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Chapter 10- Cognitive Behavior Therapy
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MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST ITEMS
1. The founder of rational emotive behavior therapy is:
a. William Glasser.
b. Frederick Perls.
c. Albert Ellis.
d. Joseph Wolpe.
e. Aaron Beck.
2. Rational emotive behavior therapy belongs to which category of therapy?
a. existential-humanistic
b. client-centered
c. psychoanalytic
d. Gestalt
e. cognitive-behavior/action oriented
3. The cognitive-behavioral approach to therapy stresses:
a. support, understanding, warmth, and empathy.
b. awareness, unfinished business, impasse, and experiencing.
c. thinking, judging, analyzing, and doing.
d. subjectivity, existential anxiety, self-actualization, and being.
e. transference, dream analysis, uncovering unconscious, and early experience.
4. The correct components of the A-B-C theory of personality are:
a. antecedent, behavior, consequences.
b. activating events, behaviors, cognitions.
c. antecedent, belief, cognitions.
d. activating event, belief, consequence.
5. REBT views emotional disturbances as the result of:
a. inadequate mothering during infancy.
b. failure to fulfill our existential needs.
c. excessive feelings.
d. irrational thinking and behaving.
6. According to REBT, what is the core of most emotional disturbance?
a. blame
b. resentment
c. rage
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d. unfinished business
e. depression
7. REBT contends that people:
a. have a need to be loved and accepted by everyone.
b. need to be accepted by most people.
c. will become emotionally sick if they are rejected.
d. do not need to be accepted and loved.
8. Which of the following statements does not reflect one of Ellis’s three basic musts?
a. “If others fail to treat me well, they must be miserable human beings.”
b. “Others must like me and appreciate my talents or else I am a failure.”
c. “I must be kind to others or else I won’t be a good person.”
d. “I must get what I want when I want it or I won’t be able to stand it.”
9. REBT employs what kind of method to help people resolve their emotional and behavioral problems?
a. the phenomenological method
b. the empirical method
c. the Gestalt method
d. the philosophical method
10. The main therapeutic goal of REBT is:
a. to teach clients how to recognize which ego state they are in.
b. to make the unconscious conscious.
c. to assist the client in becoming aware of his or her “being-in-the-world.”
d. to challenge the client in making both a value judgment and moral decision about the quality of his
or her behavior.
e. none of these
11. The main function of the rational emotive behavior therapist is to:
a. become an “existential partner” with the client.
b. create a climate of safety and freedom from threat.
c. challenge clients to reevaluate their ideas and philosophy of life.
d. encourage the client to experience fully the here-and-now.
e. help the client relive past emotional traumas.
12. REBT can best be considered as:
a. an educative process.
b. a didactic process.
c. a process challenging ideas and thinking.
d. a teaching/learning process.
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e. all of these.
13. Who developed a cognitive behavioral program for diet and maintenance and has written trade
books about this topic?
a. Albert Ellis
b. Robert Wubbolding
c. Gerald Corey
d. Judith Beck
e. Donald Meichenbaum
14. The role of the client in rational emotive behavior therapy is like that of a:
a. co-therapist.
b. passive observer.
c. student or learner.
d. partner.
15. Which method is not employed in REBT?
a. the “homework assignment” method
b. the contract method
c. the logical analysis method
d. behavioral and action methods
e. free association
16. Which theorist is known for his or her abrasive, humorous, and flamboyant style?
a. Albert Ellis
b. Aaron Beck
c. Judith Beck
d. Carl Rogers
e. Natalie Rogers
17. Cognitive restructuring plays an important role in whose approach to therapy?
a. Albert Ellis
b. Donald Meichenbaum
c. A. T. Beck
d. Judith Beck
e. all of these
18. A feature of REBT that distinguishes it from other cognitive-behavioral therapies is:
a. its use of the A-B-C theory in analyzing the client.
b. its use of behavioral techniques.
c. its applicability to group work.
d. its systematic exposition of irrational beliefs that result in emotional and behavioral disturbance.
19. Beck’s cognitive therapy involves all of the options below except:
a. helping clients recognize and discard self defeating thinking.
b. looking at a client’s “internal dialogue.”
c. correcting erroneous beliefs.
d. conducting a lifestyle assessment.
20. Sonia, a recovering alcoholic, is going through relapse prevention. During this process, it is
likely that she will:
a. be taught to view any lapses that occur as “learning opportunities” rather than “catastrophic
failures.”
b. avoid exploring possible high-risk stressful situations that she could encounter.
c. learn that a lapse in willpower will have catastrophic results.
d. undergo hypnosis.
