Exam 4 Flashcards
A supervisor tells you that the low job motivation of one of her newly hired supervisees is affecting his job performance, and she asks your advice about the best management style when working with him. As an advocate of ______________, you question the supervisor about some of the characteristics of the supervisee and his job tasks and, based on her answers, recommend that she adopt a supportive style with this supervisee.
A. Fiedler’s contingency theory
B. Dansereau, Graen, and Haga’s (1975) leader-member exchange theory
C. House’s path-goal theory
D. Vroom-Yetton-Jago’s leadership model
C. House’s path-goal theory
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Organizational Leadership-19 Answer C is correct. According to House’s (1971) path-goal theory, an effective leader adopts the style (directive, achievement-oriented, supportive, or participative) that best fits certain characteristics of the employee and the employee’s tasks.
When using the multitrait-multimethod matrix to assess a test’s construct validity, a large heterotrait-monomethod coefficient indicates which of the following?
A. adequate convergent validity
B. inadequate convergent validity
C. adequate divergent validity
D. inadequate divergent validity
D. inadequate divergent validity
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-TES-Test Validity – Content and Construct Validity-06 Answer D is correct. The heterotrait-monomethod coefficient indicates the correlation between the test being evaluated and a measure of a different trait (heterotrait) using the same method of measurement (monomethod). For example, if the multitrait-multimethod matrix is being used to assess the construct validity of a self-report measure of assertiveness, a heterotrait-monomethod coefficient might indicate the correlation between the self-report measure of assertiveness and a self-report measure of seriousness. When this coefficient is small, it provides evidence of the test’s divergent validity; when it’s large, it indicates that the test has inadequate divergent validity. (A measure’s construct validity is demonstrated when it has adequate levels of both divergent and convergent validity.)
Your new patient says he was referred to you by his physician who could find no medical explanation for his severe headaches and chronic abdominal pain. If the results of your assessment of the patient suggest that he’s intentionally producing his symptoms to qualify for Social Security benefits, the most likely diagnosis for this patient is:
A. factitious disorder.
B. somatic symptom disorder.
C. malingering.
D. conversion disorder.
C. malingering.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Trauma/Stressor-Related, Dissociative, and Somatic Symptom Disorders-18 Answer C is correct. As described in the DSM-5, malingering involves “the intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated physical or psychological symptoms [that is] motivated by external incentives” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 726).
A practitioner of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) would most likely identify eliminating or decreasing all of the following as the primary goals of individual therapy except:
A. quality-of-life interfering behaviors.
B. therapy-interfering behaviors.
C. self-triggering behaviors.
D. life-threatening behaviors.
C. self-triggering behaviors.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Personality Disorders–03 Answer C is correct. For practitioners of DBT, the primary goals of individual therapy are reducing quality-of-life interfering behaviors and therapy-interfering behaviors and eliminating life-threatening behaviors: Quality-of-life interfering behaviors interfere with the ability to maintain a life worth living and include relationship problems and financial and housing crises. Therapy-interfering behaviors (TIBs) interfere with the progress of therapy and include frequently being late for therapy sessions, not completing homework, and threatening to quit therapy. Life-threatening behaviors are behaviors that could lead to the client’s death and include suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and intentional self-harm.
Veronica Venable, a legal secretary, is convinced that one of the attorneys in the law firm that she works for is in love with her and is going to leave his wife so he can be with her. Assuming that the attorney hasn’t said or done anything to support Veronica’s belief, Veronica is exhibiting which of the following?
A. erotomanic delusion
B. referential delusion
C. grandiose delusion
D. unspecified delusion
A. erotomanic delusion
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Schizophrenia Spectrum/Other Psychotic Disorders-08 Answer A is correct. A person experiencing an erotomanic delusion believes that another person (often a famous person or person with higher status) is in love with him or her.
Practitioners of reality therapy would most likely agree that psychological pain is:
A. a treatable medical illness.
B. the result of unconscious and unresolved conflicts.
C. the result of ineffective attempts to satisfy one’s needs.
D. an inability to experience the here-and-now in a real and fulfilling way.
C. the result of ineffective attempts to satisfy one’s needs.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies-06 Answer C is correct. Reality therapy is based on choice theory, which views depression, anxiety, and other psychological symptoms as the result of choices a person makes in an attempt to satisfy his/her innate needs.
Kirkpatrick (1998) distinguished between four levels of training program evaluation and proposed that which of the following is the most informative level?
A. learning
B. reaction
C. behavior
D. results
D. results
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Training Methods and Evaluation-12 Answer D is correct. Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model distinguishes between four levels of training program evaluation that are arranged in order from least to most informative: reaction, learning, behavior, and results.
Dr. Sholen has trained a psychology intern to administer and score several psychological tests that she frequently administers to clients who have been referred to her for psychological assessment. Dr. Sholen always interprets the clients’ scores and, when preparing the psychological reports for clients who have taken these tests, she doesn’t indicate that they were administered and scored by the intern. This practice is:
A. ethical since Dr. Sholen interprets the test scores.
B. ethical since Dr. Sholen is ultimately responsible for the information presented in the report.
C. unethical since an intern should not be scoring psychological tests.
D. unethical since the intern should be identified as the person who administered and scored the tests.
D. unethical since the intern should be identified as the person who administered and scored the tests.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-11 Answer D is correct. This situation is addressed in Standard 5.01(b) of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standards III.1, III.5, and III.22 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. The intern may, in fact, be qualified to administer and score the tests (answer C). However, not indicating that the intern did so in the psychological reports violates the prohibition against providing inaccurate or deceptive statements about a psychologist’s professional services.
Soon after the death of his best friend, a 36-year-old man began having decreased visual acuity in both eyes. Physical and neurological exams and laboratory tests have found no explanation for his vision loss and his symptoms are not compatible with any known medical or neurological condition. There’s no indication that he’s faking or has induced his symptoms. The most likely diagnosis for this man is which of the following?
A. somatic symptom disorder
B. conversion disorder
C. acute stress disorder
D. factitious disorder
B. conversion disorder
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Trauma/Stressor-Related, Dissociative, and Somatic Symptom Disorders-17 Answer B is correct. The DSM-5 diagnosis of conversion disorder requires the presence of at least one symptom that involves an alteration in sensory or motor functioning which is not compatible with any known neurological or medical condition. Note that factitious disorder can be ruled out because its diagnosis requires evidence that symptoms are being falsified or induced.
Research investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy (MBT) has generally found that it is:
A. more effective for treating psychological disorders than physical/medical conditions.
B. more effective for treating physical/medical conditions than psychological disorders.
C. equally effective for treating psychological disorders and physical/medical conditions.
D. not as effective as a placebo for treating psychological disorders or physical/medical conditions.
A. more effective for treating psychological disorders than physical/medical conditions.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies-19 Answer A is correct. MBT includes mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Based on their meta-analysis of research on MBT, B. Khoury and his colleagues conclude that MBT is effective for treating both psychological disorders and physical/medical conditions but is more effective for psychological disorders, especially depression, anxiety, and stress (Mindfulness-based therapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis, Clinical Psychology Review, 33, 763-771, 2013).
For patients who meet the diagnostic criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia, the best prognosis is associated with which of the following?
