as bowing, turning, and hopping on one foot. Skinner referred to the pigeons’ unusual behaviors as:
A. experimental neurosis.
B. superstitious behaviors.
C. the result of one-trial learning.
D. the result of two-factor learning.
Answer B is correct. Skinner concluded that noncontingent reinforcement not only accounted for the unusual behaviors of the pigeons but might also explain superstitious behaviors in humans.
Code-switching is used by:
A. supervisors and employers to exert their authority over supervisees and employees.
B. adults when talking to children to emphasize the importance of what they’re telling them.
C. politicians to ensure their ardent supporters understand what their actual intentions are.
D. bilingual and multilingual speakers to establish solidarity with listeners belonging to their own minority group.
Answer D is correct. Code-switching involves switching from one language to another during a conversation. It’s used by bilingual and multilingual speakers for several reasons, including to compensate for a lack of knowledge of one language, to express their attitudes toward listeners, and to foster rapport or solidarity.
Research has found that, among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals, being open about their sexual orientation to friends and family members is associated with:
A. lower levels of anxiety, higher levels of self-esteem, and greater social support.
B. lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of self-esteem but lower levels of social support.
C. higher levels of anxiety but no effect on self-esteem and social support.
D. higher levels of anxiety and lower levels of self-esteem and no effect on social support.
Answer A is correct. Research investigating the effects of “coming out” has generally found that it’s associated with a number of positive outcomes including lower levels of anxiety, higher levels of self-esteem, and greater social support. See, e.g., K. M. Jordan and R. H. Deluty, Coming out for lesbian women: Its relation to anxiety, positive affectivity, self-esteem, and social support, Journal of Homosexuality, 35, 41-63, 1998.
Excessive secretion of the hormone thyroxine by the thyroid gland causes hyperthyroidism, which produces:
A. tremor, sweating, tachycardia, difficulty sleeping, anxiety, sensitivity to heat, and unexplained weight loss.
B. fatigue, muscle cramps, bradycardia, constipation, dry skin, depression, sensitivity to cold, and unexplained weight gain.
C. increased hunger and/or thirst, blurred vision, fatigue, weight loss, and recurrent infections.
D. extreme hunger, fatigue, pale skin, tingling lips, dizziness, tremors, irritability, and confusion.
Answer A is correct. The symptoms described in this answer are characteristic of hyperthyroidism, while those listed in answer B are characteristic of hypothyroidism. The symptoms listed in answer C are associated with hyperglycemia, and the symptoms listed in answer D are associated with hypoglycemia.
Electrical stimulation of a person’s ascending reticular activating system will have which of the following effects?
A. A sleeping person will wake up and an awake person will become more alert.
B. A sleeping person will have lucid dreams.
C. An awake person will engage in unconscious repetitive motor tics.
D. An awake person will experience a sense of deja vu.
Answer A is correct. The ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) is involved in arousal and the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle. Direct electrical stimulation of the ARAS or stimulation by sensory input can awaken a sleeping person and cause an awake person to become more alert.
As described by Erikson, the positive outcome (“virtue”) of the ego integrity versus despair stage of psychosocial development is which of the following?
A. wisdom
B. purpose
C. care
D. will
Answer A is correct. Erikson identified eight key virtues that correspond to his eight stages of psychosocial development. These are, in order, hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care, and wisdom. Ego integrity versus despair is Erikson’s last stage and its virtue is wisdom.
According to Lazarus’s (1991) cognitive appraisal theory, __________ appraisal involves considering whether an external event is relevant or irrelevant and, if relevant, whether it’s positive/benign or stressful.
A. central
B. peripheral
C. primary
D. secondary
Answer C 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, determining if it’s nonstressful (positive or benign) or stressful.
“Collaborative empiricism” best describes the therapeutic relationship in:
A. Rogers’s person-centered therapy.
B. Hayes et al.’s acceptance and commitment therapy.
C. Glasser’s reality therapy.
D. Beck’s cognitive behavior therapy.
Answer D is correct. Aaron Beck describes the therapeutic relationship in cognitive behavior therapy as collaborative empiricism, in which the therapist and client work together to identify treatment goals, reality test the client’s beliefs, and derive a plan to resolve the client’s problems.
One of the questions included in a survey asks employees to rate the fairness of the outcomes of a recent organizational decision regarding raises and bonuses. This question assesses employees’ perceptions of which of the following?
A. distributive justice
B. procedural justice
C. normative justice
D. interactional justice
Answer A is correct.
Distributive justice refers to the fairness of the distribution of resources and other outcomes.
Patients with damage to which of the following can be expected to make multiple random errors and perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test?
A. frontal lobe
B. parietal lobe
C. basal ganglia
D. cerebellum
Answer A is correct. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test is sensitive to frontal lobe damage and is used to assess abstract thinking and perseveration and to help distinguish between frontal lobe and non-frontal lobe lesions.
