Pocket Prep 3 Flashcards
Which of the following describes the concept of conservation, according to the work of Jean Piaget?
Quantity changes because appearance changes
Quantity changes indirectly when appearance changes
Quantity does not change because appearance changes
Quantity only changes when the object is removed completely
Correct answer: Quantity does not change because appearance changes
Conservation, according to the work of Jean Piaget, is the knowledge by a child that quantity and volume do not necessarily change because the appearance of that object changes; in other words, it is a realistic and diagnostic assessment of the effect of physical change on an object.
This is seen as characteristic of the concrete operations stage of Jean Piaget’s model, which takes place between the ages of 7 and 12.
It is common for anxiety disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to occur in the same individual at the same time. This phenomenon is known as:
prodromal symptoms
contraindication
disorientation
comorbidity
Correct answer: comorbidity
Comorbidity refers to two illnesses occurring at the same time in the same person. It is important for counselors to be aware of which disorders tend to be comorbid, such as depression and substance abuse. While it is sometimes difficult to ascertain which disorder occurred first, counselors can work with clients to figure out whether symptoms of one disorder are worsening symptoms of the other.
Which of the following is the correct sequence of object loss?
Protest, despair, recovery
Protest, elation, detachment
Protest, elation, recovery
Protest, despair, detachment
Correct answer: Protest, despair, detachment
Object loss in the context of developmental psychology refers to the loss of a key attachment figure at a formative age. The process is said to go from protest, in which the child shows behavior rejecting the loss, to despair, in which a negative adjustment to the loss is achieved, and finally to detachment, in which a separation from other human beings is reached in some form
A counselor who specializes in women’s issues frequently encounters clients who find themselves exhausted from taking care of others, such as children and other family members. The counselor encourages her clients to find ways to establish a better balance between commitment to others and self-care. This concept of healthier balance is explored in which of the following?
Carol Gilligan’s In a Different Voice
Jean Baker Miller’s Toward a New Psychology of Women
Gail Sheehy’s Passages
Harriet Lerner’s The Dance of Intimacy
Correct answer: Harriet Lerner’s The Dance of Intimacy
In her book The Dance of Intimacy (1990), Harriet Lerner presents the idea that women need to seek to establish a healthy balance between investment in others and investment in oneself. Lerner stresses the point that relationships should be based on mutual respect and appreciation, and that women should be independent and assertive.
Who developed the concept of the life-career rainbow?
John Krumboltz
John Crites
John Holland
Donald Super
Correct answer: Donald Super
Early in his career, Super’s explanation of career development consisted of vocational development stages and vocational development tasks. In the middle part of his career, however, Super acknowledged that career development involves not only the career but variables within the individual. His life-career rainbow acknowledges the eight life roles that many people hold (homemaker, spouse, parent, worker, citizen, leisurite, student, and child) and helps people think about the work/life balance in their lives.
Which of the following would be the best example of a holophrase?
“I am depressed.”
“Are you my counselor?”
“Me sleep.”
“I hear voices.”
Correct answer: “Me sleep.”
A holophrase refers to a vocalization, commonly after the first year of life, in which only one or two words are used to communicate meaning. Holophrases generally do not adhere to rules of grammar or sentence structure and are seen as a building block to further and more robust expression in language.
The other phrases listed are either rational or delusional, not holophrases.
The concept of splitting in object relations means assigning “all good” or “all bad” statuses to a person depending on the circumstances. Psychologically, how does this benefit the individual who engages in splitting?
It increases anxiety by predicting behavior
It boosts self-esteem by making others predictable
It boosts self-esteem by differentiating the self from others
It reduces anxiety by predicting behavior
Correct answer: It reduces anxiety by predicting behavior
The mind engages in many strategies, conscious and unconscious, to preserve its homeostasis and reduce discomfort. One of these is splitting from the field of object relations. In splitting, an “all good” or “all bad” assignment is made to people based on current circumstances. In adults, it is a way of describing the personality of others that in effect reduces anxiety by predicting behavior and making it knowable. The phenomenon suggests an intolerance for the ambiguity and unpredictability of human behavior.
Splitting is not meant to increase anxiety or self-esteem.
When asked what she does for work, an individual replies, “I’m a psychologist.” This is an example of all of the following except which one?
Occupation
Lifestyle
Career
Job
Correct answer: Lifestyle
There are many career-related definitions used both in society and in the field of career counseling. “Lifestyle” refers to an individual’s general preference in regard to career, living space, family, leisure, and other factors. “Occupation” is a definable work activity, and “job” is one person in one position doing certain tasks. “Career” has several different definitions, but ranges from the series of occupations one has to all of the work roles someone engages in. A woman defining herself as a psychologist refers to her occupation, job, and career, but not necessarily to her lifestyle.
Which of the following is most likely to be used to treat a phobia?
Medication alone
Psychotherapy and medication
Systematic desensitization
Inpatient treatment
Correct answer: Systematic desensitization
Based on the work of Ivan Pavlov, systematic desensitization works on the principle of gradual exposure to the feared stimulus in some form. There are various types of systematic desensitization, and different patients may proceed at varying rates through the modality.
Psychotherapy and medication do not address the heart of the problem, which is fear of a particular stimulus. Inpatient treatment is most likely not called for, and medication alone would do nothing to address the root issue.
A client tells their career counselor that they are interested in having an annual salary of about $50,000, and they want to know what types of careers are currently on the rise. They have a bachelor’s degree and are not interested in going back to school. What tool might the career counselor use to help this client narrow down their search?
DOT
SIGI 3
OOH
World-of-Work map
Correct answer: OOH
The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) is published every other year and offers information about current salaries and projected trends. This would be the best way for this particular client to narrow down their options for an occupation based on salary, educational requirements, and future job projections.
None of the remaining answer options are as effective as the OOH at narrowing down options based on the information given in this question. The World-of-Work map is a tool developed by ACT that organizes occupations based on primary tasks related to People, Data, Things, and Ideas. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) offers summaries of about 12,000 occupations. The System of Interactive Guidance and Information (SIGI 3) is a top-of-the-line computer-assisted career guidance system that can supplement the assessments and guidance of career counselors.
Who is known for his belief that developmental tasks, which are the skills a person obtains through maturation, must be accomplished at each stage of growth before the next stage can successfully occur?
John Watson
Abraham Maslow
Aaron Beck
Robert Havighurst
Correct answer: Robert Havighurst
Robert Havighurst developed the idea that, in order to move through life successfully, individuals must master the developmental tasks of each stage of growth. These developmental tasks are those that result from physical growth, societal influences, and personal values.
Abraham Maslow is known for his hierarchy of needs, which begins with physiological needs and progresses to social and cognitive needs. John Watson was a behaviorist who believed individuals’ behaviors result from rewards and punishment. Aaron Beck was a psychiatrist who developed cognitive therapy.
What role do psychodynamic techniques play in Crites’ model of career counseling?
They are used as part of the assessment and inventory process
Crites does not recommended psychodynamic techniques due to their long-term nature
They are used after the problem is diagnosed to help the client interpret and understand why the problem was occurring
They are used before diagnosis takes place so the client can begin to formulate reasons why they are having problems
Correct answer: They are used after the problem is diagnosed to help the client interpret and understand why the problem was occurring
John Crites’ model of career counseling is a comprehensive approach that requires the counselor to diagnose the career problem using differential, dynamic, and decisional approaches. Crites also believed that once the career problem has been diagnosed, the counselor should provide client-centered counseling, psychodynamic techniques, and trait-factor and behavioral approaches. Psychodynamic techniques in career counseling may include interpretation and reflection on the client’s internal emotional experiences.
Which of the following is an accurate definition of confirmation bias?
