NCE Practice Exam

Kohlberg's stages have three levels (pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional) and six stages: 1. obedience and punishment orientation 2. individualism and exchange 3. good interpersonal relationships 4. maintaining the social order 5. social contract and individual rights 6. universal principles.

Teens require more sleep than the average adult due to their rapid growth. A teen's decreased sleep patterns do not generally stem from defiant behavior. Teens have biorhythm changes, making them more likely to stay up late and sleep later. They are inundated with academic and social demands which may impair the amount or quality of their sleep.

Vygotsky believed the potential for cognitive development depended upon the ZPD, which was a level of development attained when children engage in social interactions. When the social interaction is guided by an adult or collaborated with peers, the ZPD exceeds what one could achieve individually. Kohlberg is known for his work with moral development; Piaget is known for his theory of cognitive development in children; and Erickson for his eight stages of psychosocial development.

Freud described the Oedipus Complex as a stage when a boy develops feelings of desire for his mother and has feelings of anger and jealousy toward his father. The Electra Complex is when a girl develops feelings of desire for her father and has feelings of anger and jealousy toward her mother.

Cross-cultural counseling recognizes culture as fundamental and central to all counseling relationships and interactions. In using this approach, clients will feel valued and the rapport between counselors and clients will strengthen.

True - While some behaviors are innate, like the "rooting" of an infant to bring his mouth close to whatever it is near in hopes of eating, or an infant's startle reflex, when his arms outstretch with loud noises, most behaviors are learned within a cultural context. For instance, the handshake is generally a gesture from the Western culture. A man should never extend his hand to a woman of another culture unless she extends a hand first. Another example is that "back-slapping" someone from Asia is considered aggressive. Signaling someone from an Asian culture to follow you or directing them with your index finger, a common gesture in America, is considered rude in these cultures. Same behavior, different cultures, which means they are learned.

Typically, members of each socioeconomic group share similar ideas, behaviors, and values which fits the definition of culture.

Albert Bandura demonstrated this with his famous Bobo Doll Experiments. Children in the group who saw the adult treat the doll aggressively were much more aggressive in their own treatment of the doll. Behaviorists would believe aggression is learned through conditioning. Psychodynamic followers would explain aggression as an instinct - Thanatos. The humanistic explanation is that aggression is caused by unmet needs.

According to Freud, the id is present at birth and is part of the unconscious. It is impulsive, not rational, and moves towards pleasure and away from pain. The superego is made up of the conscience and ideal self and incorporates society's values and norms.  The ego uses a rational process to solve problems and meet the id's demands while satisfying the superego.

The superego sets ideal standards and guilt results when we violate them.

A variable ratio schedule is when a reward occurs after an unpredictable amount of responses and typically provides a high rate of response.  The counselor's rate is unpredictable from one job to the next.  A fixed ratio schedule occurs when a response is reinforced after a set number of responses.  Fixed interval schedules reinforce the response only after a certain amount of time has passed.  Variable interval schedules reinforce the response after an unpredictable amount of time has gone by.

Graham Wallace described the four stages of insight: preparation, incubation, flash of illumination, and verification. The term 'Aha! Moment' is also used to describe insights when things suddenly become clearer.

The eclectic approach can be quite successful. Most counselors using this approach still adhere to one or two main counseling theories, but draw techniques from many different theories. A counselor using a holistic approach would consider the person as a whole (body, mind, emotions, spirit) rather than the separate parts when meeting with a client.

Interpersonal learning, not intrapersonal learning, is a curative factor. Interpersonal learning occurs when a person tries out new behaviors in group. Group is seen as a microcosm of the real world.

Jerry is experiencing universality, when a member feels relief that they are not alone and that others share similar problems. He is not adapting another member's coping strategy, so it is not imitative behavior.  Instillation of hope creates a feeling of optimism, which is not mentioned.

Risky shift phenomenon is part of social psychology and a form of group polarization. This is related to deindividuation which occurs when a person in a group loses some of their self-identity leading to a loss of restraint and self-awareness. Bystander apathy is another term from social psychology and occurs when individuals assume that, since there are other people around, someone else has already taken action to help.

Tucker and Jensen described 5 stages of group development. In the forming stage, the group is coming together and rules are being established. Group members are typically polite to each other. During the storming stage, challenges often arise. Groups members may butt heads and test boundaries. In the norming stage, group members have developed a sense of unity and worked out their conflicts. They are also supportive of leadership. During the performing stage, the group is making progress toward their goals. Leaders are helping group members advance their skills and competencies. The adjourning stage is sometimes referred to as 'mourning' when a group is high functioning and has developed a strong sense of unity. The inevitable end can seem bittersweet.

Super talked about the life roles of: child, student, homemaker, leisurite, citizen and worker.

Those who score high in the realistic category enjoy working with machines. They are doers. Those who have high scores for investigative are thinkers, conventional are organizers, and social are helpers.  

Roe's theory consists of 8 fields (Service, Business Contact, Organization, Technology, Outdoor, Science, General Culture, and Arts & Entertainment) and 6 levels (professional and managerial, levels 1 and 2; semiprofessional and small business, level 3; skilled, level 4; semiskilled, level 5; and unskilled, level 6).  Holland created the Holland Codes: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC).  Super's theory of career development includes the concept of self-concept and 5 stages of career development: Growth, Exploration, Establishment, Maintenance, and Decline.

Dual career families are likely to have access to healthcare and money, however, because both adults in the household are working, they have less time for leisure. Instead of relaxing on evenings and weekends, they are often doing things to keep the household running, like chores or running errands.

During childhood, individuals are in the fantasy stage. Through play and imagination, they experience many different careers. Once an individual reaches adolescence, he or she enters the tentative stage. This stage has four sub-stages: interest, capacity, values, and transition. The realistic stage begins around age 17 and lasts through the early 20s. In this stage, the individual will engage in exploration, crystallization, and specification of a specific career. Later, Ginzberg changed his outlook and said that career choice is a life-long process and does not end in the early 20s. Instead, people optimize.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) is published by the U.S. Department of Labor and contains statistics and information for hundreds of different jobs. NBCC stands for the National Board for Certified Counselors; ACA is the American Counseling Association; ASCA is the American School Counselor Association.

"Non-malfeasance" is refraining from providing ineffective treatments or acting with malice towards a patient. "Anti-consumerism" is incorrect because is not a therapeutic or ethical term. "Beneficence" is incorrect because it means that you take actions to benefit others. "Exploitation" is incorrect because it is a therapist's misuse of power to influence and exploit clients for their own benefit and to the clients' detriment.

According to the ACA Code of Ethics, when acting in a counselor context, counselors may only use their highest degree earned in counseling, and should not imply doctorate-level competence unless their doctorate degree is in a clinical or related field.

If a test has not been normed to a certain population it is unethical to administer it to a person from that population and the client's results will not be accurate. Normed tests compare and rank the test takers in relation to one another.

Tests that measure criterion based on a patient's report are called self-report tests. The BDI does not measure aptitude, intelligence or achievement.