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EPPP-Ethics

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1. The primary value underlying the existence of Ethical Principles is:

a. confidentiality of therapist-client communication.
b. the continued prosperity of the field of psychology.
c. the advancement of the welfare of society as a w
1. D.
As stated in the preamble of the APA Ethics Code "it has as its goals the welfare and protection of the individuals and groups with whom psychologists work, and the education of members, students, and the public regarding ethical standards of the discipline".
2. Pro bono work is:

a. required by the Ethical Principles.
b. encouraged by the Ethical Principles.
c. discouraged by the Ethical Principles.
d. prohibited by the Ethical Principles.
2. B
General principle B (Fidelity and Responsibility) states: "Psychologists strive to contribute a portion of their professional time for little or no compensation or personal advantage."
3. A psychologist who works as a university professor has not updated his lectures in 10 years. A colleague files a complaint with an ethics committee against this psychologist. What is the General Ethical Principle underlying this case?

a. Co
3. B.
General Principle B, Fidelity and Responsibility, states: "Psychologists are aware of their professional and scientific responsibilities, and...consult with, refer to, or cooperate with other professionals and institutions to serve the best interest of those with whom they work."
4. In regards to the personal conduct of a psychologist, the APA's Code of Conduct:

a. states that it can never serve as grounds for a complaint of unethical behavior.
b. states that it does not ordinarily fall within the scope of the Pri
4. B
The introduction states: "These activities shall be distinguished from the purely private conduct of psychologists, which is not within the purview of the Ethics Code."
5. A psychologist is dating a graduate student in his class. The student is older than others in the class (she is approximately the same age as the psychologist). She has returned to school after 15 years. The psychologist's behavior is:

a. u
5. B
The psychologist is engaging in a dual relationship with clear potential for harm or exploitation.
6. You routinely waive the co-payment of your less wealthy clients who are covered by insurance, since you offer patients who are not covered an adjustable fee based on a sliding scale. This is:
a. legal and ethical
b. illegal but ethical
6. D.
Accepting payments from insurance companies legally binds you to the service contract. You cannot deceive insurance companies about any aspect of your financial arrangements with patients. Waiving or reducing co-payment would be legal and ethical ONLY IF the insurance company knew that you were doing so and consented to this arrangement.
7. You are seeing a client who is in therapy as a condition of probation. The client says he wants to terminate therapy. You should:
a. tell the client he must stay in therapy.
b. tell the client he can leave if he wishes, but explain the legal
7. B
When providing services at the request of third parties, psychologists must clarify the use of the service they provide and the information they obtain.
8. When is it acceptable to use a collection agency to collect fees from a client?
a. never
b. when the client owes you a considerable amount of money, and you are unsuccessful in your attempts to reach him.
c. when the client has been giv
8. C
6.04e states psychologists inform the recipient of services that he intends to use a collection agency or legal measures to collect payment and provides and opportunity to make prompt payment.
9. You want to work with clients from an ethnic group you have not worked with before. Your best option would be to:
a. refer such clients to another therapist.
b. read books about the ethnic group while you are working with the clients.
c
9. C
2.01c states psychologists planning to provide services in new areas of competence "undertake relevant education, training, supervised experience, consultation, or study".
10. You are an army psychologist. A General requests information from you regarding a Colonel you have evaluated. As an ethical psychologist you should:
a. get a signed release from your client before you provide the General any information.
b.
10. A
Tell the General that you do not disclose information regarding recipients of your services without first obtaining their consent.
11. You are working for a large corporation as an industrial psychologist. You observe more than one incident of sexual harassment. Which of the following is your best course of action in this situation?
a. You should observe the incidents, and prep
11. B
Psychologist take reasonable steps to avoid harming those they work with and to minimize harm when it is foreseeable and unavoidable.
12. Which of the following best describes the Ethical Standards' position on barter with clients/patients?

a. barter for goods is permitted, barter for services is not
b. barter is ethical under all circumstances
c. barter is unethic
12. D
6.05 "Psychologists may barter only if 1) it is not clinically contraindicated, and 2) the resulting arrangement is not exploitative.
13. Which of the following statements is true regarding computerized interpretations of tests such as the MMPI-2?

