Ethical and Legal Considerations
Most psychological tests and measures have a level associated with them that indicates the amount of training necessary for the test user. Test user levels are determined by the:
A. State licensing Boards
B. American Mental Health Counselor’s Association
C. American Psychological Association
D. Publishers
D. Publishers
Which of the following is a limitation of an unstructured interview?
A. It cannot be tailored to meet the needs of a client
B. It is a less reliable method for arriving at a DSM diagnosis
C. It is a less reliable method for case conceptualization
D. It does not allow for rapport building with clients
B. It is a less reliable method for arriving at a DSM diagnosis
A professional’s ability to make predictions about who will attempt suicide based on standardized measures is limited because:
A. There are very few valid standardized suicide measures
B. Suicide is a very low base rate phenomenon
C. People who are planning on attempting suicide do not communicate that intention on standardize measures
D. Risk factors can not be established with standardized measures
B. Suicide is a very low base rate phenomenon
Achievement tests differ from cognitive ability tests in that achievement tests assess:
A. Acquired knowledge
B. Novel learning
C. Practical problem-solving skills
D. All of the above
A. Acquired knowledge
Gender is a _____________ variable.
A. Ratio
B. Nominal
C. Ordinal
D. Interval
B. Nominal
Which of the following statements is consistent with a culturally sensitive approach to assessment?
A. Counselors only use those tests that have disproportionate racial and ethnic norms
B. Counselors take into account the impact of cultural factors— racial-ethnic identity, age, gender, and primary language—when interpreting test results.
C. Counselors only use informal assessment methods when evaluating clients whose racial-ethnic identity is different than the counselor’s identity
D. Counselors have an ethical obligation to determine a client’s level of acculturation
B. Counselors take into account the impact of cultural factors— racial-ethnic identity, age, gender, and primary language—when interpreting test results.
Structured interviews are useful for diagnostic evaluations because they typically
A. Assess symptom criteria, symptom severity and functional impairment
B. Require little advanced training and cost to administer and score
C. Have a scoring system for quantifying functional impairment
D. Evaluate interpersonal relationships, cultural beliefs, and psychological conflicts
C. Have a scoring system for quantifying functional impairment
When evaluating a client’s risk for suicide it is important for counselors to consider protective factors because these factors are:
A. Not present in people who have depression or a personality disorder
B. Likely to reduce the degree of risk and guide management decisions
C. More important than risk factors when determining a person’s level of risk
D. Twice as important as risk factors in determining a person’s suicide risk
B. Likely to reduce the degree of risk and guide management decisions
Neuropsychological tests typically focus on assessing
A. Reading Comprehension and fluency
B. Long-term memory processes and quantitative reasoning
C. Visual-spatial perception and working memory
D. Simultaneous information processing skills
C. Visual-spatial perception and working memory
The two types of criterion-related validity are:
A. Content and construct validity
B. Inter-rater and construct
C. Predictive and content
D. Concurrent and predictive
D. Concurrent and predictive
Prior to assessing a client, counselors have an ethical responsibility to:
A. Inform the client that a diagnosis may be determined
B. Inform the client of the procedures to be used in the assessment
C. Choose tests that are not obsolete
D. All of the above.
D. All of the above
In general it is helpful to begin unstructured interviews by:
A. Asking about childhood history
B. Asking about medical history
C. Asking fairly broad questions followed by more specific probes
D. Asking closed ended questions then proceed to open-ended ones
C. Asking fairly broad questions followed by more specific probes
Which of the following is considered a limitation of standardized suicide assessment measures?
A. They have a tendency to overestimate suicide risk
B. They have a tendency to underestimate suicide risk
C. Clients do not respond honestly about suicide when completing questionnaires
D. They have very weak psychometric properties
A. They have a tendency to overestimate suicide risk
A genogram is an assessment technique for:
A. Establishing a history of substance usage
B. Mapping a client’s peer and work environments
C. Diagramming family history and the quality of family relationships
D. Mapping a client’s sexual history
C. Diagramming family history and the quality of family relationships
If a variable has a normal or bell-shaped distribution then which of the following statements are true:
A. The mode is greater than the mean
B. Thirty three percent of the scores are above and below the mean
C. The mean, the median and the mode are the same value
D. The mean is greater than the mode and the mode is greater than the median
C. The mean, the median and the mode are the same value
The ACA and other professional organizations’ code of ethics stipulate that
A. Providing clients with feedback about their test results violates test security
B. Clients should be given assessment feedback only when formal assessments are done
C. Client welfare is promoted by providing clients with assessment feedback
D. Releasing test results to clients is unethical
C. Client welfare is promoted by providing clients with assessment feedback
An interviewer can facilitate client disclosure by using bridges. Bridges are considered to be
A. Linking statements that connect an assessment topic to a client’s stated concern or problem
B. Statements that hinder client disclosure and are rarely used
C. Complex question strategies that help clients disclose very sensitive information
D. A common interview tactic but should be used cautiously because clients may feel invalidated.
A. Linking statements that connect an assessment topic to a client’s stated concern or problem
Research has shown that clinicians are somewhat good at predicting:
A. Who will commit suicide with a gun
B. Which children will become aggressive adults
C. Which individuals are imminent risk for violent behavior
D. Which individuals will never commit a violent act
C. Which individuals are imminent risk for violent behavior
A functional behavior assessment consists of which of the following components?
A. Behavior antecedents
B. Maintaining consequences
C. Hypothesis statement
D. All of the above
D. All of the above
Counselors may decide to use a test based on its sensitivity. Sensitivity refers to:
A. The cultural sensitivity of a test
B. The ability of a test to have few false negatives
C. The ability of a test to accurately identify an individual as having a condition or disorder
D. The ability of a test to accurately identify as not having a condition or disorder
C. The ability of a test to accurately identify an individual as having a condition or disorder
A counselor who is considering using a standardized measure needs to consider all except which of the following?
A. The relative costs and benefits involved
B. Whether he or she is qualified to use the measure
C. The purpose for using the measure
D. When the test was originally created
D. When the test was originally created
The formal dimensions of a mental status evaluation include all of the following except:
A. A person’s understanding of proverbs
B. A person’s immediate and short-term recall
C. A person’s attire and hygiene
D. A person’s orientation to time and place
C. A person’s attire and hygiene
Which individuals are more likely to engage in premeditated violence?
A. Woman diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder
B. Males who have schizophrenia
C. Young adult males with anti-social tendencies
D. All individuals with a DSM-IV disorder are equally likely to plan violent acts
C. Young adult males with anti-social tendencies
An important benefit to using alliance scales or questionnaires is that:
A. Managed care companies require them
B. They have been shown to be predictive of DSM personality disorders
C. They have well established interpretation guidelines
D. Scores obtained early in the counseling process are correlated with client outcomes at the end of counseling
D. Scores obtained early in the counseling process are correlated with client outcomes at the end of counseling
A criterion referenced test is commonly used for the purpose of:
A. Establishing a normative group
B. Assessing personality
C. Identifying a score that separates normal from abnormal performance
D. Identifying the average score of a group of individuals
C. Identifying a score that separates normal from abnormal performance