21. Which of the following is the correct order of the three phases of Meichenbaum’s stress-
inoculation program?
a. conceptual-application-rehearsal
b. application-conceptual-rehearsal
c. application-rehearsal-conceptual
d. rehearsal-conceptual-application
e. conceptual-rehearsal-application
22. According to Ellis, we develop emotional and behavioral difficulties because:
a. we think of simple preferences as dire needs.
b. we live by the values our parents gave us.
c. we refuse to deal with unfinished business.
d. we have learned maladaptive behaviors.
e. we do not possess any self-actualizing tendencies.
23. An REBT therapist would contend that anxiety stems from:
a. unresolved issues of the past.
b. inadequate ego-defense mechanisms.
c. the internal repetition of irrational sentences.
d. a normal human condition that should be accepted.
e. oppressive social conditions.
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24. In REBT, what method is taught to clients to help them challenge irrational beliefs?
a. autogenic method
b. disputational method
c. self-management method
d. phenomenological method
e. multimodal method
25. Which of the following is true about the relationship between a client and a rational emotive behavior
therapist?
a. Therapists make value judgments in helping their clients gain insight.
b. It is characterized by full acceptance and tolerance.
c. Personal warmth is considered to be very important.
d. The therapist assumes a nondirective stance.
e. Transference is encouraged to develop.
26. Which of the following REBT techniques helps a client gradually learn to deal with anxiety and
challenge basic irrational thinking?
a. biofeedback
b. cognitive homework
c. dream analysis
d. skill training
e. assertiveness training
27. According to REBT, it is important to change the way one uses language because:
a. imprecise language is one of the causes of distorted thinking processes.
b. language shapes thinking and behavior.
c. language shapes feelings.
d. all of these
28. The REBT technique that involves having clients imagine themselves in situations where they feel
inappropriate feelings is called:
a. cognitive homework.
b. disputing irrational beliefs.
c. role playing.
d. shame-attacking exercises.
e. rational-emotive imagery.
29. Which of the following is not true about role playing in REBT?
a. It is a way of surfacing unfinished business.
b. It involves emotional components.
c. It involves behavioral components.
d. It helps pinpoint irrational beliefs.
e. It allows the client to work through underlying irrational beliefs.
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30. Which REBT technique involves having the client do the very thing they avoid because of “what
people might think?”
a. role playing
b. desensitization
c. cognitive homework
d. shame-attacking exercises
e. changing one’s language
31. All of the following are true as they apply to self-instructional therapy, except that:
a. it was developed by Meichenbaum.
b. it is a form of cognitive restructuring.
c. it is an outgrowth of an approach used widely by crisis intervention workers called self-induced
change therapy.
d. it is also known as cognitive behavior modification.
32. Which of the following is not part of the five-step treatment procedure used in a coping-skills program?
a. exposing clients to anxiety-provoking situations by means of role playing and imagery
b. evaluating the anxiety level of the client by using both physiological and psychological tests
c. teaching clients to become aware of the anxiety-provoking cognitions they experience in stressful
situations
d. having the clients examine their thoughts through reevaluating their self-statements
e. noting the level of anxiety following reevaluation
33. All of the following are cognitive methods of REBT except for:
a. shame-attacking exercises.
b. disputing irrational beliefs.
c. changing one’s language.
d. completing homework assignments.
34. Which of the following is not true of Beck’s cognitive therapy?
a. It is an insight therapy.
b. It is a short-term or time-limited structured approach.
c. It is an active and focused form of therapy.
d. It asserts that irrational beliefs lead to emotional problems.
e. It is based on the assumption that the way people feel and behave is determined by the way they
structure their experience.
35. One of the main ways that Beck’s cognitive therapy differs from Ellis’s REBT is that in Beck’s
approach, more so than in Ellis’s approach:
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a. reality testing is highly organized.
b. thinking is considered to influence feeling and action.
c. the quality of the therapeutic relationship is basic to the therapy process.
d. clients are asked to look for evidence to support their conclusions.
36. In Meichenbaum’s cognitive behavior modification, what is given primary importance?
a. using emotive techniques
b. collaborative empiricism
c. automatic thoughts
d. inner speech
e. a multimodal approach to changing one’s thinking and behaving
37. Stress inoculation training consists of all of the following except:
a. behavioral rehearsals.
b. self-monitoring.
c. cognitive restructuring.
d. problem solving.
e. tapping into the unconscious realm.
