Deck 2: Psychoanalytic Approaches

Question 1

What was the topic of Freud's first research project?

A) Themes associated with the anal stage of psychosexual development.
B) The masculine protest.
C) A search for the testes of the eel.
D) The seduction hypothesis.
E) The relative efficacy of hypnosis versus psychoanalysis in treating symptoms of hysteria.

Answer 1

A search for the testes of the eel.

Question 2

The zeitgeist and ortgeist surrounding Freud and his work might have most directly contributed to which of the following?

A) Freud's emphasis on social dynamics over sexual dynamics.
B) Freud's interest in transference and countertransference.
C) Freud's embracing of spirituality.
D) Freud's near obsession with sex and sexuality.
E) Freud's split with Jung.

Answer 2

Freud's near obsession with sex and sexuality.

Question 3

What did Freud originally view as the fundamental precondition for hysteria?

A) Early childhood physical abuse.
B) Infantile sexual experiences or early childhood sexual abuse.
C) Parental addiction to methamphetamines.
D) Penis envy.
E) An incomplete trial of psychoanalysis.

Answer 3

Infantile sexual experiences or early childhood sexual abuse.

Question 4

Freud's colleagues' response to his famous paper "The Aetiology of Hysteria" is best described as:

A) Cold and rejecting.
B) Warm and engaging.
C) Supportive, yet skeptical.
D) Strongly positive.
E) Freud never presented or published this paper due to fears of rejection.

Question 5

Freud's famous paper "The Aetiology of Hysteria" originally focused on what group or sample population of clients?

A) Men who wanted to be mothers, womb envy theory.
B) Women who wanted to be men, the Electra theory.
C) Adolescents who hated their parents.
D) Eighteen women and six men who had experienced childhood sexual abuse.
E) People who experienced hysterical psychic determinism.

Question 6

In the text, which of the following was/were offered as possible explanation(s) for why Freud recanted his seduction hypothesis?

A) Freud had to abandon his earlier views about child seduction and sexual abuse to discover the more basic truth of the power of internal fantasy and spontaneous childhood sexuality.
B) Freud was just practicing bad science. He was more interested in building his theory than in psychological reality.
C) Freud had experienced child sexual abuse himself, but eventually realized that wasn't the case for everyone who suffered from hysteria.
D) All of the above are true.
E) Only a and b are true.

Question 7

What is another name for Freud's dynamic approach?

A) A theory of psychosexual development.
B) Drive theory or instinct theory.
C) Energy distribution theory.
D) The psychopathology continuum.
E) Choice determination or psychic theory.

Question 8

Freud's dynamic approach to human psychology has become known as drive theory or instinct theory. He believed that humans are filled with mental or psychic energy. This energy comes from:

A) Eros.
B) Thanatos.
C) Psychos.
D) Only a and b.
E) All of the above.

Question 9

Which of the following statements represent(s) either the definition of psychic determinism or implications associated with psychic determinism?

A) Psychic determinism proposes an underlying psychological explanation for every emotion, thought, impulse, and behavior.
B) Psychic determinism is a concept that lies at the heart of all psychic phenomena. In other words, if you can think it, you can create the reality.
C) Because of psychic determinism, there are no accidental behaviors.
D) Acting irresponsibly or erratically is normal; it is predetermined that all humans will do so, even sometimes without reason.
E) Both a and c.

Question 10

The underlying omnipresent psychological explanations for every emotion, thought, impulse, and behavior is called:

A) Dynamic determinism.
B) Subconscious awareness.
C) Freudian truth.
D) Psychic determinism.
E) Extrasensory perception.

Question 11

Which of the following is clearly NOT related to Freud's topographic approach?

A) The id, ego, and superego.
B) The ability of the mind to protect us from unconscious impulses.
C) Interactions between the preconscious and conscious.
D) The watchman analogy.
E) Regions of the psychoanalytic mind.

Question 12

The main purpose of psychoanalytic therapy is to:

A) Transfer all of our maladaptive behaviors to the therapist.
B) Identify our sexual cravings and desires.
C) Help us slowly become aware of unconscious impulses.
D) Realize the role that culture and socialization have on our development.
E) Develop better relationships with our families.

Question 13

What might influence a child to develop a fixation or complex in a particular developmental stage?

