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Chapter 5- Adlerian Therapy
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MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST ITEMS
1. Adler taught that we must successfully master three universal life tasks. Which of the
following is not one of these tasks?
a. building friendships
b. establishing intimacy
c. contributing to society
d. enhancing wellness
2. Which is (are) true concerning one’s style of life?
a. All people have a lifestyle, but no two people develop exactly the same style.
b. The lifestyle is largely set by the age of 6.
c. One’s style of life is a reaction to perceived inferiority.
d. One’s style of life is learned from early interactions in the family.
e. All of these
3. Which of the statements below about social interest is true?
a. While Adler considered social interest to be innate, he also believed that it must be
learned, developed, and used.
b. Adler believed most people to be incapable of developing social interest even though it
was something to which they should aspire.
c. In his later years, Adler recanted his beliefs about social interest and focused on addressing
unconscious dynamics as the key to mental health.
d. The concept of social interest was originally introduced by Freud, and Adler incorporated
it into his theory.
4. Dr. Jones told Emily that her efforts to overcome her fear of test taking at school will most
likely lead her to outperform all of her classmates one day. This intervention:
a. was appropriate because it was intended to bolster Emily’s self-esteem and academic self-
concept.
b. was inappropriate because Dr. Jones was confusing Adler’s notion of superiority with the
idea that her client would become superior over others.
c. was not only unethical, it was illegal.
d. was inappropriate because Emily will never be able to outperform her classmates.
5. The purpose of examining a client’s family constellation is:
a. to get a picture of the individual’s early social world.
b. to bring unconscious factors to the surface.
c. to discover hereditary aspects of the client’s behavior.
d. to determine who else in the family needs help.
6. The term “social interest” refers to:
a. an individual’s attitude in dealing with the social world.
b. a sense of identification and empathy with others.
c. striving for a better future for all humans.
d. all of these.
7. The statement “Only when I receive everyone’s approval will I be whole” is an example of:
a. a guiding self-ideal.
b. something a personality disordered individual would say.
c. a realistic goal.
d. retroflection.
e. reaction formation.
8. All of the following are stages in Adlerian counseling except:
a. reorientation.
b. insight.
c. establishing a therapeutic relationship.
d. analysis and assessment.
e. analysis of resistance.
9. The process of encouragement in Adlerian counseling includes:
a. helping clients use all their resources.
b. transforming traits that can be liabilities into assets.
c. helping clients recognize and accept their positive qualities.
d. all of these.
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10. An Adlerian therapist asks for the client’s earliest recollections in order to:
a. discover goals and motivations.
b. reveal their beliefs and basic mistakes.
c. give clues as to the development of that individual’s lifestyle.
d. all of these
11. According to Adlerians, inferiority feelings:
a. are pathological.
b. lead to depression.
c. keep us from achieving our life goals.
d. are directly related to our family constellation.
e. create motivation to achieve mastery.
12. Dr. Kane pointed out to her client John that his feelings of inadequacy at work seem
reminiscent of the feelings he experienced in his family of origin. It is probable that Dr. Kane:
a. was crossing theoretical boundaries by referring to John’s past.
b. was looking for continuity by paying attention to themes running through John’s life.
c. was trying to get John to tap into the unconscious realm by having him explore painful
memories related to his family of origin.
d. was hoping her intervention would promote transference, which could then be worked
through.
13. Adlerians view the use of techniques in counseling as:
a. geared to the phase of therapy and the needs of the client.
b. more important than paying attention to the subjective experiences of the client.
c. against their basic philosophy.
d. unethical.
14. Which of the following techniques is not used in Adlerian family counseling?
a. the initial interview
b. paradoxical interventions
c. analyzing resistances between members of the family
d. making an appraisal
e. all are used
15. Adlerian therapy has a phenomenological orientation. Thus, the therapist attempts to
view the world:
a. from an objective frame of reference.
b. from his or her own subjective frame of reference.
c. from the client’s frame of reference.
d. from the frame of reference of a particular theory.
e. none of these
16. Which of the following statements is not true about Alfred Adler?
a. He created child guidance clinics.
b. His early childhood was happy.
c. He worked with Freud for at least eight years.
d. He had much to say about child-rearing practices.
17. When Adler spoke of individuality, he referred to:
a. the unique way we rewrite our own life script.
b. the unique way we deal with the crises of our development.
c. the unique way we confront our unfinished business.
d. the unique way we develop our own style of striving for competence.
18. “Fictional finalism” is an Adlerian term meaning:
a. the unrealistic ideas that we have about the way life should be.
b. our strict adherence to certain beliefs that are not based on reality.
c. an imagined central goal that guides our behavior.
d. our stubborn resistance to change.
19. In helping clients to examine their mistaken goals and faulty assumptions, an Adlerian therapist does
not use:
a. encouragement.
b. challenge and confrontation.
c. open-ended interpretations.
d. interpretation of the transference relationship.
20. Which of the following aspects are assessed when exploring a client’s family constellation?
a. birth order
b. interactions between siblings and parents
c. the child’s psychological position in the family
d. all of the above
21. Which of the following is not true about the Adlerian concept of “private logic”?
a. It is a result of the feelings and emotions we experience in our daily lives.
b. It provides a central psychological unity for us.
c. It is the philosophy upon which we base our lifestyle.
d. It often does not conform to the reality of social living.
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22. Adler chose the name ___________________for his theoretical approach because:
a. Individual Psychology; he wanted to avoid reductionism.
b. Individual Psychology; someone else had already adopted the name he wanted to use.
c. Ego Psychology; he did not want anyone to confuse his approach with Id Psychology.
d. Ego Psychology; he emphasized consciousness and deemphasized the power of the
instincts.