A. male gender, an early onset of symptoms, and comorbid mood symptoms
B. male gender, a late onset of symptoms, and predominantly negative symptoms
C. female gender, a late onset of symptoms, and comorbid mood symptoms
D. female gender, an early onset of symptoms, and predominantly negative symptoms
C. female gender, a late onset of symptoms, and comorbid mood symptoms
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Schizophrenia Spectrum/Other Psychotic Disorders-07 Answer C is correct. A better prognosis for schizophrenia is associated with female gender, an acute and late onset of symptoms, comorbid mood symptoms (especially depressive symptoms), predominantly positive symptoms, precipitating factors, a family history of a mood disorder, and good premorbid adjustment. See, e.g., B. J. Sadock and V. A. Sadock, Kaplan and Sadock’s synopses of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (10th ed.), Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007.
McGuire’s (1973) attitude inoculation hypothesis proposes that people are less likely to be induced by a persuasive message to change their attitudes when:
A. they’ve heard a weak argument against their current attitude and refutations of that argument before being exposed to the persuasive message.
B. they’ve heard arguments that support their own attitudes multiple times before being exposed to the persuasive message.
C. the persuasive message is delivered by a low-credible communicator and there’s a large discrepancy between their attitudes and the attitude advocated by the communicator.
D. the persuasive message is delivered by a low-credible communicator and there’s a moderate discrepancy between their attitudes and the attitude advocated by the communicator.
A. they’ve heard a weak argument against their current attitude and refutations of that argument before being exposed to the persuasive message.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-SOC-Persuasion-09 Answer A is correct. McGuire’s attitude inoculation hypothesis proposes that an effective way to increase resistance to persuasion is to “immunize” people against attempts to change their attitudes by providing them with weak arguments against their current attitudes along with counterarguments that refute those arguments before they’re exposed to a persuasive message.
Differential reinforcement combines which of the following?
A. negative reinforcement and classical extinction
B. negative reinforcement and stimulus control
C. positive reinforcement and negative punishment
D. positive reinforcement and operant extinction
D. positive reinforcement and operant extinction
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LEA-Interventions Based on Operant Conditioning-09 Answer D is correct. Differential reinforcement involves extinguishing (removing all positive reinforcement from) the target behavior while providing positive reinforcement for alternative behaviors.
To determine the degree of association between age in years and reaction time in seconds, you would use which of the following correlation coefficients?
A. Spearman rho
B. Pearson r
C. contingency coefficient
D. biserial coefficient
B. Pearson r
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-RMS-Correlation and Regression-08 Answer B is correct. Because age in years and reaction time in seconds both represent a ratio scale of measurement, the Pearson r would be the appropriate correlation coefficient.
Believing that a random event is more likely to occur because it hasn’t occurred recently is an example of which of the following?
A. gambler’s fallacy
B. illusory correlation
C. base rate fallacy
D. false consensus effect
A. gambler’s fallacy
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-SOC-Social Cognition – Errors, Biases, and Heuristics-03 Answer A is correct. The gambler’s fallacy is the tendency to believe that the occurrence of a chance event is affected by the occurrence of previous chance events. Believing that the next coin toss will be heads after obtaining tails six times in a row is an example of the gambler’s fallacy.
A person with damage to his/her right (non-dominant) hemisphere as the result of a traumatic brain injury is most likely to exhibit which of the following?
A. a catastrophic reaction
B. an indifference reaction
C. ideational apraxia
D. ideomotor apraxia
B. an indifference reaction
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PHY-Emotions and Stress-18 Answer B is correct. People with damage to the certain areas of the right (non-dominant) hemisphere are likely to exhibit an indifference reaction. For example, they’re likely to deny or minimize their impairments and disabilities. In contrast, people with damage to the left (dominant) hemisphere are more likely to exhibit a catastrophic reaction and exaggerate and be oversensitive to their impairments and disabilities. (Ideational apraxia and ideomotor apraxia are both usually the result of left hemisphere damage.)
A problem with the forced distribution method of performance assessment is that:
A. the scoring and interpretation of the performance categories are complicated and time-consuming.
B. the prespecified performance categories may not match the actual performance of employees.
C. it provides information on extreme (rather than typical) job-related behaviors.
D. it’s very susceptible to central tendency, leniency, and strictness rater biases.
B. the prespecified performance categories may not match the actual performance of employees.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Job Analysis and Performance Assessment-03 Answer B is correct. The forced distribution method requires the rater to assign a certain percent of employees to prespecified performance categories for each performance dimension. It helps alleviate rater biases, but it provides inaccurate information when the performance of the employees does not match those categories.
Kevin Keene, age 18, is brought to therapy by his mother who says Kevin seemed like “a regular kid” until two months ago, when he started complaining about hearing voices and seeing the ghosts of his dead grandparents. She says he has also been unable to carry on a conversation because he jumps from one topic to another and sometimes makes up words. Assuming that Kevin has never had these symptoms before and they’re not due to drug use or a medical condition, the most likely diagnosis is:
A. brief psychotic disorder.
B. schizophreniform disorder.
C. schizophrenia.
D. schizoaffective disorder.
B. schizophreniform disorder.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Schizophrenia Spectrum/Other Psychotic Disorders-06 Answer B is correct. The DSM diagnosis of schizophreniform disorder requires the presence of at least two characteristic symptoms for one to six months, with at least one symptom being delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech. Kevin has experienced hallucinations and disorganized speech for two months.
Dr. Lansky returned to school when she was 48 years old to obtain a Psy.D. in clinical psychology. She already had a Ph.D. in business administration and, now that she’s a licensed psychologist, decides to list both doctoral degrees in her business card and advertisements for her clinical practice. This is:
A. acceptable.
B. acceptable only if she indicates that her Ph.D. is in business administration.
C. unacceptable only if one or both degrees are not from an accredited educational institution.
D. unacceptable.
D. unacceptable.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 5 & 6-13 Answer D is correct. This answer is most consistent with Standard 5.01(c) of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standards III.1 and III.2 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 5.01(c) states that psychologists can claim as credentials for their health services only degrees that “were earned from a regionally accredited educational institution or … were the basis for psychology licensure.” In other words, the psychologist should not include her Ph.D. in business administration in her business card or advertisements since that degree was not used as a credential for her health services.
____________ is an evidence-based, home- and community-centered intervention that is based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. It is for adolescents 12 to 18 years of age who have serious antisocial behavioral problems and are at risk for out-of-home placement.
A. Multisystemic therapy
B. Multidimensional family therapy
C. Family-focused therapy
D. Transference-focused psychotherapy
A. Multisystemic therapy
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Family Therapies and Group Therapies-120 Answer A is correct. Multisystemic therapy was originally developed for families with an adolescent who is at risk for out-of-home placement due to serious antisocial behaviors and has subsequently been adapted for adolescents with other serious psychiatric disturbances or substance abuse or a history of childhood maltreatment. Multidimensional family therapy (answer B) is a treatment for families that include a member who is 11 to 21 years old and has a substance use disorder and comorbid internalizing or externalizing symptoms. Family-focused therapy (answer C) is a treatment for families with a member who has bipolar disorder. It is based on recognition that high levels of criticism, hostility, and emotional overinvolvement (i.e., high expressed emotion) by family members can trigger relapse in the family member with this disorder. Transference-focused psychotherapy (answer D) is used to treat borderline and other personality disorders.
At birth, infants emit three different cries that indicate:
A. hunger, anger, or pain.
B. hunger, discomfort, or boredom.
C. hunger, anger, or frustration.
D. hunger, overstimulation, or fear.
A. hunger, anger, or pain.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LIF-Language Development-07 Answer A is correct. Newborns emit three different cries that have different meanings: a low-pitched rhythmic cry that signals hunger or discomfort; a shrill, less regular cry that signals anger or frustration; and a loud high-pitched cry followed by silence that signals pain.