a. Computerized interpretive reports are legitimate and valuable, and they tend to be good substitutes for a clinician's own impr
13. B
9.06 When interpreting assessment results, including automated interpretations, psychologists take into account the various factors that may influence the results and indicate any significant limitations.
14. You are the only psychologist working in a medical clinic and you are about to leave to take another job. You are concerned that some of the files contain data that is outdated. You would be best advised to:

a. remove obsolete data from th
14. A
9.04 a) "Psychologists may refrain from releasing test data to protect a client/patient or others from substantial harm or misuse or misrepresentation of the data or the test, recognizing that in many instances release of confidential information under these circumstances is regulated by law."
15. You are hired by an organization to assess the intelligence of a group of new employees. You train an assistant with a BA in sociology but a minor in psychology to administer the WAIS-III and write the interpretive report. Which of the following is t
15. D
Clearly a person with a BA is not qualified to interpret the results of the WAIS-III.
16. You administer multiple personality and intelligence tests to a client. The client later asks to see the results. You should:

a. provide the client with the raw test data, since he has a legal right of access to it.
b. provide the cli
16. B
9.04 a) Pursuant to the signed release, the psychologist may release test data to the client/patient or other persons identified in the release. The psychologist may also refrain from releasing actual data to protect a client/patient from misuse of that information.
17. The use of personality tests such as the MMPI-2 in the selection of employees is:

a. clearly unethical
b. likely to be unethical
c. likely to be ethical
d. clearly ethical
17. A
The Ethics Code prohibits misuse of assessment instruments. The MMPI although a personality test, is normed on an inpatient clinical population and thus would not be an appropriate choice.
18. A psychologist publishes the following ad in the local newspaper:
YOUR PROBLEM WILL BE SOLVED
I.M. Goode, Ph.D.
Graduate, Very Impressive U.
Licensed Psychologist, #111222
Specializing in Co-dependency
RESULTS GUAR
18. C
There are no guarantees in life, and making absolute statements about people's problems is misleading and may be establish unrealistic expectations of positive results.
19. The psychologist grants an interview to a reporter about a recent therapy breakthrough. The reporter mistakenly writes that the psychologist holds a Ph.D. and an Ed.D. The psychologist had provided the reporter with an accurate statement regarding hi
19. D
The psychologist must make an effort to correct the error.
20. Which of the following is true regarding the use of testimonials in advertisements or other public statements?
a. use is unethical under all circumstances.
b. use is ethical under all circumstances
c. use is unethical whenever testimon
20. D
5.05 Testimonials: Psychologists due not solicit testimonials from current client/patients or others who are vulnerable to undue influence.
21. You receive a call from a client who tells you that she is receiving therapy from someone else, but she now wants to see you. You should:
a. call the therapist to discuss the situation.
b. not see the client until she has terminated her rel
21. C
10.04 Psychologists carefully consider the treatment issues and the clients welfare and attempt to minimize the risk of confusion and conflict
22. After three sessions, a man you are treating in conjoint marital therapy says he wants to see you in individual treatment. You should:
a. refer him to another therapist.
b. tell him to wait until marital therapy is over.
c. set up an a
22. A
10.02 makes clear that in conjoint therapy situations, psychologists should avoid performing potentially conflicting roles. A referral would be your most ethical course of action.
23. A client in therapy at a community agency is being seen by a newly-licensed therapist. The therapist consults a supervisor on a regular basis about the case. The client knows that the therapist has just received her license but does not know that the
23. D
Psychologists are ethically bound to discuss "appropriate issues" as early as possible in the therapeutic relationship.
24. You have been seeing a client for six months. Over the course of the past month, he has repeatedly mentioned that he is very unhappy with your psychotherapy. You should:
a. seek consultation.
b. begin the process of termination and provide
24. B
10.10 Psychologists terminate therapy when it becomes reasonably clear that the client no longer needs the services, is not likely to benefit, or is being harmed by continued service.
25. A male psychologist provides an adult female client brief behaviorally-oriented therapy focused on anxiety reduction. After 4 sessions, the woman feels she has made progress and wishes to terminate. The psychologist agrees, terminates the relationshi
25. A
10.08 a) Psychologists do not engage in sexual intimacies with a former client/patient for at least 2-years after cessation or termination of therapy.
26. The term "privilege"