A child with dyslexia whose reading problems significantly interfere with his academic performance and have not substantially improved with appropriate intervention would receive a DSM-5 diagnosis of:
A. learning disability.
B. language disorder.
C. reading disorder.
D. specific learning disorder.
Answer D is correct.
Learning disorders involving impairments in reading, written expression, or mathematics are diagnosed as specific learning disorders, and dyslexia is identified in the DSM-5 as a type of reading impairment that involves “problems with accurate or fluent word recognition, poor decoding, and poor spelling abilities” (p. 67).
The overjustification effect occurs when:
A. a person attributes the positive outcomes of his/her behavior to dispositional factors when they were actually due to situational factors.
B. a person attributes the negative outcomes of his/her behavior to situational factors when they were actually due to dispositional factors.
C. obtaining external rewards for engaging in a behavior reduces intrinsic motivation to perform that behavior.
D. obtaining external rewards for engaging in a behavior increases intrinsic motivation to perform that behavior.
Answer C is correct.
The overjustification effect predicts that, when people are externally reinforced for engaging in an intrinsically rewarding behavior, their intrinsic motivation declines (Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973).
Which of the following is based on the assumption that interventions are most effective when they match a client’s stage of change?
A. transtheoretical model
B. health belief model
C. reality therapy
D. solution-focused therapy
Answer A is correct.
Knowing that the transtheoretical model (Prochaska, Norcross, & DiClemente, 1994) is also referred to as the stages of change model would have helped you identify the correct answer to this question. The transtheoretical model distinguishes between six stages of change (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination) and proposes that interventions are most effective when they match the client’s stage of change.
Violation of the psychological contract between employees and their employers has been identified as a contributor to:
A. work-family conflict.
B. job burnout.
C. low organization-based self-esteem.
D. downsizing survivor syndrome.
Answer D is correct.
Downsizing survivor syndrome has been attributed to a sense of unfairness and reduction in trust caused by the organization’s violation of the psychological contract – i.e., of the unwritten expectations that employees and employers have about their responsibilities and obligations to each other.
The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005) predicts that a person’s behavior intention is affected by all of the following except:
A. current attitude.
B. need for cognitive constancy.
C. subjective norms.
D. perceived behavior control.
Answer B is correct. According to the theory of planned behavior, attitudes influence a person’s behavior intention which, in turn, affects the person’s behavior. In addition, three factors influence a person’s behavior intention: the person’s attitude toward the behavior, what the person thinks others believe he/she should do (subjective norms), and the person’s confidence in his/her ability to perform the behavior (perceived behavior control).
Tricyclic antidepressants are categorized as secondary and tertiary amines. With regard to neurotransmitters, which of the following is true about secondary and tertiary amines?
A. Secondary and tertiary amines both have a greater effect on norepinephrine than on serotonin.
B. Secondary and tertiary amines both have a greater effect on serotonin than on norepinephrine.
C. The secondary amines have a greater effect on serotonin than norepinephrine, while the tertiary amines have a similar effect on both neurotransmitters or a greater effect on norepinephrine than serotonin.
D. The secondary amines have a greater effect on norepinephrine than serotonin, while the tertiary amines have a similar effect on both neurotransmitters or greater effect on serotonin than norepinephrine.
Answer D is correct. The tertiary amines (e.g., amitriptyline, imipramine, clomipramine) exert their effects by inhibiting the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine, with some having a greater effect on serotonin. In contrast, secondary amines (e.g., nortriptyline, desipramine) are more potent at inhibiting the reuptake of norepinephrine than serotonin.
hich of the following combines elements of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, Rogers’s person-centered therapy, and the transtheoretical model?
A. acceptance and commitment therapy
B. motivational interviewing
C. interpersonal therapy
D. stress inoculation training
Answer B is correct. Motivational interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2012) was originally developed for individuals with alcohol and other substance abuse problems but has since been applied to other disorders and conditions. Like the transtheoretical model, it’s based on the assumption that interventions are most effective when they match the client’s stage of change. It also incorporates Rogers’s emphasis on the importance of empathy and elements of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory.
You are considering a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) for your new client, Carla C. The presence of which of the following would be least useful for confirming this diagnosis?
A. Carla’s tendency toward perfectionism interferes with her completion of important tasks.
B. Carla is hypersensitive to criticism and rejection by others.
C. Carla believes that money is something to hang onto for future catastrophes.
D. Carla stubbornly refuses to delegate tasks to co-workers or family members.
Answer B is correct. The behaviors described in answers A, C, and D are symptoms of OCPD. In contrast, hypersensitivity to criticism and rejection (answer B) is characteristic of avoidant personality disorder.
A stroke involving the middle cerebral artery that affects a patient’s dominant hemisphere is most likely to produce which of the following symptoms?
