Counseling Licensure Exam Study Guide

65. A child who focuses exclusively on a clown's red nose but ignores his or her other features would be illustrating the Piagetian concept of a. egocentrism. b. centration. c. formal abstract reasoning. d. deductive processes.

b. centration.

9. A child master's conservation in the Piagetian stage known as a. formal operations—12 years and older. b. concrete operations—ages 7 to 11. c. preoperations—ages 2 to 7. d. sensorimotor intelligence—birth to 2 years.

b. concrete operations—ages 7 to 11.

19. In Kohlberg's first or preconventional level, the individual's moral behavior is guided by a. psychosexual urges. b. consequences. c. periodic fugue states. d. counterconditioning.

b. consequences.

90. Piaget is a. a maturationist. b. a behaviorist. c. a structuralist who believes stage changes are qualitative. d. cognitive-behavioral.

c. a structuralist who believes stage changes are qualitative.

53. An empiricist view of development would be a. psychometric. b. behavioristic. c. against the use of formal statistical testing. d. a and c.

b. behavioristic.

4. The statement "the ego is dependent on the id" would most likely reflect the work of: a. Erik Erikson b. Sigmund Freud, who created psychodymanic theory c. Jay Haley d. Arnold Lazaras, William Perry, and Robrt Kegan

b. Sigmund Freud, who created psychodymanic theory

17. Trust versus mistrust is a. an Adlerian notion of morality. b. Erik Erikson's first stage of psychosocial development. c. essentially equivalent to Piaget's concept of egocentrism. d. the basis of morality according to Kohlberg.

b. Erik Erikson's first stage of psychosocial development.

15. The term "identity crisis" comes from the work of a. counselors who stress RS involvement issues with clients b. Erikson c. Adler d. Jung

b. Erikson

91. _______ factors cause Down syndrome, which produces mental retardation. a. Environmental b. Genetic c. Chemical dependency d. Unconscious

b. Genetic

80. Which theorist was most concerned with maternal deprivation? a. A. Lazarus b. H. Harlow c. J. Wolpe d. A. Ellis

b. H. Harlow

16. Kohlberg's three levels of morality are: a. preconventional, conventional, postconventional b. formal, preformal, self-accepted c. self-accepted, other directed, authority directed d. preconventional, formal, authority directed

a. preconventional, conventional, postconventional

41. Stage theorists assume a. qualitative changes between stages occur. b. differences surely exist but usually can't be measured. c. that humanistic psychology is the only model which truly supports the stage viewpoint. d. b and c.

a. qualitative changes between stages occur.

58. The schema (i.e. a mental representation of the real world) of permanency and constancy of objects occurs in the a. sensorimotor stage - birth to 2 years b. preoperational stage - ages 2-7 years c. concrete operational stage - ages 7 - 12 years d. formal operational stage - 12 years and beyond

a. sensorimotor stage - birth to 2 years

56. In Piaget's developmental theory, reflexes play the greatest role in the a. sensorimotor stage. b. formal operational stage. c. preoperational stage. d. acquisition of conservation.

a. sensorimotor stage.

82. Kohlberg proposed three levels of morality. Freud, on the other hand, felt morality developed from the a. superego. b. ego. c. id. d. eros.

a. superego.

8. In Piagetian literature, conservation would most likely refer to: a. volume or mass b. defenses of the ego c. the sensorimoter intelligence stage d. a specific psychosexual stage of life

a. volume or mass

23. The zone of proximal development a. was pioneered by Lev Vygotsky. b. was pioneered by Piaget and Kohlberg. c. emphasized organ inferiority. d. a, b, and c.

a. was pioneered by Lev Vygotsky.

62. An expert who has reviewed the literature on videos and violence would conclude that a. watching violence tends to make children more aggressive. b. watching violence tends to make children less aggressive. c. in reality TV has no impact on a child's behavior. d. what adults see as violent, children perceive as caring.

a. watching violence tends to make children more aggressive.