38. One strength of cognitive behavioral therapy group counseling is that:
a. emphasis is placed on symptom prevention.
b. clients can remain relatively emotionally disengaged.
c. leaders take a non-directive stance.
d. leaders believe that insight is necessary for behavior change.
39. In cognitive therapy, techniques are designed to:
a. assist clients in substituting rational beliefs for irrational beliefs.
b. help clients experience their feelings more intensely.
c. assist individuals in making alternative interpretations of events in their daily living.
d. enable clients to deal with their existential loneliness.
e. teach clients how to think only positive thoughts.
40. The type of cognitive error that involves thinking and interpreting in all-or-nothing terms, or in
categorizing experiences in either/or extremes, is known as:
a. magnification and exaggeration.
b. polarized thinking.
c. arbitrary inference.
d. overgeneralization.
41. Beck’s cognitive therapy differs from Ellis’s REBT in that Beck’s approach emphasizes:
a. more of a Socratic dialogue.
b. helping clients to discover their misconceptions by themselves.
c. working with the client in collaborative ways.
d. more structure in the therapy process.
e. all of these
42. Beck’s cognitive therapy has been most widely applied to the treatment of:
a. stress symptoms.
b. anxiety reactions.
c. phobias.
d. depression.
e. cardiovascular disorders.
43. Which stage is not included in Meichenbaum’s model for stress inoculation training?
a. the conceptual-educational phase
b. the cognition deconstruction phase
c. the skills acquisition and consolidation phase
d. the application and follow-through phase
44. The cognitive distortion of making conclusions without supporting and relevant evidence is:
a. labeling and mislabeling.
b. overgeneralization.
c. arbitrary inferences.
d. selective abstraction.
e. personalization.
45. The cognitive distortion that consists of forming conclusions based on an isolated detail of an event is:
a. labeling and mislabeling.
b. overgeneralization.
c. arbitrary inferences.
d. selective abstraction.
e. personalization.
46. The process of holding extreme beliefs on the basis of a single incident and applying them
inappropriately to dissimilar events or settings is known as:
a. labeling and mislabeling.
b. overgeneralization.
c. arbitrary inferences.
d. selective abstraction.
e. personalization.
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47. The tendency for individuals to relate external events to themselves, even when there is no basis for
making this connection, is known as:
a. labeling and mislabeling.
b. overgeneralization.
c. arbitrary inferences.
d. selective abstraction.
e. personalization.
48. The cognitive distortion that involves portraying one’s identity on the basis of imperfections and
mistakes made in the past and allowing them to define one’s true identity is:
a. labeling and mislabeling.
b. overgeneralization.
c. arbitrary inferences
d. selective abstraction.
e. personalization.
49. To a large degree, cognitive therapy is:
a. an experiential model.
b. a psychoeducational model.
c. a psychodynamic model.
d. based on principles borrowed from Gestalt therapy.
50. The concept of automatic thoughts plays a central role in whose theory?
a. Ellis
b. Beck
c. Meichenbaum
d. Lazarus
e. Bandura
51. Of the following cognitive techniques, which one would Beck be least likely to employ?
a. exploring cognitive distortions
b. helping clients to replace negative imagery with more positive and successful coping scenes
c. confronting the musturbatory thinking of a client
d. encouraging clients to participate in cognitive rehearsal
e. teaching clients ways of testing hypotheses
52. According to Meichenbaum, the first step in the change process involves:
a. learning the A-B-C model of disputing irrational thinking.
b. learning a new dialogue.
c. observing one’s behavior and thinking patterns.
d. learning coping skills.
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e. discovering insight into the cause of one’s problem.
53. The constructivist perspective in cognitive therapy holds that:
a. clients must accept objective reality if they hope to change.
b. there is really no difference between objective and subjective reality.
c. one’s problems are merely a product of one’s imagination.
d. there are multiple realities and a therapist’s task is to help clients appreciate how they construct
their realities and how they author their own stories.
e. we all construct irrational beliefs and must change those if we hope to find happiness.
54. Which of the following is not a characteristic of Meichenbaum’s constructivist approach to cognitive
behavior therapy?
a. It is more structured and more directive than standard cognitive therapy.
b. It gives more emphasis to the past.
c. It tends to target deeper core beliefs.
d. It explores the behavioral impact and emotional toll a client pays for clinging to certain metaphors.
55. Jim told Margie, a cognitive therapist who has adopted a constructivist perspective, that he is
a prisoner of his dysfunctional past. Margie should do all of the following except:
a. help Jim appreciate how he has constructed reality and examine the implications and
conclusions he draws from his stories.
b. encourage him to tell the rest of his story.
c. steer Jim away from telling his story since storytelling is regarded as a form of resistance.
d. help Jim to see himself as a survivor of dysfunction who has thrived despite the barriers he has
faced.
