NCE National Counselors Exam-Total (2025) ACTUAL EXAM
comprehensive questions and verified accurate solution (detailed &
elaborated) 2025 TEST!!
Milton H. Erickson - correct answer associated with brief psychotherapy and innovative
techniques in hypnosis
Jean Piaget - correct answer leading name in cognitive development in children; developed a
four stage model that remains the same for any culture although the age of the individual could
vary; structuralist; his findings were often derived from observing his own children; felt
teachers should lecture less, as children in concrete operations learn best via their own actions
and experimentation with peers; genetic epistemologist
Erik Erikson - correct answer an ego psychologist who developed a psychosocial theory that
includes the whole lifespan and focuses on the resolution of psychosocial crises; stages are
described using bipolar or opposing tendencies; theory is epigenetic in nature; the individual
does not totally succeed or fail, but rather leans toward a given alternative; a maturationist;
believed each developmental stage needs to be resolved before an individual could move on to
the next stage
Jay Haley - correct answer known for his work in strategic and problem solving therapy, often
utilizing the technique of paradox
Arnold Lazarus - correct answer a pioneer in the behavior therapy movement, especially in
regard to the use of systematic desensitization; his approach to counseling is multimodal,
eclectic, and holistic; BASIC-ID; worked closely with Joseph Wolpe
William Perry - correct answer known for his ideas related to adult cognitive development,
especially college students; Perry stresses dualistic thinking common to teens
Dualistic thinking - correct answer things are conceptualized as good or bad or right and wrong;
common to teens; William Perry
Relativistic thinking - correct answer ability to perceive that not everything is right or wrong,
but an answer can exist relative to a specific situation; there is more than one way to view the
world; adulthood
Robert Kegan - correct answer adult cognitive development; his model stresses interpersonal
development - a constructive model of development, meaning that individuals construct reality
throughout the lifespan; encourages meaning making; speaks of a holding environment in
counseling in which the client can make meaning in the face of a crisis and can find new
direction; Six Stages of Lifespan Development: incorporative, impulsive, imperial, interpersonal,
institutional, interindividual
,Alfred Binet - correct answer created the first intelligence test with Theodore Simon; created a
30-question test with school-related items of increased difficult; used his own daughters as test
subjects in order to investigate mental processes; cited as one of the pioneers in projective
testing based on his work with inkblots; created the first IQ test around 1905 to discriminate
normal from retarded Parisian children so that mentally retarded children could be taught
separately
t test
(aka Two-groups or two-randomized-gruops research design) - correct answer a parametric
statistical test used in formal experiments to determine whether there is a significant difference
between two groups (i.e., two means); utilized to ascertain if the means of the groups are
significantly different from each other; when using, the groups should be normally distributed;
a test of significance; simplistic form of the analysis of variance (ANOVA); when computed, it
yields a t value which is then compared to a t table and if the t value obtained statistically is
lower than the t value (aka critical t) in the table, then you accept the null hypothesis; you
computation must exceed the number cited in the table in order to reject null
Conservation - correct answer the notion that a substance's mass, weight, and volume (in the
order mastered - MWV) remain the same even if it changes shape; Piaget's term; mastered
during the concrete operations stage
Symbolic schema/mental processes - correct answer allows language and symbolism in play to
occur (i.e., a milk carton can easily become a spaceship); a cognitive structure that grows with
life experience; Piaget's theory
Schema - correct answer the child's current cognitive structures; a system which permits the
child to test out things in the physical world and process new information
Lev Vygotsky - correct answer disagreed with Piaget's notion that developmental stages take
place naturally - insisted that the stages unfold due to educational intervention; pioneered the
zone of proximal development
Lawrence Kohlberg - correct answer leading theorist in moral development; theory is
epigenetic in nature; theory has 3 levels of moral development each with 2 stages that applies
to all people
Abraham Maslow - correct answer a humanistic psychologist famous for his hierarchy of needs
(survival, security, safety, love, self-esteem, self-actualization) in which the lower-order needs
must be fulfilled before the individual can be concerned with higher-order needs; to research
the dilemma of self-actualization, he interviewed the best people he could find who escaped
"the psychology of the average;" rejected analytic psychology and behaviorism; coined the
term, positive psychology; theory is epigenetic in nature
