Retired Exam 2 Flashcards
- A high LPC leader
a. Treats his least favorite worker well
b. Treats his least favorite worker poorly
c. Treats his favorite worker like his least favorite worker
d. Has an ambivalent style toward his workers.
a. Treats his least favorite worker well – Fiedler’s Contingency Theory proposed that in terms of a leader’s style and the favorableness of a situation, the latter was determined by the degree to which the leader could control and influence their subordinate. Fiedler described a leader’s style by his or her scores on his Least Preferred Coworker Scale. A high LPC leader describes their least preferred coworker in positive terms and these leaders are primarily relationship oriented. Note that the question talks about how a leader “treats” their worker rather than how they “describe” the worker.. While these are not exactly the same concepts, the EPPP will take these type of liberties so this is an example of choosing an answer that is in the “ballpark”.
- From Wolpe’s classical conditioning perspective, neurotic depression:
a. is a conditioned response that can be alleviated through extinction trials in which the neutral (conditioned) stimulus is repeatedly presented without the depression-inducing (unconditioned) stimulus.
b. is a response to anxiety and can, therefore, be alleviated by using systematic desensitization to eliminate the anxiety.
c. is due to attributional biases that, through conditioning, have become associated with certain types of events and can be eliminated through reattribution training.
d. results when there is an absence of response contingent reinforcement and is best treated by counterconditioning in which depression is paired with a variety of pleasure-producing (unconditioned) stimuli.
b. is a response to anxiety and can, therefore, be alleviated by using systematic desensitization to eliminate the anxiety – Even if you are unfamiliar with Wolpe’s explanation of depression, you may have been able to pick the right answer to this question as long as you have him associated with systematic desensitization. Wolpe distinguished between several types of depression. He linked neurotic depression to anxiety and considered systematic desensitization to be an effective treatment.
- You receive a letter from the current therapist of a former client. The therapist wants you to forward a copy of the client’s records, and she encloses a signed release from the client. The client still owes you for ten therapy sessions, and you notify the client that you will not release the records until a satisfactory payment arrangement has been made. According to the Ethics Code, this
a. is clearly unethical.
b. may be acceptable if the client’s records are not “imminently needed.”
c. may be acceptable if you had informed the client of your policy when he began treatment.
d. may be acceptable if you previously attempted to collect the fees and the client was uncooperative.
b. may be acceptable if the client’s records are not “imminently needed.” – This issue is covered by Standard 6.03 of the Ethics Code, which states that “Psychologists may not withhold records under their control that are requested and needed for a client’s/patient’s emergency treatment solely because payment has not been received.”
- To reduce their liability risk, managed care organizations are most likely to do which of the following?
a. insure their providers are credentialed
b. reduce the amount of time between date of claim submission and approval of claim
c. utilization review
d. pay their providers a reasonable reimbursement rate
a. insure their providers are credentialed – Managed care organizations typically require all their providers to be credentialed. This helps to insure that their providers are competent and, consequently, reduces their risk of liability. Utilization Review (C) is a cost containment procedure involving an evaluation of patients’ use of services to identify any unnecessary or inappropriate use of health care resources.
- A professional working in the field of psychophysics would be most interested in:
a. the all-or-none principle.
b. just noticeable differences.
c. functional brain imaging.
d. long-term potentiation.
b. just noticeable differences. – Psychophysics is the study of the relationship between the magnitude of a physical stimulus and the internal sensation associated with that magnitude. One method for studying this relationship is to determine just noticeable differences, or the amount of change in physical stimulus magnitude that is needed to notice the change.
- According to Ellen Berscheid’s Emotion-in-Relationships Model partners in long-term relationships are most likely to:
a. underestimate their emotional investment in the relationship when things are running smoothly
b. overestimate their emotional investment in the relationship when things are running smoothly
c. experience the most intense positive emotions after several years into the relationship
d. focus on attributions which are external to their partners and themselves to understand their relationship
a. underestimate their emotional investment in the relationship when things are running smoothly – Ellen Berscheid’s Emotion-in-Relationships Model proposes that positive and negative emotions are most likely to occur in a relationship when the partner’s behavior interrupts the individual’s typical on-going behaviors. Thus, when things are running smoothly, there are fewer interruptions and less intense emotions. Although the partners are highly interdependent during this period, they are also more likely to underestimate their emotional investment. Choice C reflects the opposite of Berscheid’s model because there are more surprises or interruptions to the status quo in the early stage of a relationship – which results in the most positive (and negative) emotions. Choice D is incorrect because Berscheid suggests that partners (and researchers) tend to underestimate the importance of external situational factors in a relationship (E. Berscheid, Interpersonal relationships. In L. W. Porter & M. R. Rosenzweig (Eds.), Annual review of psychology, 1994, (pp. 79-129). Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews).
- You are commuting to work early in the morning at 15 mph over the speed limit. You glance in your rearview mirror and notice blue flashing lights. You slow down and pull over. According to French and Raven’s ideas about social power, which type of power are you attributing to the policemen?
a. legitimate
b. reward
c. informational
d. referent
a. legitimate – According to French and Raven (1959), in the case of legitimate authority, the target believes the influencing agent has legitimate authority. With reward power (response B), the influencing agent has control over valued rewards and resources. And, what you are about to receive from the policeman will not be a reward. With informational power (response C), the influencing agent possesses specific information needed by the target person, and with referent power (response D), the target identifies with or likes the influencing agent.
- Recently the relationship between Frank and one of his adult sons has become increasingly tense, conflicted and distant. Frank considers himself a loving and supportive father. He dismisses the problem as a temporary “phase” to avoid the situation. Frank’s attempt to explain away the problem, according to Whitbourne’s self-concept model, is an attempt to maintain his own self-concept through:
a. identity assimilation
b. identity accommodation
c. identity styles
d. rationalization
a. identity assimilation – Identity process theory proposes that adjustment to aging can be conceptualized as involving the three processes of identity assimilation (maintaining self-consistency), identity accommodation (making changes in the self), and identity balance (maintaining a sense of self but changing when necessary). Despite the changes in the relationship with his son, Frank continues to think of himself as having a loving relationship in order to maintain his consistent sense of self. Research indicates only identity balance is positively related to internal state awareness, suggesting that the ability to incorporate age-related changes within an identity and at the same time maintain a consistent and positive view of the self is most conducive to successful aging. (See: Sneed, J.R. & Whitbourne, S.K. (2003). Identity Processing and Self-Consciousness in Middle and Later Adulthood. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58, 313-319.)
- A factorial design, unlike a two group design:
a. allows more independent variables to be studied
b. requires a larger sample
c. shows the effect of an independent variable on the dependent variable
d. cannot detect a curvilinear relationship between variables
a. allows more independent variables to be studied – In a two group design, one group is exposed to a treatment and another, control group, is not exposed or gets a different treatment. The results of both groups are tested in order to compare the effects of treatment. A factorial design is a design with more than one independent variable. In this design, the independent variables are simultaneously investigated to determine the independent and interactive influence they have on the dependent variable. The effect of each independent variable on the dependent variable (c.) is called a main effect and in a factorial design there are as many main effects as there are independent variables. An interaction effect between two or more independent variables occurs when the effect that one independent variable has on the dependent variable depends on the level of the other independent variable. At least three levels must be used to predict a curvilinear relationship (d.).
- A psychologist is hired as a consultant by an agency which works with homosexual men whose behavior places them at very high risk for the HIV virus. The psychologist is asked to work with groups of the agency’s clients, with the goal of decreasing high-risk activity in this population. Assuming the psychologist is familiar with the research in this area, she is most likely to take which of the following approaches?
a. attempting to engender a group norm of disapproval for high-risk activity
b. providing knowledge to the group about AIDS
c. threatening the group with punishment if they don’t change their behavior
d. taking a laissez-faire approach and letting the group learn on its own how dangerous its behavior is
b. providing knowledge to the group about AIDS – Studies show that, among individuals who are at high-risk for the AIDS virus, knowledge about AIDS is a better predictor of less risk-taking behavior than perceived peer norms. Thus, choice B is the best answer. By contrast, among low-risk groups, perceived peer norms are a better predictor. So if this question was about the best strategy for low-risk groups, choice A would have been a better answer.
