NCE-ABE Exam Results

In developmental and ethological theory, imprinting refers to the process by which very young offspring form a strong, early bond or attachment to a primary caregiver. This process is especially noted in animal studies but is often used conceptually to describe how early, close caregiver relationships form and shape later attachment patterns.

Option B, imprinting, matches the idea of an early, foundational attachment process.

Role identification (A) involves modeling and adopting roles/behaviors, typically later in development.

Operant conditioning (C) and classical conditioning (D) describe learning through reinforcement or association, not specifically the attachment bond itself.

Knowledge of early attachment processes and their impact on later emotional and relational functioning is part of Areas of Clinical Focus in the NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas, as it helps counselors understand developmental roots of clients’ concerns.

In accountability and program evaluation, counselors are expected to use data that reflects actual client change to demonstrate effectiveness. Within professional practice, the most powerful and persuasive evidence is outcome data, because it shows:

What changed for clients (e.g., improved career decision-making, job placement, satisfaction with career choice).

The degree to which program goals and client objectives were met.

The impact of services on client functioning and development.

By comparison:

Input data focuses on what resources went into the program (e.g., staff, time, materials).

Context data describes the environment or client population characteristics.

Process data shows what was done (activities, number of sessions), but not whether it worked.

NBCC-aligned counselor work behaviors emphasize using results-focused (outcome) data for accountability to stakeholders and for improving services, which is why outcome data has the greatest impact.

In the Assessment and Testing core area, CACREP requires that counselors understand:

The use of diagnostic classification systems (such as DSM),

The difference between identity or behavior and a mental disorder, and

The central role of distress or impairment in making a diagnosis.

For gender dysphoria, diagnostic criteria emphasize that:

A person may experience incongruence between their experienced/expressed gender and assigned sex,

However, this incongruence alone is not sufficient for a mental health diagnosis,

A diagnosis is appropriate only when the experience is associated with clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Evaluating the options:

A. Considering surgical reassignment – Not required for diagnosis. Many individuals with gender dysphoria may never seek surgery.

B. Strong dislike for their anatomy – This can be one feature, but by itself does not justify a diagnosis without associated distress or impairment.

C. Desire for secondary sexual characteristics of another gender – Again, this can be part of the experience but is not sufficient alone to meet diagnostic criteria.

D. There was clinically significant distress. – This is the essential condition across DSM diagnoses: the symptoms must cause clinically significant distress or impairment. Without that, a formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria should not be made.

Therefore, the counselor would only diagnose gender dysphoria if D (there was clinically significant distress) is present.

In the Assessment and Testing core area, CACREP expects counselors to distinguish between different categories of instruments, including interest inventories, personality tests, aptitude tests, and self-concept measures.

Interest inventories are designed to assess a person’s likes and dislikes regarding activities, subjects, and occupations. They are widely used in career counseling to help people explore suitable fields based on what they enjoy.

They directly ask about preferences—which is exactly what the question describes.

Why the others are not best:

Likert-type scale (B): This is a response format (e.g., strongly agree to strongly disagree), not a type of test by itself. It can be used in many kinds of instruments (attitudes, beliefs, etc.).

Self-concept inventory (C): Focuses on how people see themselves (self-image, self-worth), not primarily on their likes and dislikes about activities or careers.

Projective technique (D): Uses ambiguous stimuli (inkblots, drawings, etc.) to explore personality dynamics, not straightforward preference ratings.

Therefore, an instrument that indicates likes and dislikes is A. An interest inventory.