PROFESSIONAL GROWTH FINAL EXAM SCRIPT
2026 FULL EVALUATION VERIFIED A+
◉ Sylvia and Joanne are both members of a support group for new
widows. Sylvia has been deeply religious for most of her adult life.
She prays daily and attends weekly services. Joanne is not religious,
but she has engaged in daily mindful meditation practice for many
years. Both women seem equally devastated by the unexpected
deaths of their husbands. What can you predict about how they will
recover from their losses? Answer: Sylvia and Joanne are both likely
to benefit from their daily contemplative practices.
◉ Anna is a 44-year-old divorced mother of two teenagers. Anna's
father, who lives alone in a nearby suburb, has recently been
diagnosed with lung cancer. Anna needs to take her father to and
from medical appointments while she tries to manage the demands
of her own full-time job. She goes to the employee assistance
counselor at work for help in coping with the demands of her
situation. The counselor understands that the demands on Anna are
too great given her available resources, a phenomenon called
Answer: role strain.
◉ Anna must care for children as well as a sick loved one on a day-
to-day basis. She also needs to keep her job. This situation places her
under considerable stress. Coping of this type is called coping with
Answer: daily hassles.
,◉ Kindling-behavioral sensitization describes Answer: a process of
increasing sensitivity to stressful triggers.
◉ Tyrone is a 35-year-old advertising executive. Lately, he has been
experiencing some physical symptoms, like shortness of breath and
difficulty sleeping. He explains to a counselor that he has been
having more difficulty dealing with his work and family
responsibilities. A comprehensive intake interview reveals that
Tyrone's mother suffered from a diagnosed affective disorder. This
piece of information might indicate the presence of Answer: a
diathesis.
◉ Jason experienced the death of a close relative due to an act of
violence. He comes to counseling to get help dealing with the grief
and pain of this experience. After some time, Jason adjusts, and he
demonstrates improvements in psychological functioning that
exceed his level of adjustment prior to this traumatic event. This is
an example of Answer: posttraumatic growth.
◉ Paula is a client who demonstrates highly anxious tendencies. She
broods over perceived mistakes, worries about how others view her,
and feels that she never meets her own high expectations in ways
that satisfy her. Her counselor can conclude that Paula probably also
has which of these other characteristics? Answer: High levels of
sensitivity to stress.
,◉ Laboratory studies have provided evidence for which of the
following statements with regard to emotional reactivity? Answer:
Positive affectivity is related to higher levels of left prefrontal
cortical activity.
◉ Ernest is 42 years old and has been out of work for two months.
He lost his position as a program manager when his company
merged with another larger company. He made a great deal of
money during his time as manager and saved quite a bit, so finances
are not an immediate concern. He has not been actively looking for
work, and he feels sluggish, sleeps much more than he did in the
past, and spends most of his time watching TV. Based on
conservation of resources theory, how would you interpret his
behavior? Answer: Ernest is experiencing the effects of loss of status
following the termination.
◉ A positive emotional style Answer: can be cultivated by everyone.
◉ Researchers believe that the key characteristic that explains the
therapeutic benefits of cognitive therapy is Answer: replacing
dysfunctional thinking with more functional thoughts.
◉ Which of the following statements is most accurate with regard to
Piaget's theory? Answer: Piaget firmly believed that children who
were at a particular stage of cognitive development had the same
level of understanding in all areas, such as understanding causality,
morality, agency, etc.
, ◉ Mrs. Harmon, the mother of 18-month-old Bryce, is concerned
that Bryce has not learned to speak very well. He has a limited
vocabulary and seems content to point to the things he wants. Mrs.
Harmon has read several child development books which indicate
that Bryce should be in the stage of language learning. Mrs. Harmon
fears that Bryce is not keeping up developmentally. Based on your
understanding of the timing of developmental stages, what would be
your best advice? Answer: Developmental stages can be useful
guidelines, but there is a range of normal development within
stages.
◉ Research using habituation and preferential response paradigms
has provided us with much of what we know about the infant's
perceptual abilities. The habituation paradigm takes advantage of
Answer: baby's tendency to orient to new stimulation
◉ Reflective clinicians often absorb the tenets and techniques
associated with major
theoretical approaches to counseling and then interpret and
organize them in ways that are useful for their own work. This
aspect of reflective practice is an example of Answer: constructivism.
◉ Which of the following statements does not reflect contemporary
critiques of Piagetian theory that have experimental support?
Answer: Infants may have a rudimentary understanding of object
permanence earlier in infancy than Piaget suspected.
