Exam 6

Question 1

Overcorrection consists of restitution and positive practice, which can be used alone or together. Positive practice is most similar to which of the following?

A. chaining

B. negative punishment

C. discrimination training

D. habit reversal training

Answer 1

Answer D is correct.
Positive practice involves having the individual practice appropriate behaviors that are alternatives to his or her inappropriate behavior.
Habit reversal training similarly involves eliminating an undesirable behavior by having the individual practice an alternative, usually incompatible, behavior.

Question 2

The MMPI-2’s _____ scale consists of infrequently endorsed items.

A. FB

B. S

C. TRIN

D. VRIN

Answer 2

Answer A is correct.

The FB (F-Back) scale consists of items that are infrequently endorsed by examinees and are similar to those included in the F scale but appear later in the inventory. A high score on this scale indicates an attempt to “fake bad.” The S (Superlative) scale assesses an examinee’s tendency to present him/herself in an unrealistically positive way. The TRIN and VRIN scales both assess response consistency.

Question 3

A concurrent validity study finds that a selection test has the same validity coefficient for men and women and that men and women obtained similar job performance scores. However, women obtained significantly lower scores than men on the selection test. Which of the following terms is used to describe this situation?

A. criterion deficiency

B. measurement error

C. test unfairness

D. divergent validity

Answer 3

Answer C is correct.
As defined in the EEOC’s Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, test unfairness occurs when a criterion-related validity coefficient is the same for two groups and the two groups achieve similar scores on the criterion but their scores on the predictor are significantly different.

Question 4

Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory is based on the assumption that:

A. leaders who ensure that each subordinate’s job satisfies the subordinate’s prepotent needs are the most effective leaders.

B. leaders who adopt a relations-oriented (participative) leadership style are the most effective leaders.

C. leaders adopt different behaviors with different subordinates and these behaviors depend on the quality of the leader-subordinate relationship.

D. leaders adopt different behaviors with different subordinates and these behaviors are determined by the subordinate’s willingness to be a “team player.”

Answer 4

Answer C is correct. LMX theory is based on the assumption that leaders treat different subordinates differently, depending on the quality of the interactions between the leader and each subordinate. More specifically, it proposes that subordinates are treated as in-group or out-group members based on whether or not the leader perceives them as being competent, trustworthy, and willing to assume responsibility: In-group members have high-quality relationships with their leaders, while out-group members have low-quality relationships with their leaders.

Question 5

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 5

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.

Question 6

When initially hired by the Acme Company three years ago, Jill Doe was told she’d receive regular raises as long as her work is satisfactory. Although Jill has consistently received excellent job evaluations from her supervisor, she has not received the raises she was promised. According to expectancy theory, which of Jill’s beliefs is most negatively affected by this situation?

A. valence

B. instrumentality

C. predictability

D. expectancy

Answer 6

Answer B is correct. Expectancy theory proposes that work motivation is affected by three beliefs: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. Instrumentality is the belief that one’s job performance will be rewarded. In the situation described in this question, Jill’s excellent job performance has not been rewarded with regular raises, which were promised to her when she was hired. Valence (answer A) refers to a worker’s beliefs about the value of the rewards he/she receives. Expectancy (answer D) refers to a worker’s belief that effort will lead to successful job performance. And predictability (answer C) is not one of the determinants of motivation identified by expectancy theory.

Question 7

Neuroimaging studies of individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have linked it to a reduced volume of the hippocampus and:

A. increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and decreased activity in the amygdala.

B. decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and increased activity in the amygdala.

C. increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala.

D. decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala.

Answer 7

Answer B is correct. Neuroimaging studies have linked PTSD to several brain abnormalities, including a hyperactive amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex, a hypoactive ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and a reduced volume of the hippocampus, with some studies finding increased activity of the hippocampus and other studies finding decreased activity.

Question 8

A group leader familiar with Janis’s groupthink is most likely to describe a “mindguard” as:

A. a critical evaluator.

B. the group placater.

C. an information filter.

D. an authentic dissenter.

Answer 8

Answer C is correct. As described by Janis (1982), self-appointed mindguards shield group members from disconfirming or problematic information that might have an adverse effect on the group’s cohesiveness. In other words, they act as an information filter.