A. contralateral hemiparesis, mutism, apathy, confusion, and impaired judgment
B. contralateral homonymous hemianopia, unilateral cortical blindness, visual agnosia, and memory loss
C. contralateral hemiparesis, contralateral homonymous hemianopia, dysarthria, and aphasia
D. contralateral hemiparesis, contralateral homonymous hemianopia, apraxia, and sensory neglect
A White adult in Helms’s __________ stage of White identity development recognizes his/her own racist views and justifies them by adopting beliefs that support White superiority and minority inferiority.
A. reintegration
B. disintegration
C. pseudoindependence
D. immersion-emersion
Answer A is correct. Helms’s White racial identity development model distinguishes between six stages: contact, disintegration, reintegration, pseudo-independence, immersion/emersion, and autonomy. A person in the reintegration stage deals with the feelings of guilt and confusion about race that characterize the previous disintegration stage by adopting beliefs that support White superiority and minority inferiority.
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
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 8 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).
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.
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.
Pramipexole and ropinirole are ____________ that are used to treat restless leg syndrome.
A. serotonin agonists
B. serotonin antagonists
C. dopamine agonists
D. dopamine antagonists
Answer C is correct. Pramipexole and ropinirole are two of the dopamine agonists that are used to treat restless leg syndrome and Parkinson’s disease.
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.
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.
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.
Answer C is correct. L. T. O’Brien and M. L. Hummert found that late middle-aged adults who had an older identity had significantly poorer word recall when they were told their performance would be compared to that of older adults than did those who were told their performance would be compared to that of younger adults or were not given any comparison information. In contrast, adults who had a youthful identity exhibited similar levels of word recall whether they were told their performance would be compared to older adults or younger adults or were not given comparison information. O’Brien and Hummert conclude that their results support the self-stereotyping hypothesis by showing that internalized stereotypes about aging can impair performance on memory tasks [Memory performance of late middle-aged adults: Contrasting self-stereotyping and stereotype threat accounts of assimilation to age stereotypes, Social Cognition, 24(3), 338-358, 2006].
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.
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.
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
Answer B is correct.
Minority stress theory provides “a framework for conceptualizing how experiences unique to minority groups – prejudice and discrimination, in particular – confer chronic psychological stress and heightened physiological responses that impact mental and physical health over time” [J. H. Ng, L. M. Ward, M. Shea, L. Hart, P. Guerino, and S. H. Scholle, Explaining the relationship between minority group status and health disparities: A review of selected concepts, Health Equity, 3(1), 47-60, 2019].
**Cultural encapsulation **(answer A) refers to a lack of understanding of how culture affects behavior and explains why some mental health professionals are unable to work effectively with members of different cultural groups.
In the context of multicultural counseling, diagnostic overshadowing (answer C) occurs when a therapist minimizes or misinterprets a client’s presenting problem due to focusing on the client’s age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other characteristic.
Social identity theory (answer D) is used to explain racial prejudice and discrimination and is based on the assumptions that people have a natural tendency to categorize people into groups, identify with one or more groups, and favor in-groups.
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
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].
Treatment for serotonin syndrome involves:
A. switching to another serotonergic drug.
B. gradually increasing the dose of the serotonergic drug.
C. gradually reducing the dose of one of the serotonergic drugs.
D. immediately withdrawing both of the serotonergic drugs.
Answer D is correct. Combining an SSRI with an MAOI, lithium, or other serotonergic drug can cause serotonin syndrome. Because it causes serious symptoms (e.g., hyperthermia, seizures, delirium) and is potentially fatal, treatment involves immediate withdrawal of the serotonergic drugs and providing appropriate medical interventions for the patient’s symptoms.
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.
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.
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
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).
Research has found that higher-status immigrants (i.e., those with higher levels of education and economic success) are more likely than lower-status immigrants to report experiencing discrimination and having a low sense of belonging to the host society. This is referred to as the:
A. immigrant paradox.
B. integration paradox.
C. alienation paradox.
D. acculturation paradox.
Answer B is correct. The question accurately describes the integration paradox. The immigrant paradox (answer A) refers to the observation that, for some immigrant groups, recent immigrants often have better health and educational outcomes than more established immigrants and nonimmigrants do.
Alienation paradox and acculturation paradox (answers C and D) are made-up terms and are not used to describe differences between high- and low-status immigrants in terms of experiencing discrimination.
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.
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.
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.
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.
As described by Sue et al. (2007), assigning a level of intelligence to a person of color on the basis of the person’s race is which type of microaggression?
A. microinsult
B. microinvalidation
C. microassault
D. microaspersion
Answer A is correct.
Sue and his colleagues distinguish between three types of microaggression: microinvalidation, microassault, and microinsult. Microinsults are verbal and nonverbal messages that are insensitive to or demean a person’s racial or ethnic background. Assigning a level of intelligence to a person of color on the basis of the person’s race is a type of microinsult and is referred to as “ascription of intelligence.”
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.
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 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.
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).
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
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.
