CPCE Study

CPCE practice questions

1. In the early 1920s, the counseling profession consisted primarily of

a. mental health counseling

b. vocational guidance counseling

c. school counseling

d. all of the above

b

2. Culture is understood to be

a. the same as race.

b. the background of patterns, languages, psychological, and biological factors of a person.

c. an irrelevant factor in diagnosis.

d. factors that pertain to the here and now; historical contexts are not as salient.

b

3. Erikson’s psychosocial developmental theory is an example of

a. a continuous, active theory.

b. a continuous, reactive theory.

c. a discontinuous, active theory.

d. a discontinuous, reactive theory.

c

4. ___________ is considered the father of career guidance and the counseling profession.

a. George Merrill

b. Edmund Williamson

c. Frank Parsons

d. John Crites

c

5. Which of the following models of resistance is behavioral?

a. Noncompliance

b. Negative social influence

c. Power struggle

d. Anxiety control

a

6. Institutional barriers to group work may include all the following EXCEPT

a. resistant group members.

b. the need to obtain parental consent.

c. belief by staff members that group work in not as effective as other activities.

d. the lack of appropriate facilities.

a

7. William Wundt is known for

a. developing the form board, which is considered a predecessor to performance IQ testing.

b. being the first to apply statistical concepts to psychological assessment.

c. founding one of the first psychological laboratories to conduct experimental research.

d. his work on the forgetting curve.

c

8. A construct, such as a treatment group, that can be manipulated in a study is most often referred to as a(n) ___________ variable.

a. outcome

b. categorical

c. criterion

d. independent

d

9. Ethical principles that counselors are required to follow are called

a. aspirational ethics.

b. obligatory ethics.

c. mandatory ethics.

d. compulsory ethics.

c

10. The tripartite model of multicultural counseling competencies includes each of the following components EXCEPT

a. an etic perspective.

b. awareness.

c. knowledge.

d. skills.

a

11. Hubert wants to conduct a study on the effectiveness of role playing in groups for children who exhibit bullying behaviors. He doesn’t have much time because his colleague is on maternity leave and he is covering some of her cases. Nor does he have much funding. Under these constraints, the ___________ research design might be most appropriate.

a. cross-sectional

b. longitudinal

c. time-lag

d. naturalistic

a

12. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was NOT responsible for

a. establishing a national minimum wage.

b. enforcing workplace safety and health standards.

c. providing minimum standards for overtime entitlement.

d. prohibiting the employment of minors.

b

13. A professional counselor consults with an experienced colleague about some problems she has encountered while working with a particular client. This client has been reminding her more and more of her father, with whom she is estranged. Lately, she is feeling irritated by the sound of her client’s voice and just wants to shout at him. She is completely reliant on her colleague’s expertise to help her move forward with her client. Which consultation model does this represent?

a. Collaborative-dependent

b. Collaborative-interdependent

c. Triadic-dependent

d. Triadic-interdependent

c

14. In group work, confidentiality is

a. the ethical requirement of group leaders but not group members.

b. the ethical requirement of group members but not group leaders.

c. the ethical requirement of both group leaders and group members.

d. not an ethical requirement for anyone involved in the process

a

15. A(n) ___________ does not compare an individual score to a norm group but relies on the judgment of the professional counselor to interpret the data.

a. standardized test

b. norm-referenced test

c. ipsative assessment

d. nonstandardized test

d

16. “Whereas one million white swans can indicate that all swans are white, one brown swan can falsify it.” That is, we can only approximate truth. This description refers to the ___________ paradigm.

a. positivism

b. post-positivism

c. social constructivism

d. critical theory

b

17. Accreditation is NOT

a. voluntary.

b. an accountability measure for schools.

c. a way for educational institutions to demonstrate their quality to the public.

d. involuntary.

d

18. Judging someone’s worth by how closely he or she resembles European Americans is termed

a. racism.

b. colorism.

c. eugenics.

d. Jensenism.

