Deck 3: Attending Behavior and Empathy Skills

Question 1

According to the authors, the most effective eye contact for attending ____.

A)​depends on the cultural and socioeconomic factors of the interviewee
B)​requires consistent visual contact with the interviewee
C)​demands avoiding eye contact with the interviewee
D)respects multicultural preferences

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Attending skills:​

A)​exist in all cultures, but may be expressed differently.
B)​remain the same from culture to culture.
C)​are very similar, but differ occasionally in cultures.
D)enable an interviewer to communicate with people of other cultures at a very rapid rate.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following is TRUE?​

A)​Many beginning counselors to try to solve clients' difficulties too soon.
B)​Most clients develop their concerns over a brief period of time.
C)​It is critical for counselors to speed up in focusing on clients' problems and solutions.
D)Using the three Vs and one B is a waste of time during an intake session.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following statements is NOT accurate?​

A)​Attending behavior is primarily concerned with noting body language.
B)​The multicultural background of each client may modify his or her communicating style.
C)​Good observers encourage clients to talk more.
D)The counselor may need to adapt his or her style to meet the needs of the client.

Question 5

Which of the following is TRUE?​

A)​Attending and listening activate many areas of the brains of both the counselor and client.
B)​Attending and listening are the ways in which you communicate empathy.
C)​Attending and listening are the behavioral roots of the working alliance.
D)All of the above

Question 6

Attending behavior on the part of the helping professional ____.

A)​is making sure the client is comfortable before the session begins
B)​is attending to client needs as they arise in the session
C)​is encouraging client talk and reducing interviewer talk
D)is noting accurate details in the report following the session

Question 7

Vocal qualities mean:​

A)​tracking the client's story without interruption.
B)​noting what clients discuss and what they avoid.
C)​moderating your tone and speech rate to the client and the situation.
D)facing the client when you are speaking with them.

Question 8

Who introduced the attending behavior concepts to the helping field?​

A)​Ivey et al.
B)​Freud et al.
C)​Skinner et al.
D)Rogers et al.

Question 9

Which of the following is FALSE?

A)​Attending behavior is essential to an empathic relationship.
B)​Attending behavior is the central skill of listening.
C)​Listening is more than just hearing or seeing.
D)Listening is key to making real contact with clients.

Question 10

Cultural differences:​

A)​reveal clearly that counseling across cultures is virtually impossible.
B)​reveal little in the way of personal or group differences.
C)​must be taken into account, but only with groups with whom one has experience.
D)are an important factor that must be considered in every counseling session.

Question 11

Direct but not constant eye contact is typical for:​

A)​African American clients.
B)​Hispanic clients.
C)​White middle-class clients.
D)all of the above.

Question 12

When you use skillful attending skills as an interviewer, you can predict the client will ____.

A)​think more carefully about what they are sharing
B)​pay more attention to interviewer instructions
C)​share a more complete story with fewer topic jumps
D)express more emotional release

Question 13

Attention is not just a psychological concept. It also:​

A)​is measurable through brain imaging.
B)​is measurable through careful observation of clients.
C)​is justified by the extensive research on microskills.
D)has become a foundation for person-centered counseling.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a component of attending behavior?​

A)​Attentive and authentic body language
B)​Verbal mirroring technique
C)​Visual/eye contact
D)Verbal tracking

Question 15

Which of the following may be observed when an interview issue is of interest to a middle-class client?​

A)​Direct eye contact, forward trunk lean, pupil dilation
B)​Direct eye contact, forward trunk lean, pupil contraction
C)​Partial eye contact, forward trunk lean, pupil dilation
D)Partial eye contact, trunk lean away, pupil contraction

Question 16

Which of these is NOT true of effective attending behavior?​

A)​Primarily involves eye contact, body posture, and following the client verbally
B)​Requires both verbal and nonverbal sensitivity
C)​Is illustrated by frequent use of the self focus
D)Is useful in rapport building

Question 17

Members of which cultural groups are most likely to reject direct eye contact, particularly if they are coming from a traditional background?​

A)​White middle-class and Latina/Latino clients
B)​Native American and Latina/Latino clients
C)​African American women and White children
D)None of the above

Question 18

Regarding visual/eye contact, which of the following is NOT true?​

A)​Direct eye contact is considered a sign of interest by European-North American middle classes.
B)​Direct eye contact is considered a sign of disrespect by Native American and Latin American young people.
C)​Direct eye contact is generally avoided by Inuit and Aboriginal Australians.
D)Direct eye contact differences are easily noted, but cultural differences are so varied that findings are inconclusive and unhelpful.