Practitioners of motivational interviewing who are familiar with Miller and Rollnick’s (2013) current view of decisional balance (DB) are most likely to say that DB is most useful for:
A. reducing a client’s risk for relapse.
B. reducing a client’s ambivalence about change.
C. assessing a client’s readiness to change.
D. supporting a client’s preparation for change.
Answer C is correct. DB involves having a client identify the pros and cons of changing an undesirable behavior. Miller and Rollnick’s (2013) current view of DB is that it is useful when a clinician’s goal is to maintain a neutral position while assessing a client’s readiness for change. However, they consider it to be contraindicated when the clinician’s goal is to promote the client’s motivation to change because, by identifying the negative consequences of change, the client may actually become less willing to change.
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.
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].
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
Answer D is correct. Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is the most commonly used radioactive tracer in PET imaging, and FDG-PET provides information on glucose metabolism in the brain. Because different subtypes of neurocognitive disorder produce distinct patterns of glucose metabolism, FDG-PET can help clinicians distinguish between different disorders – for example, between neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder. See, e.g., V. K. N. Shivamurthy, A. K. Tahari, C. Marcus, and R. M. Subramaniam, Brain FDG-PET and the diagnosis of dementia, AJR, 204, W76-W85.
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
Answer C is correct.
The “testing effect” is the increased ability to remember information when learning not only includes studying but also repeated opportunities to retrieve the information.
According to M. A. Pyc and K. A. Rawson’s mediator effectiveness hypothesis, “testing improves memory by supporting the use of more-effective mediators during encoding” and the mediators that are “generated during testing … are more likely to be subsequently retrieved and decoded, [thereby] increasing recall of target responses” (Why testing improves memory: Mediator effectiveness hypothesis, Science, 330, 335, 2010).
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
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].
__________ 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
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).
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.
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.
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.
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].
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.
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.
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
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Lesions in the dorsolateral area of the prefrontal cortex are most likely to cause:
A. an inability to perform movements that require balance and coordination.
B. moderate to severe anterograde and retrograde amnesia.
C. deficits in insight, planning, judgment, and other executive functions.
D. an inability to recognize familiar objects and people by sight.
Answer C is correct. Knowing that the prefrontal cortex is involved in executive functions (also known as higher-order cognitive functions) would have helped you identify this as the correct answer even if you’re unfamiliar with the dorsolateral area of the prefrontal cortex.
Tourette’s disorder is associated with a number of psychiatric disorders, with the most frequent comorbid diagnosis being:
A. disruptive behavior disorder.
B. social anxiety disorder.
C. ADHD.
D. specific learning disorder.
Answer C is correct. Reported rates of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses for Tourette’s disorder vary somewhat from study to study. However, of the disorders listed in the answers, ADHD is most often identified as the most common comorbidity.
Infants less than three months of age usually begin a sleep period with:
A. transitional sleep.
B. REM sleep.
C. stage 2 sleep.
D. stage 3 sleep.
Answer B is correct. Prior to about three months of age, infants usually begin a sleep period with REM sleep, which is followed by NREM sleep. This sequence reverses at about three months of age and the four stages of NREM sleep become apparent by about six months of age.
Which of the following is true about the four stages of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep?
A. They are characterized by a low-voltage, fast-wave EEG activity.
B. They are characterized by low-voltage, slow-wave EEG activity.
C. They are characterized by high-voltage, fast-wave EEG activity.
D. They are characterized by high-voltage, slow-wave EEG activity.
Answer D is correct. The first four stages of sleep are characterized by high-voltage, slow-wave synchronized EEG activity and are collectively referred to as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep because they are not accompanied by rapid eye movements.
Before using a newly developed 10-item screening test to identify people who are depressed, you administer the test to a sample of clinic patients along with an established (validated) 50-item measure of depression and correlate the two sets of scores. In this situation, you are evaluating the screening test’s:
A. content validity.
B. divergent validity.
C. differential validity.
D. concurrent validity.
Answer D is correct. Concurrent validity is a type of criterion-related validity that involves determining how well a new predictor (e.g., a screening test) estimates current scores on a criterion (e.g., a validated measure of depression).
When taking a walk after dark with her grandmother, a child says the moon is following them because it wants to help them see where they’re going. This is an example of:
A. horizontal decalage.
B. egocentrism.
C. magical thinking.
D. animistic thinking.
Answer D is correct. Children are engaging in animistic thinking when they believe inanimate objects have thoughts, feelings, and other lifelike qualities. In contrast, magical thinking (answer C) occurs when children erroneously believe they have control over objects or events.
Individuals with Wernicke’s aphasia have:
A. impaired comprehension of spoken and written language and fluent speech that’s devoid of meaning.
B. impaired comprehension of spoken and written language and nonfluent, labored speech.
C. relatively intact comprehension and fluent speech that’s devoid of meaning.
D. relatively intact comprehension and nonfluent, labored speech.
Answer A is correct. Wernicke’s aphasia is also known as receptive aphasia, which is misleading because it involves both impaired comprehension and production of language. With regard to the production of language, people with Wernicke’s aphasia speak fluently and effortlessly but their speech is not understandable because it contains multiple word substitutions and other errors.
