IAC Evidence-Based Coaching Practices 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which research design is considered the gold standard for establishing causal relationships in coaching effectiveness studies?
- Randomized controlled trial (RCT) (Correct answer)
- Case study
- Cross-sectional survey
- Retrospective interview
Correct answer: Randomized controlled trial (RCT)
RCTs randomly assign participants to coaching vs. control conditions, controlling for confounds and enabling causal inference.
Question 2: The IAC Coaching Masteries emphasize 'Establishing and Maintaining a Relationship of Trust.' What evidence-based mechanism explains why trust accelerates client outcomes?
- Trust reduces the client's psychological threat response, enabling deeper cognitive processing (Correct answer)
- Trust increases the coach's authority to direct client behavior
- Trust eliminates the need for goal-setting
- Trust shifts accountability entirely to the coach
Correct answer: Trust reduces the client's psychological threat response, enabling deeper cognitive processing
Neuropsychological research shows trust lowers perceived threat, allowing the prefrontal cortex to engage in the reflective thinking needed for behavior change.
Question 3: A coach uses motivational interviewing (MI) techniques within a session. Which evidence-based principle of MI is most directly applied when the coach reflects ambivalence back to the client?
- Rolling with resistance
- Developing discrepancy (Correct answer)
- Expressing empathy
- Supporting self-efficacy
Correct answer: Developing discrepancy
Reflecting ambivalence highlights the gap between current behavior and the client's values, which is the core 'developing discrepancy' principle of MI.
Question 4: Which validated psychometric instrument is most commonly used in evidence-based coaching to assess client strengths?
- VIA Character Strengths Survey (Correct answer)
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
- Rorschach Inkblot Test
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
Correct answer: VIA Character Strengths Survey
The VIA Survey, grounded in positive psychology research by Peterson and Seligman, is widely validated for identifying 24 character strengths relevant to coaching.
Question 5: Research on the coaching relationship consistently identifies which factor as the strongest predictor of positive coaching outcomes?
- Coach's years of experience
- Working alliance quality (Correct answer)
- Session frequency
- Use of structured frameworks
Correct answer: Working alliance quality
Meta-analyses of coaching and therapy research show working alliance — the collaborative bond and agreement on goals — is the top predictor of outcomes.
Question 6: A coach integrates findings from positive psychology research into sessions. Which intervention has the strongest empirical support for increasing client well-being?
- Gratitude journaling (Correct answer)
- Visualization of past successes
- Negative event processing
- Competitive benchmarking
Correct answer: Gratitude journaling
Multiple RCTs have shown gratitude journaling consistently increases subjective well-being and positive affect with lasting effects.
Question 7: When reviewing coaching research, a practitioner encounters a meta-analysis showing a mean effect size of d=0.68 for coaching on goal attainment. How should this be interpreted?
- Coaching produces a medium-to-large positive effect on goal attainment (Correct answer)
- Coaching has no meaningful impact on goal attainment
- The effect is too small to be practically significant
- The finding applies only to executive coaching contexts
Correct answer: Coaching produces a medium-to-large positive effect on goal attainment
Cohen's d of 0.68 falls between medium (0.5) and large (0.8), indicating a practically meaningful and statistically significant effect.
IAC Evidence-Based Coaching Practices 2
Which research design is considered the gold standard for establishing causal relationships in coaching effectiveness studies?