ASWB Exam Quiz: Mixed Bag III

Here's another set of quick quiz questions to help you prep for the ASWB exam. This isn't the format of ASWB exam questions, but all the content comes from the ASWB exam outline. Seek out full-length practice tests to get a sense of both exam content and format. That's really the best way to prepare, but for now...  See how you do.

1. True of false: Social learning theory proposes additional stages beyond the adult ego. In healthy individuals, these stages contribute to creativity, wisdom, and altruism. In people lacking healthy ego development, experiences can lead to psychosis.

2. Erikson stage of psychosocial development for teens: Identity vs. _____________________

3. True of false: The NASW Code of Ethics addresses social workers' use of social media.

4. DSM diagnosis involving distressing somatic symptoms along with abnormal or extreme thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in response to these symptoms.

What do you say?

How'd you do?

Scroll down for answers...………..












1. False. That describes transpersonal theory. Social learning theory is based on Albert Bandura’s idea that learning occurs through observation and imitation. (Details.)

2. Identity vs. Role Confusion, ages 12-18 (full list)

3. True (Standard 1.06f: "Social workers should be aware that posting personal information on professional web sites or other media might cause boundary confusion, inappropriate dual relationships, or harm to clients.")

4. Somatic symptom disorder (SSD)

ASWB Exam Prep: The Mental Status Examination

Let's see how well you know  your way around the Mental Status Examination (MSE). First, here's what an MSE is:

The Mental Status Exam is analogous to the physical exam: it is a series of observations and examinations at one point in time. Focused questions and observations can reveal "normal" or pathological findings. Although our observations occur in the context of an interview and may therefore be ordered differently for each patient, the report of our findings is ordered and "paints a picture" of a patient's appearance, thinking, emotion and cognition.

 Simple enough. There are some tricky details and vocabulary within the MSE that may show up on the ASWB exam. Taking this quiz should get you all-the-more ready for MSE questions on the social work licensing exam.

1. What characteristic might be described by one of these: Hesitant, expansive, rambling, halting, stuttering, lilting, jerky, forgetful. 

2. What are auditory, visual, and olfactory hallucinations?

3. What is an overvalued idea.

4. Define flight of ideas.

5. What is alexithymia?

Have answers? Are the right ones? Answer key below--scroll down...

Bonus concepts: echopraxia, catalepsy, waxy flexibility and paratonia -- click through for definitions.

Remember, the real ASWB exam doesn't quiz like this. Questions tend to be longer form vignettes. Try practice tests like those from SWTP to prepare for the full-length, 170-question ASWB exam. Generally, the more practice, the readier you'll be.

Good luck!






















Definitions via Wikipedia.

1. Flow of speech.

2. Auditory hallucinations involve hearing (e.g., voices); visual involve seeing (e.g., shadows); olfactory involve smelling (e.g., something burning or rotten).

3. An overvalued idea is an emotionally charged belief that may be held with sufficient conviction to make believer emotionally charged or aggressive but that fails to possess all three characteristics of delusion—most importantly, incongruity with cultural norms.

4. Flight of ideas describes excessive speech at a rapid rate that involves causal association between ideas. Links between ideas may involve usage of puns or rhymes. It is typical of mania, classically seen in bipolar disorder.

5. Alexithymic individuals may be unable to describe their subjective mood state.

ASWB Exam Quiz: Mixed Bag II

Want to pass the ASWB exam? Here's a little workout to get you a little bit more ready. These come from all around the exam outline, just like the real thing. (Though unlike the real thing, they're not vignettes, not multiple choice questions. Good practice tests will have those.)

Quick quiz starts...now!

1. In the DSM, a pervasive pattern of disregard for the rights of other people that often manifests as hostility and/or aggression.

2. True or false: Biological sex, gender identity, and gender expression are all different.

3.True of false: A crisis may be different from a problem or an emergency.

4. Unpredicted or markedly successful adaptations to negative life events, trauma, stress, and other forms of risk (Greene, 2002).

5. In the DSM, clinical distress due to a perceived physical anomaly, such as a scar, the shape or size of a body part, or some other personal feature.

What do you say?

How'd you do?

If you had no idea about these...great, you have some idea about what to study (and have the answers!). If you zipped through these without a problem...great, you're getting closer and closer to being licensed. Remember, the real ASWB exam doesn't include true/false questions or direct definition questions like these. It's 170 multiple choice questions, usually vignettes that put you in real-world social work situations with less-than-obvious correct answers. To be sure you're ready, practice a bunch--full-time practice tests are ideal.

