Deck 4: Adlerian Therapy

Question 1

The psychological theory of Alfred Adler is known as __________________ psychology.

A) humanistic
B) individual
C) behavioral
D) rational-emotive
E) cognitive

Answer 1

individual

Question 2

Which of the following statements best describes the Adlerian focus on holism?

A) Therapy is essentially grounded in both internal and external processing.
B) Adlerian therapists work to integrate their personal life with their professional life.
C) One cannot understand an individual in parts, but all aspects of the person must be understood in relationship.
D) The therapeutic intent is to bring family members together in therapy.
E) The goal is for the client to become whole by the end of the therapeutic relationship.

Answer 2

One cannot understand an individual in parts, but all aspects of the person must be understood in relationship.

Question 3

Adler coined the term _____________________ to mean the characteristic way that we think, act, and perceive.

A) life-style
B) holism
C) individualism
D) individual constellation
E) personal-style

Answer 3

life-style

Question 4

Adlerians believe that all behavior is

A) isolated.
B) cognition-based.
C) good.
D) indicative of psychological function.
E) goal directed.

Question 5

A hallmark of Adlerian theory is an emphasis on ____________________, which is a feeling of cooperation with people, a sense of belonging to and participating in the common good.

A) holism
B) family constellation
C) social interest
D) philanthropy
E) generativity

Question 6

Which of the following was Adler's first book of popular psychology?

A) On Being
B) In and Out of Therapy
C) Understanding Human Nature
D) Interpretation of Dreams
E) The Pocket Adler

Question 7

What social, historical event marked a significant change in Adler's tone and writings?

A) The crumbling of the Persian Empire
B) The Napoleonic Wars
C) The Rise of Marxism
D) World War I
E) World War II

Question 8

Who founded the first Adler Institute in Chicago as a way to introduce Adler's ideas to emerging psychology professionals?

A) Jeffery Kottler
B) John Carlson
C) Donald Dinkmeyer
D) Robert Powers
E) Rudolph Dreikurs

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT identified in the textbook as the principle central to Dreikurs' popularization of Adler's theory in the education system?

A) social awareness
B) family constellation
C) natural consequences instead of punishment
D) encouragement
E) democratic rules

Question 10

Which of the following best summarizes Adler's rationale for taking his theory into the educational system?

A) Many educators suffer from psychological trauma and their work setting is the most effective setting to access them.
B) Adler believed that the existent power differentials in the school system would facilitate the implementation of his interventions.
C) Students are most amenable to the theory as they are not so far removed from their childhood trauma.
D) Adler believed that the autocratic nature of the schools helped individuals develop into more holistic and well-functioning individuals.
E) Adler believed that by changing the basic relationships between children and their parents and teachers it would be possible to eventually transform the entire society.

Question 11

In what way have Adlerians been able to best remain in line with contemporary/modern psychotherapy?

A) They have readily adopted integrative theoretical models.
B) Adlerians have the most comprehensive stand-alone training program amongst modern psychological schools.
C) Dynamic theoretical leaders have continued to emerge and promote the theory.
D) Adlerians have been able to unabatedly maintain allegiance to their single theory of personality and change.
E) By introducing the theory in the education system, Adlerians have infiltrated public thought and firmly established their single way of perceiving human behavior.

Question 12

__________________________ are strivings that are not only beneficial to the person, but also beneficial to others.

A) Core contracts
B) Life goals
C) Basic life tasks
D) Encouragements
E) Compensations for superiority

Question 13

____________________ refers to the process of increasing a person's ability to face the difficulties of life.

A) Core contracting
B) Life goal-setting
C) Basic life task accomplishment
D) Encouragement
E) Compensation for superiority

Question 14

Which of the following statements best represents the Adlerian process of instilling encouragement?

A) Acknowledging that life can be difficult and then focusing on the person's resources and giving positive recognition in order to instill faith in the person that he or she can change
B) Helping a client identify cognitive blocks that inhibit him or her from growing, providing possible courses of action, and helping a client commit to an appropriate action
C) Acknowledging life can be difficult, identifying individuals of influence from the client's social network, facilitating change through engagement of the identified individuals of interest
D) Identifying limitations present in the client's current functioning, facilitating an honest discussion of how limitations can be turned into strengths, using this recognition of possible restructuring to instill faith in the client
E) Facilitating a recognition that life is not as difficult as the client perceives, helping the client identify behaviors that are keeping them "stuck," advocating for the client as he or she works to change his or her "unhealthy" behaviors

Question 15

In which of the following ways was Adler's theory a foreshadowing of the development of cognitive interventions?

