CBC Behavioral Modification Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client believes, "If I eat one cookie, the whole day is ruined." Which cognitive distortion is this?
- Catastrophizing about health
- Personalization
- All-or-nothing thinking (Correct answer)
- Mind reading
Correct answer: All-or-nothing thinking
Viewing a single lapse as total failure reflects all-or-nothing (dichotomous) thinking.
Question 2: Which technique asks clients to delay eating for 10 minutes when a craving strikes and observe the urge without acting on it?
- Urge surfing (Correct answer)
- Systematic desensitization
- Thought stopping
- Aversion therapy
Correct answer: Urge surfing
Urge surfing is a mindfulness-based technique of riding out a craving until it naturally subsides.
Question 3: In relapse prevention counseling, a single episode of overeating that does not return the client to old patterns is best labeled a:
- Collapse
- Failure
- Lapse (Correct answer)
- Relapse
Correct answer: Lapse
A lapse is a brief, single slip, distinguished from a relapse, which is a full return to prior behavior.
Question 4: A counselor asks a client, "On a scale of 0 to 10, how confident are you that you can follow your meal plan this week?" This tool primarily assesses:
- Body image
- Nutritional knowledge
- Hunger level
- Self-efficacy (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Self-efficacy
Confidence rulers measure self-efficacy, the client's belief in their ability to perform the behavior.
Question 5: Which strategy best addresses mindless eating in front of the television?
- Eating faster to finish before the show starts
- Skipping dinner on TV nights
- Buying smaller televisions
- Restricting all meals and snacks to the kitchen table (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Restricting all meals and snacks to the kitchen table
Limiting eating to one designated location is a stimulus-control strategy that breaks the TV-eating association.
Question 6: A client agrees in writing to attend all support group meetings for a month, with a specified consequence if she misses. This technique is called:
- Shaping
- Token economy
- Behavioral contracting (Correct answer)
- Modeling
Correct answer: Behavioral contracting
A behavioral contract is a written agreement specifying target behaviors and consequences.
Question 7: Which approach is most consistent with motivational interviewing when a client resists tracking meals?
- Assigning tracking as mandatory homework
- Referring the client to a stricter program
- Warning the client about weight regain statistics
- Exploring the client's own reasons for and against tracking (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Exploring the client's own reasons for and against tracking
Motivational interviewing evokes the client's own motivations rather than imposing directives or warnings.
CBC Behavioral Modification Techniques 3
A client believes, "If I eat one cookie, the whole day is ruined." Which cognitive distortion is this?