NCE and CPCE Exam Study Guide Verified Exam Questions and Answers Latest update 2026/2027

NCE and CPCE Exam Study Guide
Verified Exam Questions and Answers Latest update 2026/2027

Question:
What does CACREP stand for? -
Answer:
S the Council for the Accreditation
and Counseling Related Educational Programs

Question:
What does CCE stand for? -
Answer:
S Center for Credentialing and
Education, inc

Question:
What does REBT stand for and who is the main theorist associated with it? -
Answer:
S Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy; Ellis.

Question:
Name Freud's Psychosexual stages of development. -
Answer:
S Oral, Anal,
Phallic, Latent, and Genital. (Mnemonic device: Oh, Anthony, Please Let's Go!)

Question:
Describe Erik Erikson's stages. -
Answer:
S Erik Erikson is an Ego
psychologist and a disciple of Freud. His 8 stages focus on social relationships, therefore they are
called psychosocial. Each stage has a crisis that must be overcome in order to move on to the
next stage. His stages are Trust v. Mistrust; Autonomy v. Shame/doubt; Industry v. Inferiority;
Initiative vs. Guilt; Identity v. Role confusion; Intimacy v. Isolation; Generativity vs. Stagnation;
Integrity vs. Despair. (Mnemonic device: The Air In Iceland Is Icy, Greenland Isn't.)

Question:
define psychometric. -

,Answer:
S pertaining to mental testing and
measurement

Question:
define psychodiagnostic -
Answer:
S the study of personality through
interpretation of behavior and non-verbal cues; or labeling a client in a diagnostic category.

Question:
define psychopharmacology -
Answer:
S the study of the effects drugs have
on psychological functions.

Question:
What is the id? -
Answer:
S the basic instinct principle in Freudian theory. It
is the seat of aggression and sexual impulse. It is devoid of logic and time orientation. It is
chaotic and bodily focused.

Question:
What is the ego? -
Answer:
S this is the reality principle in Freudian theory. It
indicates power of reasoning and control over behavior. It helps keep the impulses of the id in
check.

Question:
What is the superego? -
Answer:
S the superego is the moralistic and
idealistic principle in the Freudian theory.

Question:
Which group of theorists believe "if you can't measure it, it doesn't exist"? -

,Answer:
S Behaviorists. They focus on O.O.B. The observable, objective behaviors. (My
AP psych teacher in HS called it the O.O.B. tampon. gross, but it helped me remember it!)

Question:
Who is the only psychoanalyst with a developmental theory that covered the entire lifespan? -
Answer:
S Erik Erikson's Psychosocial stages covered the entire lifespan.
Each stage has a crisis or turning point.

Question:
What theory is A. A. Brill associated with? -
Answer:
S Career theory

Question:
Milton H. Erickson is associated with... -
Answer:
S Brief psychotherapy and
hypnosis.

Question:
What field is Jean Piaget associated with? -
Answer:
S Cognitive Child
Development

Question:
Who is Jay Haley and what is the nature of his contribution to counseling? -
Answer:
S Haley is most famous for his work on strategic and problem-solving therapy,
more specifically with his use of the paradox technique. He also studied with Milton Erickson.

Question:
Arnold Lazarus -
Answer:
S He is a known behavioral therapist who worked
specifically with methods of desensitization and phobias. He is most associated with Multimodal
Therapy.

, Question:
William Perry -
Answer:
S He is known for his work in adult cognitive
development, specifically with college students. He worked a lot with the concept of "dualistic
thinking" among college students, where everything is either black or white. (Memory technique:
think of Katy Perry's song Hot and Cold to associate Perry with dualism.)

Question:
Ed Neukrug -
Answer:
S Also a cognitive developmentalist. His work is
similar to Perry's. He noted that college students initially think that their professor has all the
answers (dualistic), but gradually get to a more relativistic way of thinking and realize that
answers exist that are relative to a given situation. (Memory technique: "What do you THINK
about Ed nuking the rug??" Think= cognitive dev, Ed Neukrug.)

Question:
Robert Kegan -
Answer:
S Yet another adult cognitive developmentalist.
SPecifically with interpersonal development. His theory was called the Constructive Model of
Development- people construct reality throughout the lifespan.

Question:
What are Piaget's stages of Cognitive Development in order? -
Answer:
S Sensorimotor; Preoperational; Concrete; Formal. These stages must occur in
order, but may be experienced at varying ages.

Question:
What is the major critique of Jean Piaget's research? -
Answer:
S He spent
too much time observing his own kids, and thus drawing his conclusions from a small, specific,
population.

Question:
Who formulated the very first intelligence test? -