Taking in information that agrees with your view and ignoring that which does not
Taking in information that agrees with your view as well as that which does not
Taking in information that agrees with your view as long as there is no evidence to the contrary
Remembering information that agrees with your view but not that which does not
Correct answer: Taking in information that agrees with your view and ignoring that which does not
Confirmation bias is a perceptual/judgmental phenomenon by which people tend to take in and accept information and data that agree with their point of view while ignoring those that do not. This is in keeping with the general tendency of the mind to attempt to prevent challenges to its homeostasis.
This tendency does not have to do with memory or evidence per se, except insofar as evidence is less favored when it does not agree with an established point of view.
Which of the following is an accurate statement per social comparison theory?
We judge our behaviors and success without comparison to others
We judge our behaviors and success by comparison to others if the comparison is favorable
We judge our behaviors and success by comparison to others
We judge our behaviors and success by comparison to others if the comparison is unfavorable
Correct answer: We judge our behaviors and success by comparison to others
Social comparison theory, which arose from the research of Leon Festinger, suggests that we judge our behaviors and success by comparison with others. Rather than evaluating our behavior or success with reference to our past, our current progress, or our eventual goals, we tend to compare ourselves first to what we believe about how others are doing.
An adult client is receiving counseling for depression and dysfunctional relationship patterns as a result of childhood trauma. During a session, the client tells her counselor that she was fired from her job two weeks before, has been unable to pay her rent, and might have to sell her car in order to buy food for her children. The counselor believes that before the client can make further progress exploring depression or trauma, the client must find another job and be more financially stable.
The counselor’s perspective is based on which of the following?
Gesell’s maturationist theory
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The behaviorism learning approach
The work of Jean Baker Miller
Correct answer: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow, 20th century American psychologist, is known for his theory that individuals’ needs can be ranked on a pyramid, with the most important needs at the bottom. This Hierarchy of Needs places physiological and safety needs (food, shelter, medical care, etc.) at the bottom, implying that these needs must be met before higher level emotional needs (love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization) can be met.
Gesell’s maturationist theory is based on the belief that human development is governed by an individual’s genetic composition. The behaviorism learning approach is a broad approach that views behavior as a result of reinforcement and motivation. Jean Baker Miller is known for her contributions to the field of women’s mental health.
In order to meet the criteria for a DSM-5 diagnosis, individuals must experience psychological dysfunction. Which of the following is the best definition of this term?
Labile emotional states that interfere with cognition
Impaired cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning
Confusion regarding one’s spiritual, emotional, and psychological needs
The lack of interpersonal relationships
Correct answer: Impaired cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning
Individuals whose functioning is severely impaired are said to be experiencing psychological dysfunction. While specific DSM-5 diagnoses might require that certain criteria, such as extreme mood states, are met, it is a requirement for all diagnoses that the individual experience impaired functioning as a result of the symptoms.
A young girl decides she wants to be a doctor when she grows up, but after reading several children’s books about doctors she tells her mother she is going to be a nurse “because doctors are boys and nurses are girls.” In what stage of vocational development is this child, according to Gottfredson?
Orientation to gender allowances
Orientation to size and power
Orientation to social valuation
Orientation to sex roles
Correct answer: Orientation to sex roles
Linda Gottfredson is known for her career development theory “Circumscription and Compromise.” According to Gottfredson, vocational self-concept develops in childhood and influences occupational selection. An individual progresses through four stages: orientation to size and power (ages three to five), when children think concretely and begin thinking about occupations they might like; orientation to sex roles (ages six to eight), when children learn that occupations are sex-typed and performed primarily by one sex or the other; orientation to social valuation (ages nine to 13), when children realize that occupations vary in social value and desirability; and orientation to internal unique self (ages 14 and up), when adolescents reflect on their own values and interests and use these to inform occupational decisions.
What is the importance of neurotransmitters in the context of counseling individuals with mood disorders?
Neurotransmitters are solely responsible for memory, so clients can remember counseling sessions and apply concepts in between sessions
Neurotransmitters are a good predictor of how good someone’s prognosis will be after receiving counseling
Neurotransmitters act as sponges to absorb the extreme emotional reactions that tend to come up in counseling sessions
Neurotransmitters directly affect a person’s mood as well as their emotional and cognitive functioning
Correct answer: Neurotransmitters directly affect a person’s mood as well as their emotional and cognitive functioning
Neurotransmitters, which include acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, and Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA), are brain chemicals that affect all types of emotional, psychological, behavioral, and cognitive responses people have to their surroundings. When an individual lacks a certain neurotransmitter, they can experience symptoms such as severe depression, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, or poor cognitive performance.
Which of the following would be the best example of introjection as expressed in psychoanalytic family therapy?
A family begins to act like another family
A family thoughtfully examines its own structure
A wife takes on the personality traits of her husband
A child distracts from family problems with misbehavior
Correct answer: A wife takes on the personality traits of her husband
In psychoanalytic family therapy, the term introjection refers to roughly the same phenomenon as the defense mechanism of the same name: taking on aspects of another person within oneself. An example might be a wife taking on aspects of her husband’s personality.
The concept does not refer to a family structure or gross changes in family behavior.
Which of the following is generally true about persons suffering from somatic symptom disorders?
They are manufacturing symptoms and do not really experience them
They are experiencing traumatic flashbacks
They experience their symptoms as real
They are experiencing a mild form of psychosis
Correct answer: They experience their symptoms as real
Persons who suffer from disorders that the DSM-5 has placed in the category of somatic symptom and related disorders are not manufacturing symptoms that they do not really feel. They do experience symptoms that are real in their experience, although they do not have any medical or physical evidence to support their existence.
These people are not experiencing psychosis, and most likely the somatic symptom disorder is not a traumatic flashback.
Which statement is true regarding trauma- and stressor-related disorders?
Depending on the client, a wide variety of psychotherapeutic approaches may be recommended
They must be diagnosed before the age of 18
They are caused only by recurring, chronic traumatic events
A diagnosis should be automatically given to any child or adult who has experienced a traumatic event
Correct answer: Depending on the client, a wide variety of psychotherapeutic approaches may be recommended
Trauma- and stressor-related disorders are caused by being involved in, witnessing, or otherwise being exposed to one or more traumatic events. Reactive attachment disorder, disinhibited social engagement disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, and adjustment disorders all fall into this category. This category of disorders is very broad, so a wide variety of psychotherapeutic approaches may be recommended.
What are the typically recommended treatments for bipolar disorders?
Group therapy and family counseling
Mood-stabilizing medication and psychotherapy
Relaxation training and antipsychotic medication
Interpersonal therapy and cognitive behavior therapy
Correct answer: Mood-stabilizing medication and psychotherapy
Bipolar and related disorders include some aspect of mania and/or hypomania, such as changes in energy and activity. Clinicians agree that a combination of mood-stabilizing medication, such as Depakote, and psychotherapy are recommended for individuals with bipolar disorder. Psychoeducation, cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy, and interpersonal therapy are the best therapeutic options for clients with bipolar disorder.
What group has the highest rate of unemployment in the United States?
Hispanic females
Hispanic males
Black males
White females
Correct answer: Black males
Rates of unemployment often depend on the cultural/ethnic group. Black males experience the highest levels of unemployment, while white males have the lowest unemployment rates, followed by white females, Hispanic males, Hispanic females, and black females.
Which of the following occupations will likely have the most job openings during the next decade?
Registered nurses
College professors
Postal service clerks
Locomotive firers
Correct answer: Registered nurses
It is important for career counselors to keep up with workforce trends. Over the next ten years, the fastest growing occupational categories are predicted to be health care and professional occupations. Within these categories, there will be the most job openings for registered nurses, personal care aides, and retail salespersons. The slowest growing occupations will be postal service clerks, locomotive firers, and lumber workers. College professors will likely stay the same or grow slightly.
A college student has known for a while that she wants to be a biologist. She is currently taking classes to determine which area of biology she wants to pursue in her career. This individual is in the process of completing which vocational development task, according to Donald Super?
