EPPP Social and Multicultural Bases of Behavior 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Cross's Nigrescence model of African American racial identity development, the 'encounter' stage is characterized by:
- Idealization of one's racial group and rejection of the dominant culture
- An experience that challenges the individual's previous worldview about race (Correct answer)
- Integration of race as a positive but non-defining aspect of identity
- Immersion in the dominant White culture
Correct answer: An experience that challenges the individual's previous worldview about race
The encounter stage involves an experience (e.g., a racial incident) that disrupts the individual's pre-encounter worldview and motivates active exploration of racial identity.
Question 2: According to Berry's acculturation framework, an immigrant who maintains heritage culture while also fully participating in the host culture is using which strategy?
- Assimilation
- Separation
- Marginalization
- Integration (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Integration
Integration in Berry's model involves maintaining one's cultural heritage while simultaneously engaging with the dominant host culture, and is associated with the most positive mental health outcomes.
Question 3: Which component of Sue's tripartite model of multicultural counseling competencies involves therapists recognizing their own cultural assumptions and biases?
- Skills
- Knowledge
- Awareness (Correct answer)
- Attitudes
Correct answer: Awareness
In Sue's tripartite model, awareness refers to counselors' recognition of their own cultural worldview, biases, and assumptions that may influence therapeutic work.
Question 4: Meyer's minority stress model proposes that LGBTQ+ individuals experience elevated psychological distress primarily due to:
- Genetic predispositions unique to sexual minority populations
- Unique chronic stressors related to stigma, discrimination, and prejudice (Correct answer)
- Reduced social support networks compared to heterosexual individuals
- Developmental disruptions during childhood
Correct answer: Unique chronic stressors related to stigma, discrimination, and prejudice
Meyer's minority stress model posits that LGBTQ+ individuals experience excess stress from distal (discrimination) and proximal (internalized stigma, concealment) minority stressors beyond general life stressors.
Question 5: A therapist working with a client from a collectivist cultural background who is reluctant to disclose personal problems due to concern for family reputation should FIRST:
- Educate the client about the importance of individual disclosure in effective therapy
- Recognize this as a cultural value and explore culturally appropriate ways to address the concern (Correct answer)
- Consult a cultural liaison to translate the client's values into Western therapeutic models
- Refer the client to a therapist from the same cultural background
Correct answer: Recognize this as a cultural value and explore culturally appropriate ways to address the concern
Cultural humility requires therapists to recognize collectivist values around family reputation as valid and to adapt interventions accordingly rather than imposing individualistic frameworks.
Question 6: A White therapist tells a Black client, 'You are so articulate,' intending it as a compliment. This statement is BEST described as:
- A macroaggression
- An unconscious stereotype
- A microaggression (Correct answer)
- Cultural insensitivity without real harm
Correct answer: A microaggression
This is a microaggression (specifically a microinsult) because it communicates an implicit assumption that being articulate is unexpected for Black individuals, despite the speaker's conscious positive intent.
Question 7: In Helms's White Racial Identity Development model, a person in the 'pseudo-independence' status is BEST characterized by:
- Denial that race plays a significant role in society
- Intellectualized acceptance of racial differences without deep personal commitment to change (Correct answer)
- Full integration of a nonracist White identity
- Intense guilt and overidentification with people of color
Correct answer: Intellectualized acceptance of racial differences without deep personal commitment to change
Pseudo-independence represents a superficial, intellectualized acceptance of racial diversity without genuine personal commitment to challenging racism or examining one's own White privilege.
EPPP Social and Multicultural Bases of Behavior 2
In Cross's Nigrescence model of African American racial identity development, the 'encounter' stage is characterized by: