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Psychology Board Exam Study Notes
Complete Reviewer for the Psychologist Licensure Examination
In This Guide
About the Psychology Board Exam
The Psychologist Licensure Examination is administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) under RA 10029 (Philippine Psychology Act). It assesses competency across all major areas of psychological practice.
Exam Subjects
- • Psychological Theories
- • Psychological Assessment
- • Abnormal Psychology
- • Developmental Psychology
- • Industrial/Organizational Psychology
- • Social Psychology
Requirements
- • MA/MS Psychology (for Psychologist)
- • BS Psychology (for Psychometrician)
- • Supervised practice hours
- • Passing score: 75%
Part 1: Major Psychological Theories
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic
Sigmund Freud
Structure of Personality
- Id: Pleasure principle; instinctual drives
- Ego: Reality principle; mediates id/superego
- Superego: Morality principle; conscience, ideal self
Levels of Consciousness
- Conscious: Current awareness
- Preconscious: Accessible memories
- Unconscious: Repressed material
Psychosexual Stages
Oral
0-1 yr
Anal
1-3 yr
Phallic
3-6 yr
Latency
6-12 yr
Genital
12+ yr
Defense Mechanisms
- Repression: Unconscious blocking of anxiety-provoking thoughts
- Denial: Refusing to accept reality
- Projection: Attributing own unacceptable thoughts to others
- Displacement: Redirecting emotions to safer target
- Sublimation: Converting unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable behavior
- Rationalization: Logical explanation for irrational behavior
- Reaction Formation: Behaving opposite to true feelings
Neo-Freudians
- Carl Jung: Collective unconscious, archetypes, introversion/extroversion
- Alfred Adler: Individual psychology, inferiority complex, striving for superiority
- Karen Horney: Basic anxiety, neurotic needs, feminine psychology
- Erik Erikson: Psychosocial development, 8 stages across lifespan
Behaviorism
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
- UCS: Unconditioned stimulus (food)
- UCR: Unconditioned response (salivation)
- CS: Conditioned stimulus (bell)
- CR: Conditioned response (salivation to bell)
- • Acquisition, Extinction, Spontaneous recovery
- • Generalization, Discrimination
Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
- Positive Reinforcement: Add pleasant → increase behavior
- Negative Reinforcement: Remove unpleasant → increase behavior
- Positive Punishment: Add unpleasant → decrease behavior
- Negative Punishment: Remove pleasant → decrease behavior
- • Schedules: Fixed/Variable Ratio/Interval
Social Learning Theory (Bandura)
- • Learning through observation (modeling)
- • Bobo doll experiment
- • Self-efficacy: belief in one's capabilities
- • Reciprocal determinism: person ↔ behavior ↔ environment
Humanistic Psychology
Abraham Maslow
- Hierarchy of Needs:
- 5. Self-actualization
- 4. Esteem needs
- 3. Love/Belonging needs
- 2. Safety needs
- 1. Physiological needs
- • Peak experiences
Carl Rogers
- • Person-centered therapy
- • Unconditional positive regard
- • Empathy
- • Genuineness/Congruence
- • Self-concept vs Ideal self
- • Conditions of worth
Cognitive Psychology
- Jean Piaget: Cognitive development stages (Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete, Formal)
- Albert Ellis: Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT); ABC model
- Aaron Beck: Cognitive therapy; cognitive distortions, automatic thoughts
- Information Processing: Encoding → Storage → Retrieval
Part 2: Psychological Assessment
Psychometric Concepts
Reliability
- Test-retest: Consistency over time
- Parallel forms: Equivalent forms correlation
- Internal consistency: Items measure same construct
- Split-half: Correlation between halves
- Cronbach's alpha: Internal consistency measure
- Inter-rater: Agreement between scorers
Validity
- Content: Representativeness of items
- Face: Appears to measure what it claims
- Criterion: Correlation with external criterion
- • Concurrent: Same time measurement
- • Predictive: Future performance
- Construct: Measures theoretical concept
Intelligence Tests
Wechsler Scales
- WAIS: Adults (16+)
- WISC: Children (6-16)
- WPPSI: Preschool (2.5-7)
- • Full Scale IQ, Verbal, Performance
- • Mean = 100, SD = 15
Stanford-Binet
- • Ages 2-85+