Question 9

Hackman and Oldham’s (1980) job characteristics model predicts that designing a job so it provides employees with five core job characteristics will have the greatest positive impact on employees who are:

A. low in self-monitoring.

B. high in self-monitoring.

C. low in growth-need strength.

D. high in growth-need strength.

Answer 9

Answer D is correct. According to Hackman and Oldham, the effects of the five core job characteristics on job outcomes are moderated by an employee’s growth-need strength: Workers with high growth-need strength (those who seek to fulfill higher-order needs) are more likely than those with low growth-need strength to be positively affected by a job that provides the five core characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback). Self-monitoring (answers A and B) is not identified by Hackman and Oldham as a characteristic related to their job characteristics model. It refers to the extent to which people rely on internal or external cues to guide their behaviors: People low in self-monitoring rely on their own attitudes, beliefs, and feelings to determine how to act in social situations and, therefore, act similarly in different social situations. In contrast, people who are high in self-monitoring are concerned about the impressions that others have of them and adapt their actions to fit the emotions and behaviors of other people. As a result, they may act differently in different social situations.

Question 11

At the end of the initial therapy session with a married couple who say they constantly argue, a practitioner of __________ therapy will assign them a task to complete before the next session that requires them to identify things in their relationship that they want to continue.

A. solution-focused

B. interpersonal

C. reality

D. acceptance and commitment

Answer 11

Answer A is correct.

Each session of solution-focused therapy is structured and involves asking questions, providing feedback, and assigning a task to complete before the next session. For example, the formula first session task is assigned at the end of the first session and requires clients to identify something in their lives that they want to continue.

Question 12

____________ conditioning is the most effective method for establishing a conditioned response.

A. Backward

B. Trace

C. Delay

D. Simultaneous

Answer 12

Answer C is correct. Delay conditioning is a type of forward conditioning in which presentation of the conditioned stimulus precedes and overlaps presentation of the unconditioned stimulus. Of the methods for presenting the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, delay conditioning produces the fastest acquisition of the conditioned response.

Question 13

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 13

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.

Question 14

Ryder and his colleagues (2008) compared the symptoms of depression of Chinese outpatients residing in China and Euro-Canadian outpatients and found that:

A. Chinese patients were more likely than Euro-Canadian patients to express somatic symptoms and less likely to express psychological symptoms.

B. Chinese patients were more likely than Euro-Canadian patients to express psychological symptoms and less likely to express somatic symptoms.

C. Chinese patients and Euro-Canadian patients expressed a similar proportion of somatic and psychological symptoms.

D. Chinese outpatients expressed both somatic and psychological symptoms while Euro-Canadian patients expressed psychological symptoms only.

Answer 14

Answer A is correct.
If you’re not familiar with the Ryder et al. (2008) study, knowing that patients belonging to certain ethnic and cultural groups (including Chinese patients) are more likely to express depression as somatic complaints would have helped you identify the correct answer to this question. These investigators found that Euro-Canadian and Chinese outpatients both expressed a mixture of somatic and psychological symptoms but that Euro-Canadian patients expressed a greater proportion of psychological symptoms while Chinese patients expressed a greater proportion of somatic symptoms. Ryder et al. attribute the propensity of Chinese patients to somaticize depression to “externally oriented thinking,” which occurs because their culture tends to discourage focusing on internal emotional states and, as a result, they’re more likely to notice somatic symptoms. [A. G. Ryder et al., The cultural shaping of depression: Somatic symptoms in China, psychological symptoms in North America?, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117(2), 300-313, 2008]

Question 15

The three primary functions of interprofessional collaboration in primary care settings are referred to as the “triple aim” and include all of the following except:

A. improve health outcomes.

B. improve patient care.

C. reduce disparities in services.

D. reduce healthcare costs.

Answer 15

Answer C is correct. The three primary functions of interprofessional collaboration in primary care are the functions listed in answers A, B, and D. Reducing disparities in services (answer C) is the best answer not only because it is not one of the three primary functions identified in the literature but also because it is best viewed as a contributor to improved health outcomes and patient care rather than as a separate function. [See, e.g., R. A. Zucchero, Psychology student experience of a brief, interprofessional team training, Psychology Learning & Teaching, 16(1), 84-92, 2017.]