b

19. What part of the brain regulates emotions and motivation?

a. Temporal lobe

b. Reticular activating system

c. Limbic system

d. Cerebellum

c

20. ___________ is an example of an occupation.

a. Addictions Counselor Level II

b. Professional Counselor

c. Assistant Director of Career Counseling

d. Residential Treatment Counselor

b

21. Observing clients’ verbal and nonverbal communication and verbally conveying empathy and understanding of clients’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all important elements of

a. paraphrasing.

b. interpreting.

c. confronting.

d. reflecting.

d

22. Group members’ personal goals are generally

a. overt.

b. hidden from the group.

c. agreed on by the entire group.

d. None of the above.

a

23. Under the ___________ a 3-year-old child who is suspected of having a disability is guaranteed to receive testing at the expense of the public school system.

a. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)

b. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

c. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

d. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA)

d

24. Which of the following most represents a quasi-experimental design?

a. Researchers compared the treatment group of low-fat meals with a randomized control group and found faster mental processing in the low-fat group.

b. Researchers found that teachers at Henderson High favored the concept of year-round schooling.

c. Researchers compared students’ scores under Curriculum A with a matched comparison group and found better achievement for Curriculum A.

d. Researchers found that clients’ stories reflected strong motivation for change.

c

25. ___________ is NOT one of the five principal ethics of the counseling profession.

a. Nonmaleficence

b. Constancy

c. Justice

d. Autonomy

b

26. ___________ is (are) based on biology, and ___________ include(s) societal expectations of behavior.

a. Gender roles; sex roles

b. Gender identity; sexual identity

c. Sex roles; gender roles

d. Sexual identity; gender identity

c

27. Classical conditioning was developed by

a. Ivan Pavlov.

b. Albert Bandura.

c. John B. Watson.

d. Joseph Wolpe.

a

28. Individuals who demonstrate high career adaptability demonstrate

a. concern for their future work life.

b. confidence to pursue career goals.

c. curiosity for exploring career possibilities.

d. All of the above.

d

29. Freud contended that each individual possesses all of the following types of consciousness EXCEPT

a. preconscious mind.

b. conscious mind.

c. unconscious mind.

d. subconscious mind.

d

30. A ___________ group is primarily remedial.

a. psychotherapy

b. counseling

c. psychoeducational

d. task

a

31. If a professional counselor would like to read critical test reviews of the Beck Depression Inventory, the counselor would be most interested in the publication known as

a. Tests.

b. Mental Measurements Yearbook.

c. Tests in Print.

d. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing.

b

32. In a single-subject design, it is most important to

a. have unequal time intervals between collections of baseline data.

b. have the intervention be distinctive from what is naturally occurring for the subject.

c. randomly assign subjects to interventions.

d. All of the above.

b

33. Annabelle has been seeing her counselor, Adam, for a year. After she lost her girlfriend to cancer, she began to receive counseling services from another mental health professional. Adam learns of Annabelle’s new counselor this week. According to ACA’s ethical code, Adam should

a. terminate the counseling relationship with the client.

b. ask the client to choose and continue seeing only one counselor.

c. ask the client for permission to contact the other professional to establish a collaborative relationship.

d. not do anything.

c

34. ___________ is associated with meaningful experiences linked to a relationship with a divine entity, nature, or the universe, whereas ___________ is more ritualistic and organized.

a. Religion; spirituality

b. Spirituality; religion

c. Buddhism; Confucianism

d. Christianity; Taoism

b

35. Operant conditioning is based on the belief that

a. true learning does not require external reinforcement.

b. learning occurs when an unconditioned stimulus is repeatedly paired with a conditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response.

c. learning occurs through observation.

d. learning depends on which behaviors are reinforced.

d

36. According to the theory of work adjustment, tenure refers to

a. an individual’s ability to tolerate problematic and dissatisfying aspects of the job.

b. how long an individual will endure unfavorable work conditions before changing jobs.

c. how long an individual will remain with a company.