Question 19

Which of the following is TRUE about attention?​

A)​It is only of a psychological nature.
B)​It is measurable through brain imaging techniques.
C)​It does not involve brain activity.
D)None of the above

Question 20

Which of the following focuses is NOT an attending skill?​

A)​Visual/eye contact
B)​Vocal quality
C)​Verbal tracking
D)Emotional intelligence

Question 21

Selective attention, a key concept introduced in the microskills framework,:​

A)​is less important in key theories of helping such as person-centered and brief counseling.
B)​is based on the brain being wired to attend stimuli to cope with the environment.
C)​is brought about by the hippocampus and the energizing amygdala through selective memory.
D)has become the central concept of person-centered and brief counseling.

Question 22

Staying with the topic is important in:​

A)​verbal underlining.
B)​verbal tracking.
C)​most non-attending responses.
D)effective vocal qualities.

Question 23

Vocal qualities and verbal tracking:​

A)​are essentially the same skill.
B)​are secondary and tertiary attending skills.
C)​are NOT interviewer skills.
D)are distinctly different and critical attending skills.

Question 24

Which one of the following statements may help a new interviewer become aware of their own pattern of selective attention?​

A)​Relax. Build on the client's topic and learn about your client over time.
B)​You don't want to lose track of key issues, but you can't attack every client issue at once.
C)​Be alert to your own pattern of selective attention.
D)All of the above.

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT true of selective attention?​

A)​Selective attention is simply interviewers noting the topics to which clients attend.
B)​Clients tend to talk about what interviewers are willing to hear.
C)​It is just as important for interviewers to observe how they selectively attend to specific topics.
D)Interviewers may have a limited list of topics that interest them.

Question 26

Which of the following is TRUE about body language?​

A)​A comfortable conversational distance for traditional Arab Americans is more than an arm's length.
B)​English-speaking people generally prefer a conversation at slightly less than half an arm's length.
C)​Leaning forward closely toward a Latina/Latino friend will often be received as intrusive.
D)A comfortable conversational distance for North Americans is slightly more than arm's length.

Question 27

Both interviewers and clients may find themselves speaking with louder volume and increased vocal emphasis for certain words and short phrases. This is known as:​

A)​verbal tracking.
B)​vocal tone.
C)​verbal underlining.
D)vocal quality.

Question 28

Redirecting attention is:

A)​avoided by effective interviewers.
B)​not a valid skill for the interviewer.
C)​useful in shifting clients away from negative topics.
D)rude behavior on the part of the interviewer.

Question 29

Silence:​

A)​needs to be avoided in some cultural contexts.
B)​is central when you are working with a client whom you do not really understand as it gives them more time to think and talk.
C)​can be frightening to the beginning helper.
D)is difficult for clients, so the counselor needs to fill in the time.

Question 30

It is important for the counselor to be aware of his/her own patterns of:​

A)​verbal underlining.
B)​selective attention.
C)​pupil dilation.
D)client topic jumps.

Question 31

Which of the following is TRUE about redirecting attention?​

A)​It is always inappropriate.
B)​It can help a client stop repeating a story over and over.
C)​It facilitates clients talking even more about their issues.
D)It encourages clients to talk about positive things.

Question 32

Through _________, we can sometimes stop clients from talking about nonproductive topics.

A)​selective attention
B)​verbal underlining
C)​redirecting attention
D)threats and criticism

Question 33

Which of the following is TRUE about silence?​

A)​It can cause client discomfort and must be used sparingly.
B)​It can be useful in a session when clients need to think through their responses.
C)​It is not a useful tool for the helping professional.
D)It is useful when followed by detailed analysis of the client's issue(s).

Question 34

Which of the following determines comfortable interpersonal distance between people?​

A)​Ethnic or regional heritage
B)​Age
C)​Specific topics of conversation
D)All of the above

Question 35

Which of the following is FALSE concerning verbals?​

A)​Selective attention occurs when we listen only to one person at a time.
B)​Most of us have certain topics that we are more interested in than others.
C)​It is important to stay with the topic introduced by the client.
D)It can be helpful if we learn our own patterns of selective attention.

Question 36

Clients and interviewers highlight important issues in their statements through:​

A)​written instructions.
B)​verbal underlining, keeping to the same topic, and higher pitch.
C)​verbal underlining, topic jumps, and softer vocal tone.
D)verbal underlining, volume, and emphasis on key words or phrases.

Question 37

We tend to listen to some topics more than others by verbal tracking. We hear some topics better than others. It is important that the interviewer be aware of unconscious patterns of:​

A)​selective attention.
B)​pupil dilation.
C)​verbal underlining.
D)client topic jumps.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a vocal qualities behavior?​

A)​Speech hesitations
B)​Verbal changes of topic
C)​Throat clearing
D)Screaming and whispering

Question 39

Clients and interviewers may use _________________ to highlight the important issues in their statements.