Answers are below. Scroll down...……..
























1. Antisocial personality disorder

2. True. Biological sex, gender identity, and gender expression are all different. (See https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/10-things-social-workers-need-to-know-about-human-sexuality/)

3. True. A crisis may be different from a problem or an emergency. (See https://www.dshs.wa.gov/esa/social-services-manual/crisis-intervention)

4. Resilience (see http://www.socialworkpolicy.org/research/resiliency.html)

5. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)

ASWB Exam Quiz: Mixed Bag I

Past quizzes have kept you anchored by being about one topic or another. Today, we'll zip around in the ASWB exam outline to find various unrelated topics to draw questions from. Are you ready to pass the social work licensing exam? This is one way to find out. (Practice tests are another, better way, but...you know that already.) Ready...set...go:

1. What is PIE theory?

2.  DSM disorder characterized by abnormal thought processes and an unstable mood. The diagnosis is made when the person has features of both schizophrenia (usually psychosis) and a mood disorder—either bipolar disorder or depression—but doesn't meet the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia or a mood disorder separately.

3. Directive, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. Compared with non-directive counseling, it is more focused and goal-directed, and departs from traditional Rogerian client-centered therapy through this use of direction, in which therapists attempt to influence clients to consider making changes, rather than engaging in non-directive therapeutic exploration.

4. A social worker asks a client to count backwards from 100. What assessment tool is the social worker most likely utilizing?

5. Name three phases in the family life cycle.

How'd you do?

Ready for answers? Scroll down...…….














1. The person-in-environment (PIE) perspective in social work is a practice-guiding principle that highlights the importance of understanding an individual and individual behavior in light of the environmental contexts in which that person lives and acts. The perspective has historical roots in the profession, starting with early debates over the proper attention to be given to individual or environmental change. From http://oxfordre.com/socialwork/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-285

2. Schizoaffective disorder.
More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoaffective_disorder

3. Motivational Interviewing
More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivational_interviewing

4. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)
Example: http://www.heartinstitutehd.com/Misc/Forms/MMSE.1276128605.pdf

5. The family life cycle includes stages like "families with young children."
Flash cards here: https://quizlet.com/97407283/carter-and-mcgoldrick-stages-of-the-family-life-cycles-flash-cards/

Quick Quiz: Ethics Fill-in-the-Blanks V

One more fill-in-the-blanks quiz from the NASW Code of Ethics. You don't have to have the Code memorized--not even close. But it's ideal to understand the gist of what each section of the Code is getting at. That's where these quizzes come in. How well do you understand social work ethics?

Give this a try. The Payment for Services section. Fill in the blanks.


(a) When setting fees, social workers should ensure that the fees are _________________ and commensurate with the services performed. Consideration should be given to clients' ability _________.

(b) Social workers should ____________ accepting goods or services from clients as payment for professional services. Bartering arrangements, particularly involving services, create the potential ______________________________________ in social workers' relationships with clients. Social workers should explore and may participate in bartering only in very limited circumstances when it can be demonstrated that such arrangements are _____________________________________________________________________________ [5 conditions for bartering] . Social workers who accept goods or services from clients as payment for professional services assume the full burden of demonstrating that this arrangement will not be _______________ to the client or the professional relationship.

(c) Social workers should not solicit a private fee or other remuneration for providing services to clients who are entitled to such available services through _______________________________.

How'd you do?

These aren't easy! How many of those conditions for bartering were you able to think up from memory and common sense? If you got three, that's amazing--hope you'll give yourself a pat on the back or some other show of "nice job" to yourself.

On the real ASWB exam, there are no fill-in-the-blanks questions. Most questions are fairly complicated vignettes. But remember that lots of them lean on the Code of Ethics. Knowing this section and other will help you speed through ethics questions on the exam. That leaves more time for other test questions. Or maybe you can just get out early and start celebrating your new license.

Good luck.