Delta waves are characteristic of:
A. alert wakefulness.
B. relaxed wakefulness.
C. light sleep.
D. deep sleep.
D. deep sleep.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PHY-Memory and Sleep-17 Answer D is correct. Different states of wakefulness and sleep are associated with different EEG patterns. A state of deep sleep occurs during stages 3 and 4 sleep and is characterized by large, slow delta waves.
You receive a phone call from the mother of Max, a former client of yours, requesting that you provide her with a copy of Max’s record. Max, age 32, stopped coming to therapy six months ago and died in a car accident two months ago. To be consistent with ethical guidelines, you:
A. provide her with a summary of the information contained in Max’s record.
B. provide her with a copy of Max’s record.
C. provide her with a copy of Max’s record only after she provides you with a written request.
D. refuse to provide her with information in Max’s record without permission of the executor or administrator of his estate.
D. refuse to provide her with information in Max’s record without permission of the executor or administrator of his estate.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-10 Answer D is correct. This answer is most consistent with the provisions of Standard 4.05(a) of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standard I.45 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 4.05(a) states that “psychologists may disclose information with the appropriate consent of the organizational client, the individual client/patient, or another legally authorized person on behalf of the client/patient unless prohibited by law.” When a client is deceased, the legally authorized person is ordinarily the executor or administrator of the client’s estate (which, in this situation, may or may not be the client’s mother).
A meta-analysis of research on sex differences in leadership style by Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, and van Engen (2003) found that:
A. Men and women do not differ in terms of transformational and transactional leadership styles.
B. Men tend to be more transformational than women are and more transactional in terms of contingent rewards, while women tend to be more transactional than men are in terms of active and passive management by exception.
C. Men tend to be more transactional than women are in terms of active and passive management by exception, while women tend to be more transformational than men are and more transactional in terms of contingent rewards.
D. Men tend to be more transactional than women are in terms of contingent rewards, while women tend to be more transactional than men are in terms of active and passive management by exception.
C. Men tend to be more transactional than women are in terms of active and passive management by exception, while women tend to be more transformational than men are and more transactional in terms of contingent rewards.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Organizational Leadership-86 Answer C is correct. This is a difficult question because it is asking about a specific meta-analysis. However, even if you’re unfamiliar with that meta-analysis, you would have been able to identify the correct answer as long as you know that research has generally found male and female leadership styles to be consistent with stereotypes – i.e., male leaders tend to be more transactional and female leaders tend to be more transformational. (Management by exception is characteristic of transactional leaders and can be either active or passive: Active management by exception occurs when leaders closely monitor the behaviors of followers and take corrective action when necessary. Passive management by exception occurs when leaders do not closely monitor the behavior of followers and take corrective action only when serious errors have already occurred.)
__________ facilitates movement by stimulating the muscles to contract.
A. Norepinephrine
B. Glutamate
C. Acetylcholine
D. GABA
C. Acetylcholine
EPPP-P4-PHY-Nervous System, Neurons, and Neurotransmitters-11 Answer C is correct. Acetylcholine (ACh) is present in all motor neurons, causes muscles to contract, and is involved in the production of muscle movements.
John Watson used classical conditioning to establish a fear reaction to a white rat in Little Albert. Subsequently, Little Albert also responded to a white rabbit and other white furry stimuli with fear. Albert’s response to other white furry stimuli was due to:
A. higher-order conditioning.
B. response generalization.
C. trace conditioning.
D. stimulus generalization.
D. stimulus generalization.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LEA-Classical Conditioning-01 Answer D is correct. Watson established a fear reaction to a white rat in Little Albert by pairing presentation of the white rat (the CS) with an unexpected loud noise (the US) that naturally produced a startle response. Albert’s subsequent fear reaction to other white furry objects was the result of stimulus generalization – i.e., elicitation of the conditioned response by stimuli similar to the CS.
In terms of age, Freud’s latency stage corresponds to Erikson’s ________ stage.
A. initiative versus guilt
B. industry versus inferiority
C. identity versus role confusion
D. autonomy versus shame and doubt
B. industry versus inferiority
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Temperament and Personality-15 Answer B is correct. Freud’s latency stage and Erikson’s industry versus inferiority stage both occur when children are between the ages of six and 11.
According to the DSM-5, the median age of onset of specific phobia is between _____ years of age.
A. 7 and 11
B. 13 and 16
C. 18 and 22
D. 40 and 45
A. 7 and 11
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder-15 Answer A is correct. The DSM-5 states that specific phobia usually begins in childhood, with the median age of onset being between 7 and 11 years of age and the mean being about 10 years of age.
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB5) provides scores on five cognitive factors. Which of the following is not one of those factors?
A. Fluid Reasoning
B. Knowledge
C. Working Memory
D. Abstract Reasoning
D. Abstract Reasoning
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PAS-Stanford-Binet and Wechsler Tests-05 Answer D is correct. The SB5 provides scores on the following five factors: Fluid Reasoning, Knowledge, Quantitative Reasoning, Visual-Spatial Processing, and Working Memory.
Which aspect of an item characteristic curve (ICC) indicates the probability of choosing the correct answer to the item by guessing alone?
A. the position of the curve
B. the slope of the curve
C. the point at which the curve intercepts the x-axis
D. the point at which the curve intercepts the y-axis
D. the point at which the curve intercepts the y-axis
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-TES-Item Analysis and Test Reliability-02 Answer D is correct. The various item response theory models produce item response curves that provide information on either one, two, or three parameters, with the three parameters being item difficulty, item discrimination, and the probability of guessing correctly. The probability of guessing correctly is indicated by the point at which the item response curve intercepts the y-axis.
The smallest distinctive units of sound in a language are referred to as:
A. syllables.
B. words.
C. phonemes.
D. morphemes.
C. phonemes.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LIF-Language Development-08 Answer C is correct. Phonemes are the smallest distinctive units of sound in a language (e.g., b, d, f, sh), and morphemes are the smallest meaningful units (e.g., un, ed, pre, post).
The concordance rate for schizophrenia for monozygotic (identical) twins is:
A. 90%.
B. 78%.
C. 48%.
D. 26%.
C. 48%.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Schizophrenia Spectrum/Other Psychotic Disorders-05 Answer C is correct. In his frequently cited review of the research, I. Gottesman reports a concordance rate for schizophrenia of 48% for monozygotic twins (Schizophrenia genesis, New York, W. H. Freeman & Co., 1991).
When a psychology student uses the phrase, “on old Olympus towering top, a Finn and German viewed some hops” is a(n) __________ to remember the 12 cranial nerves (olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, auditory, glossopharyngeal, vagus, spinal accessory, and hypoglossal), the student is using which of the following techniques?
A. acrostic
B. acronym
C. pegword method
D. keyword method
A. acrostic
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LEA-Memory and Forgetting-14 Answer A is correct. When using an acrostic to memorize information, a phrase or sentence consisting of familiar words is created, with each word beginning with the first letter of one of the words to be memorized.
__________ involves continuing to practice newly acquired skills beyond the point of mastery.
A. Overlearning
B. Overtraining
C. Elaborative rehearsal
D. Massed practice
A. Overlearning
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Training Methods and Evaluation-11 Answer A is correct. Overlearning refers to learning or practicing beyond the point of mastery and results in automaticity, which occurs when information can be recalled or a behavior can be performed with little conscious effort or awareness.