,Epigenetic - correct answer biological term borrowed from embryology; states that each stage
emerges from the one before it, the process follows a given order and is systematic
John B. Watson - correct answer father of American behaviorism; demonstrated that a phobic
reaction was learned through his experiment with Little Albert
Behaviorism - correct answer if it can't be measured, it doesn't exist; tend to emphasize the
power of environment; Key figures: Skinner, Watson, Wolpe, Krumboltz, Salter, Lazarus; rivals
of analysts
Reversibility - correct answer one can undo an action, hence an object can return to its initial
shape; mastered in concrete operations
Egocentrism - correct answer the child cannot view the world from the vantage point of
someone else; occurs in the preoperational stage
The Heinz Story - correct answer one method used by Kohlberg to assess the level and stage of
moral development in an individual; the individual's reason for the decision (rather than the
decision itself) could be used to assess moral development
Carl G. Jung - correct answer father of analytic psychology; anima and animus; MBTI and GZTS
were based on his work; collective unconscious - all humans have collected universal inherited,
unconscious neural patterns; introversion (person is his or her own primary source of pleasure)
and extroversion (tendency to find satisfaction and pleasure in other people)
Sigmund Freud - correct answer father of psychoanalysis - the most comprehensive theory of
personality and therapy ever devised; structural theory: id, ego, superego; believed morality
developed from the superego; 5 psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital - if a
child is severely traumatized he or she may become fixated at a given psychosexual stage;
believed each developmental stage needed to be resolved before an individual could move on
to the next stage; a maturationist; terms: eros, thanatos, manifest & latent content; most
significant theorist in the entire history of psychology, but many aspects of his theory are
difficult to test from a scientific standpoint; his most influential work was a book called The
Interpretation of Dreams; worked with Jung and Adler
Menninger Clinic in Kansas - correct answer a traditional psychoanalytic foothold as well as the
site of landmark work in the area of biofeedback
Biofeedback - correct answer a technique utilized to help individuals learn to control bodily
processes (autonomic responses), such as blood pressure, pulse rate, or hand temperature,
more effectively; hooking the client to a sophisticated electronic device that provides biological
feedback; devices include a mirror and a scale; Menninger Clinic in Kansas
Martin Seligman - correct answer popularized by learned helplessness syndrome
, Positive psychology - correct answer the study of human strengths such as joy, wisdom,
altruism, the ability to love, and happiness
Alfred Adler - correct answer the founder of individual psychology which stresses the inferiority
complex and organ inferiority; first therapist to rely on paradox; his work has been classified as
a preface to the group movement - "man's problems and conflicts are recognized in their social
nature"
Preconventional level - correct answer Kohlberg's level of morality where the child responds to
consequences and where reward and punishment greatly influence the behavior; stages:
punishment & obedience and mutual benefit
Conventional level - correct answer Kohlberg's level of morality where the individual wants to
meet the standards of the family, society, and even the nation; the individual wishes to
conform to the roles in society and live up to society's expectations so that authority and social
order can prevail; stages: interpersonal expectations & law-and-order
Postconventional level - correct answer Kohlberg's level of morality also known as self-accepted
morality. A person who reaches this level is concerned with universal, ethical principles of
justice, dignity, and equality of human rights; many people never reach this level; stages: legal
principles & universal moral principles
Harry Stack Sullivan - correct answer postulated the stages of infancy, childhood, the juvenile
era, preadolescence, early adolescence, and late adolescence; his theory is known as the
psychiatry of interpersonal relations
Psychiatry of Interpersonal Relations - correct answer theory that is similar to Erikson's in that
biological determination is seen as less important than interpersonal issues and the
sociocultural demands of society; Harry Stack Sullivan's theory
Zone of proximal development - correct answer describes the difference between a child's
performance without a teacher versus that which he or she is capable of with an instructor; Lev
Vygotsky
Maturation theory
(aka maturation hypothesis) - correct answer suggests that behavior is guided exclusively via
heredity factors, but that certain behaviors will not manifest themselves until the necessary
stimuli are present in the environment; suggests that the individual's neural development must
be at a certain level of maturity for the behavior to unfold; ex: Freud, Erikson, Gesell
A counselor who believes in this concept strives to unleash inborn abilities, instincts, and drives.
