I am rather certain that the topic of #sadism comes up often in discussions amongst individuals studying for the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (the "EPPP"). However, I was surprised to find a lack of hits when I typed in search words such as "EPPP" and "sadism." I am going on 7 months of studying for this thing and continue to get hit with questions that I never knew existed in the realm of #psychology (after 9 years of studying within this very field). One would wonder how this would be possible.
We are asked to know everything from the names of the attorneys involved in the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) to where our circadian clock is located within our brain (in the suprachiasmatic nucleas within the hypothalamus....that's a mouthful). Do I need to know these things? Likely not. Do I even CARE about these things? Definitely not.
However, we are forced to learn fact upon fact. Let me correct that statement....we are forced to learn fact upon controversial and subjective non-fact. For example, just take a look at some of the explanations for questions on the practice exams: "Questions like these are difficult to answer, because research in this area is contradictory" or "This question is difficult because the language of the response choices is convoluted and imprecise" or my all-time favorite: "None of the answers are quite right..." Wow. Okay, great.
Does this exam of all exams really measure whether one will be a good psychologist? I understand that that is not the "goal" of this exam. The sadists over at ASPPB say that the goal of the EPPP is to ensure a minimum level of competence. Minimum??? With pass rates ranging from 60-76% I would have to argue that the #EPPP is not an easy exam. Quite the contrary.
Like most things, the EPPP is a money-making business. First, you can shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for the safety net test-taking programs such as #AcademicReview, the #TaylorStudyMethod, or #PsychPrep. After countless hours of studying, you are required to go through the tedious process of signing up to take the darn thing. The sadists over at ASPPB collect a whopping $450 (But hurry folks because this fee is going up to $600 in March 2013!!!). Then, the folks over at Prometric collect $69 for a "CBT test administration fee"....whatever that is. After sitting through a grueling 4 hours and 200 exam questions, you must wait for results for weeks. Then if you want feedback, it's another 75 bucks. And if you fail, you will be forced to pay most of those fees again my friends. Capitalism at it's best.
