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CRCC CRC Exam Questions
Page 1 of 25
1.
Why are assessments of interest now considered so important?
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They predict occupational entry more accurately than other methods
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They are considered more culturally-responsive than other methods
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Their validity as tests is greater than other methods
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Their reliability as tests is greater than other methods
Correct answer: They predict occupational entry more accurately than other methods
Of the various ways to predict occupational entry, such as aptitude and other measures of potential, assessments of interest are now considered a more accurate way to predict occupational entry than others. There seems to be a significant correlation between interest and ability, which is reflected in persons taking career interest inventories.
These instruments are not more or less culturally sensitive than others, and their reliability and validity are not what makes them important in current discussions of career counseling.
2.
What is a good example of blocking in a group context?
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A group leader takes action to stop gossip
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A group member tells another group member to be quiet
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A group member becomes quiet and unparticipatory
Correct answer: A group leader takes action to stop gossip
Of the many skills a group leader should have, blocking is the one that intervenes directly to stop undesirable behaviors on the part of group members. These are various but include such things as gossip, storytelling, indirect communication, and excessive questions.
Blocking is not something group members do, but an action taken by the group leader to preserve the integrity and function of the group modality.
3.
Broadly speaking, what has the research shown on gender differences in career choice?
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Men are more interested in things, and women are more interested in people
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Women are more interested in things, and men are more interested in people
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There is no meaningful difference between genders in this regard
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The research is inconclusive in this regard
Correct answer: Men are more interested in things, and women are more interested in people
Though generalizations are problematic, the available research shows that, in terms of career choice, men tend to choose careers that involve working with things (engineering, science, and mathematics), and women tend to choose careers that involve working with people (social sciences, counseling, and care for others). Again, there are many cases of individuals who go against this finding, and it is only a research-supported indication of interest, not of inherent ability or potential success in a given area.
4.
Which of the following is accurate regarding family life development?
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Each stage has key separation and attachment tasks
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Each stage contains a key confrontation
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Each stage is characterized by a specific fear
Correct answer: Each stage has key separation and attachment tasks
A family is a unit composed of several individuals, each of whom is changing and developing across time. In addition, the system these individuals form is changing over time. Family life development can be said to proceed through several stages related to the key transitions of its members, such as going away to school, marriages, and so on. Each stage of family development contains such key separation and attachment tasks. This is not to say that these tasks are characterized by fear or confrontation.
5.
Which of the following is a major concern about the variety of technological career assessment instruments?
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Validity
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Availability
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Reliability
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Ethics
Correct answer: Validity
As Barak (2003) points out, there are now two broadly differentiated types of technologically-based career assessments. Many of these have been validated by professionals in the field and backed by research; however, many of the more commonly available instruments are not. These have been composed by amateurs in many cases, illegally adapted from established sources, and have undergone virtually no rigor in evaluating them for use.
This is an ethical concern, but the more pressing concern is that the instruments in question may or may not be valid at all in measuring what they claim to measure.
6.
How would a genogram most likely be used?
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To illustrate family relationships and patterns
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To indicate genetic risks of disease
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To assess psychosis generationally
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To treat mood and affect disorders
Correct answer: To illustrate family relationships and patterns
A genogram is a diagram illustrating family relationships in the form of an enhanced, graphically represented family tree or structural diagram. Most often used in family counseling, the point is to illustrate patterns and relationships, such as divorce, substance use, and other systemic factors that affect a whole family system.
A genogram has little to do with genetics aside from being a diagram of genetic relationships, and would not be used to assess psychosis in any way or to treat mood and affect disorders; it is an instrument that facilitates understanding of the way a family works.
7.
Which of the following best corresponds to the definition of "principal investigator" as defined by the APA?
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The person who conceptualizes, designs, and plans the study
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The person who carries out the bulk of the research tasks
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Any person who is named in the study as a research organizer or assistant
Correct answer: The person who conceptualizes, designs, and plans the study
The APA (2010) carefully outlines various roles in research. Of these, the principal investigator is the one who is seen as conceptualizing, designing, and planning the study; in other words, the person who bears the overall responsibility for the research itself.
The role as defined by the APA does not rule out research tasks for this individual, but the role as defined does not extend to every research organizer or assistant associated with the study.
8.
If a person is deemed legally incompetent, is informed consent necessary?
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No, but assent is necessary
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Yes, in all circumstances
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No, in no circumstances
Correct answer: No, but assent is necessary
The ACA Code of Ethics makes clear that, in cases where a person has been deemed legally incompetent, it is still the responsibility of those dealing with that person to obtain assent for whatever might otherwise involve informed consent, such as treatment or participation in various activities. Consent can be given by a legal representative for such persons, but the ACA stipulates that assent—meaning agreement of the individual—should be obtained as well.
9.
What is the overall research consensus with respect to the use of MBTI in career counseling?
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By itself, it is likely insufficient
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It is the best predictor of career satisfaction
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It is the best predictor of career success
Correct answer: By itself, it is likely insufficient
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has been extensively used in career counseling and discussion, though, in its origins, it was not designed to serve in career counseling contexts. The MBTI asserts that there are 16 overall human personalities defined by their relationship to exterior and inner life along various dimensions. By itself, however, it is likely insufficient as a single assessment that could be used to perform career counseling. The research seems to indicate utility for the MBTI in some respects but, overall, it needs comparison with other instruments and careful interpretation to be effective.
10.
What is the most concerning substance use issue facing older adults?
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Prescription medications
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Alcohol
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Cocaine
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Cannabis
Correct answer: Prescription medications
Prescription medications, in particular benzodiazepines, opiates, and muscle relaxants, have become the prominent issue of concern in terms of substance use by older adults. Up to 11% of older adults abuse such medications, with 20% of seniors taking pain medications several times a week; 18% of those who take pain medications develop problematic use (Lowry, 2013).
Alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis do not have this level of concern among older adults.
11.
How does a career narrative approach to assessment differ from more traditional styles of career assessment?
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Career narratives do not attempt to predict behavior
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Career narratives are not based on empirical research
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Career narratives do not involve the client directly
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Career narratives are completely unstructured
Correct answer: Career narratives do not attempt to predict behavior
Newer approaches to career assessment, such as career narratives, are based on a growing body of empirical research and reach out to the client directly for their more subjective account of their career situation. This is done through a few keyed, structured questions in most cases.
This approach differs from the older approach using much more structured instruments in that the point of career narratives is not to attempt to predict career choice or other behavior as is the case with most quantitative career assessment instruments.
12.
Why would one use event recording?
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To study the frequency of behavior
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To study the pathology of behavior
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To study the source of behavior
Correct answer: To study the frequency of behavior
Event recording is often used in behavioral assessment to study the frequency of a given behavior, such as a certain pattern of speech or physical motion. The idea is that once a baseline behavior pattern is established, an intervention can be attempted to alter it or the client's attention can be called to it.
The behavior in question may or may not be pathological in character, and an event recording will likely not help in understanding the source of behavior.
13.
How does motivational interviewing function as an assessment strategy?
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By discovering the client's reasons for change
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By addressing the client's pathology directly
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By educating the client about their problem
Correct answer: By discovering the client's reasons for change
Motivational interviewing began in the substance use treatment arena, where it provided a counterpoint to more counselor-directed, confrontational styles of treatment. As an assessment strategy, motivational interviewing improves on these older methods by forcing the client to come up with their own reasons for change rather than having them dictated by the therapist.
14.
What is the main concern of a universal design strategy?
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Accessibility
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Reliability
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Validity
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Variance
Correct answer: Accessibility
Universal design is an approach to instrument design in which the main concern is that different groups can all use the instrument appropriately; therefore, its main concern is accessibility to participants, as opposed to reliability, validity, or variance per se.
15.
What is the nature of the advocacy mandate for counselors?
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Counselors are called upon to advocate for clients
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Counselors are not explicitly required to advocate for clients
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It is outside the scope of counseling to perform advocacy for clients
Correct answer: Counselors are called upon to advocate for clients
It is part of the ethical mandate of counselors to advocate for their clients. What this means in practice is that counselors are called upon to remove barriers that their clients might face for whatever reason, be it oppression, racism, economic disadvantage, or some other cause. Though some kinds of advocacy are more explicitly tied to other professions, such as social work, it is part of the ethical mandate of the counseling profession to advocate for clients.
16.
Is advice-giving acceptable in therapeutic groups?
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No, under most circumstances
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Yes, in all circumstances
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It depends on the nature of the advice
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Only in inpatient therapeutic environments
Correct answer: No, under most circumstances
Whether the setting is inpatient or outpatient, therapeutic groups are not intended to be forums wherein the members share advice; within the context of the group itself, advice-giving may short-circuit the receiving client's autonomy and their important work in arriving at their own decisions. The situation is similar in individual therapy, where counselors should not offer advice, but help the client reach their own decisions.
17.
What is the ethical obligation of counselors with regard to vacations or illness with respect to their clients?
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Inform clients and make arrangements
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There is no ethical obligation per se
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Inform clients about possible gaps in service
Correct answer: Inform clients and make arrangements
When a counselor takes a client on, they also take on the ethical responsibility of letting that client know when the counselor's services will not be available due to illness, vacation, or any other reason. Ideally, arrangements would be made for service provision before such a gap takes place.
18.
In the context of work adjustment theory, what is the difference between satisfaction and satisfactoriness?
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Satisfaction is about the employee, and satisfactoriness is about the employer
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Satisfactoriness is about the employee, and satisfaction is about the employer
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There is no difference between the two terms in modern work adjustment theory
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Satisfaction is about the employee, and satisfactoriness is about the workplace itself
Correct answer: Satisfaction is about the employee, and satisfactoriness is about the employer
Work adjustment theory discusses how a worker attempts to keep congruent with the demands of a workplace. Two key terms in work adjustment theory are satisfaction, which is the degree to which an employee is satisfied with their work in general, and satisfactoriness, which refers to the employer's feelings about how well the employee meets the demands of the job. Together, these indicate a prediction of work adjustment, according to the theory.
19.
Which of the following is the main problem with exit interviews as evaluations of counseling?
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Clients may attempt to please the counselor
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Clients are rarely honest in their feedback
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Clients do not wish to perform exit interviews
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Clients have poor memories of what has happened in counseling
Correct answer: Clients may attempt to please the counselor
Clients tend to have fairly accurate memory of their course of treatment in counseling, and most seem to be happy to perform an exit interview for the therapist. Here, the problem is not honesty per se, but that, especially in cases where the counseling has been a positive experience, the client may feel motivated to please the therapist with positive feedback rather than give the kind of feedback that counselors might find more useful.
20.
Which of the following is the best way to manage cultural issues in clinical contexts?
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In clinically relevant ways
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Through agency communications
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With sensitivity training
Correct answer: In clinically relevant ways
Issues of culture often arise within the clinical treatment context, with awareness of and respect to these issues becoming more prevalent in the past. Though such approaches as revising agency communications and sensitivity training can be effective in raising awareness and inspiring better practice, in a clinical context, the best way to manage cultural issues is through attention to culture in clinically relevant ways. For example, being aware that barter is acceptable in many cultures, or that there are more and less demonstrative communication styles, are helpful in crystallizing cultural relevance for clinicians.