To avoid dealing with their ongoing conflicts and hostility toward each other, the parents of a 10-year-old child blame the child for their problems. A structural family therapist would view this as an example of which of the following?
A. detouring
B. emotional triangle
C. unstable coalition
D. stable coalition
A. detouring
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Family Therapies and Group Therapies-11 Answer A is correct. Detouring occurs when parents avoid dealing with their own conflicts by focusing on their child and either overprotecting the child or blaming the child for their problems.
About _____ of patients with Parkinson’s disease experience depression, which ____________________.
A. 50%; always has an onset after the emergence of motor symptoms
B. 50%; has an onset prior to the development of motor symptoms for some patients
C. 85%; always has an onset after the emergence of motor symptoms
D. 85%; has an onset prior to the development of motor symptoms for some patients
B. 50%; has an onset prior to the development of motor symptoms for some patients
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PHY-Neurological and Endocrine Disorders-20 Answer B is correct. About 50% of patients with Parkinson’s disease experience depression at some time during the course of the disease, with depressive symptoms preceding motor symptoms for some patients. See, e.g., M. J. Mentis and D. Delalot, Depression in Parkinson’s disease, in K. E. Anderson, W. J. Weiner, and A. E. Lang (Eds.), Advances in neurology, volume 96: Behavioral neurology of movement disorders (2nd ed., pp. 26-41), Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkens, 2005.
Without rehearsal, information remains in short-term memory for about:
A. one-half to one second.
B. 20 to 30 seconds.
C. 30 to 60 seconds.
D. two or three minutes.
B. 20 to 30 seconds.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LEA-Memory and Forgetting-11 Answer B is correct. Estimates for the maintenance of information in short-term memory vary somewhat, but most experts report a maximum duration of 20 to 30 seconds without rehearsal of the information.
Piaget’s stage theory of cognitive development views development as being:
A. continuous and active.
B. discontinuous and active.
C. continuous and passive.
D. discontinuous and passive.
B. discontinuous and active.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LIF-Cognitive Development-181 Answer B is correct. Piaget’s theory proposes discontinuous stages of cognitive development that are characterized by qualitatively different cognitive processes. His theory also proposes that development is an active process in which children interact with the world to construct their own knowledge.
Dr. Swenson, a licensed psychologist, has just started working at an inner-city clinic. He soon realizes that some of his clients have problems he has not previously encountered and that he’s likely to continue encountering these problems. As an ethical psychologist, Dr. Swenson should:
A. take a continuing education course that’s relevant to the clients’ problems.
B. see the clients in therapy but seek consultation with a colleague who has relevant experience.
C. see the clients in therapy only if there are no mental health professionals working at the clinic who have appropriate training.
D. refuse to see the clients.
B. see the clients in therapy but seek consultation with a colleague who has relevant experience.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Overview and Standards 1 & 2-02 Answer B is correct. This answer is most consistent with Standard 2.01 of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standards II.6 and II.8 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 2.01 requires psychologists to obtain appropriate education, training, and consultation when they want to provide new professional services. Answer A is not the best answer because completing a single continuing education course is not likely to be adequate.
Naltrexone is prescribed for a middle-aged patient who has just received a diagnosis of alcohol use disorder. This drug will have which of the following effects?
A. It will reduce the patient’s craving for alcohol.
B. It will reduce the patient’s tolerance to alcohol.
C. It will make the patient nauseous when he drinks alcohol.
D. It will reduce the severity of the patient’s withdrawal symptoms.
A. It will reduce the patient’s craving for alcohol.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PHY-Psychopharmacology – Other Psychoactive Drugs-25 Answer A is correct. Naltrexone reduces the rewarding effects of alcohol (e.g., feelings of euphoria) and cravings for alcohol.
Subjects in Schachter and Singer’s (1962) “epinephrine studies” were injected with epinephrine, which produces mild physiological arousal. Some subjects were told what effect the drug would have, while others were either given false information or no information about the drug’s effects. Each subject was then placed in a waiting room with a confederate who acted in an angry manner. As predicted by __________, only subjects given false or no information reported feeling angry.
A. cognitive dissonance theory
B. self-perception theory
C. the elaboration likelihood model
D. social judgment theory
B. self-perception theory
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-SOC-Attitudes and Attitude Change-07 Answer B is correct. Subjects in the false and no information groups had no explanation for their physiological arousal and, as predicted by self-perception theory, they looked to their circumstances to find an explanation.
When measuring the relationship between two variables, a restriction in range of scores on the variables will most likely produce a correlation coefficient that:
A. underestimates the actual relationship between the variables.
B. overestimates the actual relationship between the variables.
C. either under- or overestimates the actual relationship between the variables.
D. neither under- nor overestimates the actual relationship between the variables.
A. underestimates the actual relationship between the variables.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-RMS-Correlation and Regression-07 Answer A is correct. To determine the true relationship between variables, scores on both variables must be unrestricted in terms of range. When the range is restricted (e.g., when only low scorers are included in sample), the resulting correlation coefficient will underestimate their actual relationship.
Dr. Yoshida receives a subpoena from an attorney that requires him to testify at trial about a former therapy client. The client’s authorization to release information is not attached to the subpoena, so Dr. Yoshida contacts the client who tells him that she doesn’t want him to provide any information about her treatment. Dr. Yoshida should:
A. reassure the client that he will provide only information that is in her best interests.
B. explain to the client that he’s legally required to comply with the request.
C. contact the attorney who issued the subpoena and ask that he be released from it.
D. notify the attorney and the court that he will be unable to appear at the trial.
C. contact the attorney who issued the subpoena and ask that he be released from it.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-Professional Issues-28 Answer C is correct. When a psychologist receives a subpoena to testify about a client, he/she would ordinarily not want to disclose confidential information without authorization from the client or the client’s legal representative. When the client refuses to provide authorization, a psychologist has several options. Of the options listed, contacting the party who issued the subpoena to see if he/she is willing to withdraw or limit the request is the best one. Trying to convince the client to authorize the release of information by reassuring her that he’ll provide only information that is in her best interests would be coercive and not necessarily possible, so answer A is not the best answer. A psychologist may be legally required to appear as requested by the subpoena but may or may not be required to release information without the client’s authorization, so answer B is not the best answer. And a psychologist cannot refuse to appear as requested by a subpoena even when the client has not signed an authorization, so answer D is not the best answer. (When a psychologist doesn’t have the client’s authorization, he/she would ordinarily appear as requested but assert the privilege on the client’s behalf and then provide information only with the client’s authorization or a court order.)
The use of cue exposure treatment (CET) for alcohol use disorder often combines exposure to cues that are associated with alcohol with:
A. individual insight-oriented therapy.
B. couple or family therapy.
C. contingency contracting.
D. coping skills training.
D. coping skills training.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LEA-Interventions Based on Classical Conditioning-04 Answer D is correct. CET is a type of exposure therapy that’s used to treat substance use disorders and involves exposing a patient to cues associated with the problem behavior while prohibiting him/her from engaging in that behavior. It’s effective for many patients when used alone, but there’s evidence that its effectiveness increases when it’s combined with coping skills training. See, e.g., M. D. Spiegler, Contemporary behavior therapy (6th ed.), Boston, Cengage Learning, 2016.
According to the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005), the best predictor of behavior is which of the following?
A. self-efficacy
B. past behavior
C. behavioral willingness
D. behavior intention
D. behavior intention
EPPP-P4-SOC-Attitudes and Attitude Change-04 Answer D is correct. According to the theory of planned behavior, a person’s intention to perform a particular behavior is the best predictor of whether or not he or she will engage in the behavior.