A) Adler recognized that individual perceptions of experience were basically distorted.
B) Many of Adler's contemporaries associated his theory with cognitive restructuring in spite of that fact that Adler rejected the notion.
C) Adler created cognitive maps outlining the development of his theory.
D) Adler promoted the premise that all problem behavior stemmed from cognitive miscues.
E) Adler believed that any experience can have many different possible interpretations, depending on the way a person chooses to look at the situation.

Question 16

According to Adler, when is one's private logic developed?

A) in middle adulthood
B) in young adulthood
C) during puberty
D) in early childhood
E) at birth

Question 17

Faulty logic develops as a result of

A) cognitive deficiencies within the individual.
B) misinterpretation of information.
C) early painful experiences.
D) peer relationships in adolescence.
E) formal education without real-life application.

Question 18

Which of the following best describes how Adlerian therapists use subjective and private logic?

A) Private logic takes precedence over subjective logic in goal development.
B) The way an individual perceives life to be is more important to the Adlerian therapist than the way life really is.
C) Neither subjective logic nor private logic is of any therapeutic value if it is faulty.
D) The Adlerian therapist strives to help the client articulate which of these logical stances is predominant.
E) Subjective logic is the therapists understanding of the client's private logic.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding the Adlerian concept of life-style?

A) Life-style is influenced by one's cultural surroundings.
B) Life-style is the characteristic way in which one moves towards life goals.
C) Social context is a primary influence on life-style development.
D) Life-style is created in young adulthood, when individuals assume more responsibility for their life experience.
E) Life-style is a collective process that serves as a blueprint for subsequent coping.

Question 20

Adlerians believe that one's life-style is fixed at about ________ years of age.

A) five
B) 10
C) 15
D) 20
E) 25

Question 21

According to Adler, how does one's life-style change?

A) Life-style actually changes little after age 6.
B) It changes when a counselor assigns homework intended to result in personal insight.
C) It changes in group therapy, the best vehicle for life-style change, because group members can give the client feedback.
D) An analyst motivates the client to change by analyzing the client's past and showing the client the error in his or her thinking.
E) Life-style changes many times due to developmental stages.

Question 22

How does an Adlerian therapist use a client's life-style in the provision of services?

A) Life-style is something that the therapist recognizes the client has, but he or she is not concerned with knowing it.
B) A client's life-style orientation is the road map for interventions in Adlerian therapy.
C) Adlerian therapists use client life-styles to identify childhood traumas that would need intervention.
D) Changes in client life-style provide the foundation for solid evaluation.
E) An Adlerian therapist is interested in seeing how the client's emotions are being used in service of his or her life-style.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT true regarding life-style assessment?

A) One assessment tool is the "Life-Style Inventory."
B) The assessment often involves an understanding of the client's connections and role with siblings and other family members.
C) The life-style assessment is completed by the client outside of the actual therapy session.
D) Cultural considerations are crucial in assessment of life-style.
E) Life-style assessment involves the gathering of early recollections.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT true regarding Adler's concept basic mistakes?

A) Basic mistakes are developed as part of our style of life in childhood.
B) Basic mistakes are purely or partly fictional explanations that children create for events in their lives.
C) Basic mistakes continue into adulthood as firm convictions about ourselves, others, and the world, and they lie behind how we interpret experience and how we choose to behave.
D) Some basic mistakes promote well-being in community, work, and love.
E) After analyzing a client's basic mistakes, an Adlerian therapist would explain to the client what is wrong with the belief, thus extinguishing it.

Question 25

Coping with problems of work, social relationships, and love are the three primary ________________ identified by Adler.

A) drives
B) goals
C) areas of therapeutic concern
D) life tasks
E) growth points

Question 26

What do Adlerians say about social interest?

A) Adults have only one arena for expressing social interest: work.
B) Adults have two arenas for expressing social interest: work and community.
C) Social interest is so important that it is often used as a measure of mental health.
D) Social interest is an outgrowth of extroversion.
E) Social interest is independent of other areas of human development and functioning.

Question 27

Social interest evolves through how many stages?

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
E) six

Question 28

The last of the stages of social interest development is

A) a realization that social interest is not congruent with personal best interest.
B) learning that social interest is innate and cannot be nurtured.
C) disengagement from social responsibility.
D) integration of social interest into multiple aspects of one's life.
E) a rudimentary ability to express social interest through social cooperation in various activities.

Question 29

Which of the following statements about the Adlerian concept of feelings of inferiority is true?