Answers? They're below. Scroll down...………….

a1) fair, reasonable,

a2) to pay

b1) avoid 

b2) for conflicts of interest, exploitation, and inappropriate boundaries

b3) an accepted practice among professionals in the local community, considered to be essential for the provision of services, negotiated without coercion, and entered into at the client's initiative and with the client's informed consent

b4) detrimental

c) the social workers' employer or agency

Quick Quiz: Ethics Fill-in-the-Blanks IV

Next up, let's take on the Conflicts of Interest section of the NASW Code of Ethics. How well do you know it? Well, let's see. Fill in the blanks!

Remember, this isn't what the ASWB exam looks like. For those, check out practice tests (linked nearby). But this is ASWB exam content. It's material to review again and again. And though you shouldn't expect yourself to be able to answer verbatim what goes in the blanks below, challenge yourself to guess at the gist of what belongs in the emptied spaces.

Ready? Action!

(a) Social workers should be ______________________ conflicts of interest that interfere with the exercise of professional discretion and impartial judgment. Social workers should inform clients when a real or potential conflict of interest arises and __________________________ the issue in a manner that makes the clients' interests primary and protects clients' interests to the greatest extent possible. In some cases, protecting clients' interests may require ______________________________ with proper referral of the client.

(b) Social workers should not take unfair advantage of any professional relationship or exploit others to further their ____________________________ interests.

(c) Social workers should not engage in _____________________________ with clients or former clients in which there is a risk of exploitation or potential harm to the client. In instances when ____________________________ are unavoidable, social workers should take steps to protect clients and are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries.

(d) When social workers provide services to two or more people who have a relationship with each other (for example, couples, family members), social workers should ________________________________ and the nature of social workers' professional obligations to the various individuals who are receiving services.

(e) Social workers should ___________ communication with clients using technology (such as social networking sites, online chat, e-mail, text messages, telephone, and video) for personal or non-work-related purposes.

(f) Social workers should be aware that posting personal information on professional Web sites or other media might cause ___________________________________________ to clients.

(g) Social workers should be aware that personal affiliations may increase the likelihood that clients may discover the social worker’s presence on Web sites, social media, and other forms of technology. Social workers should be aware that involvement in electronic communication with groups based on race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mental or physical ability, religion, immigration status, and other personal affiliations may affect their ability to work effectively with particular clients.

(h) Social workers should ________ accepting requests from or engaging in personal relationships with clients on social networking sites or other electronic media to prevent boundary confusion, inappropriate dual relationships, or harm to clients.

How's you do? Scroll down for answers...……


























a1) alert to and avoid

a2) take reasonable steps to resolve

a3) termination of the professional relationship

b) personal, religious, political, or business 

c1)  dual or multiple relationships

c2) dual or multiple relationships

d)  clarify with all parties which individuals will be considered clients

e) avoid 

f) boundary confusion, inappropriate dual relationships, or harm

h) avoid

Quick Quiz: Ethics Fill-in-the-Blanks III

Next up in our tour through quizzified sections of the NASW Code of Ethics, 1.03, Informed Consent. Your task: summon, through memory and common sense deduction, the missing phrases from each paragraph. Aka, fill in the blank!

(a) Social workers should provide services to clients only in the context of a professional relationship based, when appropriate, on valid informed consent. Social workers should use clear and understandable language to inform clients of the___________ of the services, ___________related to the services, limits to services because of the requirements of a third-party payer, relevant costs, reasonable alternatives, clients' right to refuse or withdraw consent, and the time frame covered by the consent. Social workers should provide clients with an opportunity to ask questions. 

(b) In instances when clients are not literate or have difficulty understanding the primary language used in the practice setting, social workers should take steps to _____________________. This may include providing clients with a detailed verbal explanation or arranging for a qualified interpreter or translator whenever possible. 

(c) In instances when clients lack the capacity to provide informed consent, social workers should protect clients' interests by ________________________________________, informing clients consistent with the clients' level of understanding. In such instances social workers should seek to ensure that the third party acts in a manner consistent with clients' wishes and interests. Social workers should take reasonable steps to enhance such clients' ability to give informed consent. 

(d) In instances when clients are receiving services involuntarily, social workers should provide information about the nature and extent of services and about the extent of clients' right to _______________. 


This is not easy. Don't beat yourself up for not getting these. Instead, give yourself a pat on the back for attempting them. You've just reviewed the first part of the Informed Consent section of the Code of Ethics, material that is very likely to show up somewhere in the 170 questions on your social work licensing exam. Nice work!

