ASWB Clinical Exam Test Questions and Answers
Graded A+
social work theories - -general contains thoughts, feelings, desires, and
explanations that are supported by evidence memories of which clients have no awareness,
obtained through the scientific method; may but that influence every aspect of theirday-to-day
explain human lives
behavior by describing how humans interact with,
or react to, certain stimuli
id - -a reservoir of instinctual energy that
contains biological urges
psychodynamic theories - -theories that such as impulses toward survival, sex, and
explain the origin of the personality aggression; is
-focus on the dynamic relations between the unconscious and operates according to the
conscious and unconscious mind and explore pleasure principle
how these psychological forces might relate to
early childhood experiences
pleasure principle - -the
drive to achieve pleasure and avoid pain
psychoanalytic theory - -theory originally
developed by Sigmund Freud; posits that a client
is seen as the product of his past and treatment ego - -the component that manages the
involves dealing with the repressed material in conflict between the id and the constraints of the
the unconscious real world; some parts are unconscious,
-therapy focuses on increasing self- whereas others are preconscious or conscious;
understanding and depending insight into operates
emotional issues and conflicts which underlie the according to the reality principle. role is to
presenting difficulties prevent the id from gratifying its impulses in
socially inappropriate ways
cpreconscious, conscious, unconscious - -
Freud's 3 different levels of awareness reality principle - -the awareness that
gratification of impulses has to be delayed in
order to accommodate the demands of the real
preconscious - -the level of awareness that world
contains contains all the information that is
outside of a client's attention, but readily
available if needed ego syntonic - -behaviors "insync" with the
ego (no guilt)
conscious - -the level of awareness that
contains all the information that a client is paying ego dystonic - -behavior "dis-n-sync" with
attention to at any given time the ego (guilt)
unconscious - -the level of awareness that ego strength - -the ability of the ego to
,ASWB Clinical Exam Test Questions and Answers
Graded A+
effectively deal with the demands of the id, the sources of pleasure: genitals
superego, and reality; those with little of this may result of fixation: Guilt or anxiety about sex
feel torn between these competing demands,
whereas those with too much of this can become
too unyielding and rigid; helps maintain latency stage - -psychosexual development
emotional stability and cope with internal and age 5 to puberty
external stress sources of pleasure: Sexuality is dormant during
-those with high of this approach problems with a this period
sense that they can overcome problems and result of fixation: no fixations at this stage
even grow as a result
-those with low of this view challenges as
something to avoid, reality seems overwhelming genital stage - -psychosexual development
and they may try to avoid it through wishful which begins at puberty
thinking, fantasies and/or substance use sources of pleasure: The genitals; sexual urges
return
result of fixation: no fixations at this stage
superego - -the moral component of
personality which contains all the moral
standards learned from parents and society; oedipus complex - -refers to a male child's
forces the ego to conform not only to reality, but sexual desire for his mother and hostility toward
also to its ideals of morality; hence, it causes his father, whom he considers to be a rival for his
clients to feel guilty when they go against mother's love
society's rules -develops during the phallic stage
oral stage - -psychosexual development castration anxiety - -a fear in the oedipus
birth to roughly 12 months complex, Freud thought that a male child who
sources of pleasure: Activities involving sees a naked girl for the first time believes that
the mouth, such as sucking, biting, and chewing her penis has been cut off; the child fears that his
result of fixation: Excessive smoking, overeating, own father will do the same to him for desiring his
or dependence mother; because of this fear, the child represses
on others his longing for his mother and begins to identify
with his father.
anal stage - -psychosexual development
age 2, when the child is being toilet trained individual psychology - -Alfred Adler's
sources of pleasure: Bowel movements school of thought, in which main motivations
result of fixation: An overly controlling for human behavior are not sexual or aggressive
(analretentive) personality or an easily angered urges, but striving for perfection
(analexpulsive) personality
compensation - -the attempt to shed
phallic stage - -psychosexual development normal feelings of inferiority
age 3-5
,ASWB Clinical Exam Test Questions and Answers
Graded A+
inferiority - -those who suffer from this will
overcompensate, which means that rather than reality testing - -a client's perception of the
try to master challenges, they try to cover up situation
their sense of this by focusing on outward signs
of superiority such as status, wealth, and power
trust vs. mistrust - -From birth to 1 year,
children begin to learn the
self psychology - -defines the self as the ability to trust others based upon the consistency
central organizing and motivating force of their caregiver(s). If trust develops
in personality successfully, the child gains confidence and
-objective: to help a client develop a greater security in the world around him or her and is
sense of self-cohesion able to feel secure even when
threatened.Unsuccessful completion of this stage
can result in an inability to trust,
mirroring - -self object need which and therefore a sense of fear about the
validates the child's sense of a perfect self inconsistent world. It may result in anxiety,
-also a technique used to gain rapport at the heightened insecurities, and feelings of mistrust
unconscious level (copying another person's in the world around them.