A) Even the most confident of people experience feelings of inferiority some of the time.
B) All children who experience corporal punishment experience feelings of inferiority as adults.
C) Feelings of inferiority do not emerge until adolescence when peer relationships become primary.
D) Feelings of inferiority are typically overcome when evidence to the contrary is presented.
E) Occasional feelings of inferiority are as damaging to our psyche as ongoing feelings of inferiority.

Question 30

An ______________________ is an ongoing sense of feeling less than others, which leads to discouragement and lack of proactive development.

A) individual cognitive block
B) ego wound
C) inferiority complex
D) ego block
E) inferior disposition

Question 31

The two ways that Adlerians look at birth order are _________________ and _______________.

A) internal; external
B) familial; social
C) cognitive; emotional
D) first order; second order
E) ordinal position; psychological position

Question 32

When an Adlerian talks about a client's psychological birth order, he or she is referring to the client's

A) role played in his or her interactions with others.
B) mental age.
C) ability to relate to his or her siblings.
D) desire to remain a child.
E) age relative to his or her siblings.

Question 33

_______________________ is Adler's term for the psycho-sociopolitical organization and structure of the primary family group.

A) Birth order
B) Familial make-up
C) Family of origin
D) Paternal structure
E) Family constellation

Question 34

How did Adler's attitude about human beings compare with Freud's?

A) Freud focused on human beings' wishes and unique interpretations of their lives, whereas Adler was more focused on unconscious motivations for what humans do.
B) Freud had a more positive view of human nature than did Adler.
C) Adler had a more positive view of human nature than did Freud.
D) Adler focused his conceptualizations of human misery on internal sexual conflicts, whereas Freud had a broader view.
E) Freud was concerned with social interest as an aspect of mental health, whereas Adler saw no need to address that aspect of a client's life.

Question 35

Which of the following is a major goal of Adlerian therapy?

A) encouraging the client
B) healing childhood trauma
C) understanding childhood trauma
D) understanding thinking errors
E) conceptualizing the client's problems

Question 36

According to Adlerian therapists, when mistaken goals are revealed to clients

A) they become more in touch with their early recollections.
B) the therapeutic relationship is enhanced through unbiased confrontation.
C) they often experience debilitating discouragement.
D) they typically dismisses them as irrelevant.
E) they often choose to pursue more appropriate goals with vigor.

Question 37

How would an Adlerian characterize the relationship between the psychotherapist and the client?

A) doctor/patient
B) good friends
C) family members
D) collaborative team
E) parent/child

Question 38

The four elements of the Adlerian therapeutic process are: establishing a collaborative therapeutic relationship,

A) case conceptualization, encouraging the client, and helping the client to change.
B) assessment, reframing, and encouraging.
C) diagnosis, encouraging, and reorientation.
D) assessment, insight and interpretation, and reorientation.
E) treatment planning, working phase, and termination.

Question 39

When an Adlerian therapist says, "It seems like life is unfair and you believe that you can't do anything to change this situation," it is most likely the ______________ stage of therapy.

A) relationship-building
B) assessment
C) insight and interpretation
D) reorientation
E) An Adlerian therapist would not likely say such a thing.

Question 40

What typically occurs for clients during the reorientation stage?

A) They understand that their childhood traumas are not what define them.
B) They move toward action following sufficient insight into their problems.
C) They understand why the therapy has become therapist-oriented.
D) They recognize the inferiority they feel towards their siblings.
E) They begin to demonstrate their commitment to social interest.

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT identified in the textbook chapter as an encouragement skill?

A) helping clients generate alternatives for maladaptive beliefs
B) demonstrating concern through active listening and empathy
C) uncovering the cognitive distortions that are too painful for the client to express
D) focusing on client strengths, assets, and resources
E) helping clients see humor in everyday experiences

Question 42

____________________ is a process of helping a client see the same thing from a different perspective.

A) Magical thinking
B) Reframing
C) Displacement
D) Restructuring
E) Disputing

Question 43

What is the question in Adlerian therapy?

A) What would be different if your problem was gone?
B) Where do you see yourself in your family constellation?
C) How many siblings do you have?
D) What are your earliest recollections?
E) Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Question 44

The ______________________ technique in Adlerian therapy is used to highlight the control clients can have over their emotions.

A) light bulb
B) pleasing someone
C) Midas
D) push-button
E) acting as if

Question 45

The ______________________ strategy involves encouraging the client to pretend that they don't have the problem for a week or two.

A) light bulb
B) pleasing someone
C) Midas
D) push-button
E) acting as if

Question 46

The ______________________ strategy involves exaggerating the client's neurotic demands.