To serve as an expert witness in a court case, a psychologist must be:
A. determined to be qualified to do so by the attorney requesting his/her services.
B. determined to be qualified to do so by the judge.
C. certified as an expert witness by a professional forensic organization.
D. certified as an expert witness by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards.
Answer B is correct. When an attorney representing the plaintiff or defendant in a court case wants a psychologist to provide expert testimony, the judge decides whether or not to allow that testimony. The judge’s decision is based on consideration of the relevance of the psychologist’s knowledge, skills, experience, training, and education.
The research has found that early physical and sexual maturation during adolescence is associated with:
A. better outcomes for adolescent girls than for adolescent boys.
B. better outcomes for adolescent boys than for adolescent girls.
C. better outcomes than late maturation for both boys and girls.
D. worse outcomes than late maturation for both boys and girls.
Answer B is correct. Early physical and sexual maturation has both positive and negative effects for adolescent boys and girls but, overall, early maturation is associated with more positive outcomes for boys (e.g., greater self-confidence and acceptance by peers) and more negative outcomes for girls (e.g., poor self-concept and an increased risk for depression, an eating disorder, and substance use).
Berscheid’s (1991) emotion-in-relationships model identifies which of the following as a cause of strong emotions in close relationships?
A. unexpected behaviors that interrupt usual behavioral routines
B. coercive interactions that gradually escalate over time
C. behaviors that fulfill each partner’s most prepotent needs
D. internal working models of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors
Answer A is correct. According to Berscheid’s emotion-in-relationships model, strong emotions are elicited in close relationships when a partner engages in an unexpected behavior that interrupts the couple’s usual behavioral routines. When the interruption has a desirable outcome, it elicits a positive emotional reaction; when it has an undesirable outcome, it elicits a negative emotional reaction.
Researchers using the mirror task have found that most infants begin to recognize themselves in a mirror by about ____ months of age.
A. nine
B. twelve
C. fifteen
D. eighteen
Answer D is correct. The mirror task involves putting a mark on an infant’s head before placing the infant in front of a mirror. Infants demonstrate self-recognition when they see the mark in the mirror and touch their own foreheads rather than the forehead of the image in the mirror. For most infants, this occurs when they reach 18 months of age. See, e.g., J. Brooks-Gunn and M. Lewis, The development of early self-recognition, Developmental Review, 4, 215-239, 1984.
Amato (1993) reviewed empirical research on five factors that have been found to negatively impact the adjustment of children after the divorce of their parents, and he concluded that the research most consistently supports the link between __________ and negative outcomes for children.
A. economic hardship
B. inter parental conflict
C. absence of the noncustodial parent
D. adjustment of the custodial parent
Answer B is correct. P. R. Amato reviewed the research on the effects of interparental conflict, economic hardship, absence of the noncustodial parent, adjustment of the custodial parent, and stressful life changes on the adjustment of children following the divorce of their parents. Based on his review, he concluded that all five factors contribute to children’s maladjustment but that the negative impact of interparental conflict has received the most consistent and convincing support [Children’s adjustment to divorce: Theories, hypotheses, and empirical support, Journal of Marriage and Family, 55(1), 23-38, 1993].
As described by Piaget, the ability to conserve emerges during the concrete operational stage and depends on which of the following?
A. transductive reasoning
B. hypothetico-deductive reasoning
C. transformational thinking
D. symbolic thinking
Answer C is correct. Piaget proposed that the ability to solve conservation problems develops during the concrete operational stage as the result of the emergence of reversibility of thought, decentration, and transformational thinking.
Some investigators interested in peer relationships have compared the outcomes for children who are either rejected or neglected by their peers. Their studies have found that:
A. rejected children have worse outcomes than neglected children and are less likely to experience a change in status when they change peer groups.
B. rejected children have better outcomes than neglected children and are more likely to experience a change in status when they change peer groups.
C. rejected and neglected children have similar outcomes, but neglected children are more likely to experience a change in status when they change peer groups.
D. rejected and neglected children have similar outcomes, but rejected children are more likely to experience a change in status when they change peer groups.
Answer A is correct. The studies have found that rejected and neglected children both experience negative outcomes because of their peer status but that neglected children tend to be less lonely, less aggressive, more prosocial, and more likely to experience a change in status when they change classes, schools, or play groups.
See, e.g., J. D. Coie and K. A. Dodge, Continuities and changes in children’s social status: A five-year longitudinal study, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 19, 261-282, 1983.