- Individuals who recall memories under hypnosis, compared to non-hypnotized individuals,
a. have more confidence in their memories and are more likely to recall events accurately.
b. have more confidence in their memories but are less likely to recall events accurately.
c. have less confidence in their memories and are less likely to recall events accurately.
d. have less confidence in their memories but are more likely to recall events accurately.
b. have more confidence in their memories but are less likely to recall events accurately. – Research shows that memories retrieved under hypnosis tend to be less accurate than other memories. Nonetheless, individuals who recall information while under hypnosis have greater confidence in their memories as compared to controls. In some research studies, hypnotized subjects were reluctant to admit that their memories were inaccurate even when confronted with clear evidence demonstrating this to be the case.
- A client suspects that she may have been sexually abused as a child, although she has no conscious recollection of the abuse. She asks her psychologist to use hypnosis to help her retrieve any repressed memories she may have of any abuse. The psychologist should:
a. agree to use hypnosis only if he or she has obtained adequate training and experience in it’s use.
b. agree to use hypnosis but take detailed notes in the event of future legal action and avoid asking the client any leading questions.
c. advise against the use hypnosis, but recommend the use of guided imagery, which may be more admissible in court.
d. advise the patient that hypnosis may produce false recollections of abuse and is therefore inappropriate.
d. advise the patient that hypnosis may produce false recollections of abuse and is therefore inappropriate. – In a report titled “Final Conclusions of the American Psychological Association Working Group on Investigation of Memories of Childhood Abuse” [Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2000, 4 (4), 933-940] the authors acknowledge that “it is possible for memories of abuse that have been forgotten for a long time to be remembered.” However, they recommend that “clients who seek hypnosis as a means of retrieving or confirming their recollections should be advised that it is not an appropriate procedure for this goal because of the serious risk that pseudomemories may be created in trance states and of the related risk due to increased confidence in those memories. Clients should also be informed that the use of hypnosis could jeopardize any future legal actions they might want to take.”
- Recent studies investigating ethnicity and psychotropic medication dosage have found:
a. Therapeutic and side effect differences are not related to race/ethnicity
b. Caucasians and Asians experience the same severity of side effects from the same dose, although Caucasians require lower doses to obtain the same therapeutic effects.
c. Caucasians experience more severe side effects from the same dose than Asians and require lower doses to obtain the same therapeutic effects
d. Asians experience more severe side effects from the same dose and require lower doses to obtain the same therapeutic effects
d. Asians experience more severe side effects from the same dose and require lower doses to obtain the same therapeutic effects – Research indicates individuals respond differently to psychotropic medications based on their ethnic background or biological and environmental differences in ethnicity. In particular, evidence suggests Asian patients, as a group, metabolize medications like psychotropics more slowly than Caucasian patients and therefore are more sensitive to the therapeutic and side effects. Based on these findings, researchers recommend the starting dosage level for Asian patients be lower than the standard dosage for Caucasian patients. (See: Lin, K. M. & Cheung, F. (1999) Mental health issues for Asian Americans, Psychiatric Services, 50(6), 774-780. and Lin, K.M.. & Smith, M.W. (2000). Psychopharmacotherapy in the Context of Culture and Ethnicity in Ethnicity and Psychopharmacology. Edited by Pedro Ruiz ( Review of Psychiatry Series, 19(4). Oldham, J.O. and Riba, M.B., (Eds.), Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press, 1-27)
- According to the research findings of Patterson and his colleagues, parents of aggressive children typically use discipline which is:
a. consistent, but accompanied by humiliating verbal messages
b. consistent, but often followed by affection which sends mixed messages to the child
c. inconsistent, and often not associated with the child’s behavior
d. inconsistent, but which particularly ignores the child’s aggressive behaviors
c. inconsistent, and often not associated with the child’s behavior – Patterson found that parents of aggressive children often use harsh physical punishment which is applied inconsistently and often not connected to the child’s behavior. Contrary to choice D, these parents tend to reinforce aggressive behavior in their children with attention or approval.
- Despite his many accomplishments and positive feedback from his supervisor, a client believes his work performance is below average because he feels like a failure. This is an example of:
a. minimization
b. selective abstraction
c. emotional reasoning
d. personalization
c. emotional reasoning – Emotional reasoning is one of several cognitive distortions described by Beck. It refers to a person believing that because he or she feels a negative emotion, there must be a corresponding negative external situation. Minimization (A) is seeing something as less significant than it really is. Selective abstraction (B) occurs when one focuses on a detail, taken out of context, at the expense of other information. Personalization (D) is the attribution of external events to oneself without evidence of a causal connection.
- Organizations that advocate individual responsibility, consensual-decision making, slow promotion, and holistic knowledge of the organization are using which of the following management philosophies:
a. Theory J
b. Theory A
c. Theory Z
d. TQM
c. Theory Z – Ouchi’s Theory Z is an organizational management philosophy that incorporates aspects from traditional American (Theory A) and Japanese (Theory J) management philosophies. The theory represents a middle ground, for example, emphasizing long-term employment versus short-term or lifelong and a moderately specialized career path instead of specialized or nonspecialized.
- When a pregnant woman drinks moderate amounts of alcohol during pregnancy, the child may exhibit “fetal alcohol effects.” In comparison to the full-scale fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), fetal alcohol effects
a. are less severe than those associated with FAS and, for the most part, are reversible.
b. are less severe than those associated with FAS and are largely reversible following birth as long as the child is provided with adequate nutrition and an enriched environment.
c. are less severe than those associated with FAS but are also largely irreversible.
d. involve minor physical defects and behavioral problems without the cognitive impairments and more severe physical problems associated with FAS.
c. are less severe than those associated with FAS but are also largely irreversible. – Different authors define fetal alcohol effects differently. All seem to agree that fetal alcohol effects are less severe than the symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome, but are also largely irreversible. Some describe fetal alcohol effects as involving cognitive and behavioral symptoms but not the physical defects (e.g., facial abnormalities and growth retardation) that the full-scale syndrome involves.
- In a positively skewed distribution, one would most likely find, ranked from lowest to highest in value, the:
a. median, mean, mode.
b. median, mode, mean.
c. mean, mode, median.
d. mode, median, mean.
d. mode, median, mean. – You have to picture the positively skewed curve in order to get this correct. Positive skewness means there are some outliers (extreme scores) way over on the positive side. That’s where the tail is, way off to the right, or positive, end. Since the mean takes into account the magnitude of the scores, these outliers can be pictured as “pulling” the mean to the positive side, or the right. So, in any ordering of measures of central tendency, the mean would be the highest value. Thus, you can eliminate the two distractors that don’t list the mean as the highest value. To distinguish between the remaining answers, let’s go back to consider what the median is. The median is the middlemost point irrespective of value. If you’ve pictured the curve correctly you can see that more than half the cases fall on the right side because some are way over on the positive side. If you put a line where the highest point is on the curve, which is the mode, you’d see that more than half the cases fall to the right of that line. Hence the median, the 50% point, is to the right of the high point, the mode. This should have gotten you to the correct answer.
