NCE-ABE Exam Dumps - National Counselor Examination

In the Research and Program Evaluation core area, counselors are expected to understand basic inferential statistics used in counseling research. When comparing three or more group means (for example, mean scores for three different treatment conditions), the standard procedure taught for the NCE is:

Use analysis of variance (ANOVA), which tests whether there are statistically significant differences among three or more group means.

ANOVA uses an F statistic internally, but the name of the procedure for comparing multiple means is “analysis of variance.”

Option A (f-test) refers to the test statistic used in ANOVA, but in counseling research courses and NCE exam language, the procedure is properly identified as ANOVA, not simply “an F-test.”

Option C (discriminant function analysis) is used to predict group membership from a set of predictors, not to test mean differences among groups.

Option D (multiple regression) evaluates the relationship between one dependent variable and multiple predictors, not the difference among three or more group means.

Therefore, when a counseling researcher wants to test for significant differences among three or more sample means, the appropriate method is B. An analysis of variance.

Within Counseling and Helping Relationships, CACREP emphasizes knowledge of counseling theories, including cognitive and cognitive-behavioral approaches.

In cognitive theory of depression (commonly associated with Aaron Beck):

Depression is understood as being driven primarily by maladaptive cognitions, such as negative automatic thoughts, faulty assumptions, and dysfunctional core beliefs.

These cognitive distortions (e.g., all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, catastrophizing) shape how clients interpret events, leading to depressive feelings and behaviors.

While factors like biochemical changes and neuropathology (Options B and D) can play a role in depression from a medical or biological perspective, cognitive theory specifically emphasizes that it is the patterns of distorted thinking that are central to the development and maintenance of depressive symptoms.

Conditioned reactions (Option A) are more strongly associated with behavioral and learning theories, not the core principle of cognitive theory.

Therefore, in cognitive theory of depression, symptoms are primarily viewed as the result of distortions in thinking, making C the correct answer.

The Group Counseling and Group Work core area highlights the importance of group norms, ground rules, and structure in promoting effective group functioning. When group rules are clear and explicit:

Members know what behavior is expected and what is inappropriate,

There is a shared understanding of participation, confidentiality, respect, and attendance, and

Members can self-regulate and hold each other accountable, rather than relying solely on the leader.

Thus, Option A is correct: clearly stated rules increase the likelihood that members will follow the group guidelines in their participation.

Why the other options are less accurate:

B. Move through stages more slowly – Having explicit rules generally supports smoother movement through group stages by reducing confusion and conflict, not slowing development.

C. More work for the leader – Explicit rules typically reduce the leader’s enforcement burden because expectations are shared and can be maintained by the group.

D. Increased reliance on the leader – Clear, agreed-upon rules foster greater group autonomy, not greater dependence on the leader.

Therefore, consistent with CACREP’s emphasis on understanding and facilitating group norms, A is the best answer.

Within Counseling and Helping Relationships, CACREP highlights core conditions from person-centered theory: empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness (also called congruence).

Genuineness/congruence means the counselor’s outer responses match their inner experience—they are authentic, real, and not putting on a professional façade.

Among the options, “congruence” (B) is the technical term that directly corresponds to genuineness.

Paraphrasing (A) and empathic responding (D) are important attending and empathy skills, but they do not automatically mean the counselor is genuine. Self-disclosure (C) can be a tool that may express genuineness, but it is not, by itself, the definition of genuineness and can even be misused.

Therefore, the counselor behavior that most clearly and directly demonstrates genuineness is B. Congruence.

In the Career Development core area, modern practice emphasizes career self-management, lifelong employability, and empowering clients with skills to navigate a changing labor market.

Contemporary occupational placement and career services focus on helping clients develop practical job search skills (résumé writing, interviewing, networking, use of online tools) and the ability to build and maintain professional networks. Clients are taught to actively manage their careers rather than passively wait for placements. This aligns with Option A, making it correct.

Computer-assisted decision-making models (B) can be useful tools, but current theory does not emphasize reliance on them as the main feature; they are one resource among many.

The idea that the singular purpose of placement centers is simply to find jobs for clients (Option C) reflects an outdated, narrow view. Contemporary practice emphasizes counseling, skill-building, and career development, not only placement.

Option D, suggesting that personal skills can always compensate for declining trends in any occupational field, is inaccurate; labor market conditions and field-specific trends significantly affect opportunities, and counselors are trained to help clients realistically consider labor market information and occupational outlooks.

Thus, the focus on clients developing job search and networking skills (A) best represents contemporary theories of occupational placement services.

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, CACREP includes behavioral and learning theories such as operant conditioning. A foundational principle is that:

Behaviors that are reinforced are more likely to be maintained, and

Behaviors that are no longer reinforced tend to weaken and eventually extinguish.

Option C directly states this assumption: behavior that is not reinforced gradually extinguishes. That is the core explanation for why, in behavior therapy, counselors manipulate reinforcement contingencies to reduce maladaptive behaviors.

A is incorrect because behaviors are not always reinforced on a strict one-to-one (continuous) schedule; intermittent reinforcement can also maintain behavior.

B (shaping) is used to build new complex behaviors, but it is not required for maintaining an already-learned behavior.

D refers to modeling (observational learning), which is associated with social learning theory, not the central assumption about maintenance in basic operant conditioning.

Thus, C is the correct assumption regarding behavior maintenance.

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, counselors are trained to develop treatment plans and goals that are grounded in a clear understanding of the client’s presenting concerns, assessment data, and diagnostic impressions.

Treatment goals should flow logically from the client’s current diagnosis and presenting problems as identified through assessment and clinical formulation. This ensures that interventions are appropriate, evidence-informed, and clinically justified for the condition being treated.

Past goals may provide historical context but should not dictate current treatment if the client’s situation, functioning, or diagnosis has changed.

Internal consistency is a psychometric concept usually referring to the reliability of items within an assessment instrument, not a direct client factor used to anchor treatment goals.

Counselor’s expertise is important ethically (practice within competence), but it is not a client factor; treatment goals must prioritize the client’s needs and diagnosis, not simply what the counselor is most comfortable doing.

Because treatment goals in professional counseling are expected to be aligned with the client’s current diagnosis and presenting clinical picture, the best answer is B (Current diagnosis).

In the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to understand different types of tests, including the distinction between maximum performance measures (e.g., ability, aptitude, achievement) and typical performance measures (e.g., personality, interests, attitudes, self-concept).

Ability tests (including aptitude and achievement) are designed so that each item has one correct answer. They measure how well a person can perform on tasks that have objectively right or wrong responses.

Measures of personality, interest, and self-concept do not have right or wrong answers; they assess typical ways of thinking, feeling, behaving, or preferences.

Because the question states that each item has only one correct answer, this clearly describes a measure of ability, making B the correct answer.