1
ASWB Clinical Exam Questions with Answers (100%
Correct Answers)
social work theories
Ans: general explanations that are supported by evidence
obtained through the scientific method; may explain human
behavior by describing how humans interact with, or react to, certain stimuli
psychodynamic theories
Ans: theories that explain the origin of the personality
-focus on the dynamic relations between the conscious and unconscious mind and
explore how these psychological forces might relate to early childhood experiences
psychoanalytic theory
Ans: theory originally developed by Sigmund Freud; posits that a client is seen as the
product of his past and treatment involves dealing with the repressed material in the
unconscious
-therapy focuses on increasing self-understanding and depending insight into
emotional issues and conflicts which underlie the presenting difficulties
cpreconscious, conscious, unconscious
Ans: Freud's 3 different levels of awareness
preconscious
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,2
Ans: the level of awareness that contains contains all the information that is outside of
a client's attention, but readily available if needed
conscious
Ans: the level of awareness that contains all the information that a client is paying
attention to at any given time
unconscious
Ans: the level of awareness that contains thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories of
which clients have no awareness, but that influence every aspect of theirday-to-day
lives
id
Ans: a reservoir of instinctual energy that contains biological urges
such as impulses toward survival, sex, and aggression; is
unconscious and operates according to the pleasure principle
pleasure principle
Ans: the
drive to achieve pleasure and avoid pain
ego
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,3
Ans: the component that manages the conflict between the id and the constraints of
the real world; some parts are unconscious,
whereas others are preconscious or conscious; operates
according to the reality principle. role is to prevent the id from gratifying its impulses in
socially inappropriate ways
reality principle
Ans: the awareness that gratification of impulses has to be delayed in order to
accommodate the demands of the real world
ego syntonic
Ans: behaviors "insync" with the ego (no guilt)
ego dystonic
Ans: behavior "dis-n-sync" with the ego (guilt)
ego strength
Ans: the ability of the ego to effectively deal with the demands of the id, the superego,
and reality; those with little of this may feel torn between these competing demands,
whereas those with too much of this can become too unyielding and rigid; helps
maintain emotional stability and cope with internal and external stress
-those with high of this approach problems with a sense that they can overcome
problems and even grow as a result
-those with low of this view challenges as something to avoid, reality seems
overwhelming and they may try to avoid it through wishful thinking, fantasies and/or
substance use
superego
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, 4
Ans: the moral component of personality which contains all the moral standards
learned from parents and society; forces the ego to conform not only to reality, but also
to its ideals of morality; hence, it causes clients to feel guilty when they go against
society's rules
oral stage
Ans: psychosexual development birth to roughly 12 months
sources of pleasure: Activities involving
the mouth, such as sucking, biting, and chewing
result of fixation: Excessive smoking, overeating, or dependence
on others
anal stage
Ans: psychosexual development age 2, when the child is being toilet trained
sources of pleasure: Bowel movements
result of fixation: An overly controlling (analretentive) personality or an easily angered
(analexpulsive) personality
phallic stage
Ans: psychosexual development age 3-5
sources of pleasure: genitals
result of fixation: Guilt or anxiety about sex
latency stage
© 2025 All rights reserved
ASWB Clinical Exam Questions with Answers (100%
Correct Answers)
social work theories
Ans: general explanations that are supported by evidence
obtained through the scientific method; may explain human
behavior by describing how humans interact with, or react to, certain stimuli
psychodynamic theories
Ans: theories that explain the origin of the personality
-focus on the dynamic relations between the conscious and unconscious mind and
explore how these psychological forces might relate to early childhood experiences
psychoanalytic theory
Ans: theory originally developed by Sigmund Freud; posits that a client is seen as the
product of his past and treatment involves dealing with the repressed material in the
unconscious
-therapy focuses on increasing self-understanding and depending insight into
emotional issues and conflicts which underlie the presenting difficulties
cpreconscious, conscious, unconscious
Ans: Freud's 3 different levels of awareness
preconscious
© 2025 All rights reserved
,2
Ans: the level of awareness that contains contains all the information that is outside of
a client's attention, but readily available if needed
conscious
Ans: the level of awareness that contains all the information that a client is paying
attention to at any given time
unconscious
Ans: the level of awareness that contains thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories of
which clients have no awareness, but that influence every aspect of theirday-to-day
lives
id
Ans: a reservoir of instinctual energy that contains biological urges
such as impulses toward survival, sex, and aggression; is
unconscious and operates according to the pleasure principle
pleasure principle
Ans: the
drive to achieve pleasure and avoid pain
ego
© 2025 All rights reserved
,3
Ans: the component that manages the conflict between the id and the constraints of
the real world; some parts are unconscious,
whereas others are preconscious or conscious; operates
according to the reality principle. role is to prevent the id from gratifying its impulses in
socially inappropriate ways
reality principle
Ans: the awareness that gratification of impulses has to be delayed in order to
accommodate the demands of the real world
ego syntonic
Ans: behaviors "insync" with the ego (no guilt)
ego dystonic
Ans: behavior "dis-n-sync" with the ego (guilt)
ego strength
Ans: the ability of the ego to effectively deal with the demands of the id, the superego,
and reality; those with little of this may feel torn between these competing demands,
whereas those with too much of this can become too unyielding and rigid; helps
maintain emotional stability and cope with internal and external stress
-those with high of this approach problems with a sense that they can overcome
problems and even grow as a result
-those with low of this view challenges as something to avoid, reality seems
overwhelming and they may try to avoid it through wishful thinking, fantasies and/or
substance use
superego
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 4
Ans: the moral component of personality which contains all the moral standards
learned from parents and society; forces the ego to conform not only to reality, but also
to its ideals of morality; hence, it causes clients to feel guilty when they go against
society's rules
oral stage
Ans: psychosexual development birth to roughly 12 months
sources of pleasure: Activities involving
the mouth, such as sucking, biting, and chewing
result of fixation: Excessive smoking, overeating, or dependence
on others
anal stage
Ans: psychosexual development age 2, when the child is being toilet trained
sources of pleasure: Bowel movements
result of fixation: An overly controlling (analretentive) personality or an easily angered
(analexpulsive) personality
phallic stage
Ans: psychosexual development age 3-5
sources of pleasure: genitals
result of fixation: Guilt or anxiety about sex
latency stage
© 2025 All rights reserved