The “gold standard” treatment for preschool-aged children with ADHD is:
A. parent training in behavior management.
B. behavioral skills training.
C. family therapy plus pharmacotherapy.
D. pharmacotherapy.
A. parent training in behavior management.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Neurodevelopmental Disorders-38 Answer A is correct. Evidence-based parent-training in behavior management (PTBM) is considered the first-line treatment for preschool children 4 and 5 years of age. It involves teaching parents to reward children’s positive behaviors and ignore or redirect their negative behaviors. Included in this category are positive parenting program (triple P), parent-child interaction therapy, and incredible years. Pharmacotherapy (answer D) is not recommended for preschool children unless PTBM has not produced a significant change in behavior.
To reduce the likelihood that a work group’s decisions will be affected by groupthink, you would:
A. provide group members with frame-of-reference training.
B. provide group members with response-contingent reinforcement.
C. appoint a group member to act as a “mindguard.”
D. appoint a group member to act as “devil’s advocate.”
D. appoint a group member to act as “devil’s advocate.”
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Organizational Decision-Making-20 Answer D is correct. According to Janis (1982), group leaders can reduce the risk for groupthink by remaining neutral in the beginning of a discussion, encouraging group members to express their opinions, bringing in outside opinions, and appointing a member to play devil’s advocate.
Holland (1985) used which of the following terms to describe the extent to which a person’s personality is clearly defined with regard to the six personality types.
A. congruence
B. differentiation
C. integration
D. satisfactoriness
B. differentiation
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Career Choice and Development-13 Answer B is correct. Holland proposed that a personality/work environment match is most predictive of job outcomes when the person’s score profile on the Self-Directed Search has a high degree of differentiation – that is, when the person scores high on one personality type and low on the other five types.
The research suggests that combining motivational interviewing with CBT when treating generalized anxiety disorder:
A. is no more effective for reducing worry than is providing CBT alone.
B. is no more effective for reducing worry than is providing CBT alone but does increase readiness for treatment.
C. is more effective for reducing worry than is providing CBT alone but only for individuals whose initial worry is low to moderate in severity.
D. is more effective for reducing worry than is providing CBT alone, especially for individuals who initially have high worry severity.
D. is more effective for reducing worry than is providing CBT alone, especially for individuals who initially have high worry severity.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PPA-Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder–25 Answer D is correct. The research has consistently found that, for generalized anxiety disorder, the combination of motivational interviewing and CBT is more effective than CBT alone for reducing worry, especially when initial worry is severe. The combination is also more effective for reducing premature dropout rates and increasing the likelihood that patients no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for this disorder (e.g., Westra, Constantino, & Antony, 2016).
Which of the following best describes ethical guidelines for requiring students to disclose personal information in course- or program-related activities about any psychological treatment they’ve received in the past?
A. Requiring students to do so is prohibited under any circumstances.
B. Requiring students to do so is acceptable as long as their confidentiality is maintained.
C. Requiring students to do so is acceptable only when they’re seeking therapy from a therapist employed by the school.
D. Requiring students to do so is acceptable when doing so is clearly identified as a requirement in program and admissions materials.
D. Requiring students to do so is acceptable when doing so is clearly identified as a requirement in program and admissions materials.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 7 & 8-19 Answer D is correct. This issue is addressed in Standard 7.04 of the APA’s Ethics Code and the Values Statement for Standard I and Standard I.8 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 7.04 states that students should not be required to disclose personal information in course- or program-related activities related to psychological treatment except in two circumstances: (a) this requirement has been clearly identified in program and admissions materials or (b) the information is needed to “evaluate or obtain assistance for students whose personal problems could reasonably be judged to be preventing them from performing their training- or professionally related activities in a competent manner or posing a threat to the student or others.”
Implosive therapy combines:
A. in vivo exposure and reciprocal inhibition.
B. in vivo exposure and cognitive restructuring.
C. exposure in imagination and psychodynamic techniques.
D. exposure in imagination and stimulus generalization.
C. exposure in imagination and psychodynamic techniques.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LEA-Interventions Based on Classical Conditioning-03 Answer C is correct. When using implosive therapy, the client imagines the feared object or situation and the therapist embellishes the imagined scene with psychodynamic themes (e.g., aggression, guilt, or sexuality).
The standard error of measurement is used to:
A. estimate the degree to which variability in test scores is due to true score variability.
B. estimate the degree to which variability in test scores is due to random error.
C. construct a confidence interval around an examinee’s obtained score.
D. construct a confidence interval around an examinee’s predicted score.
C. construct a confidence interval around an examinee’s obtained score.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-TES-Item Analysis and Test Reliability-04 Answer C is correct. The standard error of measurement is used to construct a confidence interval around an obtained score and indicates the range within which an examinee’s true score is likely to fall given his/her obtained score. The standard error of estimate is used to construct a confidence interval around a predicted score (answer D) – i.e., a criterion score that’s predicted from an obtained predictor score.
The best conclusion about the use of St. John’s wort as a treatment for depression is that it:
A. is contraindicated because it is more likely to exacerbate than alleviate depressive symptoms.
B. is contraindicated for mild to moderate depression because of its potential side effects.
C. should not be taken with an SSRI because doing so can cause serotonin syndrome.
D. should not be taken with an SSRI because doing so can reduce the effectiveness of the SSRI.
C. should not be taken with an SSRI because doing so can cause serotonin syndrome.
EPPP-P4-PPA-Bipolar and Depressive Disorders-27 Answer C is correct. There is evidence that St. John’s wort increases serotonin levels and is effective for reducing mild to moderate depression. However, taking St. John’s wort with an SSRI or other drug that elevates serotonin levels can cause serotonin syndrome, which has a number of serious symptoms (e.g., confusion, seizures, loss of consciousness) and can be fatal without treatment.
An employer who’s concerned about the low motivation of her employees decides to interview them to obtain information that will help her determine how to alleviate this problem. Being familiar with equity theory, she will focus on which of the following when interviewing the employees?
A. their perceptions of the relative fairness of their treatment at work
B. their concerns about being able to satisfy their most prepotent needs
C. their reactions to the training they’ve received since being hired
D. their satisfaction with the challenge and autonomy their jobs provide
A. their perceptions of the relative fairness of their treatment at work
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Theories of Motivation-22 Answer A is correct. Equity theory (Adams, 1965) predicts that worker motivation is related to a worker’s perception of the relative fairness of how he or she is treated, which is based on comparisons the worker makes between his or her input/outcome ratio and the input/outcome ratios of workers doing the same or a similar job. When workers believe they’re not being treated fairly (i.e., when they perceive the ratios to be unequal), this affects their motivation and performance.
In a normal distribution, a T-score of 40 is equivalent to a percentile rank of:
A. 3
B. 16
C. 84
D. 98
B. 16
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-TES-Test Score Interpretation-11 Answer B is correct. For the EPPP, you want to be familiar with the relationship between percentile ranks, T-scores, and z-scores in a normal distribution. To identify the correct answer to this question, you need to know that, in a normal distribution, a T-score of 40 and a percentile rank of 16 are both one standard deviation below the mean.
Hyperactivity in the __________ has been linked to the symptoms of hypervigilance and hyperarousal associated with PTSD.