23. Which of these statements is not true about Alfred Adler?
a. Along with Freud and Jung, Alfred Adler was a major contributor to the initial
development of the psychodynamic approach to therapy.
b. After resigning as president of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, Adler founded the
Society for Individual Psychology.
c. Alfred Adler has been criticized by intellectuals for failing to give his brother Edmund due
credit for helping him develop his theory.
d. Adler stresses the unity of personality, contending that people can only be understood as
integrated and complete beings.
e. None of these.
24. Adler pioneered the practice of teaching professionals through live demonstrations with
parents and children before large audiences. This is now called:
a. “open–forum” family counseling.
b. spectator therapy.
c. “on stage” family therapy.
d. “hot seat” family counseling.
25. One contribution of Adlerian therapy is that:
a. practitioners are given a great deal of freedom in working with their clients.
b. it offers a well-defined theory of personality.
c. many of its concepts have been supported by research.
d. it is a common-sense psychology.
26. Who is primarily credited with popularizing and extending Adler’s work by applying Adlerian
principles to group work?
a. Don Dinkmeyer
b. Erik Erikson
c. H. L. Ansbacher
d. Raymond Corsini
e. Rudolph Dreikurs
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27. Which of the following did Adler not stress?
a. the unity of personality
b. focus on early childhood experiences as determinants of later personality functioning
c. behavior is purposeful and goal-oriented
d. a unique style of life that is an expression of life goals
e. feelings of inferiority
28. Which child is most likely to demand center stage, tends to have difficulties in life when he or she is no
longer the center of attention, and is likely to become dependently tied to the mother?
a. the oldest child
b. the second child
c. the middle child
d. the youngest child
e. the only child
29. Which child tends to feel squeezed out and may develop a conviction that life is unfair and a feeling of
being cheated?
a. the oldest child
b. the second child
c. the middle child
d. the youngest child
e. the only child
30. All of the following are life tasks that Adler taught we must successfully master except for:
a. building friendships
b. establishing intimacy
c. contributing to society
d. achieving self-actualization
31. The client’s core experience in Adlerian therapy consists of:
a. working through the transference relationship.
b. discovering their basic mistakes and then learning how to correct them.
c. understanding how their relationship with their parents has shaped their personality.
d. understanding how their birth order has determined the person who they are today.
32. Which of the following would an Adlerian therapist particularly value?
a. interpretation of dreams
b. confronting the ways the client is living dependently since early childhood
c. modeling of communication and acting in socially minded ways
d. helping the client to work through the transference neurosis
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33. The premise of Adlerian group work is that:
a. clients’ problems are usually of a social nature.
b. early childhood disturbances are at the root of the client’s current problems.
c. individuals are encouraged to become fully independent.
d. insight, not action is needed for change.
34. When counseling couples, Adlerian therapists strive to:
a. create solutions for problems.
b. increase the couple’s choices.
c. help the couple discover their collective resources.
d. enhance the couple’s communication.
e. all of these
35. The Adlerian approach is well suited to multicultural counseling because:
a. the approach encourages clients to define themselves within their social context.
b. the approach has few rigid techniques.
c. the focus on early recollections allows clients to explore their past.
d. the focus on a lifestyle assessment is appealing to most cultures.
TRUE/FALSE TEST ITEMS
Decide if the following statements are “more true” or “more false” as they apply to Adlerian therapy.
1. Alfred Adler believed that what we are born with is not as important as what we choose to do with
the abilities and limitations we possess.
2. Adlerians have a teleological view of human nature.
3. Adler and Freud created very different theories, even though both men grew up in the
same city in the same era and were educated as physicians at the same university.
4. Adlerian therapists pay careful focus to techniques and work in structured, set ways.
5. Adler maintained that individuals attempt to overcome feelings of basic inferiority by developing a
lifestyle in which success is possible.
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6. In Adler’s view we can be fully understood only in light of knowing the purposes and goals toward
which we are striving.
7. Adlerians maintain that change is not possible without insight; understanding the causes of one’s
problems is a prerequisite to behavioral change.
8. Adlerian counseling focuses on the family constellation and the influence of the family on the
individual.
9. Encouragement is a part of the Adlerian counseling process.
10. Adlerians typically do not use techniques of interpretation, for they believe that clients can make
their own interpretations without therapist intervention.
11. From the Adlerian perspective, objective reality is more important than how we interpret reality
and the meanings we attach to what we experience.
12. Adlerians emphasize reeducating people and reshaping society.
13. For Adlerian counselors, techniques are helpful when adapted to the needs of the client.
14. By discussing a client’s earliest recollections, an Adlerian counselor hopes to bring unconscious
conflicts to the surface.
15. Adler stressed that our desire to strive for perfection is learned from our parents.
16. One Adlerian concept is that everything we do is influenced by our style of life.
17. “Fictional finalism” is a term that Adlerians use to describe our attitude in dealing with the social
world.
18. Clients are viewed by Adlerian therapists as “sick” and in need of a cure.
19. The concept of lifestyle refers to an individual’s core beliefs and assumptions through which the
person organizes his or her reality and finds meaning in life events.
20. Adlerians maintain that the priorities we choose arise from our personality strengths.
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21. Adlerian views of birth order and family constellation are highly relevant to individuals from all
cultural contexts.
22. Research supporting the effectiveness of the Adlerian approach is limited.
23. The Adlerian approach has a wide variety of applications including group and family therapy.
24. The Adlerian approach to parent education emphasizes listening to children.
25. Adlerian couples therapists use a psychoeducational approach.