gestures, tone of voice, or even catchphrases)
autonomy vs. shame and doubt - -Between
idealization - -self object need in which the the ages of 1 and 3, children begin to assert their
child borrows strength from others and identifies independence, by walking away from their
with someone more capable mother, picking which toy to play with, and
making choices about what they
like to wear, to eat, and so forth. If children in this
twinship - -self object need in which the stage are
child needs an alter ego for a sense of belonging encouraged and supported in their increased
independence, they become more confident and
secure in their own ability to survive in the world.
If children are criticized, overly controlled, or not
ego psychology - -focuses on the rational,
given the opportunity to assert themselves, they
conscious processes of the ego
begin to feel inadequate in their ability to survive,
-based on an assessment of a client as
and may then become
presented in the present (here and now)
overly dependent upon others, lack self-esteem,
-treatment focuses on the ego functioning of a
and feel a sense of shame or doubt in their own
client because healthy behavior is under the
abilities.
control of the ego
-attempts to hypothesize how the ego functions
can cause harm to psychopathology
-rooted in the belief that healthy ego is initiative vs. guilt - -Around age 3 and
independent of any mental divergence and is continuing to age 6, children assert themselves
inclusive of autonomous ego functions like more frequently. They begin to plan activities,
reality-testing and memory make up games, and initiate activities with
, ASWB Clinical Exam Test Questions and Answers
Graded A+
others. If given this opportunity, children develop Successful completion can lead to comfortable
a sense of initiative, and feel secure in their relationships and a sense of commitment, safety,
ability to lead others and make decisions. and care within a relationship. Avoiding intimacy
Conversely, if this tendency is squelched, either and fearing commitment and relationships can
through criticism or control, children develop a lead to isolation, loneliness, and
sense of guilt. They may feel like nuisances to sometimes depression.
others and will therefore remain followers,
lacking self-initiative.
Generativity vs. Stagnation - -During
middle adulthood, individuals establish careers,
industry vs. inferiority - -From age 6 to settle down within relationships, begin families,
puberty, children begin to and develop a sense of being a part of the bigger
develop a sense of pride in their picture. They give back to society
accomplishments. They initiate projects, see through raising children, being productive at
them through to completion, and feel good about work, and becoming involved in community
what they have achieved. If children are activities and organizations. By failing to achieve
encouraged and reinforced for their initiative, these objectives, individuals become stagnant
they begin to feel industrious and feel confident and feel unproductive.
in their ability to achieve goals. If this initiative is
not encouraged and it is restricted, children
begin to feel inferior, doubting their abilities and ego integrity vs. despair - -As individuals
not reaching their potential. grow older and become senior citizens, they tend
to slow down and explore life as retired people. It
is during this time that they contemplate
identity vs. role confusion - -During accomplishments and are able to develop
adolescence, the transition from childhood to integrity if seen as leading successful lives. If
adulthood is most important. Children are seen as unproductive or not accomplishing life
becoming more independent, and begin to look goals, they become dissatisfied with life and
at the future in terms of career, relationships, develop despair, often leading to depression and
families, housing, and so forth. During this hopelessness.
period, they explore possibilities and begin to
form their own identities based upon the
outcome of their explorations. This sense of who object relations theory - -theory which was
they are can be hindered, which results in a a focus of Margaret Mahler's work, is centered on
sense of confusion ("I don't know what I want to relationships with others
be when I grow up") about themselves -lifelong relationship skills are strongly rooted in
and their role in the world. early attachments with parents, especially
mothers
-variation of psychoanalytic theory suggesting
intimacy vs. isolation - -In young that humans are primarily motivated by the need
adulthood, individuals begin to share themselves for contact with others and the need to form
more intimately with others and explore relationships
relationships leading toward longer term
commitments with others outside the family.