Gaylen, age 19, is brought to therapy by her mother, who says that Gaylen has been “acting weird” lately. She says that Gaylen is normally pretty sensible but that, for the past two months, she’s been complaining about hearing voices telling her that she’s worthless and a burden on her family and should kill herself. Gaylen’s mother also says that, when she tries to have a conversation with Gaylen, it’s often impossible to understand what she’s saying. When you ask Gaylen about the voices she hears, her response is rambling and incoherent. Assuming that Gaylen’s symptoms are not due to another mental disorder, a medical condition, or drug use, the most likely diagnosis is:
A. delusional disorder.
B. brief psychotic disorder.
C. schizophreniform disorder.
D. schizophrenia.
Answer C is correct. The DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophreniform disorder requires the presence of at least two characteristic symptoms for at least one month but less than six months, with at least one symptom being delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech. Gaylen has had auditory hallucinations and disorganized speech for two months.
You would use which of the following to assess the cognitive abilities of a non-English speaking 21-year-old?
A. WJ-IV
B. Leiter-3
C. SIT-R3-1
D. KABC-II
Answer B is correct. The Leiter International Performance Scale, Third Edition (Leiter-3) is a measure of cognitive abilities for individuals ages 3 to 75+. Because of its nonverbal format, it’s useful for non-English speakers and individuals with language impairments.
Providing patients who have just completed substance abuse treatment with training in coping and relapse prevention skills is an example of:
A. primary prevention.
B. secondary prevention.
C. tertiary prevention.
D. quaternary prevention.
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Answer C is correct. Prevention programs are often classified as primary, secondary, or tertiary. Tertiary preventions are aimed at reducing the severity or duration of a disorder and/or reducing the risk for relapse.
When Asch (1956) had subjects write estimates of the length of lines privately immediately after doing so publicly in a group, he found that their conformity dramatically decreased. This provides evidence that the conformity the subjects exhibited when making estimates publicly in the group setting was the result of:
A. informational influence.
B. normative influence.
C. social inhibition.
D. social facilitation.
Answer B is correct. Normative influence occurs when a person conforms to the judgments of others to avoid their ridicule or rejection, and it helps explain conformity in unambiguous situations (like the situation in Asch’s study).
Sue and Sue (2015) propose that a White therapist with an internal locus of control and internal locus of responsibility is likely to encounter the most difficulties when working with clients from an ethnic or racial minority group who have an:
A. internal locus of control and internal locus of responsibility.
B. internal locus of control and external locus of responsibility.
C. external locus of control and internal locus of responsibility.
D. external locus of control and external locus of responsibility.
nswer B is correct. Sue and Sue describe worldview in terms of two dimensions – locus of control and locus of responsibility. They note that an **internal locus of control and internal locus of responsibility are characteristic of Western **approaches to psychotherapy. They also state that White therapists with this worldview are likely to have the most difficult problems when working with clients from racial/ethnic minority groups who have an internal locus of control and external locus of responsibility because these clients are most likely to challenge the therapist’s credibility and trustworthiness.
Research evaluating the effectiveness of single-session psychological debriefing as a treatment for PTSD has found that it:
A. is a research-supported intervention for PTSD.
B. has beneficial effects only when it’s provided immediately after the individual has been exposed to a traumatic event.
C. is effective only when it’s provided by psychologists or other mental health professionals who have received adequate training in its use.
D. has not been found to be an effective treatment and, in some cases, may actually increase PTSD symptoms.
Answer D is correct. Psychological debriefing is a single session intervention that’s provided by a first responder or mental health professional immediately after an individual has been exposed to a traumatic event. The research has generally found that it does not prevent or reduce the symptoms of PTSD and may actually increase symptoms by interfering with the recovery process. See, e.g., A. A. P. Van Emmerik, J. H. Kamphuls, A. M. Hulsbosch, and P. M. G. Emmelkamp, Single session debriefing after psychological trauma: A meta-analysis, The Lancet, 360, 766-771, 2002
According to Gaertner and Dovidio (1986), aversive racism is characterized by a:
A. belief that minorities violate traditional American values.
B. desire to maintain the status quo.
C. combination of egalitarian values and anti-minority feelings.
D. combination of personal self-interest and group identity.
Answer C is correct. Aversive racism is a form of covert (subtle) racism that combines a belief in egalitarian principles and support for racial equality with negative attitudes and emotions toward members of a racial minority group. Note that answer A describes symbolic racism which is another form of covert racism.
Structural family therapists use which of the following to identify and alter the family’s dysfunctional family structure and reassure family members that they’re supported and understood?
A. enactment
B. joining
C. therapeutic paradox
D. therapeutic triangle
Answer B is correct. Joining involves entering the family system by adopting its behaviors and its communication style and content. Joining allows the therapist to develop a therapeutic alliance with family members and obtain the information needed to identify what changes should be made to the family’s structure.
An infant with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is most likely to develop which of the following?
