Practice Questions
Test your existing CASPer skills with these practice questions. Feel like being challenged? Try doing them timed!
1. You and a friend are in line at a concert when you overhear two people in front of you say they plan on sneaking in a friend of theirs.
a) If you choose to get involved, what do you say to these people?
b) Would your answer change if they person they are trying to sneak in is a minor & can’t afford the concert ticket?
c) If once you speak to the people in front of you, they get upset and start causing a scene, do you report them?
2. You are working on a research paper along with your supervisor. You notice a section of the paper is very similar to a recent study you read in a published journal. When you ask your supervisor about it, he tells you it’s very normal for researchers to get inspired by material they read in published journals.
a) You suspect your supervisor has plagiarized a section of the paper. Do you confront your supervisor, why or why not?
b) If confronting your supervisor sets your paper back two months, which will result in missing the deadline to apply for a significant grant from the government. Does this change your answer?
c) In what ways does a conversation with a superior differ from a conversation with a peer or colleague?
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3. Billy is an aspiring law student. Billy’s best friend’s mother, Lucy is on the law admissions committee. Lucy’s role implies making the final decision whether an applicant gets in. You have been best friends with Lucy’s daughter Lisa for 15 years and practically grew up with them. You believe your chances of getting into law are pretty high given your strong application.
a) Do you think it is fair for Lucy be on the admissions board when evaluating Billy’s application?
b) Who should be the one reporting a conflict of interest, Billy or Lucy?
c) Have you ever witnessed a situation where a professional or ethical boundary was crossed?
4. Catherine and Marcy want to get their friend Annie a birthday gift. Catherine, who has a higher budget, suggests a spa day. Marcy, having a much lower budget than Catherine suggests a gift certificate at Annie’s favorite bookstore. Catherine highly dislikes that idea saying it’s a “cheap birthday gift”
a) How should Catherine & Marcy handle the situation?
b) Since Catherine really wants to get Annie a spa day, she offers to pay for Marcy’s part of the gift. Does this change your answer?
c) Describe a time where you played a crucial role in helping two friends of yours resolve a conflict or disagreement. What did you learn from this?
5. You are mindlessly scrolling on Instagram when you come across Mark’s profile. Mark is an old friend of yours, you have known each other for years. You notice all of Mark’s pictures are of medical surgeries. At first, you think he is just passionate about getting into medical school, but the more you scroll the more you realize the pictures are of real people and real surgeries.
a) Do you report Mark? If so, to whom?
b) If Mark gets permission to post these pictures, does this change your answer?
c) Should students be allowed to post pictures of surgeries on their social media account?
6. You and your classmate are studying for your biology final exam tomorrow morning. You are both scrolling online on a study break, when your classmate suddenly tells you he’s found the question bank online. He tells you he is sure it is the same questions you’ll have tomorrow as the test bank is linked to the textbook you’ve been using in class. He also tells you he’s heard from multiple students who have previously taken the class that this teacher always uses the same questions for his exams.
a) Do you use the question bank?
b) If your friend suggests it will only be a “studying tool” does this change answer why or why not?
c) If no one finds out you got your hands on the question bank, does it make it ok?
7. James is a nurse. He is about to check on his patient Michael, when he overhears Michael’s brother talk on the phone. Michael’s brother is saying that he is overwhelmed, exhausted and fed up of taking care of James. He says that no one else from the family had shown up to help. He tells the person over the phone that he will lie to Michael and say that there’s been an emergency with the dog and that he needs to leave right away.
a) If Michael’s brother doesn’t know you overheard him, should you say something to him, why or why not?
b) Should you say something to Michael?
c) Is lying ever justified if it’s for a good cause?
