Laws and ethics Flashcards
Question ID #18440: Dr. Bettina Browne, a licensed psychologist, undertakes a child custody evaluation at the request of the child’s mother. The father agrees to be evaluated also, and Dr. Browne obtains signed informed consents from both parents before beginning her assessment. Dr. Browne administers the MMPI and Rorschach tests to both parents. The mother obtains significantly elevated scores on the MMPI’s K and L scales, suggesting that she tends to lie and to be excessively defensive, and these tendencies are confirmed by her Rorschach responses. No significant abnormality is suggested by the father’s MMPI and Rorschach results. On the basis of these test results, Dr. Browne recommends that the mother not be awarded custody of the child. Dr. Browne:
Select one:
A. has acted ethically because her evaluation included both parents.
B. has acted ethically because the parents signed informed consents before the evaluation.
C. has acted unethically because of her use of the MMPI and Rorschach tests as methods of evaluating the mothers parental suitability.
D. has acted unethically because she made specific recommendations regarding custody rather than simply reporting the results of the evaluation.
C
Question ID #18457: After three sessions with a therapy client, Dr. Leonard Lykowski realizes that he’s feeling somewhat hostile toward the client because she reminds him of his wife who he’s currently divorcing. Dr. Lykowski’s best course of action would be to:
Select one:
A. refer the client to another therapist without telling the client the reason for the referral.
B. refer the client to another therapist after discussing the reason with her.
C. recognize that his feelings are the result of countertransference and continue to work with the client.
D. consult with another psychologist to determine whether or not to continue seeing the client in therapy.
D
Question ID #18474: Sally S., age 14, tells her therapist that she wants to die and that she has access to her mother’s sleeping pills. The therapist believes that Sally’s threat is serious and tells Sally that he’ll have to contact her parents. Sally says she thought they had agreed when she started therapy that everything she told the therapist would be confidential. If the therapist contacts Sally’s parents, he has acted:
Select one: Select one:
A. unethically if Sally was, in fact, told that confidentiality would be maintained.
B. unethically if he contacts Sallys parents without first obtaining Sallys consent to do so.
C. ethically as long as the limits of confidentiality were discussed with Sally at the outset of therapy.
D. ethically since a breach of confidentiality is justified when a client is suicidal.
D
Question ID #18477: Which of the following is true about the use of deception in a research study that may cause participants physical pain?
Select one: Select one:
A. Deception is acceptable in studies that may cause pain only when the use of pain is justified by the study’s potential value.
B. Deception is acceptable in studies that may cause pain only when there are no alternative methods for conducting the study.
C. Deception is prohibited when the pain is physical but not when it is psychological in nature.
D. Deception is prohibited whether the pain is physical or psychological in nature.
D
Question ID #18479: Dr. Calvin Claymore, a licensed psychologist, regularly waives the co-payment for low-income clients whose therapy fees are covered by insurance. This practice is:
Select one: Select one:
A. ethical only if the insurance company has agreed to this arrangement.
B. ethical since it is in the best interests of low-income clients.
C. ethical as long as Dr. Claymore doesnt bill the insurance company for an increased hourly fee in order to collect her full fee.
D. ethical as long as the insurance company does not explicitly prohibit this arrangement.
A
Question ID #18487: A psychologist should be aware that information contained in client records:
Select one:
A. is protected by law and can never be disclosed without the client’s consent.
B. is the property of the psychologist and cannot be disclosed without his/her consent.
C. is the joint property of the psychologist and client and cannot be disclosed without the consent of both.
D. is not free from disclosure all of the time, regardless of the wishes of the client or the psychologist.
D
Question ID #18493: A psychologist is writing a book for popular distribution and illustrates the section on projective personality tests with a number of the pictures used in the Hand Test. This use of test materials in this way is:
Select one:
A. clearly unethical because it compromises the usefulness of the test.
B. ethical only if the publisher of the book has accepted responsibility for including the pictures. C. ethical since the Hand Test is not a commonly used psychological test.
D. professionally questionable but not covered by ethical guidelines.
A
Question ID #18499: A client is in therapy with you as part of the requirements for her probation. During the third therapy session, she tells you that she wants to quit therapy. You should:
Select one:
A. tell her that she cannot do so.
B. tell her that she can quit but that she needs to consider the legal ramifications of doing so.
C. tell her that her desire to quit is normal resistance and that she should come to therapy for at least two more sessions before making a decision.
D. call the police immediately.
B
Question ID #18501: Dr. Delores Del Rio has been seeing Jeff J. in therapy for four months. For the last month, Jeff has complained about the progress he is making in therapy and, Dr. Del Rio has responded by working with him to modify treatment goals. In the last therapy session, however, Jeff again stated that he is not happy with therapy. Dr. Del Rio’s best course of action would be to:
Select one:
A. recognize that Jeff’s concerns are a normal reaction to the changes he is making as the result of therapy.
B. make a clinical decision as to whether or not Jeff is actually benefiting from therapy and, if he is, encourage him to continue with therapy for at least several more sessions.
C. discuss Jeff’s continued dissatisfaction with him and the possibility of terminating therapy.
D. tell Jeff that she is ethically required to terminate therapy with him since he is not satisfied with the progress he is making.
C
Question ID #18507: A 26-year-old client you have been seeing for two months unexpectedly admits to you that he had sexual relations with the 15-year old daughter of his neighbor six months ago. He says that he knows what he did was wrong and that he’ll never do it again. You should:
Select one: Select one:
A. maintain the client’s confidentiality.
B. report the client to the appropriate authorities.
C. alert the parents of his victim.
D. report the client to the appropriate authorities and alert the parents of his victim.
B
Question ID #18514: To be consistent with ethical requirements, David DeFoe, a psychology intern, must do which of the following when a supervisor has legal responsibility for his work?
Select one: Select one:
A. He must tell his clients that he is a psychology intern.
B. He must tell his clients that his work is being supervised.
C. He must provide clients with information about his education and experience.
D. He must indicate his status on his business card.
A
Question ID #18515: A client Dr. Amanda Alto has been seeing in therapy for three months is suddenly fired from her job and can no longer afford Dr. Alto’s fee. The client suggests that she babysit for Dr. Alto’s children in exchange for therapy. In terms of ethical guidelines, this exchange would be:
Select one:
A. ethical.
B. ethical only if Dr. Alto discusses the potential for conflict with the client.
C. ethical only if a fair market value is established for the clients babysitting services.
D. unethical.
D
Question ID #18522: Malpractice is a tort involving which of the following? Select one: Select one: A. failure to protect B. coercion C. negligence D. breach of contract
C
Question ID #18523: Of the following, which is responsible for the largest proportion of complaints filed with the APA's Ethics Committee? Select one: Select one: A. sexual misconduct B. test misuse C. breach of confidentiality D. discrimination
A
Question ID #18530: Which of the following best describes the provisions of the APA’s Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology regarding contingent fees?
Select one: Select one:
A. Contingent fees are acceptable as long as they are fair and equitable.
B. Contingent fees are acceptable only for expert or fact witnesses who do not have a previous relationship with the person they are testifying about.
C. Contingent fees should ordinarily be avoided.
D. Contingent fees are not addressed by the Specialty Guidelines.
C
