Deck 53: A: Evaluating Psychotherapies

Question 1

Which of the following is a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different studies?

A) factor analysis
B) regression toward the mean
C) meta-analysis
D) rTMS

Answer 1

meta-analysis

Question 2

Therapists' perceptions of the effectiveness of psychotherapy are likely to be misleading because

A) therapists typically minimize the seriousness of their clients' symptoms when therapy begins.
B) clients typically emphasize their problems at the start of therapy and their well-being at the end of therapy.
C) clients tend to focus on their observable behavioral problems rather than on their mental and emotional abilities.
D) therapists typically overestimate their clients' potential levels of adjustment.

Answer 2

clients typically emphasize their problems at the start of therapy and their well-being at the end of therapy.

Question 3

Hans Eysenck's summary of 24 early psychotherapy outcome studies suggested that patient improvement was not necessarily the result of

A) spontaneous recovery.
B) the placebo effect.
C) psychotherapy.
D) human resilience.

Answer 3

psychotherapy.

Question 4

A trained therapist who uses psychological techniques to assist someone to overcome excessive anxiety would generally be best described as a

A) psychoanalyst.
B) psychotherapist.
C) psychopharmacologist.
D) psychodynamic therapist.

Question 5

Cognitive therapies have achieved especially favorable results in the treatment of

A) phobias.
B) depression.
C) compulsions.
D) bed-wetting.

Question 6

Clients' perceptions of the effectiveness of psychotherapy are often misleading because clients

A) typically underestimate how much they have improved as a result of therapy.
B) tend to focus on their behavioral changes rather than on changes in their attitudes and emotions.
C) often need to convince themselves that they didn't waste their money on therapy.
D) are often angry about the time-consuming nature of therapy.

Question 7

Which of the following is most likely to contribute to inflated perceptions of the effectiveness of psychotherapy?

A) meta-analysis
B) free association
C) regression toward the mean
D) the double-blind procedure

Question 8

Psychotherapy is MOST likely to be effective in freeing

A) Sharon from the feeling that her life is meaningless and worthless.
B) Portia from her delusions of persecution and auditory hallucinations.
C) Jim from an excessive fear of giving speeches in public.
D) Luther from his antisocial personality disorder.

Question 9

The best psychotherapy outcome studies are randomized clinical trials comparing treatment groups with ________ groups.

A) eclectic
B) token economy
C) control
D) virtual reality

Question 10

The most convincing evidence for the effectiveness of psychotherapy comes from

A) studies of client satisfaction with the treatment received.
B) reports from therapists concerning their perceptions of client improvement.
C) meta-analyses of psychotherapeutic outcome studies.
D) the reactions of family and friends to those who have recently undergone psychotherapeutic treatment.

Question 11

Which of the following treatment approaches has received little or no scientific support?

A) ECT
B) exposure therapies
C) energy therapies
D) aversive conditioning

Question 12

Increasingly, insurer and government support for mental health services requires

A) client-centered therapy.
B) stress inoculation training.
C) evidence-based practice.
D) a token economy.

Question 13

Research on the effectiveness of psychotherapy indicates that

A) clients are generally satisfied with the effectiveness of therapy.
B) clients' perceptions are the best evidence available for the effectiveness of therapy.
C) clients tend to underestimate how much they have improved as a result of therapy.
D) therapy is no more effective than having a friend to talk to.

Question 14

Although Soren once scored 37 points during a single high school basketball game, he was subsequently unable to beat or match this record no matter how hard he tried. His experience may be at least partially explained in terms of

A) the placebo effect.
B) regression toward the mean.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) systematic desensitization.

Question 15

The beneficial consequence of a person's expecting that a treatment will be therapeutic is known as

A) systematic desensitization.
B) the placebo effect.
C) transference.
D) the therapeutic alliance.

Question 16

Klaus is a psychology graduate student who wants to determine whether electroconvulsive therapy is an effective treatment for schizophrenia. To combine the results of numerous published studies on this issue, Klaus should use a technique called

A) the double-blind procedure.
B) factor analysis.
C) counterconditioning.
D) meta-analysis.

Question 17

Which phenomenon refers to the tendency for extraordinary or unusual events to be followed by more ordinary events?

