Chapter 2 Flashcards
Observational Approaches
Collecting information without asking participants for it directly.
Direct observation:
outward behavior is recorded by trained observers. Biological variables can also be observed via technologically advanced methods
biological observation is done thru…
–Brain imaging (fMRI), Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Reactivity
Reactivity is when people respond they way they think you want them to instead of being honest
Dishonesty might be bc of social discomfort or wanting to look better etc, someone might not be self aware…
Concern with self report methods
Case Studies
Detailed accounts of individual patient behavior
Based on observation
subject to bias, Conclusions have low generalizability.
Can provide insights into unusual/rare clinical conditions and serve as a stimulus for research
how is researcher bias generated in case studies:
writer decides what to include and omit. •
purpose of experimental research
Experimental research allows researchers to draw conclusions about causality and resolve questions of directionality
Scientists control all factors except IV
Actively manipulate IV
If DV changes as IV changes, it is regarded as cause of outcome
Standard treatment comparison study
alternative in which two (or more) treatments are compared in differing yet comparable groups
Double-blind study:
neither the subjects nor the experimenters know who is in the control group
Placebo treatment:
participants are given a treatment with no effect
Whom should researchers include in a study?
This is sampling. Study group should mirror underlying population in all important ways, or the study won’t be generalizable to the population. Large, randomly selected groups are ideal; erroneous conclusions can emerge from faulty sampling
Sampling:
the careful selection of people representative of a much larger group (a subgroup) for close study.
Sampling bias
Finding participants can be difficult
Research often uses samples of convenience (easily accessible subjects)
Creates bias bc those people were more likely to be selected
Effect size
reflects the size of the association between two variables independent of the sample size.
Effect size = 0 means there is no association between the variables.
/strength of the effect
Statistical vs. Clinical significance
ie a treatment can be statistically significant (ie ALWAYS makes a difference) but that difference might be tiny and changes based on sample size. isn’t important/enough/won’t make a difference in clinical world
So re effect size there can be a statistical difference: it makes a difference, there is an effect, the likelihood of that event happening by chance is close to nil
But it’s not clinically significant, not a large effect size (example: a medication that ALWAYS lowers blood pressure (ie statistically proven to lower blood pressure)) but only lowers it by .01%)
early beliefs on abn behavior
Early chinese, egyptian, hebrew and greek writings attribute abnormal behavior to possession by demon or god
Someone whose symptoms had religious/mystical significance was considered to be possessed by good spirit or god; respected for their supernatural powers
A person engaged in behavior contrary to religious teachings was thought to be possessed by an angry god or an evil spirit; typically subjected to exorcism to remove demonic possession. Exorcism techniques included magic, prayer, incantation, noisemaking, and use of horrible-tasting concoctions
Hippocrates
Greek physician Hippocrates (460–377 B.C., “father of modern medicine”) contributed to shift in understanding of mental disorders as natural, not supernatural, in origin
Believed mental disorders are due to brain pathology
Emphasized importance of heredity and predisposition
Classified mental disorders 3 ways based on detailed clinical observations: mania, melancholia, and phrenitis (brain fever)
middle ages perspective
Islamic Middle Eastern countries preserved scientific aspects of Greek medicine
First mental hospital established in Baghdad in 792; provided humane treatment
Middle Ages in Europe mostly devoid of scientific thinking and humane treatment for the mentally ill, exorcisms were sometimes combined with poorly understood medical treatments. During later Middle Ages and early Renaissance, superstitious beliefs hindering the understanding and treatment of mental disorders began to be challenged
Scientific questioning reemerged; Humanism, a movement emphasizing human interests
and concerns, began
Asylums
places dedicated solely to care of people with
mental illness—were first established in 16th century to remove troublesome individuals from the community.
Humanitarian Reform
Philippe Pinel (1745–1826): French physician In 1792, removed chains from mental patients with positive results—showed benefit of treating them as sick people, not beasts or criminals William Tuke (1732–1822): English Quaker Established York Retreat country house for patients with mental illness– Inspired Samuel Hitch to introduce trained medical staff at asylum Inspired Thomas Wakley to help pass the Lunacy Inquiry Act: asylums had to be inspected regularly to ensure proper diet, no use of restraints Country Asylums Act (England, 1845): every county required to provide asylum to “paupers and lunatics”
Early 1800s in America:
widespread growth of moral management based on work of Pinel and Tuke
Wide-ranging method of treatment focusing on patients’ social, individual and occupational needs and moral/spiritual development
Surprisingly effective
Mental Hygiene Movement
Dorothea Dix (1802–1887): a New Englander who
championed the poor and “forgotten” people of prisons
and other facilities for the mentally ill
Efforts led to the mental hygiene movement advocating treatment focused on hospitalized patients’ physical well-being
20th century:
public mental hospitals common
Housed 400,000 patients by 1940
Mental hospital stays typically long
1960s: recognition of need for reform
Community Mental Health Act of 1963 established outpatient clinics, inpatient hospital facilities, community programs
Late 20th century:
Introduction of effective medications such as antipsychotics, mood stabilizers
Deinstitutionalization movement to close mental hospitals
Well-intentioned but had unforeseen consequences to both patients and communities (e.g., increased homelessness)
Four major advances in the 19th & 20th centuries changed how abnormal behavior was viewed and treated
Four major advances in the 19th & 20th centuries changed how abnormal behavior was viewed and treated
Biological discoveries
Development of an agreed-upon classification system for mental disorders
Emergence of scientifically informed views about the causes of abnormal behavior
Emergence of experimental psychology
how is clinical research done
is often a mix of observational and self-report methods