61. According to the Freudians, if a child is severely traumatized he or she may _____ a given psychosexual stage a. skip b. become fixated at c. ignore d. a and c

b. become fixated at

46. Kohlberg lists ______ stages of moral development which fall into _____ levels a. 6, 3 b. 6, 6 c. 3, 6 d. 3, 3

a. 6, 3

3. The only psychoanalyst who created a developmental theory which encompasses the entire life span was: a. Erik Erikson b. Milton H. Erickson c. A. A. Brill d. Jean Piaget, who created the four stage theory

a. Erik Erikson

27. The researcher who is well known for his work with maternal deprivation and isolation in rhesus monkeys is a. Harry Harlow. b. John Bowlby. c. Lawrence Kohlberg. d. all of the above.

a. Harry Harlow.

84. The statement, "Bad behavior is punished, good behavior is not," is most closely associated with a. Kohlberg's premoral stage at the preconventional level. b. Kohlberg's conventional level. c. the work of Carl Jung. d. Piaget's autonomous stage, which begins at about age 8.

a. Kohlberg's premoral stage at the preconventional level.

39. In terms of parenting young children a. boys are punished more than girls. b. girls are punished more than boys. c. boys and girls are treated in a similar fashion. d. boys show more caregiver behavior.

a. boys are punished more than girls.

100. From a Freudian perspective, a client who has a problem with alcoholism and excessive smoking would be a. considered an oral character. b. considered an anal character. c. considered a genital character. d. fixated at the latency stage.

a. considered an oral character.

68. Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson agreed that a. each developmental stage needed to be resolved before an individual could move on to the next stage. b. developmental stages are primarily psychosexual. c. developmental stages are primarily psychosocial. d. a person can proceed to a higher stage even if a lower stage is unsolved.

a. each developmental stage needed to be resolved before an individual could move on to the next stage.

12. During a thunderstorm, a 6-year-old child in Piaget's stage of preoperational thought (stage 2) says, "The rain is following me." This is an example of: a. egocentrism. b. conservation. c. centration. d. abstract thought.

a. egocentrism.

26. In which Eriksonian stage does the midlife crisis occur? a. generativity versus stagnation b. integrity versus despair c. a and b d. Erikson's stages do not address midlife issues

a. generativity versus stagnation

40. When developmental theorists speak of nature or nurture they really mean a. how much heredity or environment interact to influence development. b. the focus is skewed in favor of biological attributes. c. a and b. d. a theory proposed by B.F. Skinner's colleagues.

a. how much heredity or environment interact to influence development.

35. The fear of death a. is greatest during middle age. b. is an almost exclusively male phenomenon. c. is the number one psychiatric problem in the geriatric years. d. surprisingly enough occurs in the teen years.

a. is greatest during middle age.

88. Maslow, a humanistic psychologist, is famous for his "hierarchy of needs," which postulates a. lower-order physiological and safety needs and higher-order needs, such as self-actualization. b. that psychopathology rests within the id. c. that unconscious drives control self-actualization. d. that stimulus-response psychology dictates behavioral attributes.

a. lower-order physiological and safety needs and higher-order needs, such as self-actualization.

96. Most experts in the field of counseling agree that a. no one theory completely explains developmental processes; thus, counselors ought to be familiar with all the major theories b. Eriksonian theory should be used by counselors practicing virtually any modality c. a counselor who incorporates Piaget's stages into his or her thinking would not necessarily need knowledge of rival therapeutic viewpoints d. a realistic counselor needs to pick one developmental theory in the same manner he or she picks a psychotherapeutic persuasion

a. no one theory completely explains developmental processes; thus, counselors ought to be familiar with all the major theories

50. The correct order of the Freudian psychosexual or libidinal stages is: a. oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital b. oral, anal, genital, phallic, and latency c. oral, phallic, latency, genital, and anal d. phallic, genital, latency, oral, and anal

a. oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital

7. A tall skinny pitcher of water is emptied into a small squatty pitcher. A child indicates that she feels the small pitcher has less water. The child has not yet mastered: a. symbolic schema b. conservation c. androgynous psychosocial issues d. trust versus mistrust

b. conservation

24. Freud and Erikson a. could be classified as behaviorists. b. could be classified as maturationists. c. agreed that developmental stages are psychosexual. d. were prime movers in the biofeedback movement.

b. could be classified as maturationists.

78. A person who can look back on his or her life with few regrets feels a. the burden of senile psychosis. b. ego-integrity in Erikson's integrity versus despair stage. c. despair, which is the sense that he or she has wasted life's precious opportunities. d. the burden of generalized anxiety as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association (DSM).

b. ego-integrity in Erikson's integrity versus despair stage.