A) the placebo effect
B) systematic desensitization
C) regression toward the mean
D) progressive relaxation

Question 18

Because Gretchen is afraid of contracting infectious diseases, she compulsively avoids shaking people's hands or touching doorknobs. Research suggests that an especially effective treatment for her difficulty would involve

A) client-centered therapy.
B) psychodynamic therapy.
C) cognitive therapy.
D) behavior therapy.

Question 19

A Consumer Reports survey found that the level of satisfaction with psychotherapy among clients

A) was strongly linked to whether their therapists had extensive training and experience.
B) was unrelated to whether they were seen by therapists in a group or in an individual context.
C) depended on whether they had been treated by a psychiatrist or psychologist, rather than by a social worker.
D) was greatest among those who had also received an alternative neurostimulation therapy.

Question 20

Statistical summaries of psychotherapy outcome studies indicate that

A) psychotherapy is no more effective than talking to a friend.
B) no single form of therapy proves consistently superior to the others.
C) psychotherapy actually harms just as many people as it helps.
D) it is impossible to measure the effectiveness of psychotherapy.

Question 21

A physician who specializes in the treatment of psychological disorders is called a

A) clinical psychologist.
B) behavioral neuroscientist.
C) cognitive therapist.
D) psychiatrist.

Question 22

Which of the following is most clearly a key contributor to the formation of the therapeutic alliance?

A) progressive relaxation
B) an eclectic approach
C) patient transference
D) an empathic therapist

Question 23

Although Dr. Anderson uses systematic desensitization for the treatment of phobias, he prescribes antianxiety drugs as well. It is most likely that Dr. Anderson is a

A) psychoanalyst.
B) client-centered therapist.
C) cognitive therapist.
D) psychiatrist.

Question 24

EMDR was originally developed for the treatment of

A) alcohol use disorder.
B) bulimia.
C) depression.
D) anxiety.

Question 25

Preventive mental health is based on the assumption that psychological disorders result from

A) repressed impulses and conflicts.
B) stressful social situations.
C) abnormal personality traits.
D) regression toward the mean.

Question 26

Ideal clinical decision making is a three-legged stool upheld by clinical expertise, knowledge of the patient, and

A) transference.
B) a token economy.
C) research evidence.
D) neurogenesis.

Question 27

Which of the following is most likely to contribute to inflated estimates of the value of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing?

A) meta-analysis
B) stress inoculation training
C) the double-blind procedure
D) the placebo effect

Question 28

More than 9 in 10 New Yorkers, although stunned and grief-stricken by the 9/11 terrorist attack, did not have a dysfunctional stress reaction. This best illustrates

A) systematic desensitization.
B) tardive dyskinesia.
C) resistance.
D) resilience.

Question 29

Three benefits attributed to all psychotherapies are

A) an eclectic approach, nondirective treatment, and spontaneous recovery.
B) hope, a new perspective, and a caring relationship.
C) exposure, desensitization, and relaxation.
D) neurogenesis, transference, and spontaneous recovery.

Question 30

The value of light exposure therapy appears to result in part from its influence on people's

A) hormones.
B) therapeutic alliance.
C) tardive dyskinesia.
D) visual acuity.

Question 31

EMDR is most similar to a technique known as

A) stress inoculation training.
B) aversive conditioning.
C) exposure therapy.
D) electroconvulsive therapy.

Question 32

Many clinical psychologists have a Ph.D. degree, which indicates that they

A) have a medical license.
B) underwent research training.
C) majored in psychoanalysis.
D) had to undergo rTMS.

Question 33

Which of the following has been demonstrated to provide relief for those who suffer from a seasonal pattern of depression symptoms?

A) transference
B) EMDR
C) systematic desensitization
D) light exposure therapy

Question 34

Because she mistakenly thought that completing a diagnostic test was a therapeutic treatment for her anxiety disorder, Mrs. Shyam felt considerable relief for several weeks following the test. Mrs. Shyam's reaction best illustrates

A) transference.
B) the double-blind procedure.
C) the placebo effect.
D) systematic desensitization.

Question 35

Researchers have found that matching Asian-American clients with counselors who share their cultural values facilitates

A) the therapeutic alliance.
B) an eclectic approach.
C) progressive relaxation.
D) neurogenesis.

Question 36

The psychotherapeutic value of hope is best illustrated by

A) meta-analysis.
B) the placebo effect.
C) transference.
D) active listening.