EPPP Quick-Start Practice Exam

Question 1

A screening test for a disorder has a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 90%. It is given to 1,000 people in a population where the base rate of the disorder is 5%. Of the people who screen positive, approximately what percentage actually have the disorder?

Accepted Answer

B. 32% B is correct because 50 people have the disorder and 45 of them screen positive; 950 do not and 10% of them, 95 people, also screen positive, so 45 of 140 positives (about 32%) are true positives. A is incorrect because 10% is the false-positive rate among people without the disorder, not the proportion of positives who have it. C is incorrect because predictive value depends on the base rate, and with a 5% base rate false positives outnumber true positives. D is incorrect because 90% is the test's sensitivity, the proportion of people with the disorder who test positive, which is not the same as positive predictive value.

Question 2

A client who has taken lithium for bipolar I disorder for several years begins taking ibuprofen daily for back pain. Two weeks later the client has a coarse tremor, vomiting, diarrhea, and confusion. What is the MOST likely explanation?

Accepted Answer

C. Lithium toxicity, because NSAIDs reduce the kidneys' clearance of lithium C is correct because NSAIDs such as ibuprofen decrease renal lithium excretion, so serum levels rise; coarse tremor, gastrointestinal upset, and confusion are classic signs of lithium toxicity. A is incorrect because neuroleptic malignant syndrome is associated with dopamine-blocking antipsychotics and presents with severe muscle rigidity and high fever. B is incorrect because tardive dyskinesia is a late effect of long-term dopamine antagonists that produces involuntary orofacial movements, not acute vomiting and confusion. D is incorrect because serotonin syndrome follows combinations of serotonergic drugs and typically shows hyperthermia, clonus, and agitation; ibuprofen is not serotonergic.

Question 3

Spearman proposed that performance on any mental test reflects which combination of influences?

Accepted Answer

B. A general ability shared by all tests plus an ability specific to that test B is correct because Spearman's two-factor theory holds that every test draws on general intelligence (g), which explains why mental tests intercorrelate, plus a specific factor (s) unique to that test. A is incorrect because this describes Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence. C is incorrect because this describes Thurstone's primary mental abilities, which Thurstone originally argued made a single general factor unnecessary. D is incorrect because this is the fluid-crystallized distinction of Cattell and Horn, not Spearman's account.

Question 4

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:

Accepted Answer

B. Decline, because the Code bars sexual intimacy for at least two years after therapy 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.

Question 5

During which period of prenatal development is exposure to a teratogen MOST likely to cause major structural malformations of organs and limbs?

Accepted Answer

B. The embryonic period, from about week 3 to week 8 B is correct because the major organs and body structures form during the embryonic period, so this is the critical period in which most teratogens produce major structural defects. A is incorrect because exposure in the germinal period tends to have an all-or-none effect, either ending the pregnancy or leaving no lasting defect. C is incorrect because late exposure mainly affects growth, brain maturation, and the newborn's condition rather than causing major structural malformations. D is incorrect because organs are already formed in the fetal period, so exposure then more often affects growth and function than basic structure.

Question 6

A single group of adults completes a measure of attitudes toward mental health treatment, attends a 10-week stigma-reduction program, and completes the measure again. During those 10 weeks a celebrity's widely covered disclosure of depression dominates the news. Which threat to internal validity is MOST relevant?

Accepted Answer

D. History D is correct because an outside event that occurs between pretest and posttest and could itself change attitudes is a history threat, and a one-group design cannot separate it from the program's effect. A is incorrect because testing refers to changes caused by taking the pretest itself, not by events in the wider environment. B is incorrect because regression applies when participants are selected for extreme scores, and this group was not selected that way. C is incorrect because maturation refers to natural changes within participants over time, such as growing older or more tired, rather than an outside event.

Question 7

After a staff meeting, a manager says a new employee stayed quiet because the employee is shy, but says the manager's own silence in the same meeting was because the topic was outside the manager's area. This pattern is BEST described as:

Accepted Answer

D. The actor-observer bias D is correct because the manager explains the other person's behavior by disposition and the manager's own identical behavior by the situation, which is the asymmetry the actor-observer bias describes. A is incorrect because the spotlight effect is overestimating how much other people notice one's own appearance or behavior, not a contrast in how behavior is explained. B is incorrect because that effect is overestimating how many other people share one's own opinions and behaviors. C is incorrect because that bias concerns taking credit for successes and blaming the situation for failures, and staying quiet in a meeting is neither.

Question 8

A client with obsessive-compulsive disorder spends hours each day washing after touching objects the client believes are contaminated. Which psychological treatment has the strongest evidence for this presentation?

Accepted Answer

C. Exposure and response prevention C is correct because repeated exposure to feared contamination cues while refraining from washing lets anxiety decline without the compulsion, and it is the most strongly supported psychological treatment for OCD. A is incorrect because psychodynamic therapy lacks the controlled evidence for OCD that exposure-based treatment has. B is incorrect because relaxation-based desensitization does not block the compulsion and has been outperformed by exposure with response prevention. D is incorrect because attempts to suppress obsessions tend to increase their frequency, and thought stopping is not an evidence-based treatment for OCD.

Question 9

On the MMPI-2, a marked elevation on which validity scale MOST suggests that a test taker is overreporting psychological problems?

Accepted Answer

B. F (Infrequency) B is correct because the F scale consists of items rarely endorsed by most people, so a marked elevation suggests overreporting of symptoms, severe distress, or random responding. A is incorrect because elevations on L suggest an unsophisticated attempt to present oneself in an unrealistically favorable light. C is incorrect because VRIN detects inconsistent or random responding to items with similar or opposite content, not a consistent pattern of overreporting. D is incorrect because elevations on K suggest defensiveness or underreporting of problems.

Question 10

Following a stroke, a patient speaks in short, effortful phrases with many omitted function words but understands spoken conversation fairly well. Damage to which area is MOST likely?

Accepted Answer

C. The left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's area) C is correct because nonfluent, effortful, telegraphic speech with relatively preserved comprehension is the pattern of Broca's aphasia, which follows damage to the left inferior frontal region. A is incorrect because right parietal damage is linked to neglect and visuospatial problems, and language is lateralized to the left hemisphere in most people. B is incorrect because damage there produces fluent but meaningless speech with poor comprehension. D is incorrect because damage to this pathway causes conduction aphasia, marked by poor repetition with fluent speech and fair comprehension.

Free 10-Question EPPP Quick-Start Practice Exam

What This Quick Start Covers

EPPP Quick-Start Sample Questions with Answers

Sample Question 1 — Assessment and Diagnosis

Sample Question 2 — Biological Bases of Behavior

Sample Question 3 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

Sample Question 4 — Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues

Sample Question 5 — Growth and Lifespan Development

Sample Question 6 — Research Methods and Statistics

Sample Question 7 — Social and Cultural Bases of Behavior

Sample Question 8 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

Sample Question 9 — Assessment and Diagnosis

Sample Question 10 — Biological Bases of Behavior

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