Specification
Stabilization
Implementation
Crystallization
Correct answer: Specification
Donald Super’s explanation of career development consists of vocational development stages and vocational development tasks. The vocational development tasks are crystallization (forming a vocational goal), specification (moving to a more specific career choice), implementation (entering employment), stabilization (performing a job), and consolidation (achieving status and advancing). This student is performing the task of specification, when individuals move from more general career interests to a specific vocational choice.
Which of the following is an accurate statement about the maturation hypothesis?
Heredity guides behavior but only when homeostasis is available
Heredity guides behavior and does so without reference to the environment
Heredity guides behavior but only when social cues are present
Heredity guides behavior but only at the right time or under the appropriate stimuli
Correct answer: Heredity guides behavior but only at the right time or under the appropriate stimuli
The maturation hypothesis suggests that heredity guides behavior but only at the right time or under the appropriate stimuli. For example, a baby has all of the innate resources they need to master language but will only do so when this step is developmentally possible.
The maturation hypothesis does not suggest that heredity guides behavior without reference to the environment, only when social cues are present, or only when homeostasis is available
Which of the following accurately reflects the general behaviorist view of phobias?
Engaging with a feared stimulus intensifies the fear
Avoiding a feared stimulus intensifies the fear
Avoiding a feared stimulus reduces the fear
Engaging with a feared stimulus is contraindicated
Correct answer: Avoiding a feared stimulus intensifies the fear
The behaviorist view of phobias is that they can be “unlearned” through systematic desensitization and flooding strategies. The idea behind these strategies is that avoiding a feared stimulus intensifies the fear of that stimulus. In some form or another, a behaviorist view of phobias is going to involve a degree of exposure to a feared stimulus.
Engaging with a feared stimulus may increase fear in the near term, but in the long term, it will reduce fear (in the behaviorist view
It is common for individuals living near each other, such as those residing in the same neighborhood or area of a city, to form romantic relationships with each other. This phenomenon is known as:
prevalence
etiology
propinquity
comorbidity
Correct answer: propinquity
Propinquity is often one of the main factors leading to romantic attraction between individuals. It refers to the proximity between people who live or work near each other. The propinquity effect, therefore, is the tendency for people to form relationships with others they encounter often.
A career counselor, who is White, is confronted by an African-American client he has been seeing for several months. The client tells the counselor she feels that he has been pointing her in a career direction based more on her race and gender than on her true abilities. What should the career counselor do first?
Listen to the client explain why she feels this way, then validate her feelings
Ask the client to leave, then call an attorney for assistance
Consult with a supervisor or colleague
Explain the reasons why this is not true
Correct answer: Listen to the client explain why she feels this way, then validate her feelings
Career counselors must be careful not to stereotype clients based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, background, or any other characteristic. If a client expresses concerns that the counselor is making suggestions based on stereotypes, the counselor should be open to hearing from the client (rather than becoming defensive). The counselor can validate the client’s feelings and should self-reflect to examine whether the counselor is correct about his or her suspicions.
Which of the following is the best example of an encore career?
Jesse went to school to become an actor, but after graduation, he decides to pursue a career in psychology
At age 40, Karen, a psychiatrist, decides to make a career change and become a pharmacist
Kevin is employed full-time as an architect, but on the weekends takes photographs at weddings and other occasions
After 30 years working for the federal government, Sam decides to take a job at a local home improvement store
Correct answer: After 30 years working for the federal government, Sam decides to take a job at a local home improvement store
Encore careers refer to those times when, for different reasons, retired workers return to work. Most of the time, workers do not return to their former employer but find some other kind of employment. None of the other options refer to individuals who have retired.
A 20-year-old is in counseling for severe sexual and physical trauma she experienced when she was four and five years old. The client decides that she is ready to talk about the trauma with the counselor, but when details of the trauma come up during sessions, the client takes on the voice of a little girl, curls up in a ball on the floor, and acts immaturely. What is the defense mechanism this client is using to cope?
Repression
Reaction formation
Regression
Introjection
Correct answer: Regression
Regression is the return to a much younger psychological and emotional state due to overwhelming feelings. In this situation, the client is so overwhelmed by the feelings associated with her trauma that she retreats to a much more immature state. If skilled, the counselor can use this defense as a way of helping the client through the trauma.
Reaction formation occurs when someone expresses the opposite feeling of what he or she may actually feel. Introjection is the process of using fantasy to identify the expression of an impulse. Repression is the act of forgetting or denying an idea that creates anxiety or other uncomfortable feelings.
What are automatic thoughts, following the work of Beck?
Random, negative, and intrusive cognition
Chosen negative cognition in response to stress
Trauma-inflected reactive cognition
Unconscious cognition resulting in neurosis
Correct answer: Random, negative, and intrusive cognition
Automatic thoughts are a key principle to understand in the work of Beck and his school of cognitive therapy. Automatic thoughts are random, negative, and intrusive cognition that arises in response to the pressures of the world and a client’s experience. If unchallenged, these can drive depression and contribute to unrealistic views about the world.
In this view, automatic thoughts are not chosen, unconscious, or specifically trauma-inflected.
Play therapy and art therapy have which of the following advantages over other kinds of intervention for children?
They have more of a research base than other interventions
They are less difficult to reimburse
They are better at identifying psychosis in children
They are less influenced by cultural differences
Correct answer: They are less influenced by cultural differences
Play therapy and art therapy are specializations in which the traditional forms of therapy (where language is the dominant component) are put aside in favor of expressive modalities where children feel more comfortable. One advantage of these kinds of treatment is that they are less vulnerable to cultural differences, which may affect a more traditional therapeutic interaction in terms of language, trust, and other factors.
Which of the following is one practical example of fixation as it is meant in human development?
A child continues growing physically and emotionally but cognitively remains in one place
A child continues growing emotionally and cognitively but physically remains in one place
A child continues growing physically and cognitively but emotionally remains in one place
All development stops for a short time under the influence of acute stress or trauma
Correct answer: A child continues growing physically and cognitively but emotionally remains in one place
Sigmund Freud suggested that, as a result of traumatic experiences in certain critical and formative stages, fixation might result in human development. Though his own language about developmental stages is specific to his theory, the broader concept of fixation is a useful one when considering psychological development in early life. The general idea is that, due to unresolved stress or trauma, a child can continue growing physically and cognitively but emotionally remain in one place. In other words, a child can grow normally physically and intellectually but can emotionally remain stunted.
With which of the following conditions is the technique of flooding seen as most effective?
Thought disorders
Substance issues
Agoraphobia
Mood disorders
Correct answer: Agoraphobia
The technique of flooding comes from the behaviorist school of desensitization, whose general premise is that exposure to a feared stimulus reduces fear of that stimulus. Many such approaches are gradual, such as the technique of systematic desensitization. Flooding involves immediate exposure to the feared stimulus. This approach is seen as more effective in some circumstances than others and seems to be particularly effective in cases of agoraphobia.
Flooding is not seen as being as effective in cases of mood disorder, thought disorder, or substance issues. The technique requires a specific feared stimulus.
Which of the following would be the best example of morphogenesis?
A family unable to survive within the context of a divorce
A family failing to change to deal with the behavior of an individual member
A family creating its own values outside those of society
A family adapting functionally and supportively to an unexpected pregnancy
Correct answer: A family adapting functionally and supportively to an unexpected pregnancy
In terms of family dynamics as expressed in family therapy, morphogenesis describes the ability of the family to change. Being adaptable in the face of an unexpected situation (which would involve multiple people in the family reevaluating their roles and behavior) would be an example.
The concept does not refer to family survival, independently chosen values, or the way the family fails to change.
Which of the following would be the best example of morphogenesis?