d. the degree to which the individual and work environment continue to meet each other’s needs.

c

37. At the core of individual psychology is the concept of

a. self-actualization.

b. social interest.

c. unconscious impulses.

d. individuation.

b

38. According to Kurt Lewin, Theory Z refers to a(n)

a. democratic leadership style.

b. authoritarian leadership style.

c. autocratic leadership style.

d. laissez-faire leadership style.

d

39. Which one of the following is true regarding reliability?

a. Shorter tests are more reliable than longer tests.

b. High reliability estimates are reported when test items vary greatly in content.

c. The closer a reliability coefficient is to 0, the more reliable the instrument.

d. Speed tests yield spuriously high reliability coefficients.

d

40. ___________ is a sampling technique that involves identifying convenient, existing subgroups and then randomly selecting subgroups.

a. Systematic sampling

b. Stratified random sampling

c. Cluster sampling

d. Quota sampling

c

41. John is in the midst of a divorce from Martin. They are currently civil although their relationship is tense. John is tired most days, especially after intense sessions. As a counselor who is going through a divorce, John is ethically expected to

a. stop providing counseling services if his or her emotions are likely to interfere with the ability to work with and help clients.

b. stop providing counseling services until the situation has been resolved.

c. seek supervision while working through this difficult time.

d. continue providing counseling services so that clients do not feel abandoned.

a

42. Barbara was in a car accident two months ago. When she first began seeing her counselor Eugene, she had difficulty sleeping, nightmares, and was scared of going to the grocery store where the accident had occurred. She is now able to sleep through the night and has far fewer nightmares. When she does have nightmares, she is able to soothe herself. Being able to revert to previous levels of functioning is termed

a. motivation.

b. participation.

c. harmony.

d. resilience.

d

43. Interpreting new information in a way that alters a person’s existing cognitive framework is called

a. adaptation.

b. accommodation.

c. organization.

d. assimilation.

b

44. Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers developed the Myers-Briggs type theory, which was derived from the work of

a. Sigmund Freud.

b. Alfred Adler.

c. Albert Ellis.

d. Carl Jung.

d

45. Jungian counselors help clients uncover elements of their unconscious minds through

a. spirituality.

b. dreams.

c. culture.

d. All of the above.

d

46. Several students in Diane’s group said they were unsure how to negotiate with their family members without being aggressive. Diane asked the members to decide on a scenario, then she showed the group members the proper way to execute a specific skill or behavior. This technique is called

a. modeling.

b. role-playing.

c. initiating.

d. instructing.

a

47. Validity

a. refers to how accurately an instrument measures a given construct.

b. refers to the consistency of test scores from one administration to the next.

c. is concerned with the error found in instruments.

d. is never reported in terms of the specific test purpose and target population.

a

48. The degree to which extraneous variables may be controlled (to accurately measure the relationship between independent variables and dependent variables) refers to

a. internal validity.

b. trustworthiness.

c. external validity.

d. statistical control.

a

49. Client records can be disposed of

a. once the counseling relationship has been permanently terminated.

b. only after the client has died.

c. five years after the counseling relationship has ended.

d. only if the counselor discontinues his or her practice.

c

50. ___________ is similar to ___________.

a. Covert racism; extermination

b. Physical attack; covert racism

c. Avoidance; overt racism

d. Overt racism; extermination

d

51. A family needs to buy a new car. It is having trouble deciding between two cars because both models are incredibly appealing to all family members. Which kind of conflict are they experiencing?

a. Approach–avoidance conflict

b. Approach–approach conflict

c. Avoidance–avoidance conflict

d. Avoidance–approach conflict

b

52. Gottfredson proposes that

a. adolescents give up more accessible career alternatives for those that are more compatible with their interests.

b. individuals will settle for a “good enough” career due to the limited accessibility of highly compatible career choices.

c. when the compromise is severe, individuals will sacrifice interest and prestige before gender role.

d. when the compromise is moderate, individuals will sacrifice prestige before interest.