A. hypothalamus
B. amygdala
C. caudate nucleus
D. reticular activating system
B. amygdala
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Subcortical Forebrain Structures-04 Answer B is correct. Hyperactivity in the amygdala has been linked to PTSD, although there’s some evidence that this is true only for certain symptoms including hypervigilance and hyperarousal. See, e.g., G. L. Forster, R. M. Simons, and L. A. Baugh, Revising the role of the amygdala in posttraumatic stress disorder, in B. Ferry (Ed.), The amygdala – Where emotions shape perception, learning and memories (pp. 113-136), 2017, doi: 10.5772/67585.
A psychologist pays the local newspaper to insert a weekly “canned column” as an advertisement for her professional services. Each column poses a different question asked by a client about a mental health issue and includes a response to the question. The column also provides information about the psychologist’s services and contact information. In terms of ethical guidelines, this is:
A. ethical as long as the psychologist writes the columns herself.
B. ethical as long as the questions were posed by actual clients.
C. ethical as long as the columns are clearly identified as paid advertisements.
D. unethical under any circumstances.
C. ethical as long as the columns are clearly identified as paid advertisements.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 5 & 6-14 Answer C is correct. This situation is addressed in Standard 5.02(c) of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standard III.5 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 5.02(c) states that “a paid advertisement relating to psychologists’ activities must be identified or clearly recognizable as such.” Columns like the one described in this question would likely be interpreted by many readers as actual columns written by a psychologist hired by the newspaper rather than as advertisements.
__________ interventions are designed to change the individual so he or she can better adapt to the demands of the environment.
A. Autoplastic
B. Alloplastic
C. Emic
D. Etic
A. Autoplastic
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Cross-Cultural Issues – Terms and Concepts-23 Answer A is correct. Autoplastic interventions involve making changes in the individual so he/she can successfully adapt to the environment, while alloplastic interventions involve altering the environment to fit the needs, desires, or other attributes of the individual. Note that interventions that reflect an emic or etic perspective can be either autoplastic or alloplastic – i.e., an intervention that reflects either perspective could involve encouraging the individual to change him/herself or to change his/her situation or environment.
The time-series group design is most similar to which of the following single-subject designs?
A. AB
B. ABAB
C. multiple-baseline across behaviors
D. multiple-baseline across subjects
A. AB
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-RMS-Research – Single-Subject and Group Designs-05 Answer A is correct. The time-series design is a type of within-subjects design that’s essentially a group version of the single-subject AB design. It involves measuring the dependent variable at regular intervals multiple times before and after the independent variable is administered.
Which of the following best describes implied consent?
A. It refers to a person’s informed consent when it is not written or documented.
B. It applies only when a person is believed to be a danger to self or others.
C. It is inferred from the behaviors or circumstances of a person.
D. It applies only when a person lacks the capacity to give informed consent.
C. It is inferred from the behaviors or circumstances of a person.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-209 Answer C is correct. Implied consent is inferred from the circumstances or actions of a person. For example, a patient’s implied consent for treatment is assumed in emergency situations when the patient is incapacitated and unable to provide informed consent, and a student’s implied consent to participate in a class is assumed when the student registers for and attends the class. Answer D is not the best answer because implied consent does not refer only to consent in the circumstance described in that answer.
Avoidance conditioning is an example of two-factor learning and combines:
A. classical conditioning and negative reinforcement.
B. classical conditioning and positive reinforcement.
C. negative reinforcement and classical extinction.
D. positive reinforcement and classical extinction.
A. classical conditioning and negative reinforcement.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LEA-Operant Conditioning-06 Answer A is correct. Avoidance conditioning is the result of two-factor learning and occurs when a neutral stimulus and a fear-arousing stimulus (the unconditioned stimulus) are presented together so that the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus and signals that the fear-arousing stimulus is about to be applied. The individual then learns that he/she can avoid the fear-arousing stimulus by engaging in an avoidance behavior as soon as the conditioned stimulus is presented. The pairing of the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus is the classical conditioning component of avoidance conditioning, and engaging in the avoidance behavior to keep from experiencing fear is the negative reinforcement component.
Concerns about using Skype as a means of providing psychotherapy on the Internet focus primarily on which of the following issues?
A. competence
B. confidentiality
C. record-keeping
D. beneficence
B. confidentiality
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-09 Answer B is correct. Discussions about the problems associated with the use of Skype to provide psychotherapy focus primarily on HIPAA compliance and confidentiality. As noted by R. S. Palomares in his objection to the use of Skype, “people aren’t thinking about the fact that when they click on ‘I agree’ in these apps, you’re basically agreeing to turn over all transmissions to the parent company … [and] that their sessions could be recorded and released” [quoted in R. A. Clay, How to make the most of telepsychology and steer clear of pitfalls, Monitor on Psychology, 48(5), 2017, p. 30].
A psychologist developed a program for first-time parents that addresses methods of dealing with parenting stress and lifestyle changes and is open to all expectant parents in the community. This is an example of which of the following?
A. primary prevention
B. secondary prevention
C. tertiary prevention
D. quaternary prevention
A. primary prevention
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Prevention, Consultation, and Psychotherapy Research-20 Answer A is correct. Primary preventions target groups of people who have not yet developed an undesirable behavior or condition (e.g., stress related to having a first child) by intervening before the behavior or condition occurs.
Which of the following includes subtests that evaluate attention, memory, visualization, and reasoning?
A. PPVT
B. KABC-2
C. Leiter-3
D. Raven’s SPM
C. Leiter-3
EPPP-P4-PAS-Other Measures of Cognitive Ability-08 Answer C is correct. The Leiter-3 is a nonverbal measure of fluid intelligence and includes subtests that measure attention, memory, visualization, and reasoning.
As described by Fiedler (1967):
A. low LPC leaders are task-oriented, while high LPC leaders are person-oriented.
B. low LPC leaders are person-oriented, while high LPC leaders are task-oriented.
C. low LPC leaders are high in growth need strength, while high LPC leaders are low in growth need strength.
D. low LPC leaders are low in growth need strength, while high LPC leaders are high in growth need strength.
A. low LPC leaders are task-oriented, while high LPC leaders are person-oriented.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Organizational Leadership-18 Answer A is correct. Low LPC leaders are task-oriented and describe their least preferred coworker in negative terms because they focus on the coworker’s task performance. In contrast, high LPC leaders are person-oriented and describe their least preferred coworker in positive terms because they separate interpersonal characteristics from task performance.
One-month-old babies respond with which of the following reflexes when they are startled by a loud noise or sudden movement?
A. Babinski
B. Moro
C. rooting
D. plantar
B. Moro
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LIF-Physical Development-192 Answer B is correct. The Moro reflex is also known as the startle reflex and occurs when babies are startled by a loud noise or movement and, in response, throw their heads back, extend their arms and legs, and then curl their arms and legs inward. The Babinski reflex (answer A) occurs when the sole of a baby’s foot is firmly touched and, in response, the baby’s big toe moves backward toward the top of the foot and the other toes fan out. The rooting reflex (answer C) occurs when, in response to having the corner of their mouths touched, babies turn their heads in the direction of the touch. Plantar reflex (answer D) is another name for the Babinski reflex.
Which of the following distinguishes between the anticipation and implementation phases of career decision-making?
A. Tiedeman’s career decision-making model
B. Krumboltz’s social learning theory of career decision-making
C. Brousseau and Driver’s career concept model
D. Dawis and Lofquist’s theory of work adjustment
A. Tiedeman’s career decision-making model
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Career Choice and Development-14 Answer A is correct. Tiedeman’s (Miller-Tiedeman & Tiedeman, 1990; Tiedeman & O’Hara, 1963) model distinguishes between two phases of career decision-making: The initial anticipation phase includes the exploration, crystallization, choice, and clarification stages. The subsequent implementation phase includes the induction, reformation, and integration stages.
