NCMHCE Lifespan Development in Counseling 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client in their late 20s describes feeling 'in between'—not fully adult, not adolescent—and continues to explore identity, career, and relationships. This BEST aligns with which developmental concept?
- Extended adolescence
- Emerging adulthood (Correct answer)
- Delayed maturation
- Midlife transition
Correct answer: Emerging adulthood
Emerging adulthood, coined by Jeffrey Arnett, describes ages 18–29 as a distinct period of identity exploration, instability, and possibility.
Question 2: Carol Gilligan critiqued Kohlberg's moral development theory primarily because:
- It overemphasized postconventional reasoning
- It was based on studies of females only
- It neglected the ethics of care and relationships in female moral development (Correct answer)
- It failed to include adolescents in its research sample
Correct answer: It neglected the ethics of care and relationships in female moral development
Gilligan argued Kohlberg's model, based on male subjects, prioritized justice over care and thus failed to capture female moral development adequately.
Question 3: A child who witnessed parental violence shows contradictory behavior in the Strange Situation—approaching and then suddenly freezing or falling. This MOST likely indicates which attachment pattern?
- Secure
- Anxious-ambivalent
- Disorganized-disoriented (Correct answer)
- Avoidant
Correct answer: Disorganized-disoriented
Disorganized-disoriented attachment, associated with frightening or frightened caregiving, is marked by contradictory and chaotic behaviors toward the caregiver.
Question 4: A counselor explains to a supervisee that temperament is largely biologically based and relatively stable. This understanding aligns with research by:
- Bowlby and Ainsworth
- Thomas and Chess (Correct answer)
- Piaget and Vygotsky
- Erikson and Marcia
Correct answer: Thomas and Chess
Thomas and Chess identified nine dimensions of temperament (easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up) and established that temperament is innate and relatively stable.
Question 5: A 17-year-old is committed to a religious identity chosen by their parents without personally exploring alternatives. According to Marcia, this represents:
- Identity diffusion
- Identity moratorium
- Identity foreclosure (Correct answer)
- Identity achievement
Correct answer: Identity foreclosure
Identity foreclosure involves commitment to an identity without exploration, typically by adopting parents' or authority figures' values without questioning.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes the concept of 'scaffolding' in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory?
- Setting rigid academic expectations for children
- Providing temporary, adjustable support to help a learner reach the next skill level (Correct answer)
- Structuring a child's physical environment for optimal learning
- Repeating instructions until the child demonstrates mastery
Correct answer: Providing temporary, adjustable support to help a learner reach the next skill level
Scaffolding is the temporary, tailored support provided by a more skilled person to help a learner bridge the gap within the ZPD.
Question 7: A counselor working with an elderly client notices the client demonstrates wisdom and acceptance about past regrets. According to Erikson, this reflects successful resolution of which stage?
- Generativity vs. stagnation
- Industry vs. inferiority
- Ego integrity vs. despair (Correct answer)
- Initiative vs. guilt
Correct answer: Ego integrity vs. despair
Successful resolution of ego integrity vs. despair results in wisdom—a sense of acceptance and meaning about one's life despite imperfections.
NCMHCE Lifespan Development in Counseling 4
A client in their late 20s describes feeling 'in between'—not fully adult, not adolescent—and continues to explore identity, career, and relationships.
This BEST aligns with which developmental concept?