Deck 13: Positive Psychotherapy Tayyab Rashid and Martin Seligman

Question 1

Which of the following therapies has been shown to be effective in treating affective and anxiety disorders?

A) Transgenerational family therapy
B) Structural family therapy
C) Strategic family therapy
D) Cognitive behavior therapy

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Positive psychotherapy is not intended

A) to seek to balance the attention given to positive life events in psychotherapy.
B) to seek to balance the attention given to negative life events in psychotherapy.
C) to replace traditional therapeutic approaches.
D) to expand and enhance the scope of traditional psychotherapy.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Chris Peterson would argue that many psychological disorders could be understood as

A) unresolved unconscious conflicts.
B) repetitive engagement in maladaptive behaviors.
C) an absence or excess of character strengths.
D) an individual's unwillingness to develop strengths.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Character strengths are distinguished from which of the following?

A) Abilities
B) Talents and abilities
C) Virtues and talents
D) Virtues

Question 5

Which of the following from the PERMA model is the dimension of well-being that relates to the pursuit of involvement, absorption in work, intimate relations, and leisure?

A) Accomplishment
B) Meaning
C) Engagement
D) Positive emotions

Question 6

The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths is administered online to clients in positive psychotherapy to identify

A) signature strengths.
B) interpersonal support systems.
C) actions reflecting strengths.
D) character building experiences.

Question 7

In the treatment of many psychological disorders, including depression, evidence-based therapies and pharmacotherapy both hit a ceiling at about

A) 95%.
B) 65%.
C) 45%.
D) 25%.

Question 8

Positive psychology emerged because

A) clients make substantial changes as a result of therapy.
B) traditional psychotherapy has found a cure for many disorders.
C) about 10% of clients terminate therapy prematurely.
D) psychotherapy has become largely a science of victimology.

Question 9

Being aware of one's blessings and taking time to express thanks (i.e., gratitude) is considered a character strength under which of the virtues?

A) Wisdom
B) Temperance
C) Transcendence
D) Courage

Question 10

A full life is

A) the sum of pleasure, engagement, and meaning.
B) more than the sum of pleasure, engagement, and meaning.
C) the acquisition of all 24 character strengths.
D) the continuous displaying of the six virtues.

Question 11

Since its inception, the Diagnostic Statistical Manual(s) created by the American Psychiatric Association has catalogued hundreds of psychiatric symptoms for disorders, but it only began including a single and coherent classification of strengths in

A) 1980
B) 1998
C) 2004
D) 2012

Question 12

The primary difference between positive psychology approaches and other therapy approaches is that positive psychology focuses on

A) restructuring negative thoughts.
B) evidence-based approaches to treatment.
C) building character strengths.
D) changing maladaptive behaviors.

Question 13

The 24 character strengths in the VIA classification are subsumed under six broader categories called

A) gratitude
B) abilities
C) talents
D) virtues

Question 14

A state characterized by positive emotions, a strong sense of personal meaning, good work, and positive relationships is referred to as

A) judgment.
B) understanding.
C) insight.
D) flourishing.

Question 15

Which of the following from the PERMA model requires the active use of strengths and close monitoring of situational fluctuations to make timely changes in behavior?

A) Accomplishment
B) Meaning
C) Relationships
D) Positive emotions

Question 16

Which of the following virtues describes an individual's strengths that underlie healthy community life?

A) Transcendence
B) Wisdom
C) Temperance
D) Justice

Question 17

Csikszentmihalyi coined the term flow to refer to

A) the interrelationship of therapist-client working on character strengths.
B) a psychological state brought about by intense concentration.
C) one's ability to savor an experience by focusing on the five senses.
D) beliefs in a stream that naturally occur unconsciously.

Question 18

Which of the following theorists felt that negatives were an indispensable element of human existence and assumed defenses were built to repress these conflicts and manage the unbearable anxiety they caused?

A) Albert Ellis
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Marty Seligman
D) Aaron Beck

Question 19

When people tend to overthink negative emotions, all of the following symptoms EXCEPT _________ often result.

A) suspicion
B) anger
C) depression
D) curiosity

Question 20

Which of the following often results from heritable personality traits?

A) Happiness
B) Anger
C) Faith
D) Curiosity

Question 21

Michael Frisch's _____________________ integrates cognitive therapy with positive psychology ideas and has been shown to be effective with depressed clients.

Question 22

Which of the following types of clients might NOT find positive psychotherapy effective?

A) Those expecting a linear progression in symptom reduction
B) Individuals with adjustment disorders with depressed mood
C) Clients presenting with borderline personality disorder
D) Clients who are children or adolescents

Question 23

Severe outbursts of temper come under which disorder?

A) Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
B) Generalized anxiety disorder
C) Separation anxiety disorder
D) Panic disorder

Question 24

Positive psychotherapy would assert that it has vast appeal across cultural groups because, in contrast to Western culture's definition of happiness, positive psychotherapy equates happiness with

A) pursuit of pleasure.
B) pursuit of a good life.
C) a narrower view of life.
D) thrill-seeking.

Question 25

In the traditional format, positive psychotherapy is offered in which of the following number of sessions?

A) 6
B) 8
C) 14
D) 20

Question 26

________________ is a state characterized by positive emotions, a strong sense of personal meaning, good work, and positive relationships.

Question 27

Attempts to apply positive psychotherapy with children and adolescents have found that

A) the concepts are too challenging for individuals under the age of 25.
B) treatment increases well-being and decreases behavioral problems.
C) positive psychotherapy is effective but less so than family therapy.
D) the exercises are only helpful if delivered directly by the parent(s).

Question 28

In treating patients with narcissistic personality disorder with positive psychotherapy, therapists must be mindful of the fact that

A) the client may try to usurp the therapist's authority and shift the focus.
B) issues related to low self-esteem will be the client's preferred focus.
C) focusing on virtues may make the client more anxious.
D) identification of character strengths may exaggerate the client's inflated self-view.

Question 29

Martin Seligman states that the treatment of psychological disorders has hit a _____% barrier, with placebo accounting for _____% to ____% of this response rate.

Question 30

When positive psychotherapy is conducted internationally, therapists must be mindful of the fact that character strengths

A) are universal concepts that manifest similarly across cultures.
B) become less relevant in certain cultures.
C) may manifest differently across cultural groups.
D) are Western concepts and rejected by Eastern therapists.

Question 31

Which of the following virtues is defined as "interpersonal strengths that involve tending and befriending others"?

A) Justice
B) Wisdom
C) Temperance
D) Humanity

Question 32

Melanie Bay conducted a study in 2012 evaluating the impact of group positive psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medication on depressive symptoms in French patients. Bay found that

A) French clients responded more to positive psychotherapy than American clients.
B) French clients responded less to positive psychotherapy than American clients.
C) clients fared equally with positive psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.
D) clients receiving positive psychotherapy experienced greater therapeutic benefits.

Question 33

Studies evaluating positive psychotherapy have found that the positive psychotherapy exercises

A) can be altered in sequence as needed.
B) cannot be adopted for other treatment modalities.
C) should be delivered in the sequence recommended.
D) are not able to be adapted effectively to online activities.

Question 34

Which of the following emotional strengths does NOT involve the "exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of external or internal opposition"?

A) Persistence
B) Vitality
C) Bravery
D) Perspective

Question 35

__________________ is a state of being thankful for recognized positives in one's life.

Question 36

In a 2010 study, Moeenizadeh and Salagame found Iranian clients in well-being therapy (i.e., a treatment similar to positive psychotherapy) fared

A) better than those receiving CBT.
B) worse than those receiving CBT.
C) better than those receiving medications.
D) worse than those receiving medications.

Question 37

In contrast to traditional psychotherapy, which has focused on client's troubles, positive psychology focuses on a client's _____________.

Question 38

Which of the following is a symptom of bipolar disorder?

A) Brooding
B) Irritable mood
C) Depressive mood
D) Helplessness

Question 39

Who has proposed a model for evaluating psychological disorders and addresses each of the 24 VIA strengths?

A) Chris Peterson
B) Adam Peterson
C) Fredrickson
D) Branigan

Question 40

To date, positive psychotherapy tends to show the most benefit for clients presenting with

A) anxiety disorders.
B) psychotic disorders.
C) depressive disorders.
D) personality disorders.

Question 41

Positive psychotherapy is based on three primary assumptions. What are they? How do they guide the therapy process?

Question 42

Chris Peterson argues that if psychology as usual uses a lens of abnormality to view normality, "then why not use the lens of normality or even super normality to view abnormality"? Explain what does it mean. How is it applicable to mental disorders? Choose three disorders, and describe them according to Chris Peterson's model.

Question 43

Discuss five therapeutic techniques a positive psychotherapist would likely use with clients. Explain how each of the techniques selected facilitates change.

Question 44

__________________ is a therapeutic approach within the broader field, which aims to expand and enhance the scope of traditional psychotherapy.

Question 45

Research suggests that roughly ____% to ____% of happiness is accounted for by genetics.

Question 46

Clients with symptoms of ___________ appear to benefit most from PPT exercises.

Question 47

Positive psychotherapy is largely based on two major theories: character strengths as active therapeutic ingredients and Seligman's PERMA conceptualization of well-being. Describe the five components of the PERMA.

Question 48

The __________________ is the right combination of strengths applied to the right degree in the right situation.

Question 49

Describe the 14-session positive psychotherapy approach. What techniques are utilized? How is progress assessed?

Question 50

_________ is the psychological state brought about by intense concentration.