Which of the following is most useful for explaining why social loafing occurs?
A. overjustification effect
B. diffusion of responsibility
C. pluralistic ignorance
D. social inhibition
B. diffusion of responsibility
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-SOC-Prosocial Behavior and Prejudice/Discrimination-14 Answer B is correct. Social loafing occurs when members of a group exert less effort when working on a task than they would have exerted when working alone. Diffusion of responsibility is used to explain bystander apathy and has also been applied to social loafing – i.e., it predicts that members of a group exert less effort when working on a task because they feel that the responsibility for accomplishing the task is shared with others. See, e.g., B. Latane, The psychology of social impact, American Psychologist, 36, 343-356, 1981.
As described by Irvin Yalom (1985), the third formative stage of group psychotherapy is characterized by:
A. advice seeking and giving.
B. the development of cohesiveness.
C. hostility toward the therapist.
D. escalating conflict and competition.
B. the development of cohesiveness.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Family Therapies and Group Therapies-14 Answer B is correct. According to Yalom, the formative stage of group therapy consists of three phases: (1) orientation, hesitant participation, search for meaning, and dependency; (2) conflict, dominance, and rebellion; and (3) development of cohesiveness.
Mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is based on the assumption that people with a history of depression can avoid having another depressive episode by:
A. challenging core beliefs related to depression.
B. avoiding situations that trigger depression.
C. adopting a decentered position at the first sign of depression.
D. engaging in distracting and pleasurable activities.
C. adopting a decentered position at the first sign of depression.
EPPP-P4-CLI-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies-18 Answer C is correct. MBCT teaches clients with a history of depression to avoid depressive episodes by decentering at the first sign of depressive symptoms. This involves disengaging from and accepting negative thoughts and feelings associated with depression rather than avoiding or fighting them and recognizing that they’re just thoughts and feelings, not reality.
The use of participant observation to study a cultural group is most associated with which of the following approaches to qualitative research?
A. grounded theory
B. thematic analysis
C. ethnography
D. phenomenology
C. ethnography
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-RMS-Research – Single-Subject and Group Designs-06 Answer C is correct. Participant observation is the primary method of data collection for ethnographic research and involves joining a cultural group and participating in its usual activities.
The initial stage in Troiden’s (1989) homosexual identity development model is:
A. conformity.
B. sensitization.
C. confusion.
D. dissonance.
B. sensitization.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Cross-Cultural Issues – Identity Development Models-28 Answer B is correct. In order, the four stages of Troiden’s homosexual identity development model are sensitization, identity confusion, identity assumption, and commitment [R. R. Troiden, Homosexual identity development, Journal of Adolescent Health Care, 9(2), 105-113, 1989].
Which of the following describes ethical requirements regarding a psychologist’s use of deception in a research study?
A. Psychologists may use deception in the “most unusual circumstances” and when participants are not deceived about anything that would otherwise cause them to refuse to participate.
B. Psychologists may use deception when it’s justified by the study’s prospective value and participants are allowed to withdraw from the study at any time.
C. Psychologists may use deception when alternative procedures are unavailable and information about the possible use of deception is included in the informed consent form.
D. Psychologists may use deception in the “most unusual circumstances” and when participants are debriefed about the true purpose of the study immediately after their participation.
B. Psychologists may use deception when it’s justified by the study’s prospective value and participants are allowed to withdraw from the study at any time.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 7 & 8-21 Answer B is correct. This answer is most consistent with the provisions of Standard 8.07 of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standards III.23, III.24, and III.25 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 8.07 states that psychologists should not use deception unless it’s justified by the prospective value of the study, alternative procedures are unavailable, participants are debriefed about the true nature of the study as early as is feasible (which may or may not be immediately after participation), and participants are allowed to withdraw their data from the study.
Which of the following is least susceptible to satiation?
A. primary reinforcers
B. secondary reinforcers
C. generalized reinforcers
D. positive reinforcers
C. generalized reinforcers
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LEA-Operant Conditioning-05 Answer C is correct. Generalized reinforcers (e.g., money, tokens) are also known as generalized secondary reinforcers and generalized conditioned reinforcers. They’re less susceptible than primary and secondary reinforcers to satiation because they can be exchanged for a variety of back-up (primary) reinforcers.
Following a stroke that caused left-sided hemiplegia, a woman insists that her left arm is not her own arm but belongs to someone else. This woman is exhibiting which of the following?
A. anomia
B. akinesia
C. asomatognosia
D. anosognosia
C. asomatognosia
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Cerebral Cortex-05 Answer C is correct. Asomatognosia is usually caused by damage to certain areas of the right parietal lobe and is characterized by a lack of recognition or awareness of part of one’s own body. It often involves the left hemiplegic arm and is accompanied by anosognosia (answer D), which is a lack of awareness or denial of one’s illness.
According to Alfred Adler, a mistaken (unhealthy) style of life is characterized by:
A. a lack of self-awareness.
B. excessive self-interest.
C. inadequate individuation.
D. an external locus of control.
B. excessive self-interest.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies-02 Answer B is correct. Knowing that social interest is a key concept in Adler’s personality theory would have helped you identify excessive self-interest (the opposite of social interest) as the correct answer to this question.
Dr. Moore has been seeing Ms. Kazinsky in therapy for three months and realizes that he is feeling attracted to her and always looks forward to their sessions. He thinks that she may feel the same way and, several sessions later, they both admit their feelings for each other. Ms. Kazinsky says she thinks she’s achieved her therapy goals and suggests that she stop coming to therapy so they can start dating. If Dr. Moore agrees to this arrangement, he will have acted:
A. ethically since Ms. Kazinsky suggested that she terminate therapy so they can start dating.
B. ethically as long as Dr. Moore agrees that Ms. Kazinsky has achieved her therapy goals.
C. ethically only if Dr. Moore waits for two years before he begins dating Ms. Kazinsky.
D. unethically regardless of how much time passes between the last therapy session and their first date.
D. unethically regardless of how much time passes between the last therapy session and their first date.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 9 & 10-26 Answer D is correct. This situation is addressed in Standard 10.08 of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standard II.28 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Although both Codes discourage therapists from dating former clients, they also specify conditions in which doing so may be acceptable. Answers A and B are obviously incorrect since it doesn’t matter who suggests that therapy be terminated or if the client has achieved her therapy goals. Answer C is also incorrect. Standard 10.08 specifies that at least two years must pass before a therapist starts dating a former client, but it also states that the therapist must demonstrate that there has been no exploitation in light of several factors including “the circumstances of the termination” and “any statements or actions made by the therapist during the course of therapy suggesting or inviting the possibility of a posttermination sexual or romantic relationship with the client.” In other words, Dr. Moore expressed his feelings toward the client while still seeing her in therapy and therapy is being terminated so he can begin dating the client, which suggests that dating the client even after two years would be exploitative and would, therefore, violate Standard 10.08.
Dr. Hedges has been seeing Betty in therapy for three months to help her deal with the sudden death of her mother. She’s made progress toward achieving her therapy goals, and they’ve started talking about terminating therapy. During her current session, Betty tells Dr. Hedges that her best friend is going through a divorce and she’d like to refer her to Dr. Hedges for therapy. Dr. Hedges should:
A. tell Betty he cannot see her friend in therapy until Betty’s therapy has ended.
B. tell Betty he cannot see her friend in therapy and offer to give her friend referrals to other mental health professionals.
