Test Bank

Chapter 5: Explaining Dynamics With Theories

Multiple Choice

1. Which of these statements is an accurate description of a theory?

a. A theory, at best, is not influenced by cultural shifts.

b. A theory forms the basis of facts and knowledge.

c. A theory is a tool to organize information to help in explaining a situation.

d. A theory remains a constant that aides in understanding phenomena.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Explain the use and relevance of theories pertaining to the family.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theories: Seeking Connection and Meaning

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. The study of attachment and impact of children being orphaned as a result of ______ played a significant role in the development of psychotherapies.

a. World War I and World War II

b. immigration at the turn of the 20th century

c. the industrial revolution

d. economic prosperity of the 1950’s

Learning Objective: 5.2: Reflect on the factors contributing to the birth of the family therapy movement.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Growth of Psychology

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Focus on individual dynamics changed to focus on family dynamics in the 1940’s. This shift played a role in the eventual development of which professional organization?

a. The American Psychological Association

b. The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

c. The American Counseling Association

d. The American Academy of Pediatrics

Learning Objective: 5.2 Reflect on the factors contributing to the birth of the family therapy movement.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: From Individual to Family Contexts

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. The two major family systems theoretical schools during the 1960s and 1970s were ______ and ______.

a. Adler’s individual psychology theory; Sullivan’s interpersonal theory

b. Freud’s psychosexual developmental theory; Roger’s humanistic theory

c. The Palo Alto Mental Research Institute; The Milan School

d. Bowen’s systems theory; intergenerational transmission theory

Learning Objective: 5.2: Reflect on the factors contributing to the birth of the family therapy movement.

Cognitive Domain: Formalizing Family Therapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Which of these represents a major theoretical paradigm shift, according to the text?

a. dream analysis and analysis of freudian slips

b. phenomenological theory and humanistic theory

c. behavioral theory and cognitive behavior theory

d. intrapsychic theories and interpersonal theories

Learning Objective: 5.3: Consider the role of paradigm shifts in the understanding of families.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Major Theoretical Paradigm Shifts

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. When there is a significant social or theoretical paradigm shift in perspective, such as how we see the role of women, what typically occurs?

a. There is a tendency to return to earlier perspectives.

b. It is nearly impossible to return to the previously held views.

c. Chaos often ensues in the field.

d. Scientific support is slow to catch up.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Consider the role of paradigm shifts in the understanding of families.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Major Theoretical Paradigm Shifts

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Harry Stack Sullivan has an interactional perspective in his psychiatric approach, and he contended that ______.

a. loneliness is the most painful aspects of the human condition

b. unconscious processes form the foundation of the human psyche

c. family processes underlie psychosexual development

d. intrapersonal dynamics forms the personality

Learning Objective: 5.3: Consider the role of paradigm shifts in the understanding of families.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Major Theoretical Paradigm Shifts

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Which one of these is the most recent of the psychological theoretical shifts as related to treatment models?

a. family systems theory

b. neuroscience and impact of brain processes and chemistry

c. humanistic theories

d. cognitive behavioral theories

Learning Objective: 5.5: Discuss the five major shifts in an evolutionary approach to theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Spotlight on Theories

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. The Palo Alto family systems theorists focused on ______ rather than ______.

a. unconscious processes; present concerns

b. early childhood trauma; current goals

c. specific behaviors; thinking strategies

d. solutions and outcomes; past experiences

Learning Objective: 5.4: Define ecology and explain how it can be applied to family dynamics.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Context of Systemic Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. ______ and ______ are most important in systemic perspectives and decisions regarding the most appropriate theoretical approach.

a. Brain chemistry; thinking strategies

b. Family size; language

c. Context; family dynamics

d. DSM 5 diagnosis; medication

Learning Objective: 5.4: Define ecology and explain how it can be applied to family dynamics.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Dynamics and Systemic Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. ______ and ______ are most well known as proponents of psychoanalytic theory.

a. Alfred Adler; Harry Stack Sullivan

b. Sigmund Freud; Carl Jung

c. Carl Whitaker; Gordon Allport

d. Carl Rogers; Albert Bandura

Learning Objective: 5.5: Discuss the five major shifts in an evolutionary approach to theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Spotlight on Theories

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. What is a key characteristic of family systems therapeutic approaches?

a. All families have the same ways of communicating with their family members.

b. Family subsystems are distinctive entities and do not affect other family subsystems.

c. The family system is incapable of regulating what happens within the system.

d. The family system moves towards equilibrium and homeostasis.