c

53. At the core of cognitive therapy is the restructuring of clients’

a. irrational beliefs.

b. polarized thinking.

c. cognitive fictions.

d. automatic thoughts.

d

54. Which of the following types of group co-leadership is often used for mentoring purposes?

a. Experience with experience

b. Experience with inexperience

c. Inexperience with inexperience

d. All of the above.

b

55. Sensitivity, a term used in decision accuracy, refers to

a. an instrument’s ability to accurately identify the absence of a phenomenon.

b. the extent to which an instrument enhances the accuracy of prediction of a specific criterion.

c. the ratio of total correct decisions divided by the total number of decisions.

d. an instrument’s ability to accurately identify the presence of a phenomenon.

d

56. A professor concluded that the time students spent reading a research text predicted final examination scores. These results might come from a ___________ study.

a. comparative

b. regression

c. single-subject

d. time-series

b

57. A counselor is at a cocktail party and spots her colleague at the cheese display. As she walks toward Hernan, she hears him revealing confidential information about a client. The first thing this counselor should do is

a. file a report with an ethics committee.

b. tell the colleague’s client what happened.

c. try to resolve the issue with the colleague informally.

d. keep the knowledge private until the counselor can be certain that this is not an isolated incident.

c

58. On Sabrina’s first night after leaving her country, she was overwhelmed by not understanding the language of her host country, scared because she was unsure of her directions, and jet lagged. In the months since then, she was placed under investigation for bank fraud because she did not understand her host country’s banking system, and she met someone who offered to help her improve her language skills. He turned out to be a con artist. Sabrina misses her country’s cuisine, speaking her native language, her family and friends. Also, despite the time that has passed, she still feels lost. She is very likely experiencing

a. confianza stress.

b. acculturative stress.

c. model minority myth.

d. dissociative disorder.

b

59. A teacher notices that one of his students is having trouble understanding a new mathematical concept. To help the child, he provides her with additional examples, gives her hints, and uses questions to assist her in working through problems. Once it is clear that she is able to complete these problems on her own, he stops providing her with the example, hints, and questions he offered before. This technique is called

a. shaping.

b. positive reinforcement.

c. zone of proximal development.

d. scaffolding.

d

60. Which of the following is TRUE regarding Super’s lifespan, life space career theory?

a. The theory describes five life roles: child, student, parent, worker, and retiree.

b. The theory outlines five developmental stages and 16 substages.

c. The life-career rainbow illustrates how the self-concept changes and develops over time as individuals acquire experiences.

d. The theory emphasizes the role gender and prestige play in making career decisions.

b

61. “If I don’t have a significant other or someone who is interested in dating me, it means that I’m completely unlovable and undesirable.” This is an example of what type of distorted thinking?

a. Overgeneralization

b. Magnification

c. Dichotomous thinking

d. Selective abstraction

c

62. A group member is encouraged by the leader to refrain from giving advice to other members and instead to focus on self disclosing about her own life. Ingrid tries to share more in group until she begins to rub her temples or wring her hands. At that point, she often changes the topic to the problems of her fellow members. She offers the members a lot of advice and they seem to appreciate it. Ingrid is experiencing

a. role ambiguity.

b. role dissonance.

c. role conflict.

d. role overload.

c

63. Which of the following is NOT an example of a measurement occurring on a nominal scale?

a. Socioeconomic status

b. Gender

c. Ethnicity

d. Eye color

a

64. In a frequency distribution, the sums of the frequencies for all intervals will ___________ the total number of scores in the sample.

a. exceed

b. equal

c. be less than

d. be less than or equal to

b

65. A client meets with a counselor and, during one of their sessions, reveals that her husband sometimes physically abuses her. The client says she is not ready to contact any authorities or leave her husband. In this situation, the counselor is

a. legally obligated to file a report with the police.

b. ethically obligated to file a report with the police.

c. legally and ethically obligated to file a report with the police.

d. neither legally nor ethically obligated to file a report with the police.

