Free EPPP (Part 2-Skills) Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the EPPP (Part 2-Skills) practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A psychologist reads a randomized trial in which a manualized 12-session panic protocol produced large, replicated symptom reduction. The psychologist now has to judge whether that protocol can realistically be delivered at the rural community clinic where the psychologist works, given the caseload's transportation barriers and the clinic's staffing. Under APA policy on evidence-based practice in psychology, which dimension of the research evidence is the psychologist weighing at this point?

   1. A. Clinical utility, the applicability, feasibility and usefulness of the intervention in the local setting where it is to be offered
   2. B. Treatment efficacy, the systematic and scientific evaluation of whether the intervention produces the effect that is claimed for it
   3. C. Internal validity, the degree to which the design of the trial rules out alternative explanations for the change that was observed
   4. D. Construct validity, the degree to which the outcome measures used in the trial capture the condition they are said to measure

   Answer: A

   Explanation: APA policy on evaluating research on specific interventions identifies two dimensions, and the question of whether an efficacious protocol can actually be delivered in this clinic belongs to the second one: "The second dimension is clinical utility, the applicability, feasibility, and usefulness of the intervention in the local or specific setting where it is to be offered." Option B names the other dimension, which the trial has already addressed. Options C and D name real properties of the trial's design and measures, not of the fit between the protocol and this clinic.

   Reference: WPM$21DB.doc — Report of the 2005 Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice, section on research evidence, discussion of the two dimensions drawn from the Criteria for Evaluating Treatment Guidelines

2. 2A referral arrives asking a psychologist for cognitive testing of an adult, with no statement of what decision the results will inform. The psychologist has a well-validated battery on hand and could begin immediately. Under APA guidance on psychological assessment and evaluation, what is the consequence of administering the battery without first establishing the need and purpose for the assessment, the examinee's characteristics, and the setting?

   1. A. The interpretation and application of the results are more likely to be limited or inaccurate
   2. B. The administration is invalid, so the resulting scores may not be entered into the clinical record
   3. C. The battery must be readministered once the referral question has been clarified by the referrer
   4. D. The scores may be reported as raw values only, without any standardized score conversions

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The APA Guidelines for Psychological Assessment and Evaluation state that "Without complete understanding of the need and purpose for the assessment, the characteristics of the examinee, the appropriateness of the instruments chosen, and the context and setting in which assessment occurs, interpretation and application of the results of the assessment are more likely to be limited and/or inaccurate." Options B, C and D each assert a procedural consequence that would follow from a defect in the administration itself; the defect here is in the framing of the assessment question, which degrades what the scores can support rather than voiding the administration.

   Reference: APA Guidelines for Psychological Assessment and Evaluation — APA Guidelines for Psychological Assessment and Evaluation, Guideline 1, Rationale, discussion of referral questions and the purpose of assessment

3. 3A psychologist tells a supervisee that having grown up in the same region as most of the clinic's clients means the psychologist's own background will not affect case conceptualizations. Under the APA Multicultural Guidelines, what does that claim get wrong about the psychologist's position?

   1. A. Psychologists are themselves cultural beings whose attitudes and beliefs can shape their perceptions of others and their clinical and empirical conceptualizations
   2. B. Psychologists share a professional culture acquired in training that displaces the influence of the regional background in which they were raised
   3. C. Psychologists who share a region with their clients need to attend instead to differences of social class, which regional similarity tends to conceal
   4. D. Psychologists cannot judge the influence of their own background without formal testing, so the claim can neither be supported nor refuted

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The APA Multicultural Guidelines state that "Psychologists aspire to recognize and understand that as cultural beings, they hold attitudes and beliefs that can influence their perceptions of and interactions with others as well as their clinical and empirical conceptualizations." Shared geography does not remove that influence. Option C names a real dimension that regional similarity can obscure but treats it as the whole issue, option B posits a professional culture that supersedes personal socialization, and option D makes the question unanswerable rather than addressing it.

   Reference: Apa Multicultural Guidelines — APA Multicultural Guidelines: An Ecological Approach to Context, Identity, and Intersectionality, Guideline 2

4. 4A psychologist has read widely about a therapy for a condition never treated in the psychologist's practice, has attended one conference session on it, and has never delivered it under any oversight. A prospective client asks whether the psychologist can provide it. Under the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, on what does the boundary of the psychologist's competence rest?