92. Piaget referred to the act of taking in new information as assimilation. This results in accommodation, which is a modification of the child's cognitive structures (schemas) to deal with the new information. In Piagetian nomenclature, the balance between assimilation and accommodation is called a. counterbalancing. b. equilibration. c. balance theory. d. ABA design.

b. equilibration.

43. Development is cephalocaudal, which means a. foot to head. b. head to foot. c. limbs receive the highest level of nourishment. d. b and c.

b. head to foot.

87. Marital satisfaction a. is usually highest when a child is old enough to leave home b. often decreases with parenthood and is lowest prior to a child leaving home c. correlates high with performance IQ d. is highest among couples who have seven or more college-educated children

b. often decreases with parenthood and is lowest prior to a child leaving home

32. Freud postulated psychosexual stages a. id, ego, and superego. b. oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. c. eros, thanatos, regression, and superego. d. manifest, latent, oral, and phallic.

b. oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.

55. A theorist who views developmental changes as quantitative is said to be an empiricist. The antithesis of this position holds that developmental strides are qualitative. What is the name given to this position? a. behaviorism b. organicism c. statistical developmentalism d. all of the above

b. organicism

69. The tendency for adult females in the United States to wear high heels is best explained by a. the principle of negative reinforcement. b. sex role socialization. c. Konrad Lorenz's studies on imprinting. d. ethological data.

b. sex role socialization.

99. The anal retentive personality is a. charitable. b. stingy. c. kind. d. thinks very little about money matters.

b. stingy.

31. In Harry Harlow's experiments with baby monkeys a. a wire mother was favored by most young monkeys over a terry cloth version b. the baby monkey was more likely to cling to a terry cloth mother surrogate than a wire surrogate mother c. female monkeys had a tendency to drink large quantities of alcohol d. male monkeys had a tendency to drink large quantities of alcohol

b. the baby monkey was more likely to cling to a terry cloth mother surrogate than a wire surrogate mother

64. The word ethology, which is often associated with the work of Konrad Lorenz, refers to a. Piaget's famous case study methodology. b. the study of animals' behavior in their natural environment. c. studies on monkeys raised in Skinnerian air cribs. d. all of the above.

b. the study of animals' behavior in their natural environment.

75. Research related to elementary school counselors indicates that a. counselors of this ilk work hard, but just don't seem to have an impact on youngsters' lives. b. these counselors are effective, do make a difference in children's lives, and more counselors should be employed. c. counselors of this ilk could be helpful if they would engage in more consultation work. d. should be used primarily as disciplinarians, but this is not happening in most districts.

b. these counselors are effective, do make a difference in children's lives, and more counselors should be employed.

86. Imprinting- rapid learning during a critical period of development - is an instinct in which a newborn will follow a moving object. The primary work in this area was done by a. Erik Erikson b. Milton H. Erikson c. Konrad Lorenz d. Harry Harlow

c. Konrad Lorenz

10. _________ expanded on Piaget's conceptualization of moral development. a. Erik Erikson b. The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky c. Lawrence Kohlberg d. John B. Watson

c. Lawrence Kohlberg

98. A counselor is working with a family who just lost everything in a fire. The counselor will ideally focus on a. Maslow's higher-order needs, such as self-actualization. b. building accurate empathy of family members. c. Maslow's lower-order needs, such as physiological and safety needs. d. The identified patient.

c. Maslow's lower-order needs, such as physiological and safety needs.

73. A preschool child's concept of causality is said to be animistic. This means the child attributes human characteristics to inanimate objects. Thus, the child may fantasize that an automobile or a rock is talking to him. This concept is best related to a. Carl Jung's concepts of anima, animus. b. Freud's wish fulfillment. c. Piaget's preoperational period, age 2 to 7 years. d. ego identity.

c. Piaget's preoperational period, age 2 to 7 years.

45. Piaget's final stage is known as the formal operational stage. In this stage a. abstract thinking emerges. b. problems can be solved using deduction. c. a and b. d. the child has mastered abstract thinking but still feels helpless.

c. a and b.