d

66. A stressor that affects international students with greater frequency than other groups is

a. low self-worth.

b. terminal illness.

c. language.

d. substance abuse.

c

67. ___________ memory only retains information for 1 or 2 seconds.

a. Short-term

b. Long-term

c. Executive

d. Sensory

d

68. Gelatt proposed that a career decision can be terminal or investigatory. An investigatory career decision

a. is final.

b. calls for additional information.

c. is prescriptive.

d. is not recommended by Gelatt.

b

69. Which of the following is NOT a primary goal of Gestalt therapy?

a. Helping clients identify and attend to their most pressing needs

b. Helping clients make appropriate contact and withdrawal from their environments

c. Helping clients identify exceptions to their problems

d. Helping clients resolve their unfinished business

c

70. Which of the following resources is commonly used by leaders to teach members about appropriate self-disclosure?

a. Sharing diagram

b. Hill interaction matrix

c. Self-disclosure guidelines

d. Johari window

d

71. The standard error of measurement

a. is the sum of the squared differences between the actual scores and the test statistic.

b. is a measure of central tendency.

c. is the standard deviation of an individual’s repeated test scores when administered the same instrument multiple times.

d. represents an individual’s true test score.

c

72. The central goal of ___________ is to describe holistically a culture or cultural group.

a. ethnography

b. grounded theory

c. phenomenology

d. critical study

a

73. Which of the following did NOT lead to the development of vocational guidance?

a. World War I

b. Industrial Revolution

c. Social reform movements

d. None of the above. All led to the development of vocational guidance.

a

74. The three phases of trauma counseling include all of the following EXCEPT

a. remembrance and mourning.

b. establishing a safe environment.

c. reconnection with ordinary life.

d. engaging in anger management.

d

75. Drew is 6 years old and does not know many words even though his brother who is a year older than him knows many. When he wants to be given soda, he merely takes the bottle and shakes it in front of an adult. His sentences are short and are not always clear to the adults around him. Drew may have

a. a phonological disorder.

b. a problem with stuttering.

c. an expressive language disorder.

d. a mixed receptive-expressive language disorder.

c

76. In narrative career counseling, the narrator of the client’s story is referred to as the

a. storyteller.

b. agent.

c. instrument.

d. raconteur.

b

77. Humanistic-existential counselors do all of the following EXCEPT

a. avoid interpreting or analyzing clients’ motives or behavior.

b. focus on the present rather than the past.

c. believe that clients should direct counseling sessions.

d. analyze client dreams.

d

78. It may be appropriate to interpret ___________ in a group member during group time.

a. resistance

b. sarcasm

c. monopolization

d. All of the above.

d

79. A ___________ is calculated by dividing the number of correct test items by the total number of test items.

a. percentile rank

b. raw score

c. standard score

d. percentage score

d

80. The assessment of the ongoing progress of a program is referred to as a(n)

a. needs assessment.

b. process evaluation.

c. outcome evaluation.

d. efficiency analysis.

b

81. Under FERPA, which of the following is NOT true about directory information?

a. It includes students’ honors and awards.

b. It includes students’ grades and test scores.

c. Schools are required to send an annual notice to parents and students regarding directory information.

d. Schools can release directory information without student or parent consent.

b

82. Characteristics such as facial expression, posture, characteristics of movement, gestures, and eye contact are

a. kinesics.

b. paralanguage.

c. chronemics.

d. proxemics.

a

83. Heidi reports that she is scared her husband wants to divorce her even though she admits he has never said or done anything to indicate this. The couple has been arguing lately about bills and sex. Each time Heidi mentions their disagreements about the bills, she reminds her counselor that she sacrificed her career to move where Doug could flourish in his own career. She says that if she had known how ungrateful he would be, she never would’ve gotten married. What defense mechanism is Heidi displaying?