   1. A. Education, training, supervised experience, consultation, study, or professional experience in the population and the area concerned
   2. B. Whether the psychologist's licence lists the area concerned among the modalities the licensing authority has authorized
   3. C. Whether the psychologist has read the treatment manual in full and can describe the sequence of its component sessions
   4. D. Whether the psychologist is willing to disclose the limited background to the client before treatment gets under way

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The Ethics Code provides that "Psychologists provide services, teach, and conduct research with populations and in areas only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, consultation, study, or professional experience." Study is one of the listed bases, but the standard names it alongside training, supervised experience and consultation rather than as a substitute for them. Option B looks to a licence that generally does not enumerate modalities, option C mistakes familiarity with a manual for competence, and option D treats disclosure as though it created competence.

   Reference: Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct — APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, Standard 2.01(a), Boundaries of Competence

5. 5A psychologist is asked to test an adult whose capacity to make a housing decision is in question, and the adult's willingness to consent is itself uncertain. Under the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, which set of circumstances excuses the psychologist from obtaining informed consent for an assessment?

   1. A. Testing mandated by law or governmental regulations, testing conducted as a routine institutional activity where consent is implied, and testing to evaluate decisional capacity
   2. B. Testing requested by a treating physician, testing conducted while the person is an inpatient, and testing where a guardian has already been appointed by a court
   3. C. Testing paid for by a third party, testing conducted for research purposes under review board oversight, and testing where the results will not be released
   4. D. Testing mandated by law, testing conducted in an emergency, and testing where the person has previously consented to assessment by the same psychologist

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The Ethics Code provides that "Psychologists obtain informed consent for assessments, evaluations, or diagnostic services, as described in Standard 3.10, Informed Consent, except when (1) testing is mandated by law or governmental regulations; (2) informed consent is implied because testing is conducted as a routine educational, institutional, or organizational activity (e.g., when participants voluntarily agree to assessment when applying for a job); or (3) one purpose of the testing is to evaluate decisional capacity." Options B, C and D each mix a real exception with circumstances the standard does not list, such as inpatient status, third-party payment, or a prior consent.

   Reference: Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct — APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, Standard 9.03(a), Informed Consent in Assessments

6. 6A manufacturer engages a psychologist to run a workplace resilience program for its production staff. Under the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, which set of matters must the psychologist provide information about beforehand to the client and, where appropriate, to those directly affected?

   1. A. The nature and objectives of the services, the intended recipients, who the clients are, the psychologist's relationship with each party, the probable uses of the services and information, who will have access, and the limits of confidentiality
   2. B. The psychologist's qualifications and fee arrangement, the evidence base for the program content, the anticipated duration of the engagement, the schedule and location of the sessions, the arrangements for individual follow-up, and the complaints route
   3. C. The employer's reasons for commissioning the program, the outcome measures that will be collected, the reporting timetable to management, the escalation route for concerns raised in sessions, and the arrangements for opting out of the program
   4. D. The statutory basis for workplace wellbeing programs, the psychologist's professional liability arrangements, the venue and timing of the sessions, the period for which records will be retained, and the complaints procedure available to staff

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The Ethics Code standard on psychological services delivered to or through organizations requires that psychologists provide information beforehand about "(1) the nature and objectives of the services, (2) the intended recipients, (3) which of the individuals are clients, (4) the relationship the psychologist will have with each person and the organization, (5) the probable uses of services provided and information obtained, (6) who will have access to the information, and (7) limits of confidentiality". Options B, C and D each list matters that a well-run engagement may cover, but none of them is the set the standard specifies.

   Reference: Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct — APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, Standard 3.11(a), Psychological Services Delivered to or Through Organizations

7. 7Two published studies of the same new treatment for adolescent depression report similar rates of improvement. In the first, adolescents were randomly assigned either to the new treatment or to a credible comparison condition. In the second, a single group of adolescents who chose the new treatment was followed over the same period. Applying APA policy on evaluating intervention research, why does the first study license a stronger conclusion that the treatment caused the improvement?