- A woman is offered a substantial raise and promotion in her job; however, the new position would also require her to periodically speak at conferences. She would very much like to accept the new position but is too afraid to speak in public due to her history of panic attacks in the past while public speaking. She would most likely be diagnosed with:
a. Specific Phobia
b. Social Phobia
c. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
d. Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia
b. Social Phobia – According to DSM-IV-TR, Social Phobia is characterized by “a marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others…Exposure to the feared social situation almost invariably provokes anxiety, which may take the form of a situationally bound or situationally predisposed Panic Attack.” Specific Phobia (A) refers to anxiety about a specific object or situation but it is not diagnosed when better accounted for by another mental disorder, such as Social Phobia. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (C) is for excessive anxiety and worry about several different events or activities. And Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia (D) is not confined to social situations or fear of scrutiny by others.
- When working in a forensic capacity, psychologists must often be careful to
a. acknowledge the limits of their data or conclusions.
b. take the time to study the facts of the case so they can arrive at their own conclusion regarding the guilt or innocence of the defendant.
c. be present every day of the trial in case the judge requires the psychologist’s opinion at some point.
d. present their conclusions very forcefully and with confidence, so that the public’s confidence in the field of psychology is reinforced.
a. acknowledge the limits of their data or conclusions. – It’s often important for forensic psychologists to acknowledge the limits of their conclusions. This is because forensic psychologists are often asked for opinions on matters (e.g., probability of future violence) that cannot be made with absolute certainty.
- Medical treatment regimens for chronic illness most often results in:
a. greater compliance for children as compared to adolescents
b. greater compliance for adolescents as compared to children
c. equal compliance for children and adolescents
d. greater compliance for girls and adolescent females as compared to boys and adolescent males
a. greater compliance for children as compared to adolescents – Compliance with medical treatment regimens, such as those designed to manage diabetes, tends to be lower for adolescents as compared to children or adults. There are many reasons for this, including adolescents’ greater desire to be similar to their peers and independent from the restrictions of their parents.
- Research on infants who were raised by multiple changing caregivers until at least two years old were found to:
a. never be able to develop attachments
b. attach to adopted parents only if they were adopted by 36 months of age
c. attach more strongly if restored to a biological parent than if adopted by a non-biological parent
d. attach to adopted parents even if not adopted until 6 years of age
d. attach to adopted parents even if not adopted until 6 years of age
- An 18-year-old high school student is referred to you for personality assessment due to behavioral problems. Which of the following assessment instruments would be most appropriate to use?
a. MMPI-A
b. MMPI-2
c. WAIS-III
d. Halstead-Reitan
a. MMPI-A – Knowing that the MMPI-A is recommended for use with ages 14 to 18, while the MMPI-2 is recommended for individuals 18 years and older, may have left you a bit stumped about which to use for an 18-year-old. The MMPI-A manual acknowledges this period of overlap and recommends choosing the instrument on a “case by case basis,” but it also suggests using the MMPI-A for high school students. Furthermore, in a recent study comparing the MMPI-A and MMPI-2 administered to 18-year-olds, the researchers concluded that the MMPI-2 tended to overpathologize and the MMPI-A tended to underpathologize. Due, in part, to the concern with overpathologizing individuals, the researchers recommended using the MMPI-A with 18-year-olds. But to optimally gain sensitivity to psychopathology, they also recommended using T-score cutoffs of 60 instead of 65 on the MMPI-A [T. M. Osberg and D. L. Poland, Comparative accuracy of the MMPI-2 and the MMPI-A in the diagnosis of psychopathology in 18-year-olds, Psychological Assessment, 2002, 14(2), 164-169].
- The notion that reinforcement is not necessary for learning and that learning does not always manifest in performance is referred to as:
a. latent learning
b. place learning
c. observational learning
d. insight learning
a. latent learning – According to Tolman’s Cognitive Learning Theory, learning is the result of conditioning and cognitive understanding. The acquisition of cognitive structures or cognitive maps underlies the concept of latent learning or learning that occurs without reinforcement and does not immediately manifest in behavior. Place learning (b.) refers to Tolman’s description of learning places or paths instead of a series of movements in response to specific stimuli. Observational learning (c.) refers to learning through watching a model behave and then imitating the modeled behavior. Insight learning (d.) is an “a-ha!” experience or a sudden novel solution, which Kohler saw as the result of a sudden internal cognitive restructuring of the environment.
- A researcher inquires about the subjects’ performance expectations and beliefs about the purpose of the study at the conclusion of the experiment. The researcher finds the subjects’ actual performance is consistent with their beliefs and expectations when analyzing the data. The results of the study may be confounded by:
a. the Hawthorne effect
b. demand characteristics
c. carryover effects
d. changing criteria
b. demand characteristics – Demand characteristics are unintentional cues in the experimental environment or manipulation that affect or account for the results of the study. In this situation, the subjects’ may have acted in ways consistent with their expectations rather than simply in response to the experimental manipulation. The Hawthorne effect (a.) occurs when research subjects act differently because of the novelty of the situation and the special attention they receive as research participants. Carryover effects (c.) occur in repeated measures designs when the effects of one treatment have an impact on the effects of subsequent treatments.
- Factitious Disorder treatment typically involves symptom management rather than curing the disorder. Which of the following is currently considered to be the most effective treatment?
a. confrontational therapy in an inpatient setting
b. individual and group therapy in an inpatient treatment
c. supportive psychotherapy in an outpatient setting
d. group or family therapy in an outpatient setting
c. supportive psychotherapy in an outpatient setting – Studies indicate no specific treatment has been identified as consistently effective for Factitious Disorder; however, many agree that establishing a good therapeutic relationship and providing supportive therapy and consistency of care is the best way to manage its symptoms. (See: J. C. Huffman and T. A. Stern, The diagnosis and treatment of Munchausen’s syndrome, General Hospital Psychiatry, 2003, 25(5), 358-363.) Family and group therapy (d.) have not been identified as the most effective treatments, although family therapy may be useful for helping family members cope with the patient’s symptoms. Inpatient treatment (a.) is often contraindicated because of the underlying need of individuals with Factitious Disorder “to adopt the sick role.” Confrontational techniques (b.) may elicits denial and result in the individual terminating the therapeutic relationship so they must be used with caution.
- The results of the Robber’s Cave experiment (Sherif et al., 1961) indicated that:
a. emotional reactions are based upon cognitive interpretations of arousal
b. superordinate goals reduce hostility between groups
c. we prefer to be right rather than happy
d. we tend to seek, interpret, and create information that verifies our existing beliefs
b. superordinate goals reduce hostility between groups – In Sherif’s Robber’s Cave Study, children in a summer camp were divided into two groups on an arbitrary basis and made to engage in competition with each other. This engendered intergroup hostility and dislike, which was found to be greatly reduced when a task requiring the two groups to cooperate (on superordinate goals) was introduced. Choice A represents Schachter’s two-factor theory of emotion. Choice C is a conclusion of Self Verification Theory. And Choice D exemplifies the confirmatory bias.
- Individuals with Tourette’s Disorder frequently suffer from a learning disorder in school. The most likely cause is:
a. expressive language disorder
b. attentional and hyperactivity problems
c. social problems
d. environmental stressors
b. attentional and hyperactivity problems – Although learning problems are associated with the disorder, children with Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) as a group have the same range of IQ as the population at large. The etiology of learning disabilities (LD), as well as the most accurate conceptualization of them as either comorbid disorders or as prevalent, variable components of the broader TS phenotype, has yet to be determined. In a recent study of more than 3100 children with Tourette’s, ADHD was the most prevalent comorbid disorder occurring in 58% of subjects. Of those with TS plus learning disabilities, 80% also had a diagnosis of ADHD. The increased rates of ADHD in those diagnosed with TS + LD and the finding that only 11 % of the TS children without ADHD had a diagnosis of LD demonstrates the potential impact of ADHD on LD as a causal factor or as a confounder for the diagnosis of LD. (L. Burd, L., Freeman, R.D., Klug, M.G. and Kerbeshian, J. (2005). Tourette syndrome and learning disabilities, BioMed Central Pediatrics, 5)
- In Super’s theory of career development, the rainbow is used to illustrate:
a. the skills, abilities, and knowledge that a person brings to a job.
b. the different roles a person assumes during the course of his or her life.
c. the stages of career maturity.
d. the social and other environmental determinants of career choice.
b. the different roles a person assumes during the course of his or her life. – In his recent writings, Super depicts various aspects of his theory of career development with illustrations. His “life career rainbow” depicts nine major life roles (e.g., student, parent, spouse) that have an impact on a person’s career choice.