- • 5 factors: Fluid reasoning, Knowledge, Quantitative, Visual-spatial, Working memory
- • Mean = 100, SD = 15
IQ Classification:
- • 130+: Very Superior (2.2%)
- • 120-129: Superior (6.7%)
- • 110-119: High Average (16.1%)
- • 90-109: Average (50%)
- • 80-89: Low Average (16.1%)
- • 70-79: Borderline (6.7%)
- • Below 70: Intellectual Disability (2.2%)
Personality Tests
Objective Tests
- MMPI-2: 567 items; clinical scales, validity scales
- 16PF: Cattell's 16 personality factors
- NEO-PI-R: Big Five (OCEAN)
- MBTI: 16 types; E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P
Projective Tests
- Rorschach: Inkblot test; 10 cards
- TAT: Thematic Apperception Test; story creation
- DAP: Draw-A-Person
- HTP: House-Tree-Person
- Sentence Completion: Complete stems
Neuropsychological Tests
- Bender-Gestalt: Visual-motor integration; 9 designs
- Rey Complex Figure: Visual memory, organization
- Trail Making Test: Attention, sequencing (A & B)
- Wisconsin Card Sorting: Executive function, set-shifting
- Stroop Test: Selective attention, inhibition
Part 3: Abnormal Psychology
DSM-5 Disorders
Mood Disorders
- MDD: ≥2 weeks of depressed mood OR anhedonia + 4 other symptoms
- Bipolar I: Manic episode (≥1 week)
- Bipolar II: Hypomanic + Major depressive
- Cyclothymia: Chronic mood fluctuations
- Persistent Depressive: ≥2 years depressed
Anxiety Disorders
- GAD: Excessive worry ≥6 months
- Panic Disorder: Recurrent unexpected attacks
- Social Anxiety: Fear of social situations
- Specific Phobia: Marked fear of object/situation
- Agoraphobia: Fear of places/situations
Trauma & Stressor-Related
- PTSD: After traumatic event; intrusion, avoidance, negative cognitions, arousal
- Acute Stress: 3 days to 1 month after trauma
- Adjustment: Response to identifiable stressor
OCD & Related
- OCD: Obsessions and/or compulsions
- Body Dysmorphic: Preoccupation with perceived flaw
- Hoarding: Difficulty discarding
- Trichotillomania: Hair pulling
Schizophrenia Spectrum
Diagnostic Criteria
- Positive Symptoms: Hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech/behavior
- Negative Symptoms: Flat affect, alogia, avolition, anhedonia
- • Duration: ≥6 months (including 1 month active phase)
- • At least 2 symptoms (1 must be delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech)
Types of Delusions:
- • Persecutory: Being harmed/conspired against
- • Grandiose: Exceptional abilities/importance
- • Referential: Events have personal significance
- • Somatic: Body-related false beliefs
Personality Disorders
Cluster A (Odd)
- • Paranoid
- • Schizoid
- • Schizotypal
Cluster B (Dramatic)
- • Antisocial
- • Borderline
- • Histrionic
- • Narcissistic
Cluster C (Anxious)
- • Avoidant
- • Dependent
- • Obsessive-Compulsive
Part 4: Developmental Psychology
Piaget's Cognitive Development
| Stage | Age | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Sensorimotor | 0-2 yr | Object permanence, circular reactions, goal-directed behavior |
| Preoperational | 2-7 yr | Symbolic thinking, egocentrism, animism, centration |
| Concrete Operational | 7-11 yr | Conservation, reversibility, classification, seriation |
| Formal Operational | 11+ yr | Abstract thinking, hypothetical-deductive reasoning |
Erikson's Psychosocial Stages
Trust vs Mistrust
0-1 yr
Autonomy vs Shame
1-3 yr
Initiative vs Guilt
3-6 yr
Industry vs Inferiority
6-12 yr
Identity vs Role Confusion
12-18 yr
Intimacy vs Isolation
Young adult
Generativity vs Stagnation
Middle adult
Integrity vs Despair
Late adult
Kohlberg's Moral Development
Preconventional
- Punishment/Obedience
- Instrumental Exchange
Conventional
- Good Boy/Nice Girl
- Law and Order
Postconventional
- Social Contract
- Universal Principles
Part 5: Research Methods & Statistics
Research Designs
Experimental
- • Random assignment
- • IV manipulation, DV measurement
- • Control group
- • Establishes causation
Correlational
- • No manipulation
- • Measures relationship
- • -1 to +1 range
- • Cannot establish causation
Basic Statistics
Descriptive
- Mean: Average
- Median: Middle value
- Mode: Most frequent
- Range: Max - Min
- SD: Average deviation from mean
- Variance: SD²
Inferential
- t-test: Compare 2 group means
- ANOVA: Compare 3+ group means
- Chi-square: Categorical data
- Correlation: Relationship strength
- p < .05: Statistically significant
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