A) Biological maturation.
B) Overly indulgent or withholding parents.
C) Having a psychologist or psychoanalyst suggest the concept to him or her.
D) Strict, but balanced parenting.
E) Losing to a parent once or twice at a card game.

Question 14

A preoccupation with money, dirt, and time would likely be a result of a fixation at the __________ stage of development.

A) Phallic.
B) Latency.
C) Oral.
D) Genital.
E) Anal.

Question 15

The superego consists of which the following?

A) The conscience and ego ideal.
B) Eros and thanatos.
C) The id and the ego.
D) The subconscious and ego ideal.
E) Both b and c.

Question 16

What did Freud mean by the normal-abnormal continuum?

A) The unconscious, preconscious, and conscious mind lie on a continuum.
B) Every normal personality has traces of psychopathology.
C) He was advocating for a dimensional diagnostic system in the DSM.
D) All of the above.
E) Both a and b.

Question 17

Which of Freud's ego defense mechanisms is characteristic of a client being afraid to express aggression toward someone, so instead the client may behave in an excessively loving manner?

A) Reaction formation.
B) Rationalization.
C) Denial.
D) Anger management.
E) Projection.

Question 18

Which of the following is true about defense mechanisms?

A) They are automatic.
B) They are unconscious.
C) They help clients view reality more accurately.
D) Only a and b.
E) All of the above.

Question 19

A boy and a girl aged 11 are constantly bickering, and say that they hate each other. Yet you suspect that they actually like each other. Their behavior is an example of:

A) Denial.
B) Reaction formation.
C) Repression.
D) Sublimation.
E) Rationalization.

Question 20

In the midst of a psychoanalytically oriented counseling session, Mr. Green, a client of Dr. John Sommers-Flanagan, begins sucking his thumb and then runs from the office screaming, "I want my mommmmmmy." Which defense mechanism seems to be operating here?

A) Reaction formation.
B) Projection.
C) Sublimation.
D) Denial.
E) Regression.

Question 21

Note: John S-F did not make up that last test question himself. It was submitted to him years ago by a man named Mr. Green. Now, supposing he really did write the exam question but that an automatic and unconscious defense mechanism caused him to disown responsibility and place it on someone else, which defense mechanism was being employed?

A) Reaction formation.
B) Projection.
C) Sublimation.
D) Regression.
E) Denial.

Question 22

Anna Freud is to ego psychology as ________________ is to self psychology.

A) Heinz Kohut.
B) Mary Ainsworth.
C) Sigmund Freud.
D) Erik Erikson.
E) Sandor Ferenczi.

Question 23

Which statement captures the essential difference between early Freudian psychoanalytic thinking and more contemporary object relations theory?

A) Where id was, there shall ego be.
B) Libido is object-seeking, not pleasure-seeking.
C) The object of the therapy game is to win the client.
D) Instead of id, we now focus on archetypes.
E) Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Question 24

Which psychoanalytic approach focuses on the development of healthy narcissism within individuals?

A) Brief psychodynamic psychotherapy.
B) Attachment-informed psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
C) Object relations.
D) Drive theory.
E) Self psychology.

Question 25

The concept of "two-person psychology" in psychoanalysis suggests that the therapist is always:

A) Objective.
B) Interacting appropriately.
C) Dependent upon the client for making the big bucks.
D) Compliant with the client's wishes.
E) Inescapably subjective.

Question 26

Which of the following is/are characteristic(s) of two-person psychotherapy?

A) The therapist no longer has the authority to make interpretations.
B) Interpretations are cast as an alternative viewpoint for the client to consciously consider.
C) The analyst becomes more emotionally involved with the client.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 27

This theorist formulated psychoanalytic ideas such as womb and breast envy:

A) Karen Horney .
B) Sigmund Freud.
C) Laura Brown.
D) Mary Ainsworth.
E) Alfred Adler.

Question 28

Which of the following statements appear(s) to be inconsistent with short-term and time-limited approaches to psychoanalytic psychotherapy?

A) In general, analysts should help the client understand how he or she interacts with people who are of lesser importance (e.g., acquaintances, work colleagues) before exploring how the client interacts with people who are of greater importance (e.g., siblings, spouse, close friends). Whenever possible, analysts should avoid exploring childhood experiences, especially parent-child interactions.
B) Treatment should not focus on specific problems or conflicts faced by the client; rather, it should focus on the client as a whole and help him or her better understand the origins of unconscious conflicts.
C) In general, analysts should be nondirective and passive; they should avoid making transference-specific interpretations whenever possible.
D) All of the above.
E) Only b and c.