- The majority of child sex abusers when asked about their abusive behaviors:
a. deny the abuse but eventually admit their actions and express remorse after psychotherapy
b. admit their behavior but minimize the harmful effects on or blame the child
c. admit their actions, express shame and embarrassment, and say they will never do it again
d. claim they were unable to control their impulses
b. admit their behavior but minimize the harmful effects on or blame the child –. A number of similar characteristics has been identified by research on child sex abusers and studies indicate that the majority of child sex abusers and other sex offenders minimize, rationalize, or justify their abusive behaviors. One such study presented at the 15th Annual Symposium of the American College of Forensic Psychology in 1999, found 57% of subjects admitted engaging in sexual behaviors with a child but minimized the behavior in some way. (See: R. Underwager and H. Wakefield. Sex offender treatment requiring admission of guilt, presented at the 15th Annual Symposium of the American College of Forensic Psychology, April 29, 1999, Santa Fe, New Mexico.)
- Which of the following correlation coefficients is used to assess convergent validity:
a. heterotrait-monomethod
b. monotrait-heteromethod
c. heterotrait-heteromethod
d. monotrait-monomethod
b. monotrait-heteromethod – The response choices make up a multitrait-multimethod matrix, a complicated method for assessing convergent and discriminant validity. Convergent validity requires that different ways of measuring the same trait yield the same result. Monotrait-heteromethod coefficients are correlations between two measures that assess the same trait using different methods; therefore if a test has convergent validity, this correlation should be high. Heterotrait-monomethod and heterotrait-heteromethod both confirm discriminatory validity, and monotrait-monomethod coefficients are reliability coefficients.
- The earliest symptoms of Huntington’s Disease are usually:
a. memory impairments
b. mild motor disturbances (e.g., mild tremor, incoordination).
c. affective changes (e.g., irritability or depression).
d. confusion and disorientation.
c. affective changes (e.g., irritability or depression). – Because the early signs of Huntington’s Disease often involve changes in affect, in the early stages, it may be erroneously diagnosed as a depression or other mental disorder.
- According to House’s path-goal theory, the optimal leader style:
a. is a democratic one that allows workers to participate in setting goals and identifying ways for achieving them.
b. is the one that emphasizes a task-oriented (versus person-oriented) approach that focuses on ways to achieve goals.
c. varies depending on the situation but always involves helping workers achieve their goals.
d. varies depending on the leader’s experience and personality but always focuses on ensuring that goals are consistent with workers’ skills and knowledge.
c. varies depending on the situation but always involves helping workers achieve their goals. – As its name implies, path-goal theory predicts that leaders will be most successful when they show followers the path for achieving goals. Path-goal theory is also a contingency theory, which means that it proposes that the best leadership style depends on certain characteristics of the situation.
- Which form of Multiple Sclerosis is characterized by a slow steady onset, steadily worsening motor dysfunctions and increased disability, as well as a lack of distinct inflammatory attacks?
a. relapsing-remitting phase
b. primary progressive
c. secondary progressive
d. benign
b. primary progressive – Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive, neurological disease characterized by myelin loss in the brain and spinal cord, causing neurological symptoms. The most common characteristics of MS include fatigue, weakness, spasticity, balance problems, bladder and bowel problems, numbness, burning sensation, vision loss, tremor and memory problems. Not all symptoms affect all MS patients and symptoms and signs may be persistent or may cease from time to time. Because the signs and symptoms that define the clinical picture of MS are the result of nerve lesions causing disturbances in electrical conduction in one or more areas of the central nervous system, the nature of the symptoms that occur is determined by the location of the lesion. It often begins in young to mid-adulthood, is more common in females, and is more prevalent in cooler climates. Estimates indicate approximately a quarter of all affected individuals have mild disease, half have moderate disease, and a quarter have severe disease, with rapid progression. Benign Multiple Sclerosis (d.) tends to present with non-visible sensory symptoms at onset and has a complete recovery without disability. After 10-15 years with only one or two attacks and complete recovery without any disability, this form of MS does not worsen over time. For these individuals there is no permanent disability or disease progression. However, some in this category will experience disease progression; the course of disease changing and evolving within 10-15 years into the progressive stages of MS. Relapsing remitting (a.) MS (RRMS) is the most common beginning phase of MS. In this stage, there are sporadic exacerbations or relapses in which symptoms become more severe and/or new ones appear. Symptoms can appear for days to months, after which they usually resolve or remit spontaneously. MS may be clinically inactive between intermittent attacks and varying periods of time. The disease process is ongoing and damage continues, with or without clinical attacks, with 50% of individuals’ disease progressing to the Secondary progressive stage (SPMS) within 10 - 15 years, and an additional 40% within 25 years of onset. During the secondary progressive stage, preexisting neurologic deficits and symptoms gradually worsen while inflammatory relapses become less and less frequent until eventually there are no more relapses or remissions. Primary progressive (PPMS) is the clinical course of MS characterized from the beginning by progressive disability, with no plateaus or remissions or an occasional plateau and very short-lived, minor improvements. Another type of MS is Progressive-Relapsing (PRMS), which also indicates disease progression or increased disability from onset, but has clear, acute relapses, with or without full recovery after each. It is a rare form and associated with a high mortality rate. (See: Ebers, G.C. (2004). Natural history of primary/progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis, 10 Sup1:S8-13; S13-15. and Weinshenker, B.G. (1995) Natural History of Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Neurology, 13(1), 119-46.)
- The Sickness Impact Profile is used to:
a. assess the impact of disease on physical and emotional functioning
b. assess emotional reactions to chronic illness
c. diagnose physical illnesses
d. diagnose personality disorders
a. assess the impact of disease on physical and emotional functioning – The Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) is one of the most comprehensive quality of life measures available. It is used to assess the impact of disease on both physical and emotional functioning. Its focus is on behavioral measures of daily living such as sleep, eating, social interactions, and emotional behaviors. Contrary to “B,” however, it is not used to assess emotional or other subjective reactions to illness.
- A loss of memory for autobiographical information is referred to as:
a. functional amnesia
b. anterograde amnesia
c. retrograde amnesia
d. malingering
a. functional amnesia – Functional amnesia is a condition, caused by a psychological trauma, in which individuals are unable to remember significant events in their lives, i.e., autobiographical information. Anterograde amnesia (B) is an impaired ability to form new permanent memories. Retrograde amnesia (C) is an inability to recall previous memories (i.e., for events that occurred prior to a head trauma), and is not necessarily for, or limited to, autobiographical information. Someone who is malingering (D) could feign memory loss for autobiographical memories; however, most cases of autobiographical memory loss are not due to malingering.
- Anger management training for children has been criticized for:
a. limited positive effects due to focusing on the individual
b. limited positive effects due to focusing on the behavior
c. being developmentally inappropriate due to children’s tendency to blame anger on others
d. being developmentally inappropriate due to children’s inability to control feelings and behaviors
a. limited positive effects due to focusing on the individual – One criticism of anger management training for children has been that most programs, which utilize a cognitive-behavioral approach, place the emphasis on the individual’s perceptions, feelings and behaviors while ignoring the interpersonal or systemic factors. Research indicates that training program effectiveness is increased by expanding beyond the individual to include family, peer and community relationships. (See: Morley, E. & Rossman, S.B. (1997). Helping At-Risk Youth: Lessons From Community-Based Initiatives, Washington D.C., The Urban Institute.)