Graded A+
social work theories - -general contains thoughts, feelings, desires, and
explanations that are supported by evidence memories of which clients have no awareness,
obtained through the scientific method; may but that influence every aspect of theirday-to-day
explain human lives
behavior by describing how humans interact with,
or react to, certain stimuli
id - -a reservoir of instinctual energy that
contains biological urges
psychodynamic theories - -theories that such as impulses toward survival, sex, and
explain the origin of the personality aggression; is
-focus on the dynamic relations between the unconscious and operates according to the
conscious and unconscious mind and explore pleasure principle
how these psychological forces might relate to
early childhood experiences
pleasure principle - -the
drive to achieve pleasure and avoid pain
psychoanalytic theory - -theory originally
developed by Sigmund Freud; posits that a client
is seen as the product of his past and treatment ego - -the component that manages the
involves dealing with the repressed material in conflict between the id and the constraints of the
the unconscious real world; some parts are unconscious,
-therapy focuses on increasing self- whereas others are preconscious or conscious;
understanding and depending insight into operates
emotional issues and conflicts which underlie the according to the reality principle. role is to
presenting difficulties prevent the id from gratifying its impulses in
socially inappropriate ways
cpreconscious, conscious, unconscious - -
Freud's 3 different levels of awareness reality principle - -the awareness that
gratification of impulses has to be delayed in
order to accommodate the demands of the real
preconscious - -the level of awareness that world
contains contains all the information that is
outside of a client's attention, but readily
available if needed ego syntonic - -behaviors "insync" with the
ego (no guilt)
conscious - -the level of awareness that
contains all the information that a client is paying ego dystonic - -behavior "dis-n-sync" with
attention to at any given time the ego (guilt)
unconscious - -the level of awareness that ego strength - -the ability of the ego to
,ASWB Clinical Exam Test Questions and Answers
Graded A+
effectively deal with the demands of the id, the sources of pleasure: genitals
superego, and reality; those with little of this may result of fixation: Guilt or anxiety about sex
feel torn between these competing demands,
whereas those with too much of this can become
too unyielding and rigid; helps maintain latency stage - -psychosexual development
emotional stability and cope with internal and age 5 to puberty
external stress sources of pleasure: Sexuality is dormant during
-those with high of this approach problems with a this period
sense that they can overcome problems and result of fixation: no fixations at this stage
even grow as a result
-those with low of this view challenges as
something to avoid, reality seems overwhelming genital stage - -psychosexual development
and they may try to avoid it through wishful which begins at puberty
thinking, fantasies and/or substance use sources of pleasure: The genitals; sexual urges
return
result of fixation: no fixations at this stage
superego - -the moral component of
personality which contains all the moral
standards learned from parents and society; oedipus complex - -refers to a male child's
forces the ego to conform not only to reality, but sexual desire for his mother and hostility toward
also to its ideals of morality; hence, it causes his father, whom he considers to be a rival for his
clients to feel guilty when they go against mother's love
society's rules -develops during the phallic stage
oral stage - -psychosexual development castration anxiety - -a fear in the oedipus
birth to roughly 12 months complex, Freud thought that a male child who
sources of pleasure: Activities involving sees a naked girl for the first time believes that
the mouth, such as sucking, biting, and chewing her penis has been cut off; the child fears that his
result of fixation: Excessive smoking, overeating, own father will do the same to him for desiring his
or dependence mother; because of this fear, the child represses
on others his longing for his mother and begins to identify
with his father.
anal stage - -psychosexual development
age 2, when the child is being toilet trained individual psychology - -Alfred Adler's
sources of pleasure: Bowel movements school of thought, in which main motivations
result of fixation: An overly controlling for human behavior are not sexual or aggressive
(analretentive) personality or an easily angered urges, but striving for perfection
(analexpulsive) personality
compensation - -the attempt to shed
phallic stage - -psychosexual development normal feelings of inferiority
age 3-5
,ASWB Clinical Exam Test Questions and Answers
Graded A+
inferiority - -those who suffer from this will
overcompensate, which means that rather than reality testing - -a client's perception of the
try to master challenges, they try to cover up situation
their sense of this by focusing on outward signs
of superiority such as status, wealth, and power
trust vs. mistrust - -From birth to 1 year,
children begin to learn the
self psychology - -defines the self as the ability to trust others based upon the consistency
central organizing and motivating force of their caregiver(s). If trust develops
in personality successfully, the child gains confidence and
-objective: to help a client develop a greater security in the world around him or her and is
sense of self-cohesion able to feel secure even when
threatened.Unsuccessful completion of this stage
can result in an inability to trust,
mirroring - -self object need which and therefore a sense of fear about the
validates the child's sense of a perfect self inconsistent world. It may result in anxiety,
-also a technique used to gain rapport at the heightened insecurities, and feelings of mistrust
unconscious level (copying another person's in the world around them.