A. a tic disorder
B. sensorineural hearing loss
C. heart defects
D. an autoimmune disorder
Answer B is correct. CMV is caused by exposure to a type of herpes virus during prenatal development. A small proportion of infants with CMV develop long-term problems, with sensorineural hearing loss being most common. See, e.g., J. F. Bale, Congenital cytomegalovirus infection, in M. J. Aminoff, F. Boller, and D. F. Swaab (Eds.), Handbook of clinical neurology (Vol. 123, pp. 319-326), Amsterdam, Elsevier, 2014.
The research has found that, when people estimate the frequency of a particular event, they tend to give more weight to anecdotal information about that event than to statistical data. This is referred to as:
A. the gambler’s fallacy.
B. counterfactual thinking.
C. the illusory correlation.
D. the base rate fallacy.
Answer D is correct: The base rate fallacy is the tendency to be influenced more by information about an individual case (e.g., anecdotal information about a single event) than by base rate data.
The DSM-5 diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder requires the presence of delusions or hallucinations for at least _____ weeks without symptoms of a major depressive or manic episode.
A. eight
B. six
C. four
D. two
Answer D is correct. Schizoaffective disorder involves concurrent symptoms of schizophrenia and a major depressive or manic episode for most of the duration of the illness, but with the presence of delusions or hallucinations for two or more weeks without mood symptoms.
Studies using functional neuroimaging techniques have linked obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to increased activity in the:
A. reticular formation.
B. basal ganglia.
C. hypothalamus.
D. thalamus.
Answer B is correct. Research has found that people with OCD have increased activity in the basal ganglia (especially the caudate nucleus), the orbitofrontal cortex, and the anterior cingulate gyrus. See, e.g., S. Rauch et al., Regional cerebral blood flow during symptom provocation in obsessive-compulsive disorder using oxygen 15-labeled carbon dioxide and positron emission tomography, Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 62-70, 1994.
A practitioner of Bowenian extended family systems therapy will use a genogram to obtain information about:
A. the relationships among family members over multiple generations.
B. the communication patterns that are maintaining the family’s presenting problems.
C. the external social systems that impact the family.
D. the changes that occur in the family system over the course of therapy.
Answer A is correct. As described by Bowen, a genogram is a diagram that summarizes important life events and other information about family members and their relationships for at least three generations.
When the parents of a 10-year-old child are in conflict with each other, each parent actively recruits the child to side with them. A practitioner of Minuchin’s structural family therapy would refer to this as:
A. a detouring-attack coalition.
B. a detouring-support coalition.
C. a stable coalition.
D. an unstable coalition.
Answer D is correct. Minuchin distinguished between the four rigid family triads listed in the answers to this question. The family triad described in the question is an unstable coalition, which is also known as triangulation.
As described by Aaron Beck, ________ are triggered by an event or stimulus and elicit emotional and behavioral responses.
A. automatic thoughts
B. cognitive distortions
C. polarized thoughts
D. irrational beliefs
Answer A is correct. Automatic thoughts are spontaneous thoughts that “intercede between an event or stimulus and the individual’s emotional and behavioral reactions” (A. T. Beck and M. E. Weishaar, Cognitive therapy, in A. Freeman, K. M. Simon, L. E. Beutler, and H. Arkowitz (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of cognitive therapy, New York, Plenum, 1989, p. 254).
Research on infantile amnesia has consistently found that:
A. most children under two years of age are unable to form explicit memories.
B. most children under two years of age are unable to form autobiographical memories.
C. most older children and adults are unable to recall autobiographical events that occurred when they were less than three or four years of age.
D. most adults (but not older children) are unable to recall autobiographical events that occurred when they were less than three or four years of age.
Answer C is correct. Infantile amnesia is also known as childhood amnesia and refers to the inability of older children, adolescents, and adults to recall events they experienced prior to three or four years of age. See, e.g., H. Hayne and G. Simcock, Memory development in toddlers, in M. L. Courage and N. Cowan (Eds.), The development of memory in infancy and childhood (pp. 43-68), New York, Psychology Press, 2009.
Which of the following produces the most rapidly progressing neurocognitive disorder?
A. Alzheimer’s disease
B. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
C. Lewy body disease
D. frontotemporal lobar degeneration
Answer B is correct. Neurocognitive disorder due to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is categorized in DSM-5 as neurocognitive disorder due to prion disease and, like other prion diseases, typically progresses very rapidly. Most other types of neurocognitive disorders (including the three listed in the wrong answers to this question) have a gradual worsening of symptoms.
Major depressive disorder has been linked to all of the following sleep abnormalities except:
A. increased REM latency.
B. reduced slow-wave sleep.
C. prolonged sleep latency.
D. increased REM density.
Answer A is correct. Decreased REM latency (shortened latency from sleep onset to REM sleep), reduced slow-wave (stages 3 and 4) sleep, prolonged sleep latency (a longer time to fall asleep), and increased REM density (more rapid eye movements per unit of time) have been linked to major depressive disorder, especially in adults.
