Deck 3: Self Psychology

Question 1

Which of the following is the current school of psychodynamic thought that remains closest to Freud's classical psychoanalysis?

A) Transactional analysis
B) Ego psychology
C) Self psychology
D) Drive theory
E) Object relations

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Heinz Kohut was

A) the eldest of four children.
B) a member of Freud's inner circle.
C) close to both of his parents.
D) none of the above
E) A and B only

Answer 2

D

Question 3

According to self psychologists, the primary function of each person is to

A) actualize the self.
B) relate with other human beings.
C) gain autonomy.
D) maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
E) realize one's full potential.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is not a school of psychodynamic thought that emerged from Freudian psychoanalysis?

A) Transactional analysis
B) Ego psychology
C) Self psychology
D) Drive theory
E) Object relations

Question 5

Psychodynamic theories adhere to, and assign importance to, the following tenet(s):

A) belief in the unconscious.
B) healing through reformulating thoughts.
C) defense mechanisms used by the client.
D) all of the above
E) A and C only

Question 6

Which psychodynamic school emphasizes how the client internalized representations of
Early significant others and how those representations continue to exert an influence on the client's current experience of self, world, and others?

A) drive theory
B) ego psychology
C) object relations
D) self psychology

Question 7

Which psychodynamic school primarily inquires into how the client goes about getting what she wants, as well as her patterns of defense mechanisms?

A) drive theory
B) ego psychology
C) object relations
D) self psychology

Question 8

Which psychodynamic school primarily inquires into the client's wishes and fantasies and questions their developmental appropriateness?

A) drive theory
B) ego psychology
C) object relations
D) self psychology

Question 9

At one point in Kohut's career, he believed in

A) determinism.
B) humanism.
C) subjectivism.
D) all of the above
E) A and B only

Question 10

When Kohut spoke of "experience near," he was advocating for

A) phenomenology.
B) objectivity.
C) subjectivity.
D) all of the above
E) A and C only

Question 11

All of the following are selfobject needs except:

A) twinship
B) empathic mirroring
C) idealization
D) internalization

Question 12

Although most psychodynamically oriented therapists resonate more with one theory than the others, many of them call upon all four to conceptualize their clients. By exploring the primary concerns of each of the four schools of psychodynamics, the therapist is

A) practicing technical eclecticism.
B) engaging in psychodynamic listening.
C) just going to confuse herself.
D) demonstrating her inability to chose a single approach (she's denying her existential responsibility to practice from a single theoretical perspective).

Question 13

Functions previously relied on for selfobject fulfillment are internalized and slowly transformed into internal capacities thereby establishing the structure/function of the self via a process called

A) self-development.
B) transmuting internalization.
C) transforming externalization.
D) transcending generalizations.

Question 14

The basic therapeutic process in self psychology involves:

A) reactivation of the client's need(s) (selfobject transference).
B) nonfulfillment of some of the client's needs by the counselor (optimal frustration/empathic failure).
C) reestablishment of the empathic bond between client (self) and counselor (selfobjects).
D) all of the above

Question 15

According to Kohut, drives are not primary to psychological life. Rather drives serve to ensure continuation with what is psychologically primary: ____________.

A) sex
B) relationships
C) oxygen
D) all of the above

Question 16

A parent who fails to grasp the depth of her young son's grief at the death of his dog could be an example of

A) an experience that contributes to the child's transmuting internalization.
B) a possible optimal empathic failure.
C) a possible suboptimal empathic failure.
D) all of the above
E) A and C only

Question 17

According to the text authors, a person with a tenuous and remote sense of self suffers from

A) psychosis.
B) borderline personality disorder.
C) narcissistic disorder.
D) neurosis.
E) none of the above

Question 18

In the early stages of therapy, a self psychologist is most likely to say,

A) "I am interested to hear how your homework went this week."
B) "Let everything that comes to your mind make its way to your voice."
C) "I want you to close your eyes and imagine this scene."
D) "You look very sad today."
E) "I heard you say you feel low-energy, but I don't think that's what is really going on."