a. is defined by law
b. comes from both the law and the Ethical Standards
c. means the same thing as the term confidentiality
d. refers to the client's right to dictate the course of therapy
26. A
Privilege is a legal term that refers to a client's right to prevent confidential information from being released in a legal proceeding.
27. You are seeing a family and you notice bruises on the son's body. The parents say that their child has been seen by a pediatrician but that they forgot to mention the bruises to him. When you ask the parents how the child got injured, the parents say
27. D
Psychologists are mandatory reporters and thus must report reasonable suspicions of child abuse they encounter in their professional capacity.
28. Which of the following is true of confidentiality in a group therapy session?
a. Group members are legally obligated to maintain confidentiality.
b. Group members have no obligation to maintain confidentiality.
c. Group members are on
c. Group members have no legally enforceable obligation to maintain the confidence of what they hear from other members in session. Group leaders should stress the need to respect confidentiality from the outset of therapy.
29. A client's insurance company calls and asks you for some information about the client's diagnosis and treatment. You should:
a. refuse to give them information.
b. give information only with the consent of the client.
c. give informati
29. B
Although HIPAA may apply here, information about a client seen in therapy is confidential and can only be released with the client's consent.
30. A client tells you that he is planning to shoot his ex-girlfriend. You know that the client owns a gun and has a history of violent behavior. You should:
a. attempt to get him to change his mind.
b. warn the police and attempt to warn the e
30. B
The client clearly poses a clear and imminent danger to an identifiable victim. You have a valid reason to break confidentiality in this case, and warning the police as well as attempting to warn the victim would be the best way to meet the duty to protect.
31. During a session, a client of yours that you know to be HIV positive, casually claims that he has been engaging in unprotected sex. You believe he is telling the truth. Is this sufficient grounds for you to break confidentiality and notify the author
31. C
In this case, you may not have sufficient grounds to break confidentiality. According to APA recommendations, disclosure should occur when 1) there is an identifiable third party who is at risk, 2) the third party is unaware that he/she is at risk, and 3) the client has refused or is not considered reliable to inform the third party.
32. If you receive a subpoena to testify about one of your former clients, you should first:
a. ignore the subpoena because the individual in question is a former client.
b. try to work out a compromise with the requester of information.
c
32. D
The APA recommends that a psychologist first determines the validity of the subpoena before taking action.
33. Which of the following is true of deception in research?
a. it can be used only if justified by the study's prospective scientific value.
b. it can be used in any study, as long as participants are debriefed afterward.
c. it can be use
33. A
Standard 8.07a states psychologists do not use deception in research unless such techniques are justified by the study' significant prospective value and equally effective non-deceptive alternative procedures are not feasible.
34. A graduate student complains to her supervisor that her research study is causing harm to subjects. The supervisor tells her not to worry about it. Later, one of the subjects is determined to have been emotionally harmed by the research procedures. W
34. B
Psychologists are responsible for the ethical conduct of research conducted by them or by others under their supervision.
35. A student complains to the Ethics Committee about Dr. John Henry, who showed slides of male and female genitalia in his physiological psychology class and then announced that the final slide was a photo of his own penis. In response to the Committee'
35. C
Psychologists must make reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in conduct that is personally demeaning to their students.
36. Informed consent to research is:
a. always necessary
b. necessary, unless dispensing with it clearly poses no harm or is scientifically justifiable.
c. unnecessary, except in research which poses a clear risk of serious harm to partici
36. B
A psychologist should obtain informed consent from participants before conducting research. Some exceptions do exists, however, such as naturalistic observations or anonymous questionnaires.
37. You are asked by the attorney of a divorced woman to evaluate her. The attorney explains that he would like your opinion regarding whether the woman is more competent as a parent than her ex-husband. As an ethical psychologist, you should:
a. ev
37. c
Psychologist must base their assessment and conclusion on sufficient information. Determining the most competent parent involves obtaining information on both adults and their interactions with their children. Even then, the conclusions should be qualified with limitations.
38. The term "insanity"
a. is a legal term that refers to an individual's ability to distinguish right from wrong.
b. is a legal term that refers to an individual's competence to stand trial.
c. is a psychiatric term that refers
38. A
The term insanity is a purely legal term that refers to a defendant's ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
39. If you are asked by a court for your opinion about how dangerous a client is to others, you should:
a. refuse to answer the question, and explain that it is impossible to predict future dangerousness.
b. refuse to answer the question based
39. C
Psychologist should clarify the information upon which they are basing their assessment, disclose probable impacts of limited information, and appropriately limit the nature and extent of their conclusion or recommendation.