2026 FULL EVALUATION VERIFIED A+
◉ Sylvia and Joanne are both members of a support group for new
widows. Sylvia has been deeply religious for most of her adult life.
She prays daily and attends weekly services. Joanne is not religious,
but she has engaged in daily mindful meditation practice for many
years. Both women seem equally devastated by the unexpected
deaths of their husbands. What can you predict about how they will
recover from their losses? Answer: Sylvia and Joanne are both likely
to benefit from their daily contemplative practices.
◉ Anna is a 44-year-old divorced mother of two teenagers. Anna's
father, who lives alone in a nearby suburb, has recently been
diagnosed with lung cancer. Anna needs to take her father to and
from medical appointments while she tries to manage the demands
of her own full-time job. She goes to the employee assistance
counselor at work for help in coping with the demands of her
situation. The counselor understands that the demands on Anna are
too great given her available resources, a phenomenon called
Answer: role strain.
◉ Anna must care for children as well as a sick loved one on a day-
to-day basis. She also needs to keep her job. This situation places her
under considerable stress. Coping of this type is called coping with
Answer: daily hassles.
,◉ Kindling-behavioral sensitization describes Answer: a process of
increasing sensitivity to stressful triggers.
◉ Tyrone is a 35-year-old advertising executive. Lately, he has been
experiencing some physical symptoms, like shortness of breath and
difficulty sleeping. He explains to a counselor that he has been
having more difficulty dealing with his work and family
responsibilities. A comprehensive intake interview reveals that
Tyrone's mother suffered from a diagnosed affective disorder. This
piece of information might indicate the presence of Answer: a
diathesis.
◉ Jason experienced the death of a close relative due to an act of
violence. He comes to counseling to get help dealing with the grief
and pain of this experience. After some time, Jason adjusts, and he
demonstrates improvements in psychological functioning that
exceed his level of adjustment prior to this traumatic event. This is
an example of Answer: posttraumatic growth.
◉ Paula is a client who demonstrates highly anxious tendencies. She
broods over perceived mistakes, worries about how others view her,
and feels that she never meets her own high expectations in ways
that satisfy her. Her counselor can conclude that Paula probably also
has which of these other characteristics? Answer: High levels of
sensitivity to stress.
,◉ Laboratory studies have provided evidence for which of the
following statements with regard to emotional reactivity? Answer:
Positive affectivity is related to higher levels of left prefrontal
cortical activity.
◉ Ernest is 42 years old and has been out of work for two months.
He lost his position as a program manager when his company
merged with another larger company. He made a great deal of
money during his time as manager and saved quite a bit, so finances
are not an immediate concern. He has not been actively looking for
work, and he feels sluggish, sleeps much more than he did in the
past, and spends most of his time watching TV. Based on
conservation of resources theory, how would you interpret his
behavior? Answer: Ernest is experiencing the effects of loss of status
following the termination.
◉ A positive emotional style Answer: can be cultivated by everyone.
◉ Researchers believe that the key characteristic that explains the
therapeutic benefits of cognitive therapy is Answer: replacing
dysfunctional thinking with more functional thoughts.
◉ Which of the following statements is most accurate with regard to
Piaget's theory? Answer: Piaget firmly believed that children who
were at a particular stage of cognitive development had the same
level of understanding in all areas, such as understanding causality,
morality, agency, etc.
, ◉ Mrs. Harmon, the mother of 18-month-old Bryce, is concerned
that Bryce has not learned to speak very well. He has a limited
vocabulary and seems content to point to the things he wants. Mrs.
Harmon has read several child development books which indicate
that Bryce should be in the stage of language learning. Mrs. Harmon
fears that Bryce is not keeping up developmentally. Based on your
understanding of the timing of developmental stages, what would be
your best advice? Answer: Developmental stages can be useful
guidelines, but there is a range of normal development within
stages.
◉ Research using habituation and preferential response paradigms
has provided us with much of what we know about the infant's
perceptual abilities. The habituation paradigm takes advantage of
Answer: baby's tendency to orient to new stimulation
◉ Reflective clinicians often absorb the tenets and techniques
associated with major
theoretical approaches to counseling and then interpret and
organize them in ways that are useful for their own work. This
aspect of reflective practice is an example of Answer: constructivism.
◉ Which of the following statements does not reflect contemporary
critiques of Piagetian theory that have experimental support?
Answer: Infants may have a rudimentary understanding of object
permanence earlier in infancy than Piaget suspected.
