MFT Exam (with complete solutions)

Classical Conditioning: correct answers A learning paradigm studied and practiced in a laboratory or other controlled environment in which a stimulus called the unconditioned stimulus (US) which naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UCR), is paired with a neutral stimulus that does not initially elicit a response. Through the repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus (now the conditioned stimulus - CS) begins to elicit the desired response (now the conditioned response - CR). Coercion (Aversive Control): correct answers From behavioral family therapy, one person uses aversive stimuli to control the behavior of another. Coaching correct answers In Bowenian therapy (used by other models as well), the use of an objective person, such as the therapist, to guide a family member to interact with other members in new ways and prevent the family from seducing the person back into older, dysfunctional behaviors. The therapist takes an educative role, rather than an emotional one. Sibling Position: correct answers Bowen theory incorporates the research of psychologist Walter Toman as a foundation for its concept of sibling position. Bowen observed the impact of sibling position on development and behavior in his family research. However, he found Toman's work so thorough and consistent with his ideas that he incorporated it into his theory. The basic idea is that people who grow up in the same sibling position predictably have important common characteristics. For example, oldest children tend to gravitate to leadership positions and youngest children often prefer to be followers. The characteristics of one position are not "better" than those of another position, but are complementary. For example, a boss who is an oldest child may work unusually well with a first assistant who is a youngest child. Youngest children may like to be in charge, but their leadership style typically differs from an oldest's style. (From the Bowen Center website) Cognitive Behavior Family Therapy (CBT): correct answers Therapies based on both behavioral techniques, which grew out of scientific, laboratory experiments, and on the cognitive therapy models. People learn to modify behaviors both by altering the reinforcement contingencies and/or changing the cognitions that influence their behaviors and interactions. Cognitive Maps: correct answers Mental models by which incoming information is perceived, understood, transformed, and stored, together with a corresponding repertoire of behavioral options. Maps are based on the integration of experiences. Each part of the cognitive map - i.e., input and output - forms the individual's internal representation of reality. Cognitive maps shape actions and communication. They may be flexible, able to change and expand cumulatively with new information and experiences, or they may be rigid and limiting. Maps have both language and spatial aspects with a private vocabulary and imagery that determines how incoming communication is interpreted. Collaborative Language Family Therapy: correct answers From Goolishian and Anderson, a model of family therapy based on the idea that problems are maintained in the family's language and may be resolved by changes in their use of language. The therapist asks questions from a not