40.In your capacity as a forensic psychologist, you are ordered by the court to evaluate a celebrity who has been accused of assault and battery. Part of your evaluation is used in the trial and becomes a matter of public record. At the end of the trial,
40. C
The actions described are not illegal, since information disclosed in a court-ordered evaluation is not privileged. However, according to the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic-Psychologists, psychologists cannot publicly disclose information obtained from court-ordered evaluations unless it is a matter of public record or they have the consent of the evaluated client.
41. You are contacted by the APA Ethics Committee in regard to a complaint filed against you by your client. The committee asks for your records related to the client's therapy with you. You should:
a. cooperate fully with the Committee's request
41. A
When you are contacted by an ethics committee in response to a complaint by a client, cooperate fully. Confidentiality is not an issue since the committee will not pursue a complaint if they don't already have a waiver signed.
42. You share an office with one other psychologist. One morning, you arrive early to the office and find your partner having sex with one of his current patients. You should:
a. discuss the matter with him in private later.
b. report him to th
42. B
Usually, one would attempt to resolve any known or suspected ethical violations informally with the other professional. In this case however, the violation is so severe that it is not amenable to informal resolution. Therefore, you must take further action by filing a report to an ethics committee. In filing the report, you should take steps to protect the client's identifying information.
43. A client you are currently seeing tells you he had sex with a previous therapist. You should:
a. have the client sign a release of information, and report the psychologist to the appropriate ethics committee.
b. with the client's permission
43. D
Contacting the therapist directly would violate confidentiality. Making the client sign a waiver would be coercion. The best answer is to provide information regarding options and allow him to decide the appropriate course of action.
44.The General Guidelines for Providers of Psychological Services were established to:
a. educate the public
b. protect the public interest
c. serve the welfare of individual clients.
d. advance the field of psychology.
44. B
The primary purpose was to protect the public interest, however, the newly revised code acknowledges that educating the public is also and important purpose of the guidelines.
45. A psychologist originally trained as an experimental psychologists wants to be a clinical psychologist. The psychologist must:
a. meet his state's requirements for licensure.
b. begin working under the supervision of an experienced clinicia
45. C
2.01 Competence: "psychologists have or obtain training, experience, consultation, or supervision necessary to ensure the competence of their services or they make appropriate referrals".
46. The primary purpose of the Specialty Guidelines for the Delivery of Services is:
a. educate the public and advance the profession.
b. serve the welfare of individual clients.
c. provide specific enforceable guidelines for handling ethi
46. A
The purpose of the Specialty Guidelines is to "educate the public, the profession, and other interested parties regarding the specialty professional practices...[and] to facilitate the continued systematic development of the profession".
47. The primary purpose of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing is to:
a. provide enforceable standards for handling ethical violations committed by unsavory test developers and users.
b. educate test users so that tests are
47. C
According to the APA, the purpose is to "provide criteria for the evaluation of tests, testing practices, and the effects of test use".
48. The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing suggest that test scores should be presented in terms of:
a. confidence intervals and percentile bands
b. the mean score on the test
c. the base rate and selection ratio
d. e
48. A
Reports of test scores should include information about how accurate the test scores are, since obtained scores may not reflect the examinee's "true" score. Confidence intervals are based on the standard error of measurement, and thus provide a range in which an examinees true score is likely to fall.
49. The primary purpose of state licensing boards is to:
a. provide recognition to qualified psychologists.
b. protect the welfare of the public
c. set up minimum standards of competence for psychologists.
d. discipline psychologists
49. B
State licensing boards are designed to protect the public. As such, they establish minimum standards of competence for psychologists and discipline psychologists who fail to meet these standards.
50. A psychologist at a party is told by another guest at the party that her husband is an alcoholic. The woman fears that her husband is going to hurt himself, and she doesn't know what to do. The psychologist gives the woman a referral to a colleague o
50. D
A psychologist cannot be found guilty of malpractice if he/she does not have a professional relationship with the individual filing the lawsuit.
51. Selling questions that appear on the licensing exam is:
a. legal and ethical.
b. legal but unethical.
c. illegal but ethical.
d. illegal and unethical.
51. D
Selling questions that appear on a licensing exam is both a violation of ethical standards and copyright laws.
52. A student complains to the ethics board about the instructor in his psychology course. The student claims the instructor: did not adequately cover the material he should have, the tests administered did not adequately assess the students' knowledge,
52. B
