Ch. 4 Research methods in psychopathology Flashcards
research methodology
ways of obtaining information about critical questions regarding mental health and established approach leads to facts
hypothesis
an educated guess or a statement o be tested by data
research design
the plan for testing the hypothesis
dependent variable
some aspect of the phenomenon that is measured and is expected to be changed or influenced by the independent variable
independent variable
the aspect manipulated or thought to influence the change in the dependent variable
internal validity
the extent to which the results of the study can be attributed to the independent variable
external validity
the extent to which the results of the study can be generalized or applied outside the immediate study
confounding variable
factor making results uninterpretable
control group
people in experimental group who are not exposed to IV
randomization
make the group in control group and experimental group as equal as possible
clinical significance
if the difference was meaningful or not for those affected
statistical significance
mathematical calculation about the difference between groups
patient uniformity myth
individual differences among people with the same disorder
case study method
freud’s psychoanalytic theory, studied people over years and reported them heavily (no control group)
correlation
statistical relationship between two variables
positive correlation
higher scores in one variable = higher scores in other variable
negative correlation
reversed relationship between two variables
epidemiological research
incidence and prevalence of problems in a population
incidence
estimated number of new cases during a specific period
prevalence
the number of people with a disorder at one time
experimental designs
researchers change/manipulate IV to see effect of change on behaviour
clinical trial
an experiment that determines safety of a treatment
placebo effect
change in behaviour due to “expectation” of person
double blind control
participants and researchers unaware of placebo
single case experimental designs
systematic study of individuals under a variety of experimental conditions can help us understand individual psychopathology and can help explain why people engage in abnormal behaviour
variability
behaviour change from day to day
trend
important in determining cause of any change
withdrawal designs
baseline is established, treatment begins and withdrawal of treatment
drug holiday
period when medication is withdrawn
multiple baselines
treatments started at differet times across settings , improves internal validity
phenotype
presentation of disorder
genotype
the genetics of the genes behind the behaviour
human genome project
helpful identifying different genes that are involved
endophenotypes
different presentations of phenotype (some people are more prone)
family studies
behavioural patterns and emotional states studied in the context of family
proban
a family member with trait who is singled out (looking at one person and comparing their traits to rest of family)
adoption studies
researchers separate environmental from genetic influences
twin studies
role of genes in development studies
identical twins
monozygotic (identical genes)
fraternal twins
dizygotic (different eggs)
genetic linkage analysis
studying inherited characteristics (of disorders) in families
genetic markers
exact location of genes that lead to disorder
association studies
compare genetic markers in people with and without a disorder
studying behaviour over time
studying developmental changes in abnormal behaviour is important because it provides insights into how problems are created and how they can become more serious
prevention research
leads to interventions and prevention services
Four prevention strategies
positive (health promotion, ways of reducing stress), Universal (may lead to a disorder, warning), Selective (telling people that are already at risk how to prevent it) Indicated (a group is prone to a disorder and showing signs)
cross sectional designs
a cross-section of a population across different age groups are compared
cohort
participants in each age group
retrospective effect
provides inaccurate picture of how a disorder may have developed overtime
longitudinal designs
researchers follow one group overtime and asses changes in same members
sequential designs
repeated study of cohorts overtime
studying behaviours across cultures
multiple research designs are employed, multiple perspectives considered before treatment
replication
replicating findings increases confidence in findings
replication crisis
findings are not duplicated even in carefully replicated studies
informed consent
competence, voluntatism, full infromation, comprension
for child research
consent from children’s caregivers and from child themselves if older than 7
