Quiz: Self-Awareness and Empathy — 32 questions

1. Which ability best defines self-awareness?

A. Recognising and understanding one’s own internal states and personal characteristics

B. Interpreting another person’s emotions and responding to their needs

C. Comparing one’s achievements with socially accepted standards

D. Predicting how other people will behave in unfamiliar situations

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Self-awareness involves recognising and understanding one’s own thoughts, emotions, behaviours, strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. Understanding another person’s experience is associated with empathy, not self-awareness.

2. According to Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund, what does self-awareness involve?

A. Changing one’s behaviour to match group expectations

B. Becoming the object of one’s own attention

C. Evaluating one’s worth through other people’s approval

D. Identifying the emotions expressed by people nearby

Answer: (B)

Explanation

Duval and Wicklund defined self-awareness as the capacity to become the object of one’s own attention. Evaluating oneself through approval concerns personal evaluation rather than the basic definition of self-awareness.

3. What does self-concept primarily describe?

A. A person’s emotional judgment of their own value and worth

B. A person’s confidence that they can complete a particular task

C. A person’s beliefs about their identity, abilities, roles, and characteristics

D. A person’s preferred principles for choosing between competing goals

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Self-concept is an individual’s overall understanding and perception of who they are, including their abilities, personality, roles, and characteristics. Emotional judgment of one’s value is self-esteem rather than self-concept.

4. Which description best captures self-esteem?

A. The process through which social feedback shapes identity over time

B. The collection of beliefs a person holds about their identity and abilities

C. The belief that a person can successfully perform a particular task

D. The value, respect, and acceptance a person has toward themselves

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Self-esteem is the emotional evaluation of oneself, including personal value, respect, and acceptance. Beliefs about identity and abilities belong to self-concept, which is related but conceptually different.

5. A student believes they can successfully complete a difficult mathematics project despite its complexity. Which concept does this belief illustrate?

A. Personal values

B. Self-esteem

C. Self-concept

D. Self-efficacy

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Self-efficacy is the belief that one can successfully perform a task or achieve a goal. Self-esteem concerns overall emotional evaluation, whereas this situation focuses on confidence in a specific achievement.

6. Which example is a terminal value?

A. Showing politeness during difficult conversations

B. Practising honesty as a preferred way of behaving

C. Using self-control when pursuing a personal goal

D. Achieving inner harmony as a desired life outcome

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Terminal values are desired end goals or life outcomes, such as inner harmony. Honesty, politeness, and self-control are instrumental values because they describe ways of behaving that can help achieve desired outcomes.

7. Which example is an instrumental value?

A. Seeking wisdom as an important outcome of personal development

B. Pursuing equality as a desired condition for society

C. Desiring family security as a long-term life result

D. Practising responsibility as a way to reach important life goals

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Instrumental values are preferred ways of behaving, and responsibility can guide behaviour toward broader goals. Equality, wisdom, and family security are desired outcomes and therefore represent terminal values.

8. How can identifying personal values strengthen self-awareness?

A. It separates personal goals from the principles guiding everyday actions

B. It replaces reflection with fixed rules for handling every decision

C. It helps people align decisions and behaviour with meaningful goals

D. It encourages people to measure their identity through social approval

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Identifying personal values supports self-awareness by clarifying meaningful goals and promoting value-aligned decisions and consistent behaviour. The process involves reflection and personal growth rather than replacing judgment with rigid rules.

9. Which sequence best describes how learning occurs in Kolb’s experiential learning cycle?

A. Experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and applying learning

B. Observing, imitating, practising, and receiving feedback

C. Remembering, memorising, testing, and reproducing knowledge

D. Planning, instructing, assessing, and correcting performance

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Kolb’s model describes learning as a continuous movement through experience, reflection, conceptual thinking, and application. The other sequences describe general instructional or performance processes rather than Kolb’s cycle.

10. Which stage of Kolb’s cycle involves thinking about what happened after an experience?

A. Abstract Conceptualisation

B. Active Experimentation

C. Reflective Observation

D. Concrete Experience

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Reflective Observation involves considering and interpreting what happened during the experience. Concrete Experience refers to doing or undergoing the event, while the other stages concern forming concepts and trying out actions.

11. What is a schema in cognitive psychology?

A. An organised mental framework that helps interpret information

B. A simplified belief shared about members of a social group

C. A negative attitude formed without adequate knowledge or evidence

D. A systematic error that distorts judgment during decision-making

Answer: (A)

Explanation

A schema is an organised pattern of knowledge built from previous experiences that helps people understand and respond to information. A systematic judgment error is a cognitive bias, whereas the other descriptions refer to prejudice and stereotypes.

12. What best explains how a cognitive bias affects thinking?

A. It forms a broad belief about a social group without describing decisions

B. It creates a systematic error through mental shortcuts

C. It records evidence that confirms a person’s beliefs without changing judgment

D. It organises previous knowledge into a useful interpretive framework

Answer: (B)

Explanation

A cognitive bias is a systematic error in perception or decision-making that often results from mental shortcuts. An organised knowledge framework is a schema, while the other options describe social beliefs or a specific confirmation process.