A family unable to survive within the context of a divorce
A family failing to change to deal with the behavior of an individual member
A family creating its own values outside those of society
A family adapting functionally and supportively to an unexpected pregnancy
Correct answer: A family adapting functionally and supportively to an unexpected pregnancy
In terms of family dynamics as expressed in family therapy, morphogenesis describes the ability of the family to change. Being adaptable in the face of an unexpected situation (which would involve multiple people in the family reevaluating their roles and behavior) would be an example.
The concept does not refer to family survival, independently chosen values, or the way the family fails to change.
When sharing her moral beliefs with her counselor, a client states that she believes there are universal ethical principles, but she wouldn’t be afraid to go against these principles in the name of human rights such as justice or liberty. What stage of Kohlberg’s moral development is this client in?
Conventional
Postconventional
Preconventional
Self-interested
The client in this scenario is in postconventional moral development.
This is the highest stage of moral development in Kohlberg’s theory. People in this stage believe in universal ethical principles, such as justice and liberty. They are willing to go against laws or social norms if they believe that doing so is in the name of these principles
When sharing her moral beliefs with her counselor, a client states that she believes there are universal ethical principles, but she wouldn’t be afraid to go against these principles in the name of human rights such as justice or liberty. What stage of Kohlberg’s moral development is this client in?
Conventional
Postconventional
Preconventional
Self-interested
Correct answer: Postconventional
Lawrence Kohlberg identified three levels of moral development that relate to the relationship between the individual and society. In the first level, preconventional, individuals judge the morality of an action based on its immediate consequences and rewards. During the conventional level of moral reasoning, individuals judge morality based on the comparison of actions to society’s expectations. During the final level, postconventional, individuals realize they are separate from society and can have principles and ethics different from the greater society.
According to research, which of the following is true about parents who do not use or tolerate aggression in their family?
They influence other families similarly
They produce more aggressive children
They produce less aggressive children
They communicate better than other families
Correct answer: They produce less aggressive children
Research into parenting styles has revealed that when parents do not use or tolerate aggression in the home, the children growing up in these homes tend to be less aggressive. This research does not suggest that these families will influence other families to operate in a similar manner, nor does it suggest that communication is better in families that do not tolerate aggression.
Donald Super is highly regarded for his developmental approach to career counseling. All of the following are vocational development stages described by Super except which one?
Decline
Establishment
Maintenance
Crystallization
Correct answer: Crystallization
Super’s explanation of career development consists of vocational development stages and vocational development tasks. Vocational development stages are growth (development of capacity and interests), exploratory (tentative choices made), establishment (trial and stabilization), maintenance (adjustment process), and decline (retirement). The vocational development tasks are crystallization (forming a vocational goal), specification (moving to a more specific career choice), implementation (entering employment), stabilization (performing a job), and consolidation (achieving status and advancing).
A counselor employed at a shelter for women who are victims of aggressive sexual assault tells her supervisor that she has begun having nightmares recently about being raped. She also says that when she works late and leaves after dark she feels panicky, her heart races, and she feels like she is being watched. She has been having trouble focusing during sessions with women in the shelter and often feels trapped in her own office when the women are talking about being abused.
This counselor is most likely suffering from:
transference
compassion fatigue
secondary traumatic stress
a normal part of the therapeutic process
Correct answer: secondary traumatic stress
Counselors often provide services for individuals who are victims of various types of trauma: abuse, wars, natural disasters, terrorism, and others. Consequences for counselors who work with clients who have been traumatized include burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress. Secondary traumatic stress results from graphic descriptions and details of trauma reported to counselors, who may begin to experience some of the same symptoms as the client. Even though the counselor in this question is not a victim of trauma, she is experiencing physiological symptoms that would indicate otherwise. Secondary traumatic stress is relatively common but is not considered a normal part of the therapeutic process. Symptoms of compassion fatigue include a loss of empathy for and interest in the client. Transference is the redirection of the client’s feelings and beliefs onto the counselor.
A displaced homemaker meets with a career counselor to get help finding a job now that her children have entered adolescence. Which of the following is most likely true regarding this client?
Once she gets a job, she will relegate most of the housework and childcare to her husband or partner
She will need to develop a new skill set, as her former job skills are now obsolete
She will be unable to retire at the same time as her husband or partner
She will need help building her job-seeking skills and self-concept
Correct answer: She will need help building her job-seeking skills and self-concept
Career counselors sometimes encounter individuals who have been stay-at-home parents for a number of years and wish to return to the workplace. Common issues for these “displaced homemakers” include a lack of self-confidence in the job market, poor job-seeking skills, and, at times, no support system.
A displaced homemaker meets with a career counselor to get help finding a job now that her children have entered adolescence. Which of the following is most likely true regarding this client?
Once she gets a job, she will relegate most of the housework and childcare to her husband or partner
She will need to develop a new skill set, as her former job skills are now obsolete
She will be unable to retire at the same time as her husband or partner
She will need help building her job-seeking skills and self-concept
Correct answer: She will need help building her job-seeking skills and self-concept
Career counselors sometimes encounter individuals who have been stay-at-home parents for a number of years and wish to return to the workplace. Common issues for these “displaced homemakers” include a lack of self-confidence in the job market, poor job-seeking skills, and, at times, no support system.
After meeting with a client several times, a career counselor realizes that the client is struggling with indecisiveness that pervades not only his career decisions but his personal life as well. What should the counselor recommend to the client?
Continued assessments and inventories until career choices can be narrowed down
Continued career counseling with a different provider
Trial-and-error approach in which the client tries various careers to find which one he likes most
Personal counseling to resolve emotional and psychological issues
Correct answer: Personal counseling to resolve emotional and psychological issues
Sometimes, individuals struggle to make decisions about their careers because of personal problems and internal conflicts. If a career counselor notices that the client is indecisive even with lots of information, the counselor may recommend personal counseling to resolve emotional and psychological issues. Once personal counseling begins to help, career counseling may be more effective.
What is the resulting ego virtue for the final stage of Erikson’s eight psychosocial stages?
Hope
Wisdom
Love
Will
Correct answer: Wisdom
Erik Erikson is known for developing eight psychosocial stages of development throughout the lifespan. During the final stage, integrity versus despair, individuals look back on their lives and either view them as meaningful or have regrets. The resulting ego virtue is wisdom.
The resulting ego virtue for intimacy versus isolation (early adulthood) is love. The resulting ego virtue for autonomy versus shame and doubt (ages one and a half to three) is will. The resulting ego virtue for trust versus mistrust (birth to one and a half) is hope.
Which of the following distinguished Roe’s approach to career development from that of others?
Roe operated from a social learning approach in which career selection is heavily influenced by social experiences
Roe believed that the parent-child relationship was a central determinant in career selection
Roe focused on self-efficacy and social cognitive theory in her explanation of career selection
Roe took a developmental approach to vocation
Correct answer: Roe believed that the parent-child relationship was a central determinant in career selection
Ann Roe operated from a needs approach and believed that individuals choose careers to meet needs based on parental influences and early childhood experiences. However, there is not a significant base of research to support this theory.
Krumboltz, not Roe, operated from a social learning approach. As stated above, Roe had a needs-based approach, not a developmental approach. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief that he or she is capable of performing a task and does not apply to Roe’s theory.
Which of the following best illustrates the concept of regression?
An adult who is self-conscious about their body begins going to the gym
A child starts to wear adult clothes and speak like an adult
An adult moves in with their parents when under stress
A child attempts to suppress thoughts about harming others
Correct answer: An adult moves in with their parents when under stress
The concept of regression has a strict meaning in the context of psychoanalytic defense mechanisms that is congruent with its more general definition as a broad psychological phenomenon. In both cases, a person is attempting to retreat into an earlier stage of development that is seen as less challenging and threatening. Thus, an adult who moves in with their parents when under stress may be enacting this concept by a symbolic return to childhood.
The other cases listed do not describe an attempt to regress to an earlier stage of development.
