Deck 3: Philosophical Foundations of Family Therapy Theories

Question 1

The elements of a communicated message include __________ (content) and __________ (relationship).

A) stories; truths
B) definitions; data
C) primary; secondary
D) report; command

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Each of the following statements about metacommunication is true EXCEPT:

A) metacommunication is the literal meaning of the statement.
B) metacommunication is the communication about how to interpret the communication.
C) metacommunication helps to define the relationship between two people.
D) in therapy, it often helps to move the discussion directly to the metacommunication level.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Select the best example of common complementary dynamics.

A) Visionary/planner
B) Apple/oranges
C) Pursuer/distancer
D) Cooker/baker

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The term "cybernetic" hints at the functional principles of cybernetic systems, which are _________________ and able to "steer" their own course.

A) self-destructing
B) self-directive
C) self-correcting
D) none of these are correct

Question 5

A child commands, "Play with me" to her sister. When her sister sits down to play, the child will not share her toys. This is an example of which of the following?

A) Command
B) Double bind
C) Feedback loop
D) Self-correction

Question 6

__________ is the study of knowledge and the process of knowing.

A) Systems theory
B) Epistemology
C) Cybernetics
D) Complementarity

Question 7

Which of the following is an accurate reflection of a symmetrical relationship?

A) Partners have an unequal relationship in the system.
B) Partners have evenly distributed abilities and roles in the system.
C) Partners have distinct, separate roles that balance the system.
D) Partners have roles that result in a hierarchy for the system.

Question 8

The unique set of behavioral, emotional, and interactional norms that create stability for the family or other social group is known as which of the following?

A) Dependence
B) Balance
C) Dynamic
D) Homeostasis

Question 9

The phrase "one cannot not communicate" refers to which of the following concepts?

A) "We do not want to communicate."
B) "We just cannot communicate."
C) "We are always communicating."
D) "We lovingly communicate."

Question 10

Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding positive feedback?

A) Positive feedback is news that things are within expected parameters.
B) Positive feedback can be experienced as a problem or crisis.
C) Positive feedback can be experienced as good news.
D) Positive feedback can result in a return to former homeostasis or create a new homeostasis.

Question 11

Which of the following terms describes the process of a system restructuring its homeostasis in response to positive feedback?

A) Cybernetics
B) Feedback loop
C) Second-order change
D) Systemic response

Question 12

New information or news experienced in a system is referred to as which of the following?

A) Negative feedback
B) Positive feedback
C) Universal feedback
D) General feedback

Question 13

Which of the following statements is TRUE when viewing the family as a system?

A) One single person in the family orchestrates the interactional patterns.
B) One single person can be blamed for family distress.
C) All behavior makes sense in context.
D) Personal characteristics are independent of the system.

Question 14

To some degree or another, all schools of family therapy have been influenced by which two closely related philosophical traditions?

A) Systems theory and Freudian psychology
B) Systems theory and social constructionism
C) Freudian psychology and social constructionism
D) Rogerian ideology and social constructionism

Question 15

Family therapists pay careful attention to the family's epistemology. What does this mean?

A) Understanding the operating premises that underlie family actions and cognitions
B) Assuming that what families believe to be true is true
C) Disregarding how the observer and the observed reciprocally affect each other
D) Relying on assumptions to understand families

Question 16

Bateson's double-bind theory of schizophrenia reconceptualized psychotic behavior as a family's attempt to meaningfully respond in a family system characterized by double-bind communications. Which of the following is required for double-bind communication?

A) Two people in an intense relationship
B) The presence of both a primary injunction and a simultaneous, contradictory, secondary injunction
C) The receiver of the injunction cannot escape the contradictions without threatening the relationship
D) All of these are correct

Question 17

The idea that no new information-or "more of the same" feedback-is in the system refers to which of the following?

A) Negative feedback
B) Positive feedback
C) Universal feedback
D) General feedback

Question 18

The Macy Conferences gave birth to which two theories that ultimately describe how biological, social, and mechanical systems operate?