56. Cognitive behavioral therapists assist clients in using language that:
a. is not self-condemning.
b. depicts the client’s thoughts in a rational and accurate manner.
c. replaces absolutes with preferences.
d. all of these
57. Which of the following statements is true with regard to the fit between the cognitive
behavioral approaches and multicultural counseling?
a. There is an “almost perfect fit” between cognitive behavior therapy and multicultural
counseling because these perspectives share common assumptions that make integration possible.
b. The terms “cognitive behavior therapy” and “multicultural counseling” are used
interchangeably because they refer to the same approach.
c. Integration is not possible between the cognitive behavioral approach and multicultural
counseling.
d. Neither of the approaches taps into the inner resources and strengths of clients.
58. Roberto, who struggles with feeling inadequate as a provider and husband, has come to work
with a cognitive behavioral therapist. In addition to feeling inadequate, he feels angry that he has
been marginalized by the mainstream culture. As his therapist, you should do all of the following
except:
a. refrain from using jargon such as the terms “irrational, maladaptive, and dysfunctional”
b. adapt the language presented in cognitive restructuring to Roberto’s primary language, age, and
educational level.
c. avoid using disrespectful language when describing Roberto’s cognitions
d. impress Roberto with your use of jargon to reinforce that you are the expert.
59. A noteworthy strength of the cognitive behavioral approaches is:
a. they have strong empirical support.
b. they pay careful attention to the client’s early development.
c. they are well-suited to clients who have difficulty with abstraction.
d. They consider insight and action equally important forces in therapeutic change.
60. To what does the term “cognitive triad” refer?
a. Aaron Beck coined the term to refer to himself and two other cognitive-oriented theorists, Ellis
and Meichenbaum, who have revolutionized the field of counseling.
b. It refers to the three generations of Becks (Aaron, his daughter Judith, and his grandchild who is
a social worker specializing in cognitive therapy).
c. It is a pattern that triggers depression.
d. It is a cognitive behavioral intervention.
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TRUE/FALSE TEST ITEMS
Decide if the following statements are “more true” or “more false” as applied to rational emotive behavior
therapy.
1. Ellis contends that research has shown that REBT is effective in helping all types of clients.
2. Ellis claims that his methods are applicable to individual therapy but that his approach does not work
well in group therapy.
3. Bibliotherapeutic approaches have empirical support for the treatment of depression, for a
variety of anxiety disorders, and for a range of clinical problems.
4. Cognitive behavioral group therapy stresses the importance of homework outside of the therapy
session.
5. Ellis maintains that REBT is an eclectic form of therapy.
6. Ellis was originally trained as a psychoanalyst.
7. According to Ellis, events themselves do not cause emotional disturbances; rather it is our evaluation of
these events that causes the problem.
8. REBT hypothesizes that we keep ourselves emotionally disturbed by the process of self-indoctrination.
9. Ellis suggests that most clients attend both individual and group therapy at some point in time.
10. REBT contends that humans need the love and acceptance of significant others in order to feel
worthwhile.
11. Part of Ellis’s motivation for developing REBT was to deal with his own problems.
12. The cognitive-behavioral therapies are largely based on the idea that the reorganization of clients’ self-
statements is a key to changing their behavior.
13. There is no concept in REBT that in any way agrees with Rogers’s idea of unconditional positive
regard.
14. Rational-emotive imagery involves teaching relaxation techniques.
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15. REBT can be effectively employed in crisis intervention.
16. According to REBT, what is rational corresponds to a description of subjective reality.
17. Beck’s therapeutic approach focuses on specific symptoms of depressed clients and the reasons they
give for these symptoms.
18. Since humor shows the absurdity of certain ideas that clients steadfastly maintain, it is always
inappropriate to use in sessions as it might be perceived as offensive.
19. Stress inoculation is a coping-skills approach designed to change a person’s self-statements.
20. From a cognitive perspective, depression is largely due to one’s attitudes and beliefs.
21. There is little empirical support for the application of the cognitive behavioral approach to group
counseling.
22. To varying degrees, most CBT interventions are integrated models of psychotherapy.
23. In family therapy contexts, cognitive behavior therapists are particularly interested in family schemata.
24. According to Beck, selective abstraction is used by clients to reinforce negative schemas and support
their maladaptive core beliefs.
25. In CBT, clients and counselor jointly set the agenda for the therapy session.