A middle-aged woman, employed for 20 years at a financial institution, meets with a career counselor to discuss the fact that she has not been given a promotion in 15 years. The woman is intelligent, performs excellently at her job, and gets along well with coworkers. The career counselor notices that several men, younger and less experienced than the client, have been promoted to positions above the client over the past ten years. The career counselor believes that, due to preconceived notions about women’s abilities and other constraints, the client has been overlooked for higher-paying positions with more responsibilities. This is known as the:
self-fulfilling prophecy
homemaker effect
occupational family tree
glass ceiling
Correct answer: glass ceiling
The “glass ceiling” refers to the idea that a collection of restraints in the workplace have historically prevented women from moving up the career ladder in organizations. These restraints include childcare duties, stereotypes of women’s cognitive abilities, and other factors.
Harriet believes in explaining the “why” of rules to her children. She has high expectations but is warm and nurturing. What would be the most likely outcome for this child in their functioning?
Relatively high happiness, good performance overall, high emotional regulation
Relatively high happiness, good performance overall, low emotional regulation
Relatively high happiness, poor performance overall, high emotional regulation
Relatively low happiness, poor performance overall, high emotional regulation
Correct answer: Relatively high happiness, good performance overall, high emotional regulation
Harriet is practicing what could be described as an authoritative parenting style: authority is present and strictly maintained but is well-explained to children. There is also a general background of warmth and nurturing. This parenting style tends to produce children who have relatively high happiness, good performance overall, and a high degree of emotional regulation.
What is the best way to follow up with a client after career counseling has terminated?
In whatever way the counselor and client agree upon
Mail-in surveys and telephone calls
An in-person meeting with the career counselor
A group session when several of the counselor’s clients discuss their experiences
Correct answer: In whatever way the counselor and client agree upon
The final stage of career counseling is implementation and follow-up. During this stage, the client takes action on the decision he or she made based on sessions with the counselor. The career counselor and the client should discuss when, how, and under what circumstances the counselor should follow up with the client. This can vary greatly depending on the situation.
Beginning in the 1950s and ’60s, Donald Super conceptualized career development to include specific stages and tasks. Which of the following is a common criticism of Super’s early ideas?
The stages and tasks lacked clear explanations and definitions
They neglected the role of self-concept in careers
They did not address the retirement stage of peoples’ lives
They applied mostly to white, middle-class, college-educated males
Correct answer: They applied mostly to white, middle-class, college-educated males
Super’s explanation of career development, which began in the 1950s, consists of vocational development stages and vocational development tasks. This model was initially focused on white, middle-class, college-educated males. Super’s theories continued to evolve, and his later ideas such as the life-career rainbow and the Archway Model tend to apply to a more diverse range of individuals.
In the Archway model, one of the pillars represents individual characteristics. What does the second pillar represent?
The individual’s career options
The person’s socioeconomic status, education, and intelligence
Family, the labor market, and other external factors
Religious beliefs and cultural influences
Correct answer: Family, the labor market, and other external factors
Donald Super developed the Archway model as a way to show the factors that influence an individual’s self-concept. One pillar represents factors within the individual, such as personality traits and interests, and the other pillar represents external factors that influence career development, such as community and the economy.
Which of the following is true about persons 40 and above in the US job market?
They are generally placed in more managerial and supervisory roles
They are generally viewed preferentially by employment agencies
They tend to spend less time unemployed than those under 40
They tend to spend more time unemployed than those under 40
Correct answer: They tend to spend more time unemployed than those under 40
The perception of age and capability is relevant to clients under financial stress, who with variable economic conditions may find themselves unemployed at the age of 40 and above. Unfortunately, there is a bias in employment agencies who view persons 40 and above as “older” and therefore less marketable to companies in search of younger talent; thus, persons 40 and above tend to spend more time unemployed than those under 40.
Persons 40 and above are not generally viewed preferentially by employment agencies, nor are they necessarily placed in more managerial and supervisory roles.
A counselor is performing an assessment on a 22-year-old male client who reports that he has begun hearing voices and feeling as if everyone is out to get him. He says he has difficulty sleeping at night because of these fears and sometimes the voices tell him to do harmful things, such as hurt his children. The counselor performs a risk assessment on the client and does not think that he is at immediate risk for hurting himself or others. What should the counselor do next?
Refer the client to a psychiatrist for continued evaluation of psychotic symptoms
Offer to provide supportive, insight-oriented therapy to the client
Begin educating the client about psychotic symptoms and arrange for him to attend a psychoeducational group
Invite the client’s family members in for family counseling
Correct answer: Refer the client to a psychiatrist for continued evaluation of psychotic symptoms
If psychotic symptoms are evident or suspected in a client, the counselor should refer the client to a psychiatrist for a full psychiatric evaluation. Psychosis can arise for a variety of reasons, and clients should be referred to a professional who can determine whether they have a psychotic disorder and if so, can prescribe medication.
When a counselor is conducting a mental status exam, he notes that his client smiles appropriately throughout the session and tells the therapist that he has been feeling more peaceful and happy over the past several weeks. The counselor is assessing the client’s:
mood and affect
sensorium
thought processes
appearance and behavior
Correct answer: mood and affect
Counselors may frequently conduct clinical interviews and can use a formal mental status exam to gather information about the client’s overall functioning. Components of the exam include appearance and behavior, mood and affect, thought processes, intellectual functioning, and sensorium. Mood and affect include the client’s facial expressions and other nonverbal expressions of emotion along with statements that reflect their feelings.
Which of the following is the best example of self-efficacy?
A college senior takes out a personal loan to start her own company and loses all the money in the first year
A high school graduate with mediocre grades enrolls in community college to become a nursing assistant because he believes he is capable of performing this particular career
A law school student drops out and chooses to become a paralegal assistant because she wants to begin working right away
A psychiatrist becomes trained as a clinical social worker because he feels he needs social work skills in order to best help clients
Correct answer: A high school graduate with mediocre grades enrolls in community college to become a nursing assistant because he believes he is capable of performing this particular career
Self-efficacy, an individual’s belief that he or she can perform some necessary task, frequently affects the career decision-making process. Even though someone with mediocre grades may not attend the best college or earn an advanced degree, when he embraces his abilities he is displaying self-efficacy. Someone who chooses a career in order to begin working right away or someone who obtains a second degree may have self-efficacy, but these are not the best examples
A four-year-old child likes to make up games and ask others to participate in activities he enjoys. When at home, he likes to plan out his day and make decisions about what toys he is going to play with and what television shows he is going to watch. This child is in what stage of psychosocial development?
Identity versus role confusion
Autonomy versus shame and doubt
Industry versus inferiority
Initiative versus guilt
Correct answer: Initiative versus guilt
Erik Erikson identified eight stages of psychosocial development; during each stage, a psychosocial task must be mastered. During the initiative versus guilt stage, which occurs in children ages three to six, children initiate activities with others, plan activities, and make up games.
During autonomy versus shame and doubt (ages one and a half to three), the child begins to assert himself and develop independence. During industry versus inferiority (ages six to 11), children are tasked with mastering social and academic skills. During identity versus role confusion (adolescence), the individual establishes social and career identities.
Which of the following would be the best example of a baseline behavior as expressed in behaviorism?
A person’s normal functioning after an intervention
A person’s normal functioning before an intervention
A person’s dysfunction after an intervention
A person’s improvement after an intervention
Correct answer: A person’s normal functioning before an intervention
A baseline behavior, in the language of behaviorism, refers to the steady state of existing, (i.e., “normal” behavior that exists before an intervention is attempted).
The concept does not refer to post-intervention status.
According to Beck, what is the result of a negative internal communication system?