48. Freud's Oedipus Complex (or Oedipus stage) a. is the stage in which fantasies of sexual relations with the opposite-sex parent occurs. b. occurs during the phallic stage. c. a and b. d. is a concept Freud ultimately eliminated from his theory.

c. a and b.

60. The Harlow experiments utilizing monkeys demonstrated that animals placed in isolation during the first few months of life a. still developed in a normal fashion. b. still related very well with animals reared normally. c. appeared to be abnormal and autistic. d. were fixated in concrete operational thought patterns.

c. appeared to be abnormal and autistic.

74. Elementary school counseling and guidance services a. have been popular since the early 1900s b. became popular during World War II c. are a fairly new development which did not begin to gain momentum until the 1960s d. none of the above

c. are a fairly new development which did not begin to gain momentum until the 1960s

2. In Freud's psychodynamic theory instincts are emphasized. Erik Erikson is an ego psychologist. Ego psychologists: a. emphasize id processes b. refute the concept of the superego c. believe in man's powers of reasoning to control behavior d. are sometimes known as radical behaviorists

c. believe in man's powers of reasoning to control behavior

25. John Bowlby, the British psychiatrist, is most closely associated with a. the work of psychologist and pediatrician, Arnold Gesell, a maturationist b. developmental stage theories c. bonding and attachment d. the unconscious mind

c. bonding and attachment

52. Theorists who believe that development merely consists of quantitative changes are referred to as a. organismic theorists. b. statistical developmentalists. c. empiricists. d. all of the above.

c. empiricists.

94. Ritualistic behaviors, which are common to all members of a species, are known as a. hysteria. b. pica. c. fixed-action patterns elicited by sign stimuli. d. dysfunctional repetition.

c. fixed-action patterns elicited by sign stimuli.

21. Kohlberg's highest level of morality is termed postconventional morality. Here the individual a. must truly contend with psychosexual urges. b. has the so-called "good boy/good girl" orientation. c. has self-imposed morals and ethics. d. a and b.

c. has self-imposed morals and ethics.

67. Piaget's preoperational stage a. is the final stage, which includes abstract reasoning. b. includes mastering conservation. c. includes the acquisition of a symbolic schema. d. all of the above.

c. includes the acquisition of a symbolic schema.

29. The Eriksonian stage that focuses heavily on sharing your life with another person is a. actually the major theme in all of Erikson's eight stages. b. generativity versus stagnation—ages 35 to 60. c. intimacy versus isolation—ages 23 to 34. d. a critical factor Erikson fails to mention.

c. intimacy versus isolation—ages 23 to 34.

42. Development a. begins at birth. b. begins during the first trimester of pregnancy. c. is a continuous process which begins at conception. d. a and c.

c. is a continuous process which begins at conception.

5. Jean Piaget's ideographic approach created his theory with four stages. The correct order from stage 1 to stage 4 is: a. formal operations, concrete operations, preoperations, sensorimotor b. formal operations, preparations, concrete operations, sensorimoter c. sensorimoter, preoperations, concrete operations, formal operations d. concrete operations, sensorimotor, preoperations, formal operations

c. sensorimoter, preoperations, concrete operations, formal operations

72. Two brothers begin screaming at each other during a family counseling session. The term that best describes the phenomenon is a. the primal scene. b. preconscious psychic processes. c. sibling rivalry. d. BASIC-ID.

c. sibling rivalry.

81. When development comes to a halt, counselors say that the client a. has "learned helplessness" syndrome b. suffers from a phobia c. suffers from fixation d. is displaying the risky shift phenomenon

c. suffers from fixation

34. in the general US population a. the suicide rate is 2/100,000 b. suicide occurs at the beginning of a depressive episode, but rarely after the depression lifts c. suicide rates tend to increase with age d. suicide occurs at the beginning of a depressive episode, but rarely after the depression lifts, and suicide rates tend to increase with age

c. suicide rates tend to increase with age

95. Robert Kegan speaks of a "holding environment" in counseling in which a. the client is urged to relive a traumatic experience in an encounter group. b. biofeedback training is highly recommended. c. the client can make meaning in the face of a crisis and can find new direction. d. the activity of meaning making is discouraged.

c. the client can make meaning in the face of a crisis and can find new direction.