Crick and Dodge’s (1994) social information-processing model attributes high levels of aggression in children to which of the following?
A. observational learning
B. peer pressure
C. a self-control failure
D. a hostile attribution bias
Answer D is correct. Crick and Dodge’s social information-processing model proposes that highly aggressive children are more likely than their nonaggressive peers to interpret the behaviors of others (including vague and benign behaviors) as intentionally hostile, and they refer to this tendency as a “hostile attribution bias.”
Research suggests that the credibility of the person delivering a persuasive message is determined primarily by his or her:
A. expertise and trustworthiness.
B. expertise and likability.
C. intelligence and honesty.
D. attractiveness and trustworthiness.
Answer A is correct. Research by Hovland and his colleagues (Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953) found that a communicator’s credibility is affected primarily by his/her expertise and trustworthiness.
Of the core characteristics of the Type A behavior pattern, ________ has been most closely linked to an increased risk for heart disease and other health problems.
A. hostility
B. competitiveness
C. time urgency
D. cynicism
Answer A is correct. As described by Friedman and Rosenman (1959), the Type A behavior pattern is characterized by a chronic sense of time urgency, excessive competitiveness, and hostility. Of these, hostility is most associated with an increased risk for heart disease and other health problems.
You would use which of the following to teach each member of a team the essential tasks performed by other team members?
A. cross-training
B. job enlargement
C. apprenticeship
D. vestibule training
Answer A is correct.Cross-training is a type of on-the-job training that involves teaching employees how to perform the essential tasks performed by other employees. It’s often used as a method of training for team members.
According to Tuckman and Jensen’s (1977) five-stage model, the development of commitment to a group and willingness to talk about issues and concerns is characteristic of the:
A. performing stage.
B. norming stage.
C. forming stage.
D. implementing stage.
Answer B is correct. Tuckman and Jensen’s model distinguishes between five stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. The norming stage is characterized by the growth of group cohesion and commitment; attempts to resolve conflicts and other issues that arose during the storming stage; and the establishment of rules, procedures, and group norms.
When Milgram (1974) asked psychiatrists to predict how many “teachers” would obey the experimenter’s order to deliver the highest levels of shock to the “learner,” the psychiatrists predicted that __________ would do so.
A. 1 in 10
B. 1 in 100
C. 1 in 500
D. 1 in 1,000
Answer D is correct. Before conducting his initial studies, Milgram asked a group of psychiatrists to predict how many subjects would be willing to deliver the highest levels of shock, and they predicted that only a “pathological fringe” of 1 in 1,000 would do so.
To determine the correlation between college graduate (yes or no) and yearly income in dollars, you would use which of the following correlation coefficients?
A. phi coefficient
B. Pearson r
C. point biserial coefficient
D. Spearman rho
Answer C is correct. The point biserial correlation coefficient is used when one variable is a true dichotomy (e.g., college graduate or nongraduate) and the other variable is continuous (e.g. yearly income in dollars).
The administration of the SB5 begins with two routing subtests, which are:
A. picture absurdities and verbal absurdities.
B. procedural knowledge and vocabulary.
C. object series/matrices and vocabulary.
D. procedural knowledge and verbal analogies.
Answer C is correct. The two routing subtests (object series/matrices and vocabulary) are used to determine the appropriate entry level for the other subtests.
Response cost is an application of which of the following?
A. positive reinforcement
B. negative reinforcement
C. positive punishment
D. negative punishment
Answer D is correct. Response cost is used to reduce or eliminate a behavior and does so by using negative punishment – i.e., by removing a positive reinforcer whenever the behavior occurs.
The severity of a substance use disorder is determined by which of the following?
A. average number of days the substance is used each week
B. current number of symptoms
C. level of functional impairment
D. level of cognitive functioning
Answer B is correct. The severity of a substance use disorder (mild, moderate, or severe) is determined by the number of symptoms.
A program that targets the academic and behavioral functioning of children in elementary school whose parents have a substance use disorder is an example of which type of prevention?
A. universal
B. selected
C. primordial
D. indicated
Answer B is correct. Gordon’s (1983) model of prevention distinguishes between the three types of prevention listed in answers A, B, and D. Universal preventions are available to all members of a population (e.g., all elementary school children). Selective preventions are aimed at members of a subgroup of a population who are at above-average risk for a condition or problem (e.g., all elementary school children whose parents have a substance use disorder). Indicated preventions are aimed at specific individuals from a population who are not only at-risk for a condition or problem but also have minimal but detectable signs or symptoms of the condition or problem (e.g., all elementary children whose parents have a substance use disorder and have early signs of academic and behavioral problems).
Kohlberg’s model of gender-role development distinguishes between three stages, the first of which is:
A. gender stability.
B. gender socialization.
C. gender identity.
D. gender constancy.
Answer C is correct. In order, Kohlberg’s three stages of gender-role development are gender identity, gender stability, and gender constancy.