A) light bulb
B) pleasing someone
C) Midas
D) push-button
E) acting as if

Question 47

The ______________________ strategy might involve asking the client to volunteer at a local homeless shelter.

A) light bulb
B) pleasing someone
C) Midas
D) push-button
E) acting as if

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT an adjective used in the textbook to describe the Adlerian therapeutic relationship?

A) paternalistic
B) optimistic
C) cooperative
D) egalitarian
E) collaborative

Question 49

On what type of research methodology was Adler's theories based?

A) large empirical studies
B) small empirical studies with diverse samples
C) case studies of his clients
D) analysis of Freud's theories and outcomes
E) literature reviews of other practitioners' work

Question 50

_________________ research is especially hard to conduct when examining the effectiveness of Adlerian therapy as many of the core concepts are vague and ambiguous.

A) Case study
B) Empirical
C) Clinical observation
D) Limited
E) Logical

Question 51

Adlerians believe that individuals are responsible for their behavior, thoughts, and emotions; asserting that not taking responsibility is a

A) reflection of childhood experience.
B) necessary step to growth.
C) character flaw.
D) movement towards sociopathic behavior.
E) choice.

Question 52

Which of the following statements best represents the limitation of the Adlerian view that not taking responsibility for one's own behavior, thoughts, and emotions is a choice?

A) Most individuals learn the opposite during their childhood.
B) There is no way to really teach individuals how to assume responsibility.
C) The notion of choice may be especially unfair when applied to clients who are members of an oppressed minority.
D) This idea places too much therapeutic pressure on the client.
E) When clients realize that they have chosen to be irresponsible, they tend to abandon their therapeutic goals.

Question 53

What is the most pervasive criticism of the Adlerian approach?

A) It has become antiquated due to an unwavering allegiance to its founder's ideas.
B) It is insensitive to cultural diversity.
C) There has been very little research to support the theory.
D) The therapeutic tenets of the theory are not clearly developed.
E) It has become a therapy for the rich and famous.

Question 54

Adlerians have recently begun describing the approach as a _______________ theory.

A) psychodynamic
B) cognitive-behavioral
C) analytical
D) constructivist
E) feminist

Question 55

According to Chapter 4 of the textbook, the most debilitating limitation for ANY theory is

A) having an overly strong affiliation with the theorist who conceptualized the theory.
B) complication to the point of rejection.
C) stagnation of thinking around evolution and theory building.
D) lack of new leaders advocating for the approach.
E) overgeneralization.

Question 56

What is identified in the textbook as Adler's greatest contribution to the field?

A) He introduced a theory that recognized the importance of the individual.
B) He provided an alternative school of thought to Freudian theory.
C) He invented the Midas technique and other useful therapeutic devices.
D) He was the first to really consider the influence of childhood experiences on the mental health of adults.
E) He developed a theory that recognizes and stresses the effects of social class, racism, sex, and gender on the behavior of individuals.

Question 57

An emphasis on normal human growth and development; prevention and education rather than remediation; a lessened reliance on the medical model perspective; and a focus on holism, wellness, and social justice are all characteristics of the __________________

A) Positive
B) Feminist
C) Existential
D) Futuristic
E) Narrative

Question 58

Adler viewed religion as a manifestation of

A) ego weakness.
B) social interest.
C) life-style.
D) social justice.
E) ego strength.

Question 59

List the two basic beliefs that Adlerian therapists hold about behavior.

Question 60

List and briefly identify how each of the three life tasks in Individual Psychology are addressed.

Question 61

List the three characteristics of Adlerian psychotherapy.

Question 62

Identify five of the eight terms coined by Adler that have become part of the common lexicon.

Question 63

Identify at least three ways in which Adler's theory differed from Freud's.

Question 64

List at least four of the six characteristics of therapy introduced by Adler that have come to form the basis of many other approaches.

Question 65

Identify the commonly recognized four forces of psychotherapy.

Question 66

List eight of the eleven critical components of Adlerian work.

Question 67

Identify the tenet that is fundamental not only to Adlerian psychotherapy but also to other constructivist psychotherapies.

Question 68

How did Adler's work draw upon the work of the philosopher Hans Vaihinger?

Question 69

Define Adler's construct life-style.

Question 70

List and briefly describe six of the eight common life-style types as proposed by Adlerian theory.

Question 71

List the five common basic mistakes.

Question 72

List the four most common core fears.

Question 73

List the five Adlerian psychological birth order positions and provide a short description of the personality characteristics of each.