A)​verbal underlining, topic jumps, and softer vocal tone
B)​verbal underlining, keeping to the same topic, and higher pitch
C)​verbal underlining to key words or phrases
D)written instructions

Question 40

________ is/are a particularly good example of how different people react differently to the same voice.

A)​Clients changing the topic
B)​Interviewer's national or regional accent
C)​Client vocal tones
D)Interviewer's skillful attending skills

Question 41

Who was the first person to measure levels of empathic understanding?​

A)​Rogers
B)​Truax
C)​Maslow
D)Ivey

Question 42

When demonstrating ____________________ the interviewer is able to offer a congruent idea or frame of reference that helps the client see a new perspective.

A)​basic empathy
B)​additive empathy
C)​subtractive empathy
D)none of the above

Question 43

According to the authors, which of the following is TRUE about empathy?​

A)​Empathy can exist without counseling skills.
B)​Empathy is a way to introduce caring into the session.
C)​The use of microskills produces empathy.
D)Microskills can be more meaningful if combined with empathic constructs.

Question 44

Empathy is often defined as:​

A)​comforting the client through difficult emotions.
B)​experiencing the world as if you were the client.
C)​the same as sympathy.
D)being kind to the client when he or she is troubled.

Question 45

Empathy is best assessed by:​

A)​your level of identification with your client.
B)​the client's reaction to your statement.
C)​the grammatical quality of your statement.
D)the accuracy of your interpretation.

Question 46

The counselor responds to Dominic with, "I heard you saying that things are great, but how do you really feel about doing 'women's work'?" How would you rate this confrontation on empathy?​

A)​Level 1, subtractive
B)​Level 2, somewhat subtractive
C)​Level 3, interchangeable
D)Level 4, somewhat additive

Question 47

Inappropriate interviewer responses that give back less or distort what the client has said demonstrate ____________.

A)​basic empathy
B)​additive empathy
C)​subtractive empathy
D)none of the above

Question 48

When the interviewer paraphrases and reflects feeling to communicate that he or she understands the client, this is:​

A)​empathy.
B)​subtractive empathy.
C)​basic empathy.
D)additive empathy.

Question 49

When the interviewer links to an earlier client comment, introduces a new frame of reference, or initiates the positive asset search, these are components of:​

A)​empathy.
B)​subtractive empathy.
C)​basic empathy.
D)additive empathy.

Question 50

Empathy:

A)​requires the interviewer to respond immediately to each expression of emotion from the client.
B)​requires the interviewer to accurately say key issues back to client without adding his or her own thoughts.
C)​requires the interviewer to mirror each emotion the client expresses.
D)is failure of the client to express emotion during the session.

Question 51

An empathic person who watches a partner being shocked in an experiment:​

A)​draws on memories from the hippocampus to deal with the strain.
B)​draws on the amygdala to understand the other.
C)​actually feels his or her partner's pain, even though just watching.
D)has some parallel pain centers activated in his or her brain.

Question 52

Empathy is defined as experiencing:​

A)​the client's worldview.
B)​the world as if you are the client.
C)​awareness that you are separate from the client.
D)the world as if you were the client, but being aware that you are separate from the client.

Question 53

You can observe interview sessions and rate the use of interviewer empathy using which of the following scales?​

A)​Level 1: Additive empathy; Level 2: Basic empathy; Level 3: Subtractive empathy
B)​Level 1: Subtractive empathy; Level 2: Basic empathy; Level 3: Additive empathy
C)​Level 1: Basic empathy; Level 2: Additive empathy; Level 3: Subtractive empathy
D)Level 1: Additive empathy; Level 2: Subtractive empathy; Level 3: Basic empathy

Question 54

When the interviewer focuses on the negative or distorts the client's conversation, this is:​

A)​empathy.
B)​subtractive empathy.
C)​basic empathy.
D)additive empathy.

Question 55

Basic empathy is best defined as:​

A)​the interviewer interchanges responses with the client.
B)​the interviewer changes roles with the client.
C)​the relationship is one of equity and understanding.
D)the interviewer accurately says back to the client what has been said.

Question 56

When the interviewer's responses are basically interchangeable with those of the client, this is:

A)​empathy.
B)​subtractive empathy.
C)​basic empathy.
D)additive empathy.

Question 57

Which of the following lists, in the correct order, the three anchor points used to classify and rate the quality of empathy shown in an interview?