- When using a rating scale, several psychologists agree on the same diagnosis for one patient. This is a sign that the scale is
a. reliable.
b. valid.
c. reliable and valid.
d. neither reliable nor valid.
a. reliable. - The rating scale described by the question has good inter-rater reliability, or consistency across raters. However, it may or may not have good validity; that is, it may or may not measure what it purports to measure. The question illustrates that high reliability is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for high validity.
- High-context cultures are characterized by
a. reliance on elaborated (versus restricted) communication codes.
b. heavy reliance on nonverbal (versus verbal) messages.
c. restraint of feelings.
d. emphasis on short-term goals.
b. heavy reliance on nonverbal (versus verbal) messages. - The terms “high context” and “low context” have been used to describe cultural differences in communication. A high-context style is characterized by reliance on nonverbal and culturally-shared cues and is characteristic of a number of cultural/racial minority groups including African-, Hispanic-, and Asian-Americans.
- The concept of long-term potentiation is most closely related to
a. sleep.
b. memory and learning.
c. hunger and thirst.
d. sensory perception
b. memory and learning. – The term long-term potentiation refers to a facilitation or increase in synaptic efficiency that is long lasting (i.e., hours to days). Long-term potentiation was first discovered in the hippocampus and seems to have the most concrete applications to the processes of learning and memory. It has been theorized that learning, through stimulation of certain hippocampal neurons, results in long-term potentiation and thereby facilitates those neurons’ receptivity to further stimulation.
- According to research on parenting styles, which of the following describes the parents who are most likely to raise very aggressive children?
a. attentive parents who are very controlling of their children’s behavior
b. parents who use frequent and intermittent violence and are very controlling of their children’s behavior
c. loving parents with a laissez-faire attitude toward their children’s behavior
d. parents who use frequent and intermittent violence and have a laissez-faire attitude toward their children’s behavior
d. parents who use frequent and intermittent violence and have a laissez-faire attitude toward their children’s behavior – Researchers in the 1950s identified two dimensions of parenting styles: permissiveness and affection. Permissiveness is a continuum that ranges from autonomy on one extreme to control at the other; affection is a continuum that ranges from hostility to love. Parents who combine hostility with autonomy (e.g., those who combine violent discipline with a laissez-faire attitude toward their children) are likely to produce disobedient and aggressive children.
- In consultee-centered case consultation, the consultant’s role is most similar to which of the following?
a. collaborator
b. coach
c. confidant
d. supervisor
d. supervisor – In his discussion of consultee-centered case consultation, Gerald Caplan notes that, especially when the target of the consultation is the consultee’s lack of skill, this form of consultation most resembles “technical supervision.” See G. Caplan, Principles of Preventive Psychiatry, New York, Basic Books, Inc., 1964.
- “Business necessity” and “job relatedness” are related to:
a. personnel training
b. adverse impact
c. comparable worth
d. truth in testing
b. adverse impact – According to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Federal Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, business necessity and job relatedness are conditions that may permit the use of a selection or other employment procedure that results in an adverse impact. If an employer can demonstrate that it is job related and a business necessity, despite having adverse impact, the employer may be able to continue using the procedure.
- According to the APA’s Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults, which of the following statements regarding psychotherapy effectiveness is most accurate?
a. older adults do not respond as well as younger adults
b. older adults respond better than younger adults
c. older adults respond similarly to younger adults, although older adults tend to respond quicker
d. older adults respond similarly to younger adults, although older adults tend to respond slower
d. older adults respond similarly to younger adults, although older adults tend to respond slower – The American Psychological Association, in its Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults [American Psychologist, 2004, 59(4), 236-260] concluded that older adults may respond more slowly to various forms of psychotherapy but there are few significant differences in effectiveness relative to younger adults. Additionally, tailoring an intervention to the specific needs of an older client may increase its effectiveness. (See: M. Gatz, et al., Empirically validated psychological treatments for older adults, Journal of Mental Health and Aging, 1999, 4(1), 9-46.)
- Components of health anxiety include disease conviction, disease fears, disease preoccupation, bodily checking and reassurance seeking, and disease-related avoidance and escape behaviors. Strong disease conviction is most associated with:
a. Specific (“disease”) Phobia
b. Delusional Disorder, Somatic Type
c. Hypochondriasis
d. Panic Disorder
c. Hypochondriasis – Individuals with hypochondriasis have the presence of strong disease convictions, insisting that they have an undetected serious illness or disease. Often convictions result from misinterpreting normal bodily sensations and minor symptoms as serious disease warning signs. Specific “disease” phobia (a.) is a DSM-IV-TR Anxiety Disorder associated with a fear of acquiring or being exposed to a disease. It is also commonly a feature of hypochondriasis. An absence of disease conviction is a differential characteristic of the two disorders. The disease conviction for individuals with Delusional Disorder, Somatic Type (b.) reaches extremely strong, unreasonable and delusional proportions. Although during panic attacks people with panic disorder commonly worry about dying, disease conviction is not a characteristic that is strongly associated with Panic Disorder.
- All of the following are true regarding Feminist Object Relations Theory except:
a. it emphasizes the importance of the maternal relationship with the child.
b. it proposes that gender differences are the result of girls being taught to remain attached to their mothers while boys are taught to separate from their mothers.
c. it proposes that girls develop a healthier self-object when raised primarily by their father due to earlier separation from their mother.
d. it proposes that mothering “reproduces itself” since mothers perpetuate the oppressiveness of the division of labor.
c. it proposes that girls develop a healthier self-object when raised primarily by their father due to earlier separation from their mother. – Nancy Chodorow was one of the first to apply a feminist perspective to an Object Relations model. In The Reproduction of Mothering (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1978) she focused on the relationship between mother and child and how gender differences result from the mother being the primary caretaker. The division of labor which occurs in families (although less so in recent years), is characterized by women being more involved in affective, interpersonal relationships than men. This is inevitably passed on to both boys and girls who ‘reproduce’ this sexual and familial division of labor.
- The primary symptoms of normal pressure hydrocephalus are:
a. headache followed by vomiting, downward deviation of the eyes and urinary incontinence
b. a rapid increase in the size of the head, headache followed by vomiting, gait disturbance
c. a rapid increase in the size of the head, downward deviation of the eyes, dementia
d. gait disturbance, urinary incontinence, dementia/mental disturbance
d. gait disturbance, urinary incontinence, dementia/mental disturbance – Hydrocephalus is a condition primarily characterized by excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the ventricles inside the brain. As the CSF builds up, it causes the ventricles to enlarge or dilate causing the pressure inside the head to increase and potentially harmful pressure on the tissues of the brain. Hydrocephalus may be congenital or acquired. The specific causes of hydrocephalus are unknown. Congenital hydrocephalus is thought to be caused by a complex interaction of environmental factors and a possible genetic disposition or developmental problem. The most common developmental problems that may lead to hydrocephalus include: spina bifida, failure of the tissue surrounding the spinal cord to close properly; aqueductal stenosis, a narrowing of a channel in the brain that connects two ventricles; and encephalocele, herniation of the brain. Acquired hydrocephalus can affect individuals of all ages and may result from a disease or condition such as encephalitis, intraventricular hemorrhage, meningitis, head trauma, stroke, infection, complications of surgery, tumors and cysts. Age, disease progression and how well a person can tolerate increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure all affect the symptoms of hydrocephalus. Common symptoms in infancy include an unusually large head, a rapid increase in the size of the head and a bulging “soft spot” on the top of the head. In older children and adults, symptoms may include headache followed by vomiting, nausea, papilledema or swelling of the optic disk, downward deviation of the eyes, problems with balance, poor coordination, gait disturbance, urinary incontinence, slowing or loss of development (in children), lethargy, drowsiness, irritability, or other changes in personality or cognition, including memory loss. A condition that mainly affects people over 60 years of age is normal pressure hydrocephalus. It is caused by defective absorption of CSF, in which the excess CSF enlarges the ventricles but does not increase pressure on the brain. It may result from injury, illness or infection although many people develop normal pressure hydrocephalus without an obvious cause. It typically starts with difficulty walking. Urinary incontinence often develops, along with a type of dementia marked by slowness of thinking and information processing. Hydrocephalus is diagnosed through clinical neurological evaluation and by using cranial imaging techniques such as ultrasonography, computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or pressure-monitoring techniques. The most effective treatment is surgical insertion of a shunt although endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is growing in popularity as an alternative treatment method for hydrocephalus.
