COUC 601 Midterm Exam QUESTIONS
AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Complementary relationship - CORRECT ANSWER partners are different in ways that fit
together, where qualities of one make up for lacks in the other
Attachment - CORRECT ANSWER the bond between infant and caregiver that is based on the
biological drive for proximity- J. Bowlby
The tendency to seek closeness to caretakers in the face of stress
Double bind - CORRECT ANSWER A conflict created when a person receives contradictory
messages on different levels of abstraction in an important relationship, and cannot leave or comment
is a:
Boundaries - CORRECT ANSWER Emotional and physical barriers that protect and enhance
the integrity of individuals, subsystems, and families.
Narrative Therapy - CORRECT ANSWER helps create a shift in client's experiences by
helping them re-examine how they look at things. This therapy's aim is more attitudinal(behavioral)
and involves the externalization and reconstruction of defining problems not as properties of a person
but as foreign entities causing oppression. An approach that emphasizes the role of the stories people
construct about their experience
Solution-Focused Therapy - CORRECT ANSWER This approach believes it is not necessary
to define the problem in order to make things better. This therapy help clients see that there are
exceptions to their problems--they don't happen all the time--and the exceptions are the solutions the
clients already have. The therapist pays less attention to the forces controlling family members
because they see people as fluid and changeable
Systems Theory - CORRECT ANSWER Central to this theory is the idea that the essential
properties of a system arise from the relationships among its parts.
A generic term for the study of a group of elements or a family that interacts as a whole entity.
Family life cycle - CORRECT ANSWER stages of family life from separation from one's
parents to marriage, having children, growing older, retirement, and finally death
, Constructivism - CORRECT ANSWER a relativistic point of view that emphasizes the the
subjective construction of reality. Implies that what we see in families may be based as much on our
preconceptions as on what's actually happening
Betty Carter and Monica mcgoldrick - CORRECT ANSWER introduced the concept of family
life cycle into the field of MFT
Homeostasis - CORRECT ANSWER A balanced, steady state of equilibrium
Metacommunication - CORRECT ANSWER Every message has two levels, report and
command; the implied command or qualifying message
Morphogenesis - CORRECT ANSWER The process by which a system changes its structure to
adapt to new contexts.
Equifinality - CORRECT ANSWER the ability of complex systems to reach a given final goal
in a variety of different ways
Black box concept - CORRECT ANSWER The idea that because the mind is so complex, it's
better to study people's input and output (behavior, communication) than to speculate about what goes
on in their minds.(only a part of Systems Theory)
General Systems Theory - CORRECT ANSWER A biological model of living systems as
whole entities that maintain themselves through continuous input and output from the environment;
developed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy.
Cybernetics - CORRECT ANSWER The science of feedback; how information, especially
positive and negative feedback loops, can help self-regulate a system.
Family structure - CORRECT ANSWER The functional organization of families that
determines how family members interact. Involves the closeness and distance that defines and
stabilizes the relationships of a family.
AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Complementary relationship - CORRECT ANSWER partners are different in ways that fit
together, where qualities of one make up for lacks in the other
Attachment - CORRECT ANSWER the bond between infant and caregiver that is based on the
biological drive for proximity- J. Bowlby
The tendency to seek closeness to caretakers in the face of stress
Double bind - CORRECT ANSWER A conflict created when a person receives contradictory
messages on different levels of abstraction in an important relationship, and cannot leave or comment
is a:
Boundaries - CORRECT ANSWER Emotional and physical barriers that protect and enhance
the integrity of individuals, subsystems, and families.
Narrative Therapy - CORRECT ANSWER helps create a shift in client's experiences by
helping them re-examine how they look at things. This therapy's aim is more attitudinal(behavioral)
and involves the externalization and reconstruction of defining problems not as properties of a person
but as foreign entities causing oppression. An approach that emphasizes the role of the stories people
construct about their experience
Solution-Focused Therapy - CORRECT ANSWER This approach believes it is not necessary
to define the problem in order to make things better. This therapy help clients see that there are
exceptions to their problems--they don't happen all the time--and the exceptions are the solutions the
clients already have. The therapist pays less attention to the forces controlling family members
because they see people as fluid and changeable
Systems Theory - CORRECT ANSWER Central to this theory is the idea that the essential
properties of a system arise from the relationships among its parts.
A generic term for the study of a group of elements or a family that interacts as a whole entity.
Family life cycle - CORRECT ANSWER stages of family life from separation from one's
parents to marriage, having children, growing older, retirement, and finally death
, Constructivism - CORRECT ANSWER a relativistic point of view that emphasizes the the
subjective construction of reality. Implies that what we see in families may be based as much on our
preconceptions as on what's actually happening
Betty Carter and Monica mcgoldrick - CORRECT ANSWER introduced the concept of family
life cycle into the field of MFT
Homeostasis - CORRECT ANSWER A balanced, steady state of equilibrium
Metacommunication - CORRECT ANSWER Every message has two levels, report and
command; the implied command or qualifying message
Morphogenesis - CORRECT ANSWER The process by which a system changes its structure to
adapt to new contexts.
Equifinality - CORRECT ANSWER the ability of complex systems to reach a given final goal
in a variety of different ways
Black box concept - CORRECT ANSWER The idea that because the mind is so complex, it's
better to study people's input and output (behavior, communication) than to speculate about what goes
on in their minds.(only a part of Systems Theory)
General Systems Theory - CORRECT ANSWER A biological model of living systems as
whole entities that maintain themselves through continuous input and output from the environment;
developed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy.
Cybernetics - CORRECT ANSWER The science of feedback; how information, especially
positive and negative feedback loops, can help self-regulate a system.
Family structure - CORRECT ANSWER The functional organization of families that
determines how family members interact. Involves the closeness and distance that defines and
stabilizes the relationships of a family.