Unreliable cognitive shift
Negative cognitive shift
Neutral cognitive shift
Positive cognitive shift
Correct answer: Negative cognitive shift
Aaron Beck described an internal communications system for people that can vary. In depressed persons, a negative internal communication system results in a negative cognitive shift, which could contribute to depression. This negative cognitive shift would be an overall bad outlook and would be informed by negative thoughts coming through a flawed internal communication system.
A dog does not like being placed in their kennel. As a reward for good behavior, the dog is allowed to spend more time outside their kennel. Which of the following reinforcement/punishment strategies is being enacted here?
Negative punishment
Negative reinforcement
Positive punishment
Positive reinforcement
Correct answer: Negative reinforcement
Reinforcement and punishment strategies are usually considered in four ways. Negative reinforcement is when an undesirable is removed in order to increase behavior.
Positive reinforcement would be a desirable addition in order to increase behavior. All punishment aims to reduce a behavior, either by adding something (positive) or taking something away (negative).
A career counselor operating from a contextual point of view would most likely work toward which of the following goals?
Encourage the individual to see themselves as separate from their environment
Assist the individual in making meaning of their own situation
Focus on the individual’s affective experiences rather than cognitive understanding
Direct the individual in how to change their environment
Correct answer: Assist the individual in making meaning of their own situation
Career counselors working from a contextualist viewpoint aim to assist individuals in making meaning of their own situations. These career counselors believe that career development results from constant interaction between the individual, the environment, and the dynamics between individual and environment.
What is the main problem with early career theories?
They were developed mostly in Europe rather than America
They often reference data from samples too large to analyze
They tend to be limited to white, college-educated males
They are generalizable only to lower-class workers
Correct answer: They tend to be limited to white, college-educated males
Early career theories, most of which were developed in the 1950s and 1960s, were usually developed by whites, and data were limited to young, white, middle-class males. This is clearly a problem because increasing numbers of women and multicultural workers are entering the workforce. Single-parent households and dual-earner families are also reasons to support the development of updated career theories.
In which age category is self-concept first stabilized?
Preschool
Birth
2 years
Adolescence
Correct answer: Adolescence
A person’s self-concept is defined as their perceptions and beliefs about their qualities, attributes, and traits. At birth, virtually no self-concept exists, but by 24 months, self-recognition has set in, and differentiation from others is a cognitive exercise. A preschool-aged person does not have a stable self-concept yet, but what they have is concrete and physical.
In adolescence, in light of all the influences from culture, peers, family, and the environment, a stable self-concept is first realized.
Which of the following statements is in alignment with anglo-conformity theory?
People from other cultures should maintain their own culture in spite of the macroculture
People from other cultures should mask their own culture within the macroculture
People from other cultures should preserve their own culture and adopt the macroculture
People from other cultures should forget their own culture and adopt the macroculture.
Correct answer: People from other cultures should forget their own culture and adopt the macroculture
Anglo-conformity theory suggests that people from other cultures should forget their own culture and adopt the macroculture. This is stated within the context of what those who believe in anglo-conformity theory hold to be the best option for those from other cultures.
A counselor has an adolescent client with severe behavioral problems, including aggression toward family members and threats of self-harm. She thinks her client needs additional services, but thinks his behaviors do not indicate the need for inpatient hospitalization. Which of the following is the least restrictive treatment environment that might be considered for this client?
A day treatment program that runs Monday through Friday and allows him to return home in the evenings
Partial hospital care
A therapeutic foster care setting
A group home for three to four adolescents
Correct answer: A day treatment program that runs Monday through Friday and allows him to return home in the evenings
The most restrictive environment is inpatient hospitalization, followed by residential treatment facilities, partial hospital care, group homes, and other residential options (such as therapeutic foster care for children). Less restrictive settings include intensive outpatient programs, day treatment, and outpatient services.
Irene was diagnosed with an intellectual disability in childhood, and her IQ was tested to be 68. Now in her 30s after on-the-job training, a subsequent test suggests that her IQ is actually higher, around 72. Which of the following statements is likely true about this change?
Both tests can be accurate
One test result must be wrong
Neither test is likely accurate
The intellectual disability diagnosis was mistaken
Correct answer: Both tests can be accurate
A person can be diagnosed with intellectual disability (ID) if the onset of the condition was before the age of 18 and their IQ test result is 70 or below. However, IQ as a measurable result can change over time and often does, usually in response to some kind of training. Therefore, both results can be accurate in the case at hand.
According to Kohlberg, which of the following levels of moral development would be governed by punishment and consequences?
Conventional
Preconventional
Post-conventional
Prostoconventional
Correct answer: Preconventional
Lawrence Kohlberg suggested three general levels of moral development. In the first or preconventional stage, behavior is mainly governed by consequences. In the next stage, conventional, a person is steered by a desire to conform to social rules. In the last stage, post-conventional, a person has a set of moral principles and standards.
“Protoconventional” is a fabricated term.
Would dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) be considered to treat someone with substance use issues? Why or why not?
No, as DBT is only useful for borderline personality disorder
Yes, as DBT helps clients work around thoughts of use
No, as DBT does not address underlying thought patterns
Yes, as DBT helps with mindfulness and impulse control
Correct answer: Yes, as DBT helps with mindfulness and impulse control
Marsha Linehan’s dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was first designed for use with those diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. It is a technique that focuses on mindfulness and impulse control through skill-building. It also directly addresses problematic thoughts rather than working around them and has been useful in treating many other conditions such as substance use.
Underlying emotional thought patterns are part of what DBT addresses in attempting to build mental skills of control.
Counselors and other mental health professionals have many different ways of viewing human growth and development. These include qualitative or quantitative, continuous or discontinuous, and mechanistic or organismic. Which of the following is an example of organismic development?
Language development
Sexual development
Reflexive behavior
Ethical development
Correct answer: Ethical development
Organismic development is the belief that the individual (or other organism) is involved in the development. This can lead to change or discontinuity depending on the individual. Ethical development and moral development are both regarded as organismic development. Reflexive behavior is mechanistic development, the reduction of behavior to common elements. Language development is discontinuous development, and sexual development is qualitative development.
Which of the following would be a statement consistent with social exchange theory?
Positive relationships are characterized by profit
Negative relationships are characterized by profit
Negative relationships are characterized by loss
Positive relationships are characterized by loss
Correct answer: Positive relationships are characterized by profit
Social exchange theory characterizes human relationships as calculations between individuals. These calculations then define much about that relationship. Positive relationships, in this view, are characterized by profit accruing to the individuals in that relationship. In other words, relationships are based on what the individuals in them see as a cost-benefit analysis.
The other statements do not capture this sense of profit (in the sense of the cost-benefit analysis) being a driver of relationships.
What does Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development suggest about a person who has passed the final stage (integrity vs. despair)?
They have become self-actualized
They are ready to die
They are happy with their previous choices
They have mastered the previous stages
Correct answer: They have mastered the previous stages
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development suggest a series of stepwise tests a person either passes or does not throughout their lifespan. These stages generally describe some form of successful or unsuccessful psychosocial interaction with the environment. In the last stage, integrity vs. despair, one enters a creative period after having successfully passed previous stages or becomes inwardly focused and depressed.
The passage of the final stage does not necessarily imply self-actualization, happiness with previous choices, or a readiness to die.
Which of the following is the best definition of systems theory in family therapy?
A family is a system composed of subordinate systems
A family is a subordinate system composed of dominant systems
A family is a system of beliefs and culture
A family is made of individuals who control systems
Correct answer: A family is a system composed of subordinate systems
Systems theory in family therapy refers to the status of the family as an overarching system composed of subordinate systems. All of these systems, whether they are functional or dysfunctional, are always being enacted in the life of the family. Systems theory seeks to understand, describe, and change the functioning of systems.
Individuals are not seen as controlling systems per se, and systems theory addresses structure rather than specifics about beliefs and culture.