- The presence of which of the following suggests the diagnosis is Acute Stress Disorder rather than Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?
a. response to the traumatic stressor involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror
b. a sense of reliving or reexperiencing the traumatic stressor
c. dissociative symptoms occur during or immediately following a traumatic stressor
d. increased symptoms of anxiety, poor concentration and irritability
c. dissociative symptoms occur during or immediately following a traumatic stressor – Acute Stress Disorder, is by definition, only appropriate when the duration of symptoms last at least two days and occur within one month of the extreme stressor or traumatic event. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder requires symptoms to persist for more than a month so this diagnosis cannot be made within the initial month following the traumatic stressor.
- A high achiever would most likely attribute failures to
a. internal, unstable, and controllable factors.
b. internal, stable, and uncontrollable factors.
c. external, stable, and controllable factors.
d. external, unstable, and uncontrollable factors.
a. internal, unstable, and controllable factors. – Research by Weiner and others has suggested that people who have high expectations for future performance (such as high achievers) tend to attribute their failure to a lack of effort. Effort is an internal, unstable, and controllable factor. Most research suggests that of these dimensions, stability is the most important in expectations for future achievement. The idea is that, if you attribute failure to an unstable cause, you must expect that you will not fail in most situations.
- The most commonly associated features of Tourette’s Disorder are
a. depression and shame
b. academic and social difficulties
c. orthopedic and skin problems
d. obsessions and compulsions
d. obsessions and compulsions – DSM-IV lists obsessions and compulsions as the most commonly associated features of Tourette’s Disorder. While the other features that are included in responses A, B, and C are also associated with the disorder, they are not as common.
- You see an elderly male in therapy. In the first session, he breaks down sobbing and admits that he has recently “helped” his wife, who was suffering from incurable cancer, to die. First you need to
a. comfort him as best you can and make a call to the police.
b. get the number of a trusted family member and alert them.
c. assess your client’s potential for suicide.
d. suggest that your client call the police while still in your office.
c. assess your client’s potential for suicide. – First of all, this question is not about a Tarasoff situation. You are speaking to the husband after the fact of the wife’s death so you do not have a mandated breach of confidentiality, and instead now need to decide what is in the best interest of your client. What you have is a bereaved client who is at a high risk for suicide. With his best interests and welfare in mind, you need to assess his potential for suicide and then decide if you want to get the number of a trusted family member and alert them (choice B). You would not be able to breach confidentiality as suggested in answer A and D for the purpose of “turning in” your client.
- Two women golfers are competing in a golf tournament. Woman A is told by the coach to do her best. Woman B is told by her coach to try to shoot one under par on Holes 1, 4, and 7 and 11, and make par on all the rest. Which golfer is likely to do the best according to Locke?
a. Golfer A
b. Golfer B
c. They’ll do the same
d. Golfer C, who will not be distracted from the game by verbal directions from a coach
b. Golfer B – According to Locke’s 1970 goal-setting theory, goals serve two purposes–they are a basis for motivation and they direct behavior. Goal attainment is maximized when goals are specific and moderately difficult and when frequent feedback about progress toward goal achievement is provided. Locke is associated with Industrial Organizational Psychology, even though this question seems like it could be from the Social Psychology domain. Questions on the EPPP are often “disguised” in this way.
- In designing a research study, you take a number of steps that have the effect of reducing beta. This means that you have reduced the probability of:
a. retaining a true null hypothesis.
b. retaining a false null hypothesis.
c. rejecting a true null hypothesis.
d. rejecting a false null hypothesis.
b. retaining a false null hypothesis. – Beta is the probability of making a Type II error, or of retaining a false null hypothesis. In plain language, it is the probability of failing to detect a true effect.
- Depressive episodes that occur in a seasonal pattern most likely include:
a. loss of weight
b. increased sleep
c. increased energy
d. increased craving for protein-rich foods
b. increased sleep – Mood Disorder With Seasonal Pattern (better known as Seasonal Affective Disorder) is diagnosed when the person displays onset and remission of Major Depressive Episodes at characteristic times of the year. In most cases, onset is in fall or winter and remission is in spring. The depressive symptoms in Seasonal Affective Disorder most often include: decreased energy, increased sleep, overeating, weight gain, and a craving for carbohydrates.
- In assessing perceptual abilities in a 3 or 4-month old infant you could use all of the following indicators except:
a. head turning
b. sucking
c. reaching
d. heart rate
a. head turning – Head turning does not become an appropriate measure of perception in infants until 5 ½ months of age. Sucking (B) is often used as a measure of perceptual abilities for infants aged 1 to 4 months. Reaching (C) is used at 12 weeks or older, and heart rate (D) can be a useful measure at any age.
- A parent brings his 7-year old child in for evaluation, with the complaint that the child can’t sit still, is constantly on the go, and never pays attention. You suspect that the diagnosis might be Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Of the following, which would be the best way to confirm this diagnosis?
a. determine if the child displays the same exact behaviors in other settings
b. investigate the child’s behavior in different settings with the awareness that the disorder may manifest itself differently in different situations
c. investigate the parent’s interaction with the child
d. administer Ritalin to the child for a limited period of time to determine if the symptoms respond to the medication
b. investigate the child’s behavior in different settings with the awareness that the disorder may manifest itself differently in different situations – A diagnosis of ADHD requires the presence of characteristic symptoms in at least two settings. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the child’s behavior in other settings, such as school. However, the clinician needs to be aware that the disorder’s nature and severity can differ across different situations. For instance, according to the DSM-IV, symptoms typically worsen in situations that require sustained attention or mental effort, and they may be minimal or absent when the child is frequently rewarded, is under very strict control, or is in a novel setting.
- According to the concept of “homeostasis,” if a married woman’s depressive symptoms improve, we can expect that which of the following will be most likely to occur?
a. increased support from her husband
b. depressive symptoms in her husband
c. rejection by all family members
d. overall improvement in the family’s symptoms
b. depressive symptoms in her husband –“Homeostasis” refers to the tendency for any system to react toward restoring the status quo in the event of any change. Homeostasis is automatically disturbed as individuals in a family grow into new developmental stages or “get better” after having had depressive or other symptoms. Therefore, when someone recovers, to restore a homeostatic balance, family members may either sabotage the recovered member’s improvement or become symptomatic themselves. Thus, if the woman’s depressive symptoms improve, the concept of homeostasis would predict that depressive symptoms might develop in her husband.
- A woman seeks help from a psychologist in dealing with her 12-year-old daughter who has been misbehaving lately. The mother says that the daughter has not been listening to her and last week cursed at her mother. The mother reacted by slapping her daughter which left a bruise. The mother feels very remorseful about it and says that she has never done anything like that before. The psychologist should:
a. insist that the woman attend anger management classes
b. report the incident to a child protective services agency before the end of the session
c. monitor the situation and report any further abuse incidents to a child protective services agency
d. seek consultation
b. report the incident to a child protective services agency before the end of the session – State laws require mandated reporters to report any reasonable suspicion of child abuse. Abuse generally includes, but is not limited to, physical injury that is inflicted upon a child by other than accidental means. The reporting laws do not provide exceptions for those who are remorseful or first-time offenders. Although the reporting laws do not require the reporter to inform the abuser of the report, or to involve him or her in making the report, it is often clinically useful to do so. Referral to anger management classes (A) might be appropriate, but the psychologist should not insist upon it and the psychologist must still meet the reporting requirements.