This answer is the most judicious alternative. It is a low level intervention for an offense that while not grave is serious. It recognizes that there is a probability that the instructor may be acting unprofessionally, and it prompts him to re-evaluate his procedures.
53. You are working at a high school and are asked by the principal to evaluate a student who is having conflicts with one of his teachers. After evaluating the student and speaking to the teacher, you conclude that the teacher, not the student, needs ps
53. C
Common sense and the ethical guidelines for professional conduct warrant you respectfully approach the teacher regarding your observations.
54. A 17-year old student informs the ethics board that his college counselor violated confidentiality when she informed the student's mother of a suicide attempt he recently made. The counselor contends that she was acting in the students best interest
54. A
The standard of confidentiality is not absolute especially when there is threat of harm to the patient or someone else.
55. A male homosexual comes to you, a clinical psychologist, for treatment. You feel uncomfortable around homosexuals, and you are reasonably sure that your feelings would interfere with the process of therapy. Your best ethical course of action would be
55. B
It is okay to refuse to take on a client whom you are convinced you couldn't work with, provided you offer a referall to an appropriate professional.
56. If a psychologist undertakes an experiment which might cause discomfort and some negative adverse effects to the subjects, but she feels the possible findings are worth the risk, she should:
a. decide not to do the research
b. run the resea
56. C
Appropriate approval by a review board must be obtained first, and then informed consent from each subject (after informing them of all potential risks and side effects) must be obtained.
57. A white psychologist sees an African American client for an initial consultation. The client states that everybody he works with is a "racist" and "has it in for him". He knows this because no one recognizes his accomplishments at
57. C
One cannot base a diagnosis on one statement alone. The psychologist has clearly misused a diagnostic label and has acted in a blatantly incompetent manner. More to the point, any psychologist who works with ethnic minorities is ethically bound to be aware of issues such as gender, ethnicity, religion, and national origin and the role these variables may have on the competence of their services.
58. A university professor leaves out areas of research in the course he's teaching because the research does not fit well with his orientation and does not support his own theory. This behavior is:
a. clearly unethical
b. possibly unethical
58. A
The implication in this question is that the professor purposely ignores research that contradicts his own theory. However, a course on one specific area of the field does not necessarily have to review all the data on other specific areas. Behavior Therapy for example does NOT need to review data on Humanistic Therapy.
59. You have been treating a young girl whom you suspect might have some organic brain problems. You inform the girl's parents about your concerns and suggest they sent her to a neurologist for an evaluation. Six months later, the neurologist calls to re
59. A
When the patient is a minor, the parents hold the right of privilege - i.e., the parents have the right to control who accesses the therapy record. Suspected child abuse is a legally defined exception to this standard.
60. The holder of privilege is usually the:
a. therapist
b. patient
c. courts
d. both the patient and the therapist
60. B
For adult patients, the holder of privilege is the patient. That means the patient has the right to decide whether or not confidential information is released in legal proceedings. Exceptions include when the adult is legally incompetent or the court has appointed a psychologist to examine the patient.
61. A psychologist routinely asks his clients to complete a personality inventory during his intial assessment. He generally does not review the results with the client unless they ask for the information. When he does review the results he presents the
61. A
This behavior is clearly unethical for a variety of reasons. First, psychologists do not give personality inventories for no good reason. Second, if a test is administered the clinician should take reasonable steps to provide meaningful explanations of the results (he cannot just wait for them to ask). Third, providing scale names and raw scores is not presenting the information in a language the client can understand.
62. A mother's attorney asks you to evaluate the mother and her child. The child lives with the father, who is also the custodial parent. You should:
a. refuse to see them under any circumstances
b. determine if the father knows about and has c
62. B
You should consider the child's best interest, and proceed with the evaluation only with the consent of the custodial parent. Otherwise, you may unwittingly place the child in the middle of the conflict between the two parents.
63. Which of the following statements regarding grievances about the licensing exam is NOT true?
a. If you file a grievance, the state board can tell you the mean and the standard deviation of the test.
b. If you file a grievance, the state boa
63. C
Courts have ruled that candidates are not entitled to specific feedback about their performance on exam questions. Neither the state boards nor the AASPB provide such feedback.
64. You wish to open a mental health clinic in a rural area that will be designed to serve Native Americans. From an ethical and practical standpoint, you would be well advised to:
a. Include medicine men from the tribe to serve as consultants and m
64. A
Psychologists respect the rights of others to hold values and opinions different from their own. Native Americans may not utilize the clinic unless they know their traditional methods of healing are respected.

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