8. You are working on a group project. Jake, a really smart and competent student has just been added to your group by the professor. You don’t know Jake personally, but you happen to know that he is an excellent student, aces every test and works extremely well in a group. When Jake joins your group he tells you a friend of his took the class last semester and has all the teacher’s material, including previous tests as well as the completed assignment you guys are all working on. Jake tells you this is his secret in doing so well. He takes his friend’s previous assignments and just rewords them.
a) If Jake is adamant on taking his friend’s assignment and assures you it will look nothing like his friend’s because he will change every work. Does it make it ok?
b) Should you report Jake?
c) Describe a time where you’ve had to make an unpopular decision. What did you learn from it?
9. You are an employee at a law firm. You have been working there for 12 months, when your boss Frank, comes up to you wanting to address a situation. Frank tells you he’s just looked over all the documents you had to proofread and that several mistakes were made. He tells you this is unacceptable given how long you’ve been working there. Confused and sure your work was impeccable, you look over the documents and notice the only person that could have made these mistakes is your manager Eric.
a) How do you handle the situation? Do you speak to Eric directly, or do you speak to Frank?
b) In your opinion, whose responsibility is it to oversee employee’s work?
c) Are zero-tolerance policies required to ensure high levels of professionalism in companies?
10. You walk into a pharmacy looking for a pain killer medication that will help with your headaches. You are looking for the specific one you need when you notice the person next to you take a cough syrup off the shelf and put it in her pocket. She seems suspicious and looks around a couple of times before heading out.
a) Do you report her?
b) If she is taking the cough syrup to help her child, does this change your answer?
c) Describe a time when you misjudged someone.
11. You’re taking a physics class with a friend of yours. Both of you have just finished a final exam that was very difficult. You are discussing some of your answers with your friend when he tells you he’s extremely upset at the teacher for giving this exam. He says the teacher did it on purpose to make such a hard exam so the whole class would fail. He then says, in order to get the teacher in trouble, he is going to make a formal complaint to the administration that the teacher made racist remarks to the class.
a) What do you say to your friend?
b) If the teacher did in fact make racist comments to the class, would that change your answer?
c) What are ways students can voice their disagreements regarding faculty members?
12. You are volunteering at a homeless shelter. You and another volunteer are responsible for putting together holiday baskets. You are finishing your last basket when the volunteer next to you starts speaking very poorly about a homeless man that often visits the shelter. He tells you the homeless man is annoying to deal with, smells really bad and should find another shelter to go to.
a) Do you report the volunteer to your supervisor?
b) Say you try speaking with the volunteer about the things he’s just said but he tells you he’s entitled to his own opinion, what do you do?
c) Is it necessary for the values & opinions of volunteers to align with the values of the organization they’re volunteering for?
13. Your close friend Anna has just told you that her mother has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Anna is overwhelmed, emotional and doesn’t know how to handle the situation. Anna tells you she’s thinking of taking a semester off school to be there for her family.
a) What should you say to Anna?
b) If taking a semester off means Anna will be significantly behind in her undergraduate degree, will that change your answer?
c) When faced with a difficult situation, is it better to tackle the problem head-on or take a step back?
14. You work as an Uber driver on weekends to help pay for rent & tuition. It is 4 am on Saturday night and you are dropping off your last 3 clients. They are clearly intoxicated and have asked you several times to stop the Uber & pull over as they may be sick. Once you drop them off you notice them walking towards a car.
a) Would stopping them from going in the car crossing a line?
b) What factors do you consider before getting involved in a situation that you aren’t directly involved in?
c) Describe a situation in which you regret not getting involved.
15. You and Bianca are the two newest interns at a reputable law firm. You have always dreamt of working in this firm, so this internship means a lot to you. The managing partner asks you and Bianca to make photocopies of very important documents. An hour later, the partner comes running to you both saying that instead of photocopying the documents you accidentally faxed them to the wrong client, divulging extremely confidential information. The managing partner fires the both of you on the spot.
a) If Bianca was the one who made the mistake, do you speak up?
b) Is it more important to fend for yourself or be a team player?
c) Describe a time where you had to make an unpopular decision.