A large factory is moving out of the country and is planning on terminating employment for most of its workers. As a service to these employees, a career counselor at the company meets individually with each worker to provide career assessments, help them identify possible jobs elsewhere, and assist them in networking and making connections at other companies in the area. This approach is known as:
career education
outplacement counseling
retirement counseling
hidden job counseling
Correct answer: outplacement counseling
Outplacement counseling is a form of career counseling offered to employees who are going to be terminated. Various components of outplacement counseling include assessment, career counseling, assistance with job-seeking skills, and help to find a new place of employment.
Which of the following would be a reasonable conclusion about child isolation, as per the work of Harry Harlow?
Isolation in early childhood can lead to mood disorders
Isolation in early childhood can lead to psychosis
Isolation in early childhood does not have a major effect on development
Isolation in early childhood can lead to an autistic presentation
Correct answer: Isolation in early childhood can lead to an autistic presentation
The work of Harry Harlow dealt extensively with the dynamics of maternal withdrawal and isolation in rhesus monkeys. Harlow found that isolation in the first period of life, when attachment and bonding are critical, led to presentations consistent with autism, such as problems with communication and forming social bonds.
Harlow’s work did not suggest that isolation in early childhood would lead to psychosis or mood disorders.
A client tells her career counselor that they have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and must take medication daily to control their symptoms. How should the counselor respond?
By contacting potential employers to ask them if they would consider hiring someone with a mental illness
By assessing the client with their disability in mind, asking the client to honestly tell them what duties they do and don’t feel capable of doing
By applying motivational interviewing techniques and encouraging the client that they are capable of doing whatever they want
By assuming that the client is unable to perform most types of stressful work and should look for a less-intensive job
Correct answer: By assessing the client with their disability in mind, asking the client to honestly tell them what duties they do and don’t feel capable of doing
Career counselors have a responsibility to their clients to respect the clients’ desires and individual limitations. When assisting a client with a disability, a career counselor should request that the client talk openly about what duties they feel capable of doing. For example, the client in this question may need to eat a full breakfast when taking their medications, and therefore might not be able to accept a job that requires them to arrive early in the morning.
What is the difference between heteronomous and autonomous morality?
Heteronomous morality sees rules as absolute, and autonomous morality does not
Heteronomous morality sees rules as flexible, and autonomous morality does not
Heteronomous morality reflects the will of an individual, and autonomous morality does not
Heteronomous morality reflects the will of a group, and autonomous morality does not
Correct answer: Heteronomous morality sees rules as absolute, and autonomous morality does not
The moral development of human beings can be conceptualized in various ways. One description comes from the work of Jean Piaget, who classified morality in children as going through a heteronomous stage, in which rules are seen as absolute, followed by an autonomous stage in which rules are seen as having some flexibility.
The concept does not refer to the will of a group or an individual per se.
All of the following have made significant contributions to the field of career counseling except which one?
Linda Gottfredson
John Holland
Mark Savickas
Virginia Satir
Correct answer: Virginia Satir
Virginia Satir is known for her work in the field of family therapy, not career counseling. John Holland views career selection as a reflection of one’s personality and has developed several career assessment instruments. Linda Gottfredson is known for her career development theory “Circumscription and Compromise,” which focuses on children’s vocational development processes. Mark Savickas’ theory of career counseling is based on career construction theory, and he believes career counselors assist clients in making sense of their life and work.
Which of the following is consistent with a behaviorist view of child development?
The mind only knows social input at the beginning
The mind is a blank slate at its beginning
The mind comes equipped with substantial inferential knowledge
The mind acts on biological drives at all times
Correct answer: The mind is a blank slate at its beginning
In general, the behaviorist school disallows such concepts as the unconscious and devalues cognitive preconditions in the mind. To simplify, behaviorists view the mind as a blank slate before it learns anything. The focus is on conditioning and learning as definitional to development.
Behaviorists would likely disagree that any preexisting knowledge would have a substantial effect on development, if it existed at all. Social inputs, similarly, are expected to be learned later.
A counselor meeting with a young woman struggling with anxiety suggests that they work together to identify dysfunctional thoughts. The counselor then asks questions regarding the validity and helpfulness of those thoughts and helps the client replace those thoughts with healthy, more reasonable thoughts in order to decrease the client’s anxiety. This is an example of what type of counseling?
Multimodal therapy
Existential counseling
Feminist therapy
Cognitive behavioral counseling
Correct answer: Cognitive behavioral counseling
The basic principle behind cognitive behavioral counseling is that behavior, including ways of thinking, is learned and therefore can be unlearned. Goals of cognitive behavioral counseling are to identify triggers and causes for a specific behavior and the reinforcements that help continue the behavior. The counselor then helps the client think critically about his or her behaviors and finds ways to change them using alternate reinforcements and other types of conditioning.
Which of the following disorders is typically considered to be more ego-syntonic than ego-dystonic?
Bipolar I disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Anorexia nervosa
Panic disorder
Correct answer: Anorexia nervosa
Ego-dystonic behaviors are those that the individual considers unacceptable. Individuals with panic disorder, for example, feel uncomfortable with the physiological symptoms of anxiety that accompany the disorder and are therefore more likely to be motivated to change. Individuals with anorexia nervosa, however, often experience ambivalence about receiving treatment for the disorder, since the symptoms are somewhat effective at temporarily relieving anxiety about body shape and control.
An individual who has strong social skills, is well-respected, has empathy for others, and understands nonverbal cues is said to possess:
paradoxical knowledge
high emotional intelligence
poor cognitive abilities
propinquity
Correct answer: high emotional intelligence
Daniel Goleman proposed that intelligence includes not only cognitive processes, but a comprehensive knowledge of human emotions. This emotional intelligence is seen in those who understand social cues, have empathy for others, develop positive interpersonal relationships, and are self-motivated. Emotional intelligence operates separately from cognitive intelligence, which includes reasoning and thinking processes.
What is the relationship between the first and second stages of the career counseling process?
The second stage, providing information, is only important if the first stage, assessment, determines more information is needed
The first stage, establishing a relationship, helps progression to the second stage, developing a better understanding of the client’s problems
The second stage, assessment, cannot be completed without successful completion of the first stage, providing information
The first and second stages, establishing a relationship and assessment, are interchangeable
Correct answer: The first stage, establishing a relationship, helps progression to the second stage, developing a better understanding of the client’s problems
Within the career counseling process there are several steps: establishing a relationship, identifying the problem, conducting an assessment, providing information, making a decision, and implementing the plan. The first stage consists of developing trust between counselor and client, with the result being a better understanding of the problems the client has in terms of career decisions.
According to the work of John Bowlby, what is the most likely result of object loss?
Normal development
Psychopathology
Object replacement
Substance use
Correct answer: Psychopathology
According to John Bowlby’s attachment and bonding theory, the formation and status of critical attachment bonds at an early age have immense consequences for later life. In order for someone to have normal psychological development, a secure attachment figure must be present and bonded with, or the likely result is psychopathology of various kinds. Losing this key attachment figure is known as object loss.
Bowlby did not suggest that a result of object loss would be normal development, object replacement, or substance use per se.
“Positive Uncertainty” is a model of career decision-making associated most closely with whom?
Frank Parsons
John Crites
Mark Savickas
H B Gelatt
Correct answer: H B Gelatt
The later research of H B Gelatt focused on the balance between reason and intuition when making career decisions and is termed “Positive Uncertainty.” This is related to Gelatt’s earlier five-step process for making decisions about careers, which included the need to consider objective information while also attending to one’s value system.
Which of the following did Jean Piaget believe about his final stage (formal operational) with respect to helplessness?
Successful completion of this stage would prevent helplessness
Piaget did not address helplessness as part of his developmental theory
Most children would still feel helpless at this stage
Piaget saw helplessness as a function of family dynamics
Correct answer: Successful completion of this stage would prevent helplessness
Jean Piaget formulated a theory of human development that detailed certain milestones to be achieved as the brain matured and an individual’s ability to think and reason through problems in the environment improved. In his last stage, formal operational, Piaget suggested that feelings of helplessness would already have been adequately dealt with and the child would be ready for adulthood.