Question 19

According to the text, the organizing principle of self psychotherapy can be thought of as

A) reparenting.
B) regrowing.
C) returning.
D) realizing.
E) reinforming.

Question 20

In self psychotherapy,

A) clients experience positive things they did not experience in their childhoods.
B) therapists remain objective and disconnected from clients.
C) therapists become selfobjects.
D) all of the above
E) A and C only

Question 21

Of the following scenarios, which is most likely not to occur in self psychotherapy?

A) A therapist makes an erroneous interpretation of a client's story.
B) A client lashes out at the therapist for being rude.
C) A client is resistant in a counseling session.
D) A therapist ignores a rift in the counselor/client relationship.
E) All of the above are likely to occur in self psychotherapy.

Question 22

Self psychotherapists view resistance as

A) stemming from the client's need for control.
B) something for which the therapist has some responsibility.
C) a sign of the client's healthy self-preservation.
D) all of the above
E) B and C only

Question 23

According to the text, the counselor and client will usually follow a sequence of topics in therapy. Which of the following lists the topics in correct order from first to last?

A) client's history, immediate symptoms, client-counselor relationship, manifestations and resolutions of client's selfobject transference
B) client-counselor relationship, immediate symptoms, client's history, manifestations and resolutions of client's selfobject transference
C) immediate symptoms, client's history, client-counselor relationship, manifestations and resolutions of client's selfobject transference
D) client-counselor relationship, client's history, immediate symptoms, manifestations and resolutions of client's selfobject transference
E) none of the above list the correct sequence

Question 24

What is the correct sequence in the development of a healthy self?

A) establishment of a selfobject bond, transmuting internalization, optimal empathic failures, formation of self
B) transmuting internalization, establishment of a selfobject bond, optimal empathic failures, formation of self
C) establishment of a selfobject bond, optimal empathic failures, transmuting internalization, formation of self
D) none of the above

Question 25

The text authors hypothesized that Kohut would have disagreed with Asay and Lambert's findings concerning the efficacy of psychotherapy because

A) Kohut believed more strongly in the therapeutic relationship.
B) Kohut never formulated techniques for his theory.
C) Kohut mentioned pharmacotherapy only once in his writings.
D) all of the above
E) A and B only

Question 26

In terms of nature/nurture, Kohut

A) emphasized the influence of genetics over the familial environment on the self.
B) emphasized the influence of the familial environment over genetics on the self.
C) emphasized both familial environment and genetics equally.
D) failed to address this important aspect of counseling theory.
E) none of the above

Question 27

According to Kohut, no one ever completely outgrows the need for selfobjects.

Question 28

A client brings up the topic of believing in a god during psychotherapy. Many self psychotherapists conceptualize this belief as reflecting the selfobject need for

A) empathic attunement.
B) empathic mirroring.
C) idealization.
D) twinship.
E) omnipotent care.

Question 29

According to Kohut, primary responsibilities of the counselor include all of the following except:

A) sustained empathic attunement to the client's experience
B) analysis/interpretation of transference
C) remaining objective
D) reparenting the client
E) A and C only

Question 30

According to Kohut, when a psychotherapist labels a client as psychotic or borderline, the therapist

A) realizes the self is completely fractured.
B) is not willing or able to empathize deeply enough with the client.
C) is not a self psychotherapist.
D) A and B only
E) none of the above

Question 31

The text authors cited which of the following as weaknesses of self psychology?

A) too much emphasis on Freud's concepts
B) too little emphasis on ideas of predecessors
C) questionable use of the term restoration
D) B and C only
E) none of the above

Question 32

Kohut's distinguishing contributions to counseling and psychotherapy included

A) a new conceptualization of narcissism.
B) the concepts of transmuting internalization and selfobjects
C) a renewed appreciation for the role of relationships in people's psychological health
D) all of the above
E) A and B only

Question 33

Self psychologists place great importance upon

A) relationships.
B) empathy.
C) objective experiences.
D) all of the above
E) A and B only