Question 19

A psychotherapist who has an emic perspective:

A. focuses on changing characteristics of the client to better fit environmental demands.

B. focuses on changing the client’s environment to better fit the client’s needs.

C. recognizes the differences between cultural groups.

D. tends to overlook important cultural differences.

Answer 19

Answer C is correct. A psychologist who has an emic perspective believes that behavior is affected by culture and, as a result, views the causes and manifestations of and optimal interventions for psychological disorders as being affected by a person’s cultural background. In contrast, a psychologist who has an etic perspective does not consider the impact of culture and views the causes and manifestations of and optimal interventions for psychological disorders as being essentially the same for members of all cultures. Answers D describes an etic perspective.
Answers A and B refer to autoplastic and alloplastic interventions, respectively.

Question 20

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 20

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].

Question 21

Interest inventories are least useful for predicting which of the following?

A. job choice

B. job satisfaction

C. job performance

D. job persistence

Answer 21

Answer C is correct. Research evaluating the validity of interest inventories has found that they are good predictors of job choice, satisfaction, and persistence. However, they are less valid than intelligence tests for predicting academic and job performance, apparently because performance depends more on ability than interests.

Question 22

As described by Kahneman and Tversky (1974), the representativeness heuristic is most similar to which of the following?

A. illusory correlation

B. counterfactual thinking

C. confirmation bias

D. base rate fallacy

Answer 22

Answer D is correct. The base rate fallacy (also known as base rate neglect) is the tendency to ignore or underuse base rate information and to rely, instead, on irrelevant information. Of the cognitive errors and biases listed in the answers, it’s most similar to the representativeness heuristic. When relying on this heuristic to make judgments about the likelihood of an event, a person ignores base rates and other important information and focuses, instead, on the extent to which the event resembles a typical case. Some experts believe the base rate fallacy is the result of relying on the representativeness heuristic.

Question 23

African American therapy clients are most likely to prefer:

A. a collaborative, client-centered, nondirective approach.

B. an authoritative, educational/informational approach.

C. an egalitarian, problem-focused, time-limited approach.

D. a nondirective, insight-oriented approach.

Answer 23

Answer C is correct.

Although it’s best not to assume that all members of any racial/ethnic group have the same therapy preferences, some generalizations are useful as guidelines. For example, D. W. Sue and D. Sue stress the importance of fostering an egalitarian, collaborative relationship with African American therapy clients and relying on a time-limited, problem-solving approach (Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice, Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, 2016).

Question 24

Which of the following areas of the brain has been identified as “ground zero” for Alzheimer’s disease?

A. amygdala

B. thalamus

C. locus coeruleus

D. corpus callosum

Answer 24

Answer C is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question, you have to know that the term “ground zero” is used to refer to the starting point of an event and that the locus coeruleus (an area in the brain stem) has been identified as the first area of the brain to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease (Mather & Harley, 2016). As the disorder progresses, many other areas of the brain are affected including the amygdala, thalamus, and corpus callosum.

Question 25

Tom watches a very violent movie and, on his way out of the crowded movie theater, his skinny friend accidentally steps on Tom’s foot. Tom reacts by becoming very angry and yelling at and shoving his friend. Tom’s behavior toward his friend is best explained by which of the following?

A. excitation transfer theory

B. social facilitation

C. mere exposure effect

D. frustration aggression hypothesis

Answer 25

Answer A is correct. Excitation transfer “occurs when the arousal caused by one stimulus is added to the arousal from a second stimulus and the combined arousal is attributed (erroneously) to the second stimulus” (C. A. Sanderson, Social psychology, Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2010, p. 423) In the situation described in this question, Tom experienced physiological arousal from watching the violent movie and, when his friend stepped on his foot, the arousal from that event combined with the arousal from the movie. Consistent with the prediction of excitation transfer theory, Tom attributed the combined arousal to having his foot stepped on and overreacted by becoming angry and yelling at and shoving his friend. Note that the frustration-aggression hypothesis (answer D) predicts that the inability to achieve a goal leads to frustration which, in turn, leads to aggressive behavior. This doesn’t describe Tom’s experience.