The client's childhood and the past are seen as important therapeutic topics.
comprehensive questions and verified accurate solution (detailed &
elaborated) 2025 TEST!!
Milton H. Erickson - correct answer associated with brief psychotherapy and innovative
techniques in hypnosis
Jean Piaget - correct answer leading name in cognitive development in children; developed a
four stage model that remains the same for any culture although the age of the individual could
vary; structuralist; his findings were often derived from observing his own children; felt
teachers should lecture less, as children in concrete operations learn best via their own actions
and experimentation with peers; genetic epistemologist
Erik Erikson - correct answer an ego psychologist who developed a psychosocial theory that
includes the whole lifespan and focuses on the resolution of psychosocial crises; stages are
described using bipolar or opposing tendencies; theory is epigenetic in nature; the individual
does not totally succeed or fail, but rather leans toward a given alternative; a maturationist;
believed each developmental stage needs to be resolved before an individual could move on to
the next stage
Jay Haley - correct answer known for his work in strategic and problem solving therapy, often
utilizing the technique of paradox
Arnold Lazarus - correct answer a pioneer in the behavior therapy movement, especially in
regard to the use of systematic desensitization; his approach to counseling is multimodal,
eclectic, and holistic; BASIC-ID; worked closely with Joseph Wolpe
William Perry - correct answer known for his ideas related to adult cognitive development,
especially college students; Perry stresses dualistic thinking common to teens
Dualistic thinking - correct answer things are conceptualized as good or bad or right and wrong;
common to teens; William Perry
Relativistic thinking - correct answer ability to perceive that not everything is right or wrong,
but an answer can exist relative to a specific situation; there is more than one way to view the
world; adulthood
Robert Kegan - correct answer adult cognitive development; his model stresses interpersonal
development - a constructive model of development, meaning that individuals construct reality
throughout the lifespan; encourages meaning making; speaks of a holding environment in
counseling in which the client can make meaning in the face of a crisis and can find new
direction; Six Stages of Lifespan Development: incorporative, impulsive, imperial, interpersonal,
institutional, interindividual
,Alfred Binet - correct answer created the first intelligence test with Theodore Simon; created a
30-question test with school-related items of increased difficult; used his own daughters as test
subjects in order to investigate mental processes; cited as one of the pioneers in projective
testing based on his work with inkblots; created the first IQ test around 1905 to discriminate
normal from retarded Parisian children so that mentally retarded children could be taught
separately
t test
(aka Two-groups or two-randomized-gruops research design) - correct answer a parametric
statistical test used in formal experiments to determine whether there is a significant difference
between two groups (i.e., two means); utilized to ascertain if the means of the groups are
significantly different from each other; when using, the groups should be normally distributed;
a test of significance; simplistic form of the analysis of variance (ANOVA); when computed, it
yields a t value which is then compared to a t table and if the t value obtained statistically is
lower than the t value (aka critical t) in the table, then you accept the null hypothesis; you
computation must exceed the number cited in the table in order to reject null
Conservation - correct answer the notion that a substance's mass, weight, and volume (in the
order mastered - MWV) remain the same even if it changes shape; Piaget's term; mastered
during the concrete operations stage
Symbolic schema/mental processes - correct answer allows language and symbolism in play to
occur (i.e., a milk carton can easily become a spaceship); a cognitive structure that grows with
life experience; Piaget's theory
Schema - correct answer the child's current cognitive structures; a system which permits the
child to test out things in the physical world and process new information
Lev Vygotsky - correct answer disagreed with Piaget's notion that developmental stages take
place naturally - insisted that the stages unfold due to educational intervention; pioneered the
zone of proximal development
Lawrence Kohlberg - correct answer leading theorist in moral development; theory is
epigenetic in nature; theory has 3 levels of moral development each with 2 stages that applies
to all people
Abraham Maslow - correct answer a humanistic psychologist famous for his hierarchy of needs
(survival, security, safety, love, self-esteem, self-actualization) in which the lower-order needs
must be fulfilled before the individual can be concerned with higher-order needs; to research
the dilemma of self-actualization, he interviewed the best people he could find who escaped
"the psychology of the average;" rejected analytic psychology and behaviorism; coined the
term, positive psychology; theory is epigenetic in nature