A) Intergenerational theory and external-generational theory
B) Negative feedback theory and cybernetic systems theory
C) General systems theory and cybernetic systems theory
D) Postmodern theory and cognitive theory

Question 19

During the early stages of counseling, shifts in family structure can seem like radical change, but the underlying family rules remain the same. To what kind of change does this refer?

A) Radical change
B) Expected change
C) First-order change
D) Second-order change

Question 20

In therapy, you are working with parents and their 11-year-old daughter. In the beginning, both parents want their daughter to take more responsibility for getting her homework and chores done; however, their daughter does not want to give up her childhood and assume personal responsibility. In the early stages of therapy, a shift occurs, and suddenly you notice the daughter pulling away from her parents and doing more things on her own, while her parents begin lamenting the days when their daughter needed them more. This is an example of:

A) radical change.
B) expected change.
C) first-order change.
D) second-order change.

Question 21

Of the various postmodern schools, which of the following philosophies were family therapists the first to embrace?

A) Constructivist
B) Social constructionist
C) Structuralist
D) Poststructuralist

Question 22

Systemic counselors view the presenting problem not as an individual problem but as a(n) __________one, specifically an interactional one, even if the counselor is working with an individual.

A) relational
B) pathological
C) independent
D) dysfunctional

Question 23

__________ therapies are based on the premise that objective truth can never be fully known because it must always pass through subjective and intersubjective filters.

A) Modernist
B) Humanistic
C) Systemic
D) Postmodernist

Question 24

It is said that systemic and postmodern therapies have more shared views than differences. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about their shared assumptions?

A) A person's lived reality is relationally constructed.
B) Personal identity and an individual's symptoms are related to the social systems of which they are a part.
C) Changing one's language and descriptions of a problem alters how it is experienced.
D) An objective outsider perspective is the only way to determine truths.

Question 25

According to postmodernism, the construction of reality is a complex process that involves four levels, including which one of the following?

A) Literal level
B) Professional level
C) Rational level
D) Societal level

Question 26

Which of the following statements best describes the concept of reflexivity?

A) A person's lived reality is relationally constructed.
B) Within any group of people, the dominant cultural norms fit everyone.
C) Any given culture remains humane to the extent that it is able to examine its effects on others.
D) The extent to which a culture listens and response to the minority voices within it is the extent to which that culture maintains its oppressive forces.

Question 27

How does postmodern philosophy heighten awareness of diversity issues?

A) Postmodernists define what is normal
B) Postmodernists accept singular truths
C) Postmodernists see multiple realties and multiple truths
D) Postmodernists know what a "good" life is for their clients

Question 28

__________ is founded on the assumption that there is an external and knowable "truth."

A) Modernism
B) Humanism
C) Systems theory
D) Postmodernism

Question 29

"No one individual unilaterally controls behavior in a system. Thus, no one person can be blamed for problems in a couple or family relationship; instead, problematic behavior is viewed as emerging from the interactions between members of the system." This statement fits with which philosophical stance?

A) Modernist
B) Humanistic
C) Systemic
D) Postmodernist

Question 30

Which of the following descriptions best captures the postmodern spirit?

A) When a couple comes in for therapy with entirely different perspectives on the same problem, the therapist works to weave the stories together
B) When a couple comes in for therapy with entirely different perspectives on the same problem, the therapist works to figure out who is right
C) When a couple comes in for therapy with entirely different perspectives on the same problem, the therapist works to build a hierarchy
D) When a couple comes in for therapy with entirely different perspectives on the same problem, the therapist is interested in figuring out who is wrong

Question 31

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects humanistic assumptions?

A) All people naturally tend toward growth and strive for self-actualization, a process of becoming authentically human.
B) The therapist is an expert who assumes the primary responsibility for identifying pathology, problems, and goals, often assuming the role of teacher or mentor.
C) An individual's behavior and symptoms always make sense in the person's broader relational contexts.
D) What a person experiences as "real" and believes to be "true" is shaped primarily through language and relationships.