gestures, tone of voice, or even catchphrases)
autonomy vs. shame and doubt - -Between
idealization - -self object need in which the the ages of 1 and 3, children begin to assert their
child borrows strength from others and identifies independence, by walking away from their
with someone more capable mother, picking which toy to play with, and
making choices about what they
like to wear, to eat, and so forth. If children in this
twinship - -self object need in which the stage are
child needs an alter ego for a sense of belonging encouraged and supported in their increased
independence, they become more confident and
secure in their own ability to survive in the world.
If children are criticized, overly controlled, or not
ego psychology - -focuses on the rational,
given the opportunity to assert themselves, they
conscious processes of the ego
begin to feel inadequate in their ability to survive,
-based on an assessment of a client as
and may then become
presented in the present (here and now)
overly dependent upon others, lack self-esteem,
-treatment focuses on the ego functioning of a
and feel a sense of shame or doubt in their own
client because healthy behavior is under the
abilities.
control of the ego
-attempts to hypothesize how the ego functions
can cause harm to psychopathology
-rooted in the belief that healthy ego is initiative vs. guilt - -Around age 3 and
independent of any mental divergence and is continuing to age 6, children assert themselves
inclusive of autonomous ego functions like more frequently. They begin to plan activities,
reality-testing and memory make up games, and initiate activities with
, ASWB Clinical Exam Test Questions and Answers
Graded A+
others. If given this opportunity, children develop Successful completion can lead to comfortable
a sense of initiative, and feel secure in their relationships and a sense of commitment, safety,
ability to lead others and make decisions. and care within a relationship. Avoiding intimacy
Conversely, if this tendency is squelched, either and fearing commitment and relationships can
through criticism or control, children develop a lead to isolation, loneliness, and
sense of guilt. They may feel like nuisances to sometimes depression.
others and will therefore remain followers,
lacking self-initiative.
Generativity vs. Stagnation - -During
middle adulthood, individuals establish careers,
industry vs. inferiority - -From age 6 to settle down within relationships, begin families,
puberty, children begin to and develop a sense of being a part of the bigger
develop a sense of pride in their picture. They give back to society
accomplishments. They initiate projects, see through raising children, being productive at
them through to completion, and feel good about work, and becoming involved in community
what they have achieved. If children are activities and organizations. By failing to achieve
encouraged and reinforced for their initiative, these objectives, individuals become stagnant
they begin to feel industrious and feel confident and feel unproductive.
in their ability to achieve goals. If this initiative is
not encouraged and it is restricted, children
begin to feel inferior, doubting their abilities and ego integrity vs. despair - -As individuals
not reaching their potential. grow older and become senior citizens, they tend
to slow down and explore life as retired people. It
is during this time that they contemplate
identity vs. role confusion - -During accomplishments and are able to develop
adolescence, the transition from childhood to integrity if seen as leading successful lives. If
adulthood is most important. Children are seen as unproductive or not accomplishing life
becoming more independent, and begin to look goals, they become dissatisfied with life and
at the future in terms of career, relationships, develop despair, often leading to depression and
families, housing, and so forth. During this hopelessness.
period, they explore possibilities and begin to
form their own identities based upon the
outcome of their explorations. This sense of who object relations theory - -theory which was
they are can be hindered, which results in a a focus of Margaret Mahler's work, is centered on
sense of confusion ("I don't know what I want to relationships with others
be when I grow up") about themselves -lifelong relationship skills are strongly rooted in
and their role in the world. early attachments with parents, especially
mothers
-variation of psychoanalytic theory suggesting
intimacy vs. isolation - -In young that humans are primarily motivated by the need
adulthood, individuals begin to share themselves for contact with others and the need to form
more intimately with others and explore relationships
relationships leading toward longer term
commitments with others outside the family.