Question 26

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a research supported treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder that combines which of the following?

A. challenging problematic cognitions related to the trauma and writing and reading a detailed description of the trauma

B. challenging dysfunctional thoughts related to the trauma and stress inoculation training

C. reality testing dysfunctional thoughts related to the trauma and prolonged exposure using an anxiety hierarchy

D. bilateral eye movements with cognitive processing of traumatic memories

Answer 26

Answer A is correct. CPT has received considerable research support as a treatment for PTSD and combines cognitive therapy with exposure. The cognitive therapy component focuses on identifying and challenging negative beliefs (“stuck points”) that keep the person from recovering from the trauma. The exposure component involves writing a detailed description of the traumatic event and reading it aloud to the therapist.

Question 27

Diazepam, alprazolam, and lorazepam are:

A. opioids that are used to treat chronic pain.

B. antidepressants that are used to treat atypical depression.

C. benzodiazepines that are used to treat anxiety and insomnia.

D. barbiturates that are used to treat anxiety and seizures.

Answer 27

Answer C is correct. Diazepan (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), and lorazepam (Ativan) are benzodiazepines and are one type of sedative-hypnotics (barbiturates are another type). The benzodiazepines increase GABA activity and are used to treat anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and alcohol withdrawal.

Question 29

The first-line treatment for female orgasmic disorder (FOD) is generally considered to be which of the following?

A. orgasmic reconditioning

B. relaxation training

C. Kegel exercises

D. directed masturbation

Answer 29

Answer D is correct. Behavioral and cognitive-behavioral techniques have been found effective for treating FOD. Of these, directed masturbation is the most empirically supported technique (especially for lifelong FOD) and is considered to be the first-line treatment for this disorder.

Question 30

A patient with a brain injury who is nonagitated but confused and responds to simple, familiar commands but has difficulty retaining new information would most likely receive a __________ rating on the Rancho Scale of Cognitive Functioning Revised.

A. Level I

B. Level III

C. Level V

D. Level VIII

Answer 30

A patient with a brain injury who is nonagitated but confused and responds to simple, familiar commands but has difficulty retaining new information would most likely receive a __________ rating on the Rancho Scale of Cognitive Functioning Revised.

A. Level I

B. Level III

C. Level V

D. Level VIII

Question 31

Practitioners of Glasser’s (1998) reality therapy are most likely to agree that the primary source of human motivation is which of the following?

A. basic innate needs

B. striving for superiority

C. an innate self-actualizing tendency

D. future goals

Answer 31

Answer A is correct. Glasser proposed that five basic innate needs act as the primary sources of motivation: survival, freedom, love and belonging, power, and fun.

Question 32

A recently hired employee gets his first performance review and notices that, while the review is very positive and his supervisor has said many nice things about him, the supervisor has included a minor criticism of his written reports. This single criticism causes the employee to conclude that he’s worthless and will never get promoted out of his entry-level job. Aaron Beck would consider the employee’s conclusion to be an example of which of the following?

A. personalization

B. selective abstraction

C. dichotomous thinking

D. arbitrary inference

Answer 32

Answer B is correct. Selective abstraction is a type of cognitive distortion that involves drawing a conclusion based on one detail while ignoring the “bigger picture.” In the situation described in this question, the employee has decided that he’s worthless and not likely to be promoted based on a single criticism while ignoring the fact that he received a very positive performance review. Selective abstraction is sometimes confused with arbitrary inference (answer D). However, selective abstraction involves drawing a conclusion based on a detail that’s taken out of context, while arbitrary inference involves drawing a conclusion without any corroborating evidence.

Question 33

Which of the following are evidence-based treatments for binge-eating disorder?

A. cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy

B. cognitive-behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing

C. family focused therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy

D. family-based treatment and acceptance and commitment therapy

Answer 33

Answer A is correct. The adaptations of cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy for eating disorders are evidence-based treatments for binge-eating disorder and are recommended by the American Psychological Association’s Society of Clinical Psychology (https://div12.org/treatments).