Question 32

According to postmodern therapists, the meaning a person gives to a particular behavior, haircut, job, sex act, or religious view is developed through:

A) language
B) relationships
C) action
D) construction

Question 33

Which of the following family therapies illustrates a humanistic philosophical stance?

A) Cognitive behavioral therapy
B) Satir's communication approach
C) Strategic therapy
D) Narrative therapy

Question 34

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding epistemology?

A) It refers to the systemic principles of the observing system.
B) It represents the operating premises that underlie a family's actions and cognitions.
C) It is a particular strand of postmodern philosophy.
D) It represents the natural evolution and continuation of systemic concepts.

Question 35

Postmodern theory offers many possibilities for family therapy. However, which of the following could be considered a DISADVANTAGE of applying the postmodern perspective?

A) Some of the ideas of postmodern theory are a bit complex or difficult to quickly grasp.
B) Some of the ideas of postmodern theory are a bit oversimplified or lead therapists to make quick assumptions about their clients.
C) Postmodern theory fails to challenge established norms in a society.
D) Postmodern theory assumes that reality is objective.

Question 36

As you master one theoretical approach and deepen your understanding of its underlying __________ assumptions, you are able to understand other theories at a greater depth, as well as effectively incorporate a wider range of practices within a coherent approach to therapy.

A) dark
B) truthful
C) philosophical
D) false

Question 37

One of the major uses of Karl Tomm's IPscope approach to conceptualizing systemic dynamics is to identify interpersonal patterns between two or more people that are:

A) recurrent and relatively stable.
B) opposing and unalike.
C) unpaired behaviors.
D) mutually self-diminishing.

Question 38

According to the author of the textbook, philosophical foundations of family therapies are divided into four main categories, including each of the following EXCEPT:

A) modernist.
B) humanistic.
C) systemic.
D) realistic.

Question 39

When a group of people coordinates meanings and values in order to coordinate social action or to get along with each other, this is referred to as:

A) culture
B) interaction
C) chaos
D) relationships

Question 40

With regard to second-order cybernetics, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) The therapist can be neutral.
B) The therapist is an unbiased observer.
C) The therapist remains outside the client system as an observer.
D) The therapist becomes an active participant in creating what is observed.

Question 41

The chapter discusses guidelines for identifying interpersonal patterns (IPs). One aspect of this includes the concept of collapsed time. What does this refer to?

A) The need for therapists to see how interaction patterns occur over a very short span of time
B) The need for therapists to see how interaction patterns develop over days or weeks, rather than in the same conversation
C) The desire for therapists to visualize the lifespan of the couple's relationship from past to present
D) The desire for therapists to create a lasting result for clients that can diminish the negative effects of time in their relationships

Question 42

Which of the following depictions best describes Deteriorating Interpersonal Patterns (DIPs)?

A) They describe the beliefs, values, and societal discourses that inform interpersonal interaction patterns.
B) Any interaction that facilitates moving from a PIP to WIP.
C) Behaviors that typically lead to a slip into a pathologizing interpersonal pattern.
D) Behaviors that bring forth competence, positivity, and intimacy.

Question 43

Which of the following is true of heterosexual couples in various cultures?

A) Both men and women describe unequal relationships as "fair" because of the belief that men have more entitlements than women.
B) Despite widely espoused egalitarian ideals, heterosexual couples tend to replicate cultured, gendered patterns of inequity.
C) Neither of these statements is true.
D) Both of these statements are true.

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT a principle of the sociocultural relationship therapy model?

A) Sociocultural contexts and their inherent power differentials structure both a person's identity and their relational processes.
B) Emotion is unrelated to one's sociopolitical context and one's societal and power positions.
C) Power is relational.
D) Relationships should be mutually supportive to each partner.