13. Lawrence Kohlberg suggested: a. a single level of morality b. two levels of morality c. three levels of morality d. preoperational thought as the basis for all morality

c. three levels of morality

79. Sensorimotor is to Piaget as oral is to Freud, and as _______ is to Erikson. a. integrity versus despair b. Kohlberg c. trust versus mistrust d. play therapy

c. trust versus mistrust

36. In Freudian theory, attachment is a major factor a. in the preconscious mind. b. in the mind of the child in latency. c. which evolves primarily during the oral age. d. a and b.

c. which evolves primarily during the oral age.

70. The sequence of object loss, which goes from protest to despair to detachment, best describes the work of a. Freud. b. Adler on birth order. c. Erikson. d. Bowlby.

d. Bowlby.

83. Which theorist would be most likely to say that aggression is an inborn tendency? a. Carl Rogers b. B. F. Skinner c. Frank Parsons, the Father of Guidance d. Konrad Lorenz

d. Konrad Lorenz

30. We often refer to individuals as conformists. Which of these individuals would most likely conform to his or her peers? a. a 19-year-old male college student. b. 23-year-old male drummer in a rock band. c. a 57-year old female stockbroker. d. a 13-year-old male middle school student.

d. a 13-year-old male middle school student.

47. A person who lives by his or her individual conscience and universal ethical principles a. has, according to Kohlberg, reached the highest stage of moral development. b. is in the preconventional level. c. is in the postconventional level of self-accepted moral principles. d. a and c.

d. a and c.

57. A mother hides a toy behind her back and a young child does not believe the toy exists anymore. The child has not mastered a. object permanence. b. reflexive response. c. representational thought. d. a and c.

d. a and c.

85. A critical period a. makes imprinting possible. b. emphasizes manifest dream content. c. signifies a special time when a behavior must be learned or the behavior won't be learned at all. d. a and c.

d. a and c.

14. The Heinz dilemma is to Kohlberg's theory as a. a brick is to a house b. Freud is to Jung c. the Mennigner Clinic is to biofeedback d. a typing test is to the level of typing skill mastered

d. a typing test is to the level of typing skill mastered

37. When comparing girls to boys, it could be noted that a. girls grow up to smile more. b. girls are using more feeling words by age 2. c. girls are better able to read people without verbal cues at any age. d. all of the above.

d. all of the above.

44. Heredity is the transmission of traits from parents to their offspring and a. assumes the normal person has 23 pairs of chromosomes. b. assumes that heredity characteristics are transmitted by chromosomes. c. assumes genes composed of DNA hold a genetic code. d. all of the above.

d. all of the above.

77. Erikson's middle age stage (ages 35-60) is known as generativity versus stagnation. Generativity refers to a. the ability to do creative work or raise a family. b. the opposite of stagnation. c. the productive ability to create a career, family, and leisure time. d. all of the above.

d. all of the above.

93. There are behavioral, structural, and maturational theories of development. The maturational viewpoint utilizes the plant growth analogy, in which the mind is seen as being driven by instincts while the environment provides nourishment, thus placing limits on development. Counselors who are maturationists a. conduct therapy in the here-and-now. b. focus primarily on nonverbal behavior. c. believe group work is most effective. d. allow clients to work through early conflicts.

d. allow clients to work through early conflicts.

51. Eleanor Gibson researched the matter of depth perception in children by utilizing a. Piaget's concept of conservation b. Erikson's trust versus mistrust paradigm c. Piaget's formal operations d. an apparatus known as a visual cliff

d. an apparatus known as a visual cliff

20. Kohlberg's second level of morality is known as conventional morality. This level is characterized by a. psychosexual urges. b. a desire to live up to society's expectations. c. a desire to conform. d. b and c.

d. b and c.

71. A counselor who is seeing a 15-year-old boy who is not doing well in public speaking class would need to keep in mind that a. in general, boys have better verbal skills than girls. b. in general, girls possess better verbal skills than boys. c. in general, boys possess better visual-perceptual skills and are more active and aggressive than girls. d. b and c.

d. b and c.

76. According to the Yale research by Daniel J. Levinson a. Erikson's generativity versus stagnation stage simply doesn't exist. b. Eighty percent of the men in the study experienced moderate to severe midlife crises. c. an "age 30 crisis" occurs in men when they feel it will soon be too late to make later changes. d. b and c.

d. b and c.