- Once exposed to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the process of converting from antibody negative to antibody positive is referred to as:
a. retroviral-conversion
b. seroconversion
c. seronegative
d. seropositive
b. seroconversion – Seroconversion describes the development of antibodies to a particular antigen, or the conversion from seronegative (HIV negative) to seropositive (HIV positive) as the result of the presence of antibodies. An individual who is infected may develop symptoms of acute HIV infection while still having a negative HIV antibody test because seroconversion often does not occur until several weeks after infection.
- Narcolepsy is associated with
a. rigid muscle tone.
b. loss of muscle tone.
c. decreased REM sleep.
d. insomnia.
b. loss of muscle tone. – Narcolepsy is characterized by irresistible sleep attacks occurring on a daily basis for at least three months. It also may involve cataplexy, which is a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually in association with intense emotion.
- A “needs assessment” is used to:
a. identify the worth of a job so that an equitable wage can be determined.
b. determine if and what kind of training is needed in an organization.
c. describe the requirements of a job.
d. identify which type of job would be most satisfying for an individual.
b. determine if and what kind of training is needed in an organization. – A “needs assessment” or “needs analysis” is the first step in developing a training program. Not surprisingly, this involves identifying the needs of the organization. This is very different than a job evaluation (A), which is used to determine the relative worth of a job, or a job analysis (C) which is used to describe the requirements of a job.
- Of the following, which would be the most important factor to keep in mind when deciding whether to prescribe tricyclic anti-depressants to a patient?
a. the patient’s suicide risk.
b. the patient’s history of treatment success or failure with tricyclics.
c. whether or not the patient’s symptoms are atypical.
d. whether or not the patient’s symptoms are primarily vegetative.
a. the patient’s suicide risk. – All of these factors would be important to consider in deciding whether to prescribe tricyclics to a patient. However, safety considerations generally supercede all others; thus, choice “A” is the best answer. The risk of suicide in depressed patients must always be considered by physicians when writing prescriptions – particularly for potentially dangerous drugs such as tricyclics.
- In implosive therapy:
a. the client is gradually exposed, through the imagination, to a feared stimulus, one step at a time.
b. a client is immediately exposed, through the imagination, to a feared stimulus at its maximum intensity.
c. the client is gradually exposed, in-vivo, to a feared stimulus, one step at a time.
d. a client is immediately exposed, in-vivo, to a feared stimulus at its maximum intensity.
b. a client is immediately exposed, through the imagination, to a feared stimulus at its maximum intensity. – Implosive therapy involves imaginal exposure to a feared stimulus. The person is immediately exposed to the stimulus at its maximum intensity. The purpose of implosive therapy is to extinguish a person’s fear; in addition, the technique incorporates psychodynamic themes thought to underlie the fear into the imagery.
- Research has identified the following factors as barriers that reduce the likelihood that a woman will seek or remain in substance abuse treatment. Of the following, which has been most often cited as a primary barrier to substance-abuse treatment for women:
a. a belief that treatment is ineffective
b. denial of a substance abuse problem
c. child and childcare concerns
d. sexual harassment from male counselors
c. child and childcare concerns – Only one of the responses is consistently cited by studies as a primary or most frequently mentioned barrier and that is factors related to children. Research has confirmed that women with substance abuse problems are more likely than men to be caring for dependent children. Many women are concerned about custody issues; others are concerned about childcare while they receive treatment. According to a recent United Nations report on substance abuse treatment, “lack of childcare is probably the most consistent factor restricting women’s treatment access identified in the literature” [United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Substance Abuse Treatment and Care for Women: Case Studies and Lessons Learned, New York, United Nations, 2004, p. 18]. While sexual harassment (d.) of women has been identified as a problem at some treatment centers and some women may be deterred by concerns over treatment effectiveness (a.), neither has been identified as a primary barrier to treatment. Women are more likely to express shame and guilt about their substance abuse than to deny that they have an abuse problem (b.).
- The neurotransmitter associated with Alzheimer’s Dementia is
a. serotonin.
b. dopamine.
c. acetylcholine.
d. epinephrine.
c. acetylcholine. – Acetylcholine and L-glutamate are two neurotransmitters that have been linked to Alzheimer’s Disease.
- Which of the following is NOT considered a disability according to the Americans with Disabilities Act?
a. Gender Identity Disorder
b. Paraplegia
c. Schizophrenia
d. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
a. Gender Identity Disorder – The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 prohibits employers from discriminating against a qualified individual based on his or her disability. The ADA defines a disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities” of an individual. However, it specifically excludes certain conditions including: transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders, compulsive gambling, kleptomania, pyromania, and psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from current illegal use of drugs. All of the other choices would, therefore, be considered a disability.
- A patient with Parkinson’s Disease is experiencing tremors. What transmitter is probably involved?
a. Acetylcholine
b. Glutamate
c. Zyprexa
d. Dopamine
d. Dopamine – A lack of norepinephrine at brain synapses is associated with depression, while excessive dopamine and norepinephrine are both associated with schizophrenia. Dopamine also plays a role in movement, and degeneration of neurons that secrete dopamine causes the muscular rigidity found in Parkinson’s disease.
- It has been found that abused children often cling to their abusive parents. This can be explained in behavioral terms as the effect of
a. extinction.
b. delayed conditioning.
c. intermittent reinforcement.
d. spontaneous recovery.
c. intermittent reinforcement. – Most abusing parents are abusive only some of the time. Other times they are quite loving and protective. In behavioral terms, this means that the child is on an intermittent reinforcement schedule, and, more specifically, a variable ratio schedule. In other words, any given behavior, including clinging, will be reinforced after a variable and unpredictable number of responses. Intermittent reinforcement schedules, and especially variable ratio schedules, tend to produce behaviors that are difficult to extinguish. This could explain why the clinging behavior continues.
- Alzheimer’s Dementia often results in problems in the executive functions such as:
a. aphasia and agnosia
b. apraxia and disorientation
c. planning and organizing
d. recalling and recognizing
c. planning and organizing – According to the DSM-IV-TR, a diagnosis of Dementia of the Alzheimer’s type, or any other type, requires evidence of impairment in memory, and at least one other cognitive impairment such as aphasia (language disturbance), apraxia (impaired ability to carry out motor activities), agnosia (failure to recognize objects), or disturbance in executive functioning. All the choices in this question are symptoms of dementia, however, problems with executive functions refers specifically to planning, organizing, and abstract thinking.
- You have a client who does not want their records released under any circumstances. The attorney has subpoened you. Your best course of action is to:
a. Respond in-person, but don’t take the records
b. Take the records, but don’t turn them over
c. Ignore the entire matter
d. Destroy the records
b. Take the records, but don’t turn them over – You should respond to the subpoena by asserting the psychotherapist-client privilege on the client’s behalf. If you cannot be released from the subpoena, you should appear at the legal proceeding with the documents requested, however, you should not actually release any information in the records, unless the judge orders you to do so. Keep in mind that a subpoena duces tecum requires a person to appear at a designated time and place with a copy of the records. It does not necessarily require the person to release those records.