For the answers, scroll down...………….

































a1) purpose
a2) risks
b) ensure clients' comprehension
c) seeking permission from an appropriate third party
d) refuse service

Quick Quiz: Ethics Fill-in-the-Blanks II

How well do you know the NASW Code of Ethics? Let's test your knowledge.

Here's the bulk of section 1.09, Sexual Relationships. Minus the blanks. Your task: fill them.


(a) Social workers should ___________________ [when] engage in sexual activities, inappropriate sexual communications through the use of technology or in person, or sexual contact with current clients, whether such contact is consensual or forced.

(b) Social workers should not engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with clients' relatives or other individuals with whom clients maintain a close personal relationship when there is a risk of __________________________ [consequence]. 

(c) Social workers should not engage in ________________________ [behavior] with former clients because of the potential for harm to the client. If social workers engage in conduct contrary to this prohibition or claim that an exception to this prohibition is warranted because of extraordinary circumstances, it is social workers--not their clients--who assume the full burden of demonstrating that the former client has not been exploited, coerced, or manipulated, intentionally or unintentionally.

(d) Social workers should not provide ______________ to individuals with whom they have had a prior sexual relationship. Providing _______________ to a former sexual partner has the potential to be harmful to the individual and is likely to make it difficult for the social worker and individual to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

What do you think?

It's not really your job to have every line of the Code of Ethics memorized. The idea here is to get you to think that little bit extra about what's in the Code and be that much more ready to pass the ASWB exam because of it. Done!

Scroll down for answers....





























A. under no circumstances

B. exploitation or potential harm to the client

C. sexual activities or sexual contact

D. clinical services

Quick Quiz: Code of Ethics Fill-in-the-Blank

Here are the first four paragraphs of the Privacy and Confidentiality section of the NASW Code of Ethics, but with some crucial parts excised. Your task: Fill in the blanks. Don't expect to get exact phrasing--only those with photographic memories would come close. Just aim for the basic gist of each missing phrase.

(a) Social workers should respect clients' right to privacy. Social workers should not solicit private information from or about clients except for ________________________. Once private information is shared, standards of confidentiality apply.

(b) Social workers may disclose confidential information when appropriate with valid consent from ____________________________________________________________.

(c) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of professional service, except for compelling professional reasons. The general expectation that social workers will keep information confidential does not apply when disclosure is necessary to prevent _______________________________________. In all instances, social workers should disclose the _______ amount of confidential information necessary to achieve the desired purpose; only information that is directly relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure is made should be revealed.

(d) Social workers should inform clients, to the extent possible, about the disclosure of confidential information and the potential consequences, when feasible _________ [time frame] the disclosure is made. This applies whether social workers disclose confidential information on the basis of a legal requirement or client consent.

How'd you do?

Find out by scrolling down for answers...

Will this be on the exam? The material, yes. But not in this form. Expect vignette questions that draw on crucial areas throughout the NASW Code of Ethics.




















a) compelling professional reasons

b) a client or a person legally authorized to consent on behalf of a client

c1) serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client or others

c2) least

d) before

Quick Quiz: Name That Diagnosis IV

Let's dig back into the DSM and get quizzing. All in the name of ASWB exam preparation. Your job: Name that diagnosis!

1. Intrusion symptoms, avoidance, and cognitive alterations following exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence.

2. In children, a consistent pattern of inhibited, emotionally withdrawn behavior, emotional and social disturbance following extremes of insufficient care.

3. Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states with recurrent gaps in the recall of everyday events.

4. Falsification of physical or psychological signs or symptoms associated with identified deception.

5. Self-reported excessive sleepiness including lapses into sleep during the day, more than hours of nonrestorative sleep, or difficulty being awake after abrupt awakening.

Have answers for all of them?

The social work licensing exam, as we've stated before, doesn't generally include questions that are direct as these quiz questions. Expect vignettes more like the ones you see on practice tests (like the ones at SWTP). Still, it's great to know as much of the fact-based info that may appear on the exam as you can. That way, you'll be able to speed more quickly through any more simple questions and hopefully give yourself a little room to answer a lower percentage of the tricky, close-call vignette questions correctly. 

Good luck!