63. A counselor who utilizes the term "instinctual" technically means a. behavior results from unconscious aggression b. women will show the behavior to a higher degree than men c. a and b d. behavior that manifests itself in all normal members of a given species

d. behavior that manifests itself in all normal members of a given species

59. John Bowlby has asserted that a. attachment is not instinctual. b. attachment is best explained via Skinnerian principle. c. a and b. d. conduct disorders and other forms of psychopathology can result from inadequate attachment and bonding in early childhood.

d. conduct disorders and other forms of psychopathology can result from inadequate attachment and bonding in early childhood.

6. Some behavioral scientists have been critical of the Swiss child psychologist Jean Piaget's developmental research inasmuch as: a. he utilized the "t" test too frequently b. he failed to check for Type I or alpha errors c. he worked primarily with minority children d. his findings were often derived from observing his own children

d. his findings were often derived from observing his own children

18. A person who has successfully mastered Erikson's first seven stages would be ready to enter Erikson's final or eighth stage, a. generativity versus stagnation. b. initiative versus guilt. c. identity crisis of the later years. d. integrity versus despair.

d. integrity versus despair.

89. To research the dilemma of self-actualization, Maslow a. used goslings as did Konrad Lorenz. b. psychoanalyzed over 400 neurotics. c. worked exclusively with schizophrenics in residential settings. d. interviewed the best people he could find who escaped "the psychology of the average."

d. interviewed the best people he could find who escaped "the psychology of the average."

22. According to Lawrence Kohlberg, level 3, which is postconventional or self-accepted moral principles a. refers to the naive hedonism stage b. operates on the premise that rewards guide morals c. A & B d. is the highest level of morality. However, some people never reach this level.

d. is the highest level of morality. However, some people never reach this level.

38. The Freudian developmental stage which "least" emphasizes sexuality is a. oral. b. anal. c. phallic. d. latency.

d. latency.

33. In adolescence a. females commit suicide more than males b. suicide is a concern but statistically very rare c. the teens who talk about suicide are not serious d. males commit suicide more often than females, but females attempt suicide more often

d. males commit suicide more often than females, but females attempt suicide more often

11. According to Jean Piaget, a child masters the concept of reversibility in the third stage, known as concrete operations or concrete operational thought. This notion suggests a. that heavier objects are more difficult for a child to lift b. the child is ambidextrous c. the child is more cognizant of mass than weight d. one can undo an action, hence an object (say a glass of water) can return to its initial shape

d. one can undo an action, hence an object (say a glass of water) can return to its initial shape

1. Freud's stages are psychosexual while Erik Erikson's stages are: a. psychometric b. psychodiagnostic c. psychopharmacological d. psychosocial

d. psychosocial

54. In the famous experiment by Harry Harlow, frightened monkeys raised via cloth and wire mothers a. showed marked borderline personality traits b. surprisingly enough became quite friendly c. demonstrated a distinct lack of emotion d. ran over and clung to the cloth and wire surrogate mothers

d. ran over and clung to the cloth and wire surrogate mothers

66. Piaget felt a. that homework depresses the elementary child's IQ b. strongly that the implementation of Glasser's concepts in Schools Without Failure should be made mandatory in all elementary settings c. that teachers should lecture a minimum of four hours daily d. teachers should lecture less, as children in concrete operations learn best via their own actions and experimentation

d. teachers should lecture less, as children in concrete operations learn best via their own actions and experimentation

49. In girls the Oedipus complex may be referred to as a. systematic desensitization. b. covert desensitization. c. in vivo desensitization. d. the Electra complex.

d. the Electra complex.

97. Equilibration is a. a term which emphasizes the equality between the sexes. b. performed via the id according to the Freudians. c. a synonym for concrete operational thought. d. the balance between what one takes in (assimilation) and that which is changed (accommodation).

d. the balance between what one takes in (assimilation) and that which is changed (accommodation).

28. The statement: "Males are better than females when performing mathematical calculations" is a. false. b. true due to a genetic flaw commonly found in women. c. true only in middle-aged men. d. true according to research by Maccoby and Jacklin.

d. true according to research by Maccoby and Jacklin.