a. Projection

b. Reaction formation

c. Displacement

d. Rationalization

a

84. Which of the following career assessments does not use Holland’s six personality types?

a. Vocational Preference Inventory

b. Self-Directed Search

c. Campbell Interest and Skill Survey

d. Strong Interest Inventory

c

85. ___________ do not have any desire to change and are unwilling to admit that a problem exists.

a. Customers

b. Visitors

c. Complainants

d. Preservers

b

86. A ___________ is NOT an example of a planned theme group.

a. grief and loss group

b. divorce group

c. social skills group

d. growth group for adolescent females

d

87. If a student scored a 48 on an exam for which the mean was 56 and the standard deviation was 4, what can be said about the student’s score?

a. The score fell two standard deviations below the mean.

b. The score fell close to the 95th percentile.

c. The score fell two standard deviations above the mean.

d. The score fell at the 50th percentile.

a

88. An example of ___________ research is examining the relationship between number of play therapy sessions and children’s behavioral problems.

a. quantitative

b. qualitative

c. single-subject research design

d. None of the above.

a

89. In regard to IDEA, all of the following terms apply EXCEPT

a. least restrictive environment.

b. impairment of a major life activity.

c. free appropriate public education.

d. individualized education plan.

b

90. According to the Hardiman’s white racial identity development model, the ___________ stage is characterized by a conscious belief in the democratic ideal that everyone has an opportunity to succeed.

a. naiveté

b. acceptance

c. resistance

d. redefinition

b

91. Which of the following is NOT a true statement about self actualization?

a. Self-actualization usually occurs during middle adulthood, if at all.

b. Self-actualization can only be achieved when all of the lower needs on Maslow’s hierarchy have been met.

c. Some people never become self-actualized.

d. Self-actualization can be achieved even if lower level needs have not been met.

d

92. Which career inventory assesses the psychological barriers that adults may face during a career transition, as well as the resources individuals possess to make a successful transition?

a. Career Orientation Placement and Evaluation Survey (COPES)

b. Transition-to-Work Inventory

c. Career Development Inventory

d. Career Transitions Inventory

d

93. A skeleton key in solution-focused brief counseling is

a. a technique that can be used to help all clients, no matter what their presenting problem.

b. a technique that encourages clients to look for times when their problem does not occur or is less severe.

c. a technique that is specifically designed for clients based on their unique situation.

d. a means for accessing dream content.

a

94. Janelle and Miguel are considering forming a batterer’s intervention group for men. Janelle may instead decide to run a survivor’s group on her own. If she decides to co-lead the group with Miguel, the group size

a. should stay the same.

b. should be reduced.

c. can be increased by over 50%.

d. None of the above.

c

95. Deviation IQ scores have

a. a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.

b. a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 50.

c. a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10.

d. a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.

d

96. An agency counselor interviews adolescents about their knowledge of safer sex practices, then administers a survey packet to them several weeks later. The interviews plus the survey take about 45 minutes. The adolescents receive ten dollars and a two-way bus ticket as their incentive. This is an example of ___________ research.

a. concurrent exploratory

b. concurrent explanatory

c. sequential exploratory

d. sequential explanatory

c

97. In some states, minors who have reached a specified age can agree to receive certain services (e.g., counseling) without parental consent. These laws are called

a. youth consent laws.

b. minor consent laws.

c. informed minor laws.

d. juvenile consent laws.

b

98. Internal locus of control refers to

a. people’s ability to shape their own fate.

b. a fatalistic perspective.

c. self-worth.

d. people’s ability to control their level of self-esteem.

a

99. Children who have disorganized attachments to their caregivers would display which of the following kind of behavior?

a. They would feel securely attached to their caregivers and become upset on separation from their caregivers.

b. They would not display much expression on separation from caregivers and would seem puzzled on their return.

c. They would not pay attention to either the departures or the returns of their caregivers.

d. They would act clingy when caregivers leave and become extremely upset after separation from them.

b

100. Each of the following factors influence occupational projections EXCEPT

a. technological.

b. economic.

c. population.

d. tuition.

d