Question 35

Dronabinol is a synthetic form of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that has been FDA approved for the treatment of:

A. chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

B. irritable bowel syndrome.

C. dystonia.

D. levodopa-induced dyskinesias.

Answer 35

Answer A is correct. Dronabinol has been approved for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting for patients with cancer who have not responded to other antiemetic treatments. It has not been approved by the FDA for the conditions listed in answers B, C, and D.

Question 37

When conducting research to evaluate the outcomes of a new treatment for a mental disorder:

A. efficacy studies that maximize internal validity are usually conducted first and effectiveness studies that maximize external validity are conducted next.

B. effectiveness studies that maximize internal validity are usually conducted first and efficacy studies that maximize internal validity are conducted next.

C. efficacy studies that maximize external validity are usually conducted first and effectiveness studies that maximize internal validity are conducted next.

D. effectiveness studies that maximize external validity are usually conducted first and efficacy studies that maximize internal validity are conducted next.

Answer 37

Answer A is correct. To identify the correct answer to this question, you need to know that efficacy studies maximize internal validity (which makes it possible to identify the effects of a treatment on the outcome variables), while effectiveness studies maximize external validity (which makes it possible to generalize those effects to other populations and conditions). Knowing this would allow you to eliminate answers B and C. Then, to identify answer A as the correct answer, you have to know that internal validity places a limit on external validity – i.e., if a treatment has limited internal validity, it will necessarily have limited external validity. Therefore, it makes sense that you’d want to be “able to conclude with reasonable certainty that your independent variable is responsible for the observed change in the dependent variable before there is anything worthwhile to generalize to the population at large” [J. Rosqvist, J. C. Thomas, & P. Truax, Effectiveness versus efficacy studies, in J. C. Thomas & M. Hersen (Eds.), Understanding research in clinical and counseling psychology (pp. 319-354), New York, Routledge, 2011].

Question 38

Lewinsohn’s (1974) model of depression attributes it to:

A. a chronic boundary disturbance.

B. “depressogenic” cognitions.

C. a low rate of response-contingent reinforcement.

D. inadequate stimulus discrimination.

Answer 38

Answer C is correct. Knowing that Lewinsohn’s model of depression is known as social reinforcement theory would have helped you identify the correct answer to this question. The model is based on the principles of operant conditioning and attributes depression to low rates of response-contingent reinforcement for social behaviors due to a lack of reinforcement in the environment and/or poor social skills.

Question 39

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 39

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.

Question 40

A psychology intern working at a mental health clinic tells her supervisor that, during the first session with a new client, he revealed that he’s gay. The intern says she does not want to work with this client or any other gay or lesbian clients because homosexuality violates her religious beliefs. The supervisor should:

A. tell the intern that she should just treat the client like any other client and volunteer to provide her with additional supervision as needed to help her do so.

B. tell the intern that she has to work with diverse clients (including homosexual clients) to complete her internship and volunteer to provide her with additional supervision to help her resolve the conflict between her religious beliefs and the requirements of her internship.

C. determine if it’s necessary to reassign the intern’s current client to another therapist and reassure the intern that she has the right to refuse to work with gay and lesbian clients.

D. determine if it’s necessary to reassign the intern’s current client to another therapist and discuss with the intern ways that might help her reconcile the conflict between her religious beliefs and the requirement that psychologists work effectively with diverse (including homosexual) clients.

Answer 40

Answer D is correct. Conflicts between religious values and professional competence when working with diverse clients have been addressed by a number of experts. For example, the APA’s Virtual Working Group on Restrictions Affecting Diversity Training in Graduate Education developed a Sample Program Policy Statement that articulates the policy for APA-accredited programs when trainees experience conflicts when working with diverse clients. Among other things, its states that the program is committed to helping trainees develop the knowledge and skills they need to work with diverse clients and to providing trainees with additional time and faculty support to help them integrate their personal values with the professional competence they need to work with all clients. Answer D is the best answer because it not only reflects this position but also takes into account the welfare of the intern’s current client. See, e.g., E. H. Wise, K. J. Bieschke, L. Forrest, J. Cohen-Filpic, W. L. Hathaway, and L. A. Douce, Psychology’s proactive approach to conscience clause court cases and legislation, Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 9, 259-268, 2015.