- A person stops and asks a parking attendant for directions after getting lost while driving to an appointment. The attendant states, “Make a left at the first red light. Go four blocks until you reach a stop sign and turn right onto Main Street. About three blocks down Main, look for a large red sign at the entrance to the parking lot.” What type of memory is needed to hold such information?
a. procedural memory
b. working memory
c. short term memory
d. long term memory
b. working memory – The type of memory needed to hold the directions in one’s mind while working on it is called working memory. In the 1980s, Baddeley and Hitch coined the term “working memory” for the ability to hold several facts or thoughts in memory temporarily while solving a problem or performing a task. Baddeley defined the process of rapid verbal repetition of the to-be-remembered information to facilitate maintaining it in working memory, as an “articulatory loop.” He found there is a neural system or central executive in the frontal portion of the brain responsible for processing information in the “working memory.” Short-term memory (c.) holds information in mind for only a few seconds as it is processed. Long-term memory (d.) is where such processed information is permanently stored. Working memory is an intermediary and active memory system in the information processing area of the brain. (See: Baddeley, A.D., & Hitch, G.J. (1974). Working memory. In Bower, G.A. (Ed.) Recent advances in learning and morivation (Vol. 8). pp. 47-90. New York: Academic Press. See: Baddeley, A.D. (1986). Working Memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.)
- A patient displays apraxia, tactile agnosia, difficulties with movement, and confusion between the left and the right side of the body. Which lobe of the person’s cerebral cortex is most likely damaged?
a. parietal
b. frontal
c. occipital
d. temporal
a. parietal – Questions like this can be difficult to answer, since damage to any of the lobes can cause a wide variety of impairment, depending on the location and extent of the damage. Moreover, some types of impairment (including the type described by this question) can be caused by damage in the association areas of the cortex, or the areas where the different cortical lobes merge. Nonetheless, the parietal lobe is the best answer to this question. More than any other lobe, damage to the parietal lobe has been associated with left-right confusion. In addition, tactile agnosia (the inability to identify objects by touch using the contralateral hand) is associated primarily with the parietal lobe, which contains the primary somatosensory cortex. Difficulties in body movement and apraxia (inability to carry out motor activities despite intact comprehension and motor function) can be caused by damage to the frontal lobe as well as damage to the parietal lobe.
- You have a client who has been abusing cocaine. He has recently read an article about neurotransmitters and does not want to take any type of medication because he does not want to “mess with his brain.” You provide him with the information to reduce his anxiety. You explain that cocaine affects the brain in following manner.
a. It increases epinephrine.
b. It increases glutamate.
c. It decreases serotonin.
d. It increases dopamine.
d. It increases dopamine. – Cocaine is believed to block the reuptake of dopamine. As dopamine collects in the neurons of the limbic system, it continues to stimulate receiving cells.
- Which of the following smoking cessation treatments is least effective for long-term abstinence?
a. hypnosis
b. acupuncture
c. aversive techniques
d. nicotine replacement
d. nicotine replacement – Nicotine replacement interventions (e.g., nicotine gum, nicotine patch) have not been found to be very effective over the long-term unless they are combined with other treatment interventions. In a meta-analysis based on over 600 smoking cessation studies, the mean quit rate (based on short-term and long-term rates) for hypnosis = .36; acupuncture = .30; aversive techniques = .27; nicotine gum = .16; and control group = .06. [C. Viswesvaran and F. L. Schmidt, A meta-analytic comparison of the effectiveness of smoking cessation methods, Journal of Applied Psychology, 1992, 77(4), 554-561]. Another meta-analysis that addressed the combination of nicotine gum with other treatment interventions but compared short-term to long-term outcomes also concluded that nicotine gum by itself is not very effective in the long-term, but is effective when combined with other treatment interventions [A. Cepeda-Benito, Meta-analytical review of the efficacy of nicotine chewing gum in smoking treatment programs, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1993, 61(5), 822-830].
- Research on goal-setting theory suggests that it is:
a. applicable to the performance of males but not females.
b. applicable only to females in managerial-level jobs.
c. applicable to females when goals are set participatively but not when they are assigned.
d. applicable to both males and females whether goals are set participatively or are assigned.
d. applicable to both males and females whether goals are set participatively or are assigned. – Very few studies have attempted to determine if there are differences between males and females in goal-setting behavior. The existing studies suggest that, overall, the predictions of goal-setting theory are equally applicable to both genders, although there may be some minor differences. For example, at least one study found that females prefer mastery goals over social comparison goals.
- People diagnosed with PTSD are often successfully treated with psychotherapy and don’t need to be referred for medication treatment unless:
a. They also have a high level of cognitive functioning
b. They experience feelings of numbness
c. They tolerate exploratory psychotherapy well
d. Their target symptoms of avoidance and derealization interfere with daily life
d. Their target symptoms of avoidance and derealization interfere with daily life – PTSD is not usually treated with phamacotherapy unless the target symptoms of intrusive experiences, flashbacks, transient psychosis, marked derealization, and avoidance and numbing markedly interfere with daily life. With these symptoms, short-term medication is indicated. When the target symptoms of major depression, panic disorder or persistent psychotic symptoms become too intense, long term medication is indicated (Barry Pierce, R cassidy seminars, Santa Rosa CA).
- A psychologist in a rural area is referred a 17-year-old male who has been abusing OxyContin. Although the psychologist is trained and experienced in the treatment of substance abuse, she has not received training in, nor experience with, OxyContin abuse. The psychologist should:
a. refer the patient to a psychologist outside the area who is experienced in the treatment of OxyContin abuse
b. agree to treat the patient after attending a workshop on the treatment of OxyContin abuse
c. refer the patient for inpatient detoxification
d. provide the patient with treatment and read relevant literature
d. provide the patient with treatment and read relevant literature – Psychologists have an ethical responsibility to practice within the boundaries of their competence. However, according to APA’s Ethics Standard 2.01(d), “When psychologists are asked to provide services to individuals for whom appropriate mental health services are not available and for which psychologists have not obtained the competence necessary, psychologists with closely related prior training or experience may provide such services in order to ensure that services are not denied if they make a reasonable effort to obtain the competence required by using relevant research, training, consultation, or study.” It should not, therefore, be necessary to refer the patient to a provider out of the area. It also would not be in the patient’s best interest to postpone treatment until the psychologist can attend a workshop on the subject (B). And, although OxyContin abuse is serious and potentially fatal, it generally would not require inpatient detoxification (C) unless the abuse progressed to dependence.
- An African-American family presents for family therapy. From a systems perspective, it would be most advisable to:
a. focus on multi-generational issues.
b. see each family member individually.
c. use behavioral techniques.
d. educate family members about community resources.
a. focus on multi-generational issues. – You probably could answer this one correctly by focusing on the word “systems” since, of the choices, focusing on more than one generation most implies that you would be looking at the entire family system. In addition, African-American culture, as compared to Anglo culture, tends to be characterized by a greater emphasis placed on relationships with extended family members.
- Biofeedback is often part of treatments aimed at lowering tension and arousal and increasing relaxation. For this purpose, biofeedback is being used to control the:
a. sympathetic nervous system.
b. parasympathetic nervous system.
c. somatic nervous system.
d. endocrine system.
b. parasympathetic nervous system. – Biofeedback and other stress/anxiety reducing techniques are designed to induce a positive parasympathetic state since it is the parasympathetic nervous system that is responsible for rest, relaxation, and recuperation. On the other hand, if you wanted to increase blood flow to change body temperature, biofeedback would affect the sympathetic nervous system.
- Protocol analysis typically involves
a. specifying the unstated rules of communication between two individuals.
b. analyzing a behavior in terms of its antecedents and consequences.
c. recording specific behaviors that allow one to understand the subject’s problem-solving methodology.
d. standardizing psychotherapy procedures.
c. recording specific behaviors that allow one to understand the subject’s problem-solving methodology. – Protocol analysis is sort of an umbrella term used to refer to qualitative research studies that involve collecting verbatim reports. These reports could consist of an examinee’s verbal statements, a descriptive account of a subject’s behavior, or both. The term is commonly applied to research where the subject is asked to “think aloud” as he or she is performing a task. The researcher then records what the subject does and says, and analyzes the data to determine what cognitive processes are used to solve the problem. The analysis, by the way, is not quantitative or statistical; rather, it is qualitative, or based on the researcher’s own interpretations.