Answers below. Scroll down...……

1. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

2. Reactive Attachment Disorder

3. Dissociative Identity Disorder

4. Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self  (Note: When symptoms are presented in another--by proxy--the diagnosis is Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another)

5. Hypersomnolence Disorder

Quick Quiz: Name That Diagnosis III

The biggest gimmes on the ASWB exam--quick, easy items that take no real though--are questions, increasingly rare, that lean on facts alone and not on synthesizing all parts of your social work knowledge. If you know your stuff, a simple DSM question is as easy as answering 1+1. This symptom for that length of time? Got it. 

So here's a quick quiz to help build your gimme muscles. Your job: Name That Diagnosis. Knock it out of the park!

1. Repeated voiding of urine into bed or clothes, whether voluntary or intentional after age five.

2. Fear or anxiety about social situations in which the individual is exposed to scrutiny by others.

3. Repeated regurgitating of food for at least one month. 

4. Excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events or activities.

5. Mood swings, irritability, depressed mood, and/or anxiety along with anhedonia, lethargy, concentration difficulties, appetite change, sleep problems, a sense of being overwhelmed, and/or physical symptoms in the final weeks before the onset of menses. 

What do you think? 

If you come across a question that reads something direct like, "A client describes excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events or activities. What is the BEST diagnosis for this client?" count yourself lucky, mark your answer, and move along. Most exam questions are as straightforward as that. Instead expect more difficulty--curveballs, sliders, and change-ups (for baseball fans). Baseball fan or not, to get better prepared for the licensing exam, get exposed to lots and lots of realistic practice questions like the ones at SWTP. You'll be glad you did come exam day.

Ready for the answers? Scroll down....

1. Enuresis 

2. Social Anxiety Disorder

3. Rumination Disorder

4. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

5. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

Quick Quiz: Name That Diagnosis II

Back by popular demand, quick quiz help for your ASWB exam prep. Like electronic flash cards or a unusual game show. Below find a set of partial diagnostic criteria from throughout the DSM. Your task, should you accept it: Name That Diagnosis.

1. Low or absent desire for sex for six months or more, in men.

2. Intrusion symptoms, negative mood, dissociative, avoidance, or arousal symptoms between three days and one month after exposure to trauma.

3. A combination of depressed mood, anhedonia, appetite, sleep, and focus problems, restlessness, fatigue, and/or feelings of worthlessness almost every day for at least two weeks.

4. Frequent angry, unplanned, and outsized outbursts after age six.

5. High level of stress in connection with physical symptoms which have no apparent medical explanation.

What do you think?

This set is a little easier than the ones from Name That Diagnosis I, but you still need to have a good handle on the DSM to people answer these without some wild guesses. If the ASWB exam were made up of questions like these, it'd be pretty easy to prepare for. You'd just memorize and ton of content and you'd be set. The actual exam contains vignette questions which combine memorizable content with close-call, real-world social work situations. Prepping for those is trickier. For most, taking lots and lots of practice tests is the best way to prepare. But as you're doing those, come back here. This kind of mental weightlifting is helpful too.

Good luck on the exam!

Scroll down for answers...






















1. Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

2. Acute Stress Disorder

3. Major Depressive Disorder

4. Intermittent Explosive Disorder

5. Somatic Symptom Disorder

Quick Quiz: Name That Diagnosis

Today, we're sort of a set of electronic flash cards--some more help passing the ASWB exam. Here are several sets of partial diagnostic criteria from throughout the DSM. Your job: Name That Diagnosis.

1. Pattern of behavior in which a child actively approaches and interacts with unfamiliar adults.

2. A repetitive and persistent pattern of violating the rights of others and societal norms, possibly including aggression, destruction of property, deceitfulness or theft, or the serious violation of rules.

3. Preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness without the presence of major somatic symptoms.

4. Pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.

5. Numerous periods of hypomanic symptoms that do not meet criteria for a hypomanic episode and numerous periods with depressive symptoms that do not meet criteria for MDD.

What do you say?

These aren't easy. You may or may not encounter questions on the social work licensing exam covering non-routine DSM diagnoses. Even if you do, they aren't likely to be quite as simple as symptom, symptom, symptom...name that diagnosis. You're far more likely to see questions that synthesize knowledge from various content areas--practice, theory, ethics, etc. Practice tests are the best way to get acclimated to those questions. And come back here for more of these!

The answers? They're just below--scroll down...












1. Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder

2. Conduct Disorder

3. Illness Anxiety Disorder

4. Narcissistic Personality Disorder

5. Cyclothymic Disorder