13. Which statement correctly distinguishes prejudice from a stereotype?

A. Prejudice is a group belief, whereas a stereotype is an emotional reaction to evidence

B. Prejudice is an unsupported attitude, whereas a stereotype is an oversimplified group belief

C. Prejudice is based on detailed knowledge, whereas a stereotype requires personal experience

D. Prejudice is usually positive, whereas a stereotype is generally negative toward a group

Answer: (B)

Explanation

Prejudice is usually a negative attitude formed without sufficient evidence, while a stereotype is a widely held and oversimplified belief about a group that may be positive or negative. The other choices reverse or misrepresent these concepts.

14. Who developed the six-stage reflective cycle in 1988?

A. Graham Gibbs

B. Donald Schön

C. David A. Kolb

D. Albert Bandura

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Graham Gibbs developed the six-stage Reflective Cycle in 1988 to support learning from experience and improving future performance. David A. Kolb is associated with a different experiential learning cycle.

15. Which sequence lists the six stages of Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle in the correct order?

A. Description, Feelings, Analysis, Evaluation, Action Plan, Conclusion

B. Description, Evaluation, Feelings, Analysis, Action Plan, Conclusion

C. Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, Action Plan

D. Feelings, Description, Analysis, Evaluation, Conclusion, Action Plan

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Gibbs’ process moves from describing the event to considering feelings, evaluating it, analysing it, drawing a conclusion, and creating an action plan. The other sequences place stages in an order that does not match the model.

16. Why does recognising personal limitations support safe professional practice?

A. It enables the practitioner to take responsibility for clients’ decisions and outcomes.

B. It allows the practitioner to avoid discussing difficult issues during sessions.

C. It encourages the practitioner to rely on personal experience rather than professional guidance.

D. It helps the practitioner maintain appropriate boundaries and seek support when needed.

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Recognising limitations helps practitioners work within their competence and maintain safe boundaries. Ignoring limitations can instead lead to practice beyond one’s abilities, whereas taking over clients’ decisions is not an appropriate response.

17. A counsellor notices that personal religious beliefs are shaping advice given to a client. What should the counsellor do first?

A. Treat the counsellor’s belief as a professional standard for the client.

B. Recognise the belief and prevent it from directing the client’s choices.

C. Avoid discussing values so that the client does not question the advice.

D. Persuade the client to consider the counsellor’s preferred moral position.

Answer: (B)

Explanation

Recognising personal beliefs and assumptions helps protect the client’s autonomy and reduces unfair influence. Presenting the counsellor’s beliefs as guidance would direct the client according to the practitioner’s values rather than the client’s own choices.

18. A client asks a counsellor to provide specialised legal advice outside the counsellor’s training. What response best maintains professional boundaries?

A. Continue advising the client while avoiding discussion of the counsellor’s qualifications.

B. Accept responsibility for the legal matter because the client has requested assistance.

C. Provide general legal advice while presenting it as equivalent to specialist guidance.

D. Explain the role’s limits and refer the client to an appropriately qualified professional.

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Professional boundaries require counsellors to understand their roles, responsibilities, and limitations and to avoid work beyond their role. Offering unqualified legal guidance would extend practice beyond the counsellor’s professional competence.

19. According to Aaron T. Beck’s CBT model, how can unhelpful psychological patterns be changed?

A. By changing behaviour while leaving interpretations and emotional responses unexamined.

B. By focusing on past events without examining present patterns of responding.

C. By becoming aware of the connections among thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.

D. By treating emotions as separate from thoughts and behaviours during intervention.

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Beck’s model views thoughts, emotions, and behaviours as interconnected, so awareness of unhelpful patterns can support change. Treating these dimensions as separate would conflict with the central CBT framework.

20. Which example represents a physical reaction rather than a thought in the CBT dimensions of self-awareness?

A. A racing heartbeat during a stressful conversation.

B. A feeling of embarrassment during the discussion.

C. Leaving the room before the conversation is finished.

D. The belief that the conversation will end badly.

Answer: (A)

Explanation

A racing heartbeat is a bodily response, so it belongs to the physical-reaction dimension. A belief is a thought, embarrassment is an emotion, and leaving the room is a behaviour.

21. A student concludes, “I made one mistake, so I am completely incapable.” What does this statement illustrate?

A. A cognitive distortion that interprets the situation inaccurately.

B. A physical reaction that signals discomfort with the situation.

C. A behavioural response that changes the consequences of the mistake.

D. A balanced thought that evaluates the available evidence realistically.

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The statement is a cognitive distortion because it draws an irrationally broad conclusion from one event. A balanced thought would consider the mistake while also recognising evidence of the student’s abilities.

22. Which response best demonstrates mindfulness during a tense conversation?

A. Reviewing past mistakes repeatedly to determine why the tension developed.

B. Predicting several negative outcomes and preparing emotionally for each one.

C. Noticing present feelings and sensations with openness without becoming absorbed in them.

D. Suppressing uncomfortable reactions so that the conversation feels easier.

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Mindfulness involves open, curious, accepting attention to present-moment experience. Repeatedly reviewing the past, worrying about future outcomes, or suppressing reactions reflects processes that differ from mindful awareness.