C. agree to see Betty’s friend in therapy only if he has experience working with clients who are going through a divorce.
D. agree to see Betty’s friend in therapy only if he discusses the potential problems with Betty and her friend that could arise because he’s seeing them both in therapy.
B. tell Betty he cannot see her friend in therapy and offer to give her friend referrals to other mental health professionals.
EPPP-P4-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-05 Answer B is correct. Seeing the best friend of a client in therapy would constitute an unacceptable multiple relationship as defined in Standard 3.05 of the APA’s Ethics Code and Standard III.30 of the Canadian Code of Ethics because of the potential adverse effects of doing so. For example, Betty might disclose information about her friend to Dr. Hedges that her friend doesn’t want Dr. Hedges to know.
To help ensure that differential selection doesn’t threaten the internal validity of a research study, an investigator will:
A. include more than one group in the research study.
B. use the single- or double-blind technique.
C. randomly select participants from the population.
D. randomly assign participants to different levels of the independent variable.
D. randomly assign participants to different levels of the independent variable.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-RMS-Research – Internal/External Validity-04 Answer D is correct. It should have been easy to identify the correct answer to this question as long as you remembered that the name of this threat is misleading since it is the result of the way subjects are assigned to treatment groups rather than how they are selected from the population. It threatens a study’s internal validity when subjects in different groups differ in an important way at the beginning of the study, and the best way to control it is to randomly assign subjects to the treatment groups.
An advantage of conducting a single one-way ANOVA rather than separate t-tests when a study includes one independent variable with three or more levels is that the ANOVA:
A. provides information on both main and interaction effects.
B. controls the experimentwise error rate.
C. reduces the effects of measurement error.
D. controls the effects of an extraneous variable.
B. controls the experimentwise error rate.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-RMS-Inferential Statistical Tests-11 Answer B is correct. The experimentwise error rate is the probability of making a Type I error when multiple statistical comparisons are made within a single research study. If an independent variable has three or more levels, several t-tests would have to be conducted because the t-test compares only two means at a time, and this would increase the experimentwise error rate. When using the one-way ANOVA, all possible comparisons between means are made in a way that maintains the experimentwise error rate at the alpha level set by the researcher.
Components of a program logic model ordinarily include all of the following except:
A. resources.
B. solutions.
C. activities.
D. outputs.
B. solutions.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Organizational Change and Development-74 Answer B is correct. A program logic model is a visual representation of a program’s components and is used to assist with the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program. Although the components may vary, resources, activities, and outputs are common components. Solutions is not identified in the literature as a component of logic models.
An undergraduate student is writing a paper on Taylor’s scientific management for her organizational psychology class. Assuming that the student understands the major assumptions of this approach, she’s likely to note in her paper that Taylor believed that worker motivation is most affected by which of the following?
A. desire for economic gain
B. desire for satisfying social relationships
C. prepotent needs
D. fear of punishment
A. desire for economic gain
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Organizational Theories-15 Answer A is correct. Taylor (1911) believed economic gain is a worker’s primary motivation and advocated using a differential piece-rate system that directly links pay to productivity.
Lucas-Thompson et al.’s (2010) research on children’s outcomes when their mothers return to work outside the home during the children’s second or third year of life found that, overall, maternal employment during this period:
A. is not predictive of later development of significant behavioral or academic achievement problems.
B. is predictive of an increased risk for later development of significant behavioral and academic achievement problems.
C. is predictive of a reduced risk for later development of significant behavioral and academic achievement problems.
D. is predictive of an increased risk for later development of significant behavioral problems but of a reduced risk for later development of significant academic achievement problems.
A. is not predictive of later development of significant behavioral or academic achievement problems.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LIF-School and Family Influences-18 Answer A is correct. Lucas-Thompson and colleagues (2010) found that, overall, children of women who returned to work outside the home during their children’s first 3 years of life (especially during the second or third year) were no more likely to develop significant behavioral or academic achievement problems than were children whose mothers did not return to work.
A worker-oriented _______________ is conducted to identify the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required to perform a job successfully.
A. job evaluation
B. job analysis
C. organizational analysis
D. needs analysis
B. job analysis
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-ORG-Job Analysis and Performance Assessment-01 Answer B is correct. Methods of job analysis are categorized as work-oriented or worker-oriented. Work-oriented methods focus on the tasks that must be accomplished to achieve desired job outcomes, while worker-oriented methods focus on the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) of the worker that are required to accomplish job tasks.
The limits of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development are defined by:
A. the child’s independent performance and the child’s performance with assistance.
B. the child’s comprehension of language and the child’s production of language.
C. the influence of genetic factors on a child’s cognitive development and the influence of environmental factors.
D. what a child knows about how to perform a task and how the child actually performs when working on the task.
A. the child’s independent performance and the child’s performance with assistance.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LIF-Cognitive Development-12 Answer A is correct. As defined by L. S. Vygotsky, the zone of proximal development is “the distance between the [child’s] actual developmental level as determined by independent problem-solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1978, p. 86)
As described by Margaret Mahler, the normal autistic stage is characteristic of the ________ of life.
A. first few weeks
B. third through fifth month
C. first six months
D. the first year
A. first few weeks
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies-03 Answer A is correct. According to Mahler, the development of object constancy takes place during three stages: The normal autistic stage occurs during the first few weeks of life and is followed by the normal symbiotic stage and then the separation-individuation stage.
When prison inmates and their counselors were asked to explain why the prisoners committed their offenses, most inmates cited situational factors while the counselors cited dispositional factors. This provides support for which of the following?
A. self-serving bias
B. confirmation bias
C. fundamental attribution error
D. actor-observer effect
D. actor-observer effect
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-SOC-Social Cognition – Causal Attributions-01 Answer D is correct. This question describes a study conducted by K. Saulnier and D. Perlman (The actor-observer bias is alive and well in prison: A sequel to Wells, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 7, 559-564, 1981). The results of their study provided support for the actor-observer effect, which predicts that actors tend to attribute their own behaviors to situational factors while observers tend to attribute them to dispositional factors.
Areas of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning and execution of movement send excitatory signals to the:
A. striatum.
B. reticular formation.
C. arcuate fasciculus.
D. cingulate gyrus.
A. striatum.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-PHY-Brain Regions/Functions – Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Subcortical Forebrain Structures-03 Answer A is correct. The striatum consists of the caudate nucleus and putamen. Knowing that the striatum is part of the basal ganglia and that the basal ganglia facilitate voluntary movement would have allowed you to identify the striatum as the correct answer to this question.
A high school senior ignores his own career and college preferences and decides to pursue the career his father wants him to pursue and attend the college his father wants him to attend. For practitioners of Gestalt therapy, this is best explained by which of the following?
A. retroflection
B. deflection
C. introjection
D. deindividuation
C. introjection
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-CLI-Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies-05 Answer C is correct. For Gestalt therapists, introjection is a boundary disturbance that occurs when a person adopts the beliefs, standards, and values of others without question or evaluation – for example, when a son pursues the career his father chose for him.
For most children, stranger anxiety begins at about _______ months of age.
A. 4
B. 8
C. 12
D. 15
B. 8
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P4-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Attachment, Emotions, and Social Relationships-21 Answer B is correct. The onset of stranger anxiety differs for different children and, as a result, the reported age of onset varies somewhat in the literature. However, most authors report the onset as being between 7 and 9 months or 8 and 10 months.
