Free EPPP Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues Practice Questions
The Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues content area represents 16% of the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) and covers APA and CPA ethics codes, laws and court decisions, ethical decision-making, client rights, and research and supervision ethics. Review each answer and explanation as you practice.
The EPPP format is 225 questions in 255 minutes; this page is a focused content-area sample.
What Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues Covers on the EPPP
ASPPB's test specifications for this content area include:
- The APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct and the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists
- Professional standards and practice guidelines, including standards for educational and psychological testing
- Laws, statutes, and court decisions that affect practice
- Identifying and managing ethical issues, and models of ethical decision-making
- Client and patient rights, and continuing professional development
- Ethics in research, supervision, and technology-assisted services, and emerging legal and policy issues
How to Study Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
- Read the APA Ethics Code standards themselves, especially confidentiality, multiple relationships, informed consent, assessment, and therapy.
- For vignettes, choose the response that resolves the issue at the lowest appropriate level first, such as discussing a concern with a colleague before reporting.
- Know landmark cases such as Tarasoff and Jaffee v. Redmond, and remember that duty-to-protect laws vary by jurisdiction.
EPPP Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues Sample Questions with Answers
Sample Question 1 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
Eighteen months after therapy ended, a former client contacts a psychologist and asks to begin a romantic and sexual relationship. There was no such contact during or after therapy. According to the APA Ethics Code, the psychologist should:
- A. Agree after consulting a colleague, because more than one year has passed
- B. Decline, because the Code bars sexual intimacy for at least two years after therapy (Correct answer)
- C. Agree, because the former client initiated contact after therapy had ended
- D. Decline, because the code prohibits such relationships under all circumstances
Correct answer: B
Explanation: B is correct because Standard 10.08(a) prohibits sexual intimacies with former clients for at least two years after therapy ends, and 18 months falls within that period; even after two years, 10.08(b) permits them only in the most unusual circumstances. A is incorrect because the code sets a minimum of two years, not one, and consultation does not shorten that period. C is incorrect because who initiates contact does not change the two-year prohibition in Standard 10.08(a). D is incorrect because Standard 10.08(b) permits them after two years only in the most unusual circumstances, with the psychologist bearing the burden of showing no exploitation, so it is not an absolute ban.
Sample Question 2 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
Which U.S. Supreme Court decision recognized a psychotherapist-patient privilege in federal courts and extended it to licensed clinical social workers?
- A. Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals
- B. Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California
- C. Griggs v. Duke Power Co.
- D. Jaffee v. Redmond (Correct answer)
Correct answer: D
Explanation: D is correct because in Jaffee v. Redmond (1996) the Supreme Court held that confidential communications between a licensed psychotherapist, including a licensed clinical social worker, and a patient are privileged under federal law. A is incorrect because Daubert set the standard federal judges use to decide whether scientific expert testimony is admissible. B is incorrect because Tarasoff was a California Supreme Court case that established a duty to protect identifiable potential victims of a client's violence. C is incorrect because Griggs held that employment tests with disparate impact must be job-related, and it concerned employment discrimination rather than privilege.
Sample Question 3 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
A psychologist receives a former client's signed release asking that the client's "complete testing file, including the test stimulus booklets and scoring manuals," be sent to the client's attorney. There is no indication that release would harm the client or lead to misuse of the data. What is the MOST appropriate response?
- A. Send everything requested, because the client has signed a valid release
- B. Refuse to send anything until a court orders the release of the records
- C. Send the test data, including completed response forms, but not test materials (Correct answer)
- D. Send only a written summary of the results in place of the requested file
Correct answer: C
Explanation: C is correct because Standard 9.04 directs psychologists to provide test data, which includes the portions of test materials containing the client's responses, to persons named in a release, while Standard 9.11 requires them to protect manuals, instruments, and test stimuli. A is incorrect because a client's release covers test data, not test materials, which psychologists must protect under Standard 9.11. B is incorrect because a court order is needed only when there is no client release, and here the client has signed one. D is incorrect because Standard 9.04 calls for providing the test data itself to the person named in the release, unless doing so risks substantial harm or misuse.
Sample Question 4 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
How does the APA Ethics Code describe the status of its five General Principles (A through E)?
- A. They are enforceable rules that define the minimum conduct required of members
- B. They are binding on APA members but are only advisory for nonmembers
- C. They apply only when no specific Ethical Standard covers the situation at hand
- D. They are aspirational ideals that guide conduct but are not a basis for sanctions (Correct answer)
Correct answer: D
Explanation: D is correct because the Code states that the General Principles are aspirational and should not form the basis for imposing sanctions, whereas the Ethical Standards are enforceable rules of conduct. A is incorrect because that describes the Ethical Standards; the Code explicitly says the General Principles do not represent obligations. B is incorrect because the General Principles are aspirational for everyone; membership status does not make them enforceable. C is incorrect because the General Principles are meant to inform ethical reasoning in all situations, not to serve as a fallback rule set.
Sample Question 5 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
The APA Ethics Code's statement that psychologists strive to contribute a portion of their professional time for little or no compensation appears in which General Principle?
- A. Principle C: Integrity
- B. Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility (Correct answer)
- C. Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence
- D. Principle D: Justice
Correct answer: B
Explanation: B is correct because Principle B describes establishing trust, accepting responsibility, being concerned about colleagues' ethical compliance, and striving to contribute some professional time for little or no compensation. A is incorrect because Principle C concerns accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness, including obligations when deception is used. C is incorrect because Principle A concerns benefiting others, avoiding harm, and awareness of how one's own health affects one's work. D is incorrect because Principle D concerns fair access to and equal quality of psychological services and guarding against biases that lead to unjust practices.