Learning Objective: 5.4: Define ecology and explain how it can be applied to family dynamics.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Dynamic Sample of Behavior

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Over the past three decades, what has become the second most common therapeutic model used in psychotherapy?

a. marriage and family systems therapy

b. person centered therapy

c. psychodynamic therapy

d. behavioral therapy

Learning Objective: 5.2: Reflect on the factors contributing to the birth of the family therapy movement.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Birth of the Family Therapy Movement

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Therapeutic approaches of the late 19th and early 20th centuries focused on the ______ as central in the treatment process.

a. family or parents

b. individual’s peer group

c. individual client

d. societal influences

Learning Objective: 5.5: Discuss the five major shifts in an evolutionary approach to theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Spotlight on Theories

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. Which of these criteria are necessary for a theory to be useful and enduring?

a. A theory provides a framework for ideas and how they relate to each other.

b. A theory should apply to a single situation.

c. A theory is resistant to paradigm shifts.

d. A theory generates questions rather than answer questions.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Explain the use and relevance of theories pertaining to the family.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theories: Seeking Connection and Meaning

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. What is an example of a paradigm shift that is prevalent in current social and political discourse?

a. the limited acceptance of treatment for mental disorders

b. greater gender equality

c. the focus on the traditional nuclear family

d. the reliance on anecdotal rather than scientific findings to solving problems

Learning Objective: 5.3: Consider the role of paradigm shifts in the understanding of families.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Major Theoretical Paradigm Shifts

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and Gordon Allport are most well known for which theoretical approach to psychotherapy and personality development?

a. family systems

b. humanism

c. behaviorism

d. existentialism

Learning Objective: 5.5: Discuss the five major shifts in an evolutionary approach to theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Spotlight on Theories

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. Which of these theoretical models focus on contextual meaning, communication, and ways of seeking equilibrium?

a. psychodynamic theory

b. humanistic theory

c. cognitive behavioral theory

d. family systems theory

Learning Objective: 5.4: Define ecology and explain how it can be applied to family dynamics.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Context of Systemic Thinking

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. _____ influenced family systems theorists in moving away from ideas using linear causation and to see events as being influenced by a complex array of variables.

a. Carl Whitaker

b. Gregory Bateson

c. Virginia Satir

d. Jay Haley

Learning Objective: 5.4: Define ecology and explain how it can be applied to family dynamics.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Context of Systemic Thinking

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. Sophia wants to work on current family issues without any focus on the past. What technique or strategy would her family counselor use?

a. Assign Sophia to create a genogram showing interaction patterns from at least three generations.

b. Focus on creating solutions with strategies using reframing questions and responses.

c. Encourage Sophia to explore her childhood interactions with her siblings and parents.

d. Discuss the etiology of meaningful symbols in her family communication style.

Learning Objective: 5.4: Define ecology and explain how it can be applied to family dynamics.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Palo Alto group

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. A theory and a hypothesis are essentially the same in that both are not yet supported by research.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Explain the use and relevance of theories pertaining to the family.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theories: Seeking Connection and Meaning

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. The family therapy movement developed steadily as it reached from the North American to European and to Australian continents during the second half of the 20th century.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Reflect on the factors contributing to the birth of the family therapy movement.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Birth of the Family Therapy Movement

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. An ecological approach to human behavior includes contextual interaction of social, biological, natural, and environmental factors.

Learning Objective: 5.4 Define ecology and explain how it can be applied to family dynamics.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Select Approaches

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Recent psychotherapy approaches have not incorporated aspects of the psychoanalytic theories of the early 20th century since research has shown them to be irrelevant to current interpersonal and intrapersonal functioning.

Learning Objective: 5.5: Discuss the five major shifts in an evolutionary approach to theories.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Spotlight on Theories

Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer

1. Explain Gerhardt’s (2020, p.100) statement, “Every war claims at least three generations as its victims” as it relates to family dynamics.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Reflect on the factors contributing to the birth of the family therapy movement.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Birth of the Family Therapy Movement

Difficulty Level: Hard