Question 29

Which attachment style(s) was/were NOT formulated by Mary Ainsworth and was/were INSTEAD identified by her student, Mary Main?

A) Anxious-resistant insecure attachment.
B) Anxious-avoidant insecure attachment.
C) Disorganized/disoriented attachment.
D) Secure attachment.
E) Both b and c were identified by Mary Main.

Question 30

Which of the following projective assessment techniques or instruments might be used by psychoanalytic therapists, but is/are generally viewed as having poor empirical validity?

A) The Thematic Apperception Test.
B) The Rorschach.
C) Human figure drawings.
D) All of the above might used by psychoanalytically oriented therapists.
E) Only a and c.

Question 31

Which of the following statements is/are true and support(s) the use of projective assessment techniques?

A) Projective techniques may help establish rapport between the client and therapist, and may promote a sense of collaborative exploration within the client-therapist relationship.
B) Projective techniques like the Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Test can be used to reliably diagnose a wide range of psychological disorders.
C) Results from projective assessment techniques like the Rorschach are not helpful when diagnosing serious mental disorders (e.g., schizophrenia); however, they can be helpful in forensic settings (e.g., child custody cases).
D) None of the above.
E) Only a and c are true.

Question 32

According to the basic rule of psychoanalysis, a therapist might start a session by stating:

A) Say whatever comes to mind.
B) "Why did you come in to see me today?"
C) "What kinds of problems are we trying to work through?"
D) "This is what I have in mind for today."
E) It would depend on the age of the client.

Question 33

Free association:

A) Can be used with dreams.
B) Is also known as the basic rule.
C) Should be done under optimal conditions.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 34

If you were a psychoanalytic therapist, which statement would best fit your theoretical approach?

A) Tune in and tell me what you're feeling right now.
B) What kind of dream did you want to discuss?
C) Say whatever comes to mind.
D) What happened next?
E) None of the above.

Question 35

If a client inaccurately believes his or her therapist is being critical and judgmental, this would be an example of:

A) Overidentification.
B) Displacement.
C) Transference.
D) Countertransference.
E) Denial.

Question 36

A therapist finds herself feeling excessively and uncharacteristically irritated while listening to a client. This is an example of:

A) Projection.
B) Transference.
C) Aggression.
D) Overidentification.
E) Countertransference.

Question 37

While doing therapy, Emily (the therapist) begins having erotic dreams about her client. It's likely that these dreams are a sign of:

A) Transference.
B) Resistance.
C) Fictional finalism.
D) Insight.
E) Countertransference.

Question 38

What are the components of the transference-based triangle of insight?

A) Mother-child bond, internalized working model, transference bond.
B) Aim or wish, threat, defensive compromise.
C) Early childhood relationships, contemporary relationships, transference relationships.
D) Anxiety or fear, anxiety source, maladaptive behavior.
E) Projective identification, introjection, defense mechanisms.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT part of the conflict-based triangle of insight?

A) Client's wish, aim, or drive.
B) Counselor's observation of client body posture.
C) The threat or imagined threat that makes direct gratification of the wish impossible.
D) The defensive compromise.
E) Neither a nor b is a part of the conflict-based triangle of insight.

Question 40

Contemporary psychoanalytic dream work typically involves:

A) Free association.
B) A heavy focus on the analyst's interpretation, which is rooted in a symbol-based interpretation system.
C) A collaborative exploration of dreams and their meanings.
D) Both a and c.
E) None of the above.

Question 41

In the case of Andrew (Wachtel, 2010), Andrew's difficulty speaking up and associated anxiety and depression are maintained by which of the following?

A) Andrew's tendency to see his wife as distinct and different from other women (including his mother).
B) Andrew's difficulties with toilet training at age 3.
C) Andrew's unconscious internalized working model.
D) Andrew's tendency to overtrack and build a too-close relationship with his wife and other women.
E) Both b and c are true.

Question 42

In reviewing outcome studies of psychodynamic psychotherapies, Shedler (2010) concluded the following:

A) Psychodynamic therapies are not as effective as pharmacological interventions.
B) The benefits of psychodynamic therapies remain even after symptoms subside.
C) Psychodynamic therapies are just as effective as other treatments that are considered evidenced-based.
D) Both b and c.
E) Both a and b.