   1. A. It is the most effective way to rule out threats to internal validity within a single experiment
   2. B. It recruits participants from a wider range of community settings, so its findings transfer better
   3. C. It follows participants for a longer period, so any improvement is less likely to prove temporary
   4. D. It relies on standardized outcome instruments, so improvement scores can be compared across sites

   Answer: A

   Explanation: APA policy ranks types of evidence for causal conclusions about efficacy and states that among sophisticated empirical methodologies, "randomized controlled experiments represent a more stringent way to evaluate treatment efficacy because they are the most effective way to rule out threats to internal validity in a single experiment". Options B, C and D each describe a genuine design strength, but breadth of recruitment, length of follow-up and standardization of measures are not what random assignment contributes, and none of them is stated in the comparison between these two studies.

   Reference: WPM$21DB.doc — Report of the 2005 Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice, section on best available research evidence, criteria 2.1 to 2.3

8. 8An employer asks a psychologist to evaluate an employee and to send the findings to the employer's human resources office. The employee will be seen in the psychologist's office and has been told only that an appointment has been scheduled. Under the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, what must the psychologist clarify at the outset of the service?

   1. A. The psychologist's role, who the client is, the probable uses of the information, and that confidentiality may be limited
   2. B. The employer's reason for ordering the evaluation, the personnel action being contemplated, and the appeal route
   3. C. The employee's diagnostic history, the instruments to be administered, and the anticipated length of the appointment
   4. D. The psychologist's fee arrangement with the employer, the billing schedule, and the collection steps if fees go unpaid

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Where a psychologist agrees to provide services to a person at the request of a third party, the Ethics Code requires clarification at the outset that "includes the role of the psychologist (e.g., therapist, consultant, diagnostician, or expert witness), an identification of who is the client, the probable uses of the services provided or the information obtained, and the fact that there may be limits to confidentiality." Options B, C and D each name information that may be worth discussing, and fee arrangements are separately governed, but none of them is the set this standard requires the psychologist to settle before beginning.

   Reference: Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct — APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, Standard 3.07, Third-Party Requests for Services

9. 9A psychologist has completed a weekend workshop on working with a particular cultural community and now describes that area of practice as one where no further learning is needed. Under APA guidance on multicultural orientation in health service psychology, what does cultural humility involve that this stance abandons?

   1. A. Curiosity, openness and co-learning, sustained by continuing self-reflection and the recognition that there is always more to learn
   2. B. Formal certification in the practices of the community concerned, renewed on the schedule that the certifying body specifies
   3. C. Deference to community members on all clinical decisions affecting members of that community, including diagnostic conclusions
   4. D. Disclosure to each client of the specific training the psychologist has completed regarding that client's cultural community

   Answer: A

   Explanation: APA guidance describes multicultural orientation as comprising three pillars, the first of which is "cultural humility, characterized by curiosity, openness, and co-learning", and directs that supervisors "actively strive to cultivate cultural humility by continuously engaging in self-reflection, recognizing there is always more to learn". Options B, C and D each substitute an external marker, a credential, wholesale deference, or disclosure, for the ongoing internal stance that cultural humility names.

   Reference: APA Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology — APA Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology, Domain B, Multicultural Orientation

10. 10A psychologist who routinely administers cognitive ability measures in school settings to identify learning disabilities is asked to use the same instruments to address whether a defendant is competent to stand trial. Under APA guidance on psychological assessment and evaluation, does prior competence with those instruments settle the question?

    1. A. No, because competence is tied to the purpose for which the instrument is used as well as to technical mastery of the instrument itself
    2. B. Yes, because the psychometric properties of the instruments do not change with the purpose for which they are administered
    3. C. No, because forensic assessment requires instruments developed specifically for legal questions rather than general ability measures
    4. D. Yes, provided the psychologist states in the report that the instruments were developed for educational rather than legal use

    Answer: A

    Explanation: The APA Guidelines for Psychological Assessment and Evaluation give this exact contrast, noting that "Psychologists may be competent to administer measures of cognitive ability for the purpose of psychoeducational determinations of a learning disability but not competent to use the same tests to determine competency to stand trial.", and that competency is determined both by technical mastery over a test and by the appropriately identified need for it in the overall purpose of the assessment. Option C states a rule about instrument type that the guidance does not adopt, and options B and D treat psychometric stability or a disclaimer as answering a question about the examiner's competence.

    Reference: APA Guidelines for Psychological Assessment and Evaluation — APA Guidelines for Psychological Assessment and Evaluation, Guideline 1, Rationale