A)​Level 1: Additive empathy; Level 2: Basic empathy; Level 3: Subtractive empathy
B)​Level 1: Basic empathy; Level 2: Additive empathy; Level 3: Subtractive empathy
C)​Level 1: Subtractive empathy; Level 2: Basic empathy; Level 3: Additive empathy
D)Level 1: Additive empathy; Level 2: Subtractive empathy; Level 3: Basic empathy

Question 58

The interviewer is demonstrating _______________________ when he/she is able to say back accurately what the client has said.

A)​basic empathy
B)​additive empathy
C)​subtractive empathy
D)none of the above

Question 59

Mirror neurons:​

A)​fire up when clients look at themselves.
B)​guide clients' grooming behavior.
C)​fire up when clients observe actions by others.
D)fire up when clients look into a mirror.

Question 60

When it comes to appropriate interviewer body language, ________ is essential to building trust.

A)​sitting straight in your chair
B)​skillfully executed technique
C)​relaxed open arms
D)authenticity

Question 61

Empathy is identifiable by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Question 62

According to the authors, attending behavior and listening are essential for human communication but need to be tailored according to individual and multicultural differences.

Question 63

Being aware of what one is doing can interfere with coordination and smoothness. This is known in microskills training as ____.

A)​the difficulty of practice
B)​the Samurai Effect
C)​the need for fewer skills and a simplified model of training for some beginners
D)the nonverbal effect

Question 64

Smiling, listening, and a respectful and understanding vocal tone are behaviors that "fit" virtually all cultures and individuals.

Question 65

The microskills can best be taught to:​

A)​many client and volunteer populations.
B)​hospitalized inpatients during the early stages of treatment.
C)​high school peer counselors.
D)volunteers in the community.

Question 66

Learning attending and the other microskills involves breaking each skill to its smallest component and is similar to ____.

A)​how samurai learn swordplay
B)​learning to drive a car for the first time
C)​becoming proficient with demanding activities: sports, dance, music
D)all of the above

Question 67

What are the four main concepts of attending behavior? Evaluate yourself on each of these.

Question 68

Social skills training may refer to ____.

A)​dating behavior
B)​drug-refusal skills
C)​assertiveness training
D)all of the above

Question 69

Which of the following represents one of Shenk's findings regarding excellence?​

A)​Practice changes your mind but not your body.
B)​Skills are nonspecific.
C)​The brain drives the brawn.
D)All of the above

Question 70

Which of the following disruptive behaviors can lead to a poor session?​

A)​Visual contact
B)​Verbal tracking
C)​Body language
D)All of the above

Question 71

Which of the following is NOT one of the suggested guidelines for effective feedback?

A)​Feedback is most helpful when it includes strengths.
B)​Feedback is most helpful when it is comprehensive and generalized.
C)​Feedback is most helpful when it is relatively nonjudgmental
D)Feedback is most helpful when it is lean and concrete.

Question 72

Present a concrete example of a time when it may be appropriate NOT to provide attention (attending behavior to client talk).​

Question 73

Teaching attending behavior to clients is recommended by the authors because:​

A)​it will make clients into beginning interviewers and counselors.
B)​it provides something to do when the interview begins to slow down.
C)​research and counseling practice has revealed that it can be highly beneficial to many clients.
D)all of the above

Question 74

Describe cultural differences that may exist in the four main concepts of attending behavior.

Question 75

Without attention, nothing will happen.​

Question 76

Empathy is not just a psychological concept. It also:​

A)​is measurable through brain imaging.
B)​is measurable through careful observation of your actions.
C)​is assessed by the extensive research on microskills.
D)has become a foundation for person-centered counseling.

Question 77

Which of the following is FALSE about teaching the microskills to challenging clients in different settings?

A)​Depressed hospitalized patients do not respond well to social skills treatment.
B)​Teaching troubled clients the attending skills is usually effective.
C)​Attending skills improve the preparation of high school peer mediators.
D)Communication with troubled children can be regained by using the attending skills.

Question 78

In every interview the quality of attending and nonattending responses ____.

A)​is always the same
B)​depends on how actively you demonstrate attending
C)​depends on the situation
D)depends on how well versed you are in expressing nonattention

Question 79

As the interviewer, when you don't know what to do next, which of the following should you do?​

A)​Continue attending to the client.
B)​Ask the client to start over.
C)​Consult your notes regarding the client's issues.
D)End the session.

Question 80

Practice in meditation:​

A)​has recently become important in person-centered counseling as a key strategy.
B)​can help samurai forget the individual skills in order to master them.
C)​facilitates emotional growth through taming the amygdala.
D)is a strategy that should only be used with a very few clients.