23. What does non-judgment mean as an element of mindfulness?

A. Suppressing critical thoughts so that difficult experiences remain unnoticed.

B. Deciding that an experience is acceptable because it produces a pleasant result.

C. Observing an experience without immediately evaluating it as good or bad.

D. Interpreting an experience according to personal standards and expectations.

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Non-judgment means observing experiences without labeling them as good or bad. Evaluating experiences according to personal standards is judgment, while suppressing them is avoidance rather than mindful observation.

24. What is the main purpose of value clarification?

A. To identify and understand the values that guide personal and professional decisions.

B. To eliminate difficult choices by applying one fixed rule to every situation.

C. To analyse past behaviour without considering the principles influencing current decisions.

D. To replace a client’s values with standards established by the practitioner.

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Value clarification helps a person identify and understand the personal and professional values guiding behaviour and decision-making. Replacing a client’s values with the practitioner’s standards would undermine autonomy rather than clarify values.

25. Which description best defines empathy?

A. Sharing another person’s feelings by treating them as identical to one’s own experience

B. Understanding another person’s experience from their viewpoint while recognizing it remains theirs

C. Expressing concern for another person without fully understanding what the experience feels like

D. Offering reassurance to another person before exploring the meaning of their experience

Answer: (B)

Explanation

Empathy involves understanding and sharing another person’s thoughts and feelings from that person’s viewpoint while maintaining awareness that the experience belongs to them. Sympathy expresses concern but does not necessarily involve fully understanding the other person’s experience.

26. Which set correctly identifies the three types of empathy?

A. Cognitive, emotional or affective, and compassionate empathy

B. Emotional, behavioural, and observational empathy

C. Compassionate, sympathetic, and projection-based empathy

D. Cognitive, sympathetic, and emotionally detached empathy

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The three types are cognitive empathy, emotional or affective empathy, and compassionate empathy. Cognitive empathy involves intellectual understanding, whereas emotional empathy involves experiencing or sharing feelings emotionally.

27. What does Batson’s Empathy–Altruism Hypothesis propose about empathic concern?

A. It can motivate helping even when the helper receives no personal reward

B. It mainly produces emotional understanding without influencing helping behaviour

C. It encourages helping when the helper expects approval or another personal benefit

D. It causes people to avoid helping because another person’s distress feels uncomfortable

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Batson’s hypothesis states that empathic concern can produce altruistic motivation to help even without personal reward or benefit. Expecting approval describes self-interested motivation rather than the altruistic process proposed by Batson.

28. Who developed Person-Centred Therapy as a humanistic approach?

A. Sigmund Freud

B. Albert Bandura

C. C. Daniel Batson

D. Carl Rogers

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Carl Rogers developed Person-Centred Therapy, which is based on the belief that people can grow in a supportive and accepting environment. C. Daniel Batson is associated with the Empathy–Altruism Hypothesis rather than this therapeutic approach.

29. Which three conditions are considered central to Person-Centred Therapy?

A. Empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence

B. Projection, emotional distance, and directive advice

C. Interpretation, behavioural rehearsal, and systematic exposure

D. Empathic concern, altruistic motivation, and helping behaviour

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Person-Centred Therapy identifies empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence or genuineness as its three core conditions. Altruistic motivation and helping behaviour belong to Batson’s account of helping, not Rogers’s therapeutic conditions.

30. How should a therapist demonstrate empathy in Person-Centred Therapy?

A. By absorbing the client’s emotions so completely that professional objectivity is lost

B. By giving rapid reassurance and advice before fully exploring the client’s perspective

C. By entering the client’s world while understanding it without losing professional identity

D. By interpreting the client’s experience through the therapist’s own personal history

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Therapeutic empathy means understanding the client’s world as if one were the client while retaining one’s own identity. Emotional over-involvement is different because it can reduce objectivity and blur the therapist’s professional position.

31. What distinguishes perspective-taking from projection?

A. Perspective-taking assumes another person feels as oneself would in the same situation

B. Perspective-taking replaces listening with advice based on the observer’s personal experience

C. Perspective-taking treats another person’s reaction as evidence of the observer’s own emotions

D. Perspective-taking considers another person’s viewpoint without assuming it matches one’s own

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Perspective-taking involves imagining and understanding another person’s viewpoint while recognizing that the experience may differ from one’s own. Projection instead assumes that the other person feels as the observer does.

32. Which combination includes recognized barriers to empathy?

A. Unconditional positive regard, congruence, compassionate motivation, and supportive communication

B. Personal bias, limited self-awareness, poor listening, emotional over-involvement, and cultural differences

C. Active listening, cultural curiosity, self-awareness, emotional regulation, and perspective-taking

D. Accurate reflection, patient questioning, emotional balance, cultural learning, and open-mindedness

Answer: (B)

Explanation

Recognized barriers include personal biases and prejudices, lack of self-awareness, poor listening skills, emotional over-involvement, and cultural differences. The other combinations mainly describe conditions or skills that can support empathic understanding rather than obstruct it.