Sample Question 6 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists orders its four principles by the weight each generally receives when they conflict. Which sequence runs from HIGHEST to LOWEST weight?
- A. Dignity of persons and peoples, integrity in relationships, responsible caring, responsibility to society
- B. Responsibility to society, dignity of persons and peoples, responsible caring, integrity in relationships
- C. Dignity of persons and peoples, responsible caring, integrity in relationships, responsibility to society (Correct answer)
- D. Responsible caring, dignity of persons and peoples, integrity in relationships, responsibility to society
Correct answer: C
Explanation: C is correct because the CPA Code places Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples first (except when there is a clear and imminent danger of bodily harm), then Responsible Caring, then Integrity in Relationships, and Responsibility to Society last. A is incorrect because Integrity in Relationships ranks third, and its values of openness and straightforwardness may need to yield to Responsible Caring. B is incorrect because Responsibility to Society generally receives the lowest weight, and the CPA Code says persons' dignity and well-being should not be sacrificed to the greater good of society. D is incorrect because Responsible Caring generally receives the second highest weight and is to be carried out only in ways that respect the dignity of persons and peoples.
Sample Question 7 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
According to the Introduction to the APA Ethics Code, what should a psychologist do when the Code sets a higher standard of conduct than the law requires?
- A. Follow whichever standard best fits personal conscience
- B. Follow the law, since legal rules take precedence over ethics
- C. Meet the higher ethical standard set by the Code (Correct answer)
- D. Ask the licensing board to decide which standard applies
Correct answer: C
Explanation: C is correct because the Introduction states that if the Ethics Code establishes a higher standard of conduct than is required by law, psychologists must meet the higher ethical standard. A is incorrect because the Code does not leave this choice to personal preference; it requires meeting the higher ethical standard. B is incorrect because meeting a lower legal minimum does not satisfy the Code when its standard is higher; an actual conflict between ethics and law is handled under Standard 1.02. D is incorrect because no ruling is needed; the Code already directs psychologists to meet the higher standard.
Sample Question 8 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
A Canadian psychologist ordinarily gives Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples more weight than Responsible Caring, for example by honoring a capable client's refusal to let family be contacted. Under the CPA Code, in which situation may this usual ordering NOT hold?
- A. When an employer's policy requires a different course of action
- B. When the benefit to society would outweigh the harm to one person
- C. When there is a clear and imminent danger of bodily harm to someone (Correct answer)
- D. When the client's wishes conflict with the psychologist's clinical judgment
Correct answer: C
Explanation: C is correct because the CPA Code gives Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples the highest weight except in circumstances in which there is a clear and imminent danger of bodily harm to someone. A is incorrect because organizational demands relate to Responsibility to Society, which generally receives the lowest weight. B is incorrect because the CPA Code states that the dignity and well-being of persons should not be sacrificed to a vision of the greater good of society. D is incorrect because ordinary disagreement about treatment does not reverse the ordering; respect for the client's autonomy and dignity remains the highest-weighted value.
Sample Question 9 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
A psychologist receives a court order to produce a client's entire treatment record. The psychologist believes that releasing some of it would harm the client and conflict with the Ethics Code's confidentiality standards. Under Standard 1.02, what is the MOST appropriate course?
- A. Refuse to produce any records, since ethical duties override court orders
- B. Remove the portions of the record that would be most harmful to the client
- C. Release the full record at once, since a court order ends all ethical duties
- D. Clarify the conflict, state a commitment to the Code, and seek to resolve it (Correct answer)
Correct answer: D
Explanation: D is correct because Standard 1.02 directs psychologists facing a conflict between ethics and law to clarify the nature of the conflict, make known their commitment to the Ethics Code, and take reasonable steps to resolve it, such as asking the court to limit the scope of disclosure. A is incorrect because Standard 1.02 calls for clarifying and working to resolve the conflict, not for simply defying the court. B is incorrect because altering or destroying records under a court order is unlawful and violates the record-keeping duties in Standard 6.01. C is incorrect because Standard 1.02 still requires making known one's commitment to the Code and trying to resolve the conflict, for example by seeking to limit what is released.
Sample Question 10 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues
A hospital administrator tells a staff psychologist to record a diagnosis for every new patient at the first visit, even when the evaluation is incomplete, so that billing can begin sooner. Which response BEST follows the APA Ethics Code?
- A. File a complaint against the administrator with the licensing board right away
- B. Explain the conflict with the Code to the administrator and work toward a resolution (Correct answer)
- C. Comply with the policy, since the hospital bears responsibility for its billing rules
- D. Resign from the position before any inaccurate diagnosis is ever recorded
Correct answer: B
Explanation: B is correct because Standard 1.03 directs psychologists to clarify a conflict between organizational demands and the Code, make known their commitment to the Code, and take reasonable steps to resolve it, and Standard 6.06 requires accurate reporting of diagnoses to payors. A is incorrect because the administrator may not be under the board's jurisdiction, and Standard 1.03 calls first for clarifying and resolving the conflict within the organization. C is incorrect because organizational demands do not excuse inaccurate diagnoses; psychologists remain responsible for accurate reports to payors under Standard 6.06. D is incorrect because the Code first calls for clarifying and trying to resolve the conflict; resignation is not the required first step.
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