,Epigenetic - correct answer biological term borrowed from embryology; states that each stage
emerges from the one before it, the process follows a given order and is systematic
John B. Watson - correct answer father of American behaviorism; demonstrated that a phobic
reaction was learned through his experiment with Little Albert
Behaviorism - correct answer if it can't be measured, it doesn't exist; tend to emphasize the
power of environment; Key figures: Skinner, Watson, Wolpe, Krumboltz, Salter, Lazarus; rivals
of analysts
Reversibility - correct answer one can undo an action, hence an object can return to its initial
shape; mastered in concrete operations
Egocentrism - correct answer the child cannot view the world from the vantage point of
someone else; occurs in the preoperational stage
The Heinz Story - correct answer one method used by Kohlberg to assess the level and stage of
moral development in an individual; the individual's reason for the decision (rather than the
decision itself) could be used to assess moral development
Carl G. Jung - correct answer father of analytic psychology; anima and animus; MBTI and GZTS
were based on his work; collective unconscious - all humans have collected universal inherited,
unconscious neural patterns; introversion (person is his or her own primary source of pleasure)
and extroversion (tendency to find satisfaction and pleasure in other people)
Sigmund Freud - correct answer father of psychoanalysis - the most comprehensive theory of
personality and therapy ever devised; structural theory: id, ego, superego; believed morality
developed from the superego; 5 psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital - if a
child is severely traumatized he or she may become fixated at a given psychosexual stage;
believed each developmental stage needed to be resolved before an individual could move on
to the next stage; a maturationist; terms: eros, thanatos, manifest & latent content; most
significant theorist in the entire history of psychology, but many aspects of his theory are
difficult to test from a scientific standpoint; his most influential work was a book called The
Interpretation of Dreams; worked with Jung and Adler
Menninger Clinic in Kansas - correct answer a traditional psychoanalytic foothold as well as the
site of landmark work in the area of biofeedback
Biofeedback - correct answer a technique utilized to help individuals learn to control bodily
processes (autonomic responses), such as blood pressure, pulse rate, or hand temperature,
more effectively; hooking the client to a sophisticated electronic device that provides biological
feedback; devices include a mirror and a scale; Menninger Clinic in Kansas
Martin Seligman - correct answer popularized by learned helplessness syndrome
, Positive psychology - correct answer the study of human strengths such as joy, wisdom,
altruism, the ability to love, and happiness
Alfred Adler - correct answer the founder of individual psychology which stresses the inferiority
complex and organ inferiority; first therapist to rely on paradox; his work has been classified as
a preface to the group movement - "man's problems and conflicts are recognized in their social
nature"
Preconventional level - correct answer Kohlberg's level of morality where the child responds to
consequences and where reward and punishment greatly influence the behavior; stages:
punishment & obedience and mutual benefit
Conventional level - correct answer Kohlberg's level of morality where the individual wants to
meet the standards of the family, society, and even the nation; the individual wishes to
conform to the roles in society and live up to society's expectations so that authority and social
order can prevail; stages: interpersonal expectations & law-and-order
Postconventional level - correct answer Kohlberg's level of morality also known as self-accepted
morality. A person who reaches this level is concerned with universal, ethical principles of
justice, dignity, and equality of human rights; many people never reach this level; stages: legal
principles & universal moral principles
Harry Stack Sullivan - correct answer postulated the stages of infancy, childhood, the juvenile
era, preadolescence, early adolescence, and late adolescence; his theory is known as the
psychiatry of interpersonal relations
Psychiatry of Interpersonal Relations - correct answer theory that is similar to Erikson's in that
biological determination is seen as less important than interpersonal issues and the
sociocultural demands of society; Harry Stack Sullivan's theory
Zone of proximal development - correct answer describes the difference between a child's
performance without a teacher versus that which he or she is capable of with an instructor; Lev
Vygotsky
Maturation theory
(aka maturation hypothesis) - correct answer suggests that behavior is guided exclusively via
heredity factors, but that certain behaviors will not manifest themselves until the necessary
stimuli are present in the environment; suggests that the individual's neural development must
be at a certain level of maturity for the behavior to unfold; ex: Freud, Erikson, Gesell
A counselor who believes in this concept strives to unleash inborn abilities, instincts, and drives.
The client's childhood and the past are seen as important therapeutic topics.