Piaget did not suggest that most children would still feel helpless at this stage, and he saw the phenomenon of helplessness being dealt with through developmental processes rather than family dynamics.
A counselor has met with a 12-year-old boy with depression for three sessions. Immediately following the third session, the boy’s father corners the counselor in the waiting room to ask her what the boy is talking about in the sessions and whether they has figured out why he is so depressed. What is the best way for the counselor to respond?
“Your son is working hard in therapy, though he and I have agreed that I won’t share details with anyone. Maybe next time you could join us at the beginning and your son can decide what he does and doesn’t want to share.”
The counselor should ask the boy what he would like to share with his father.
“Let’s set up a phone conversation and I can tell you all about it.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything about our sessions because they are confidential.”
Correct answer: “Your son is working hard in therapy, though he and I have agreed that I won’t share details with anyone. Maybe next time you could join us at the beginning and your son can decide what he does and doesn’t want to share.”
Parents of children under the age of 18 have a right to know about their children’s treatment. However, counselors should take time before seeing a child to meet with the child’s parents to explain the need for confidentiality and how it might be helpful to the counseling relationship. The counselor in this question recognizes the parent’s desire to know what progress his son is making in counseling while also respecting the child’s need for privacy.
All of the following are personality traits often found in individuals with substance abuse problems, except which one?
Anxiety
Suicidal impulses
Strong self-concept
Feelings of social isolation
Correct answer: Strong self-concept
Almost half of all Americans have either a blood relative or a partner/spouse who has struggled with alcohol dependence. Substance abuse is viewed as the number one problem in the United States, and teenage drinking is closely related to suicide, sexual activity, date rape, and automobile accidents. Personality traits often found in individuals who are alcohol or substance users include a low self-concept, anxiety, underachievement, feelings of isolation and loneliness, sexual dysfunctions, fear of failure, and suicidal impulses.
Human growth and development can be conceptualized as either qualitative or quantitative in nature. Which of the following is an example of quantitative change?
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development
Progression of self-concept over time
An improved score on a depression screening
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Correct answer: An improved score on a depression screening
Counselors can view human growth and development changes as qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative changes refer to changes in structure or development, such as stages of growth. Quantitative changes can be measured using changes in number, degree, or frequency for reference, such as a changed score on a mental health screening.
William Perry is known for developing a scheme for intellectual and ethical development. This scheme includes three categories and nine positions, ending in which of the following?
Post-commitment, when individuals realize commitment is an ongoing and evolving activity
Dualism, when there are right and wrong answers
Subjective knowledge, when there are conflicting answers
Multiplicity, when individuals must listen to their inner voices rather than society
Correct answer: Post-commitment, when individuals realize commitment is an ongoing and evolving activity
William Perry’s scheme was used to explain college students’ journeys through intellectual and moral development, and has evolved to apply to other groups of people as well. Perry explains that there are three categories — dualism, discovery of relativism, and commitment to relativism — and nine positions spread across these categories. The final position is sometimes called post-commitment, when individuals realize that commitments are evolving and can sometimes be contradictory.
Which of the following statements would likely be said by someone in the post-conventional stage of development?
“My morals are dictated by what I am punished for.”
“My morals are dictated by what I am rewarded for.”
“I have derived my own set of moral standards.”
“My morals are society’s morals.”
Correct answer: “I have derived my own set of moral standards.”
Lawrence Kohlberg conceptualized three stages of moral development. The first stage, preconventional, is characterized by a fear of punishment that governs behavior. The second stage, conventional, is characterized by a desire to adhere to society’s rules.
The last stage, post-conventional, is characterized by self-accepted rules that govern behavior and go above simple reward, punishment, or conformity.
In the adolescent years and later, what factor is most important when determining which occupation is selected?
Gender roles
Intelligence level
Self-awareness
Social valuation
Correct answer: Self-awareness
Linda Gottfredson, known for her career development theory “Circumscription and Compromise,” posits that vocational self-concept develops in childhood and influences occupational selection. While various tasks are typically completed before the age of 14, in the teenage years, and later, self-awareness of one’s unique characteristics helps determine occupational selection. Orientation to sex and gender roles and social valuation typically occur in latency and preadolescent years.
Which of the following examples would be illustrative of the concept of learned helplessness?
A person witnesses their parent being abused and does not resist abuse
A person intellectually processes abuse so that their resistance fades
A person becomes passively psychotic when abuse reaches a certain threshold
A person who has been abused many times gives up resistance to abuse
Correct answer: A person who has been abused many times gives up resistance to abuse
First known by this name in the work of Martin Seligman, the concept of learned helplessness refers to the way in which an individual, after experiencing many negatives without relief over a subjectively long period, ceases resistance and shows signs of depression and withdrawal. Thus, a person who has been abused many times and gives up resistance (since resistance has been demonstrated to be hopeless) is a good example of the phenomenon.
The other examples do not illustrate an individual learning to be helpless through their own experiences, and the concept does not involve psychosis.
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder are two diagnoses new to the DSM-5. Under which DSM-5 category do both of these diagnoses fall?
Bipolar and related disorders
Anxiety disorders
Depressive disorders
Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders
Correct answer: Depressive disorders
According to the DSM-5, depressive disorders include major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, substance/medication-induced depressive disorder, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD), and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. The DMDD diagnosis can only be given to children up to 18 years of age and is meant to decrease the numbers of children who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Which of the following is true about the decline of IQ in older adults?
It tends to occur at a steady pace after age 60 and affects men more than women
It tends to occur only in the last five years of life and deals mostly with verbal skills
A steady decline in IQ takes place after about age 40 in most adults
A steady decline in IQ does not affect most adults
Correct answer: It tends to occur only in the last five years of life and deals mostly with verbal skills
Contrary to what many believe about cognition in later life, a decline in IQ tends to occur only in the last five years of life and deals mostly with verbal skills. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as terminal drop or terminal decline.
This decline in IQ is more relative to the person than absolute age, and there does not appear to be a breakout by gender.
Career counselors use a tool that organizes over 500 careers into 26 areas based on the tasks of working with people, data, things, and ideas. This graphic organizer is known as:
O*NET
the Life-Career Rainbow
SIGI 3
the World-of-Work Map
Correct answer: the World-of-Work Map
Career counselors often use the World-of-Work Map, a tool developed by ACT that organizes occupations based on primary tasks involving people, data, things, and ideas. The map includes 26 families of occupations, and hundreds of occupations and college majors can be identified by using ACT’s career exploration materials.
Which of the following describes the concept of object permanence?
An object has a continuous existence inside one’s consciousness
An object still exists if it is not in the field of view
An object does not exist if it is not in the field of view
An object has a continuous existence inside one’s unconscious
Correct answer: An object still exists if it is not in the field of view
Jean Piaget’s work in child development yielded the concept of object permanence: an object still exists if it is removed from the field of view. This is seen as characteristic of the earliest of Piaget’s stages of child development, the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years).
Object permanence is a perceptual-cognitive matter and is not as much a matter of consciousness or the unconscious.
Which of the following would be the best example of the concept of object permanence?
When a child thinks that an object removed from their vision still exists
When a child imagines objects have an intelligence of their own
When a child thinks that an object removed from their vision is still in their visual field
When a child conceptualizes objects as part of themselves
Correct answer: When a child thinks that an object removed from their vision still exists
As first described by the developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, object permanence refers to the understanding that an object still exists if it is removed from a person’s immediate vision. This is part of an overall developmental progression in which the senses and the mind work together to create an accurate conceptual model of the world.
Object permanence does not refer to a child conceptualizing objects as part of themselves or the idea that objects have an intelligence of their own.
