Chapter 2 - Research in Abnormal Psychology Flashcards
What is the goal of clinical researchers/scientists?
Discover universal laws, or principles of abnormal psychological functioning.
What are clinical researchers in search for?
They search for general (nomothetic) understanding of the nature, causes, and treatments of abnormality.
Do clinical researchers/scientists assess, diagnose, or treat individual client?
No, that is the job of clinical practitioners, who seek an ideographic, or individualistic, understanding of abnormal behaviour
What is nomothetic understanding?
A general understanding of the nature, causes and treatments of abnormal functioning, in the form of laws or principles
How do clinical researchers gain nomothetic understandings of abnormality?
They employ the scientific method, the process of systematically gathering and evaluating information through careful observations
What is the purpose of careful observations?
The observations in turn enable clinical researchers to pinpoint and explain relationships between variables.
What is a variable?
Any characteristic or event that can vary, whether from time to time, place to place, or from person to person
What sort of variables are clinical researchers interested in?
Childhood upsets, present life experiences, moods, social functioning, and responses to treatment.
What do clinical researchers do with these variables?
They try to determine whether two or more such variables change together and whether a change in one variable causes a change in another.
What are the three methods of investigation clinical researchers depend on
The case study, the correlational method, the experimental method
What is the case study method?
Focused on one individual, it is a detailed description of a person’s life and psychological problems. It describes the persons history, present circumstances, and symptoms. Can include description of treatment and speculation about why these problems occurred.
What is the correlational method and experimental method?
Usually gather information about many individuals. Each is best suited to certain kinds of circumstances and questions
What do these three methods allow clinical researchers to do?
Enable scientists/researchers to form and test hypotheses, that certain variables are related in certain ways and to draw broad conclusions as to why
What is a hypothesis?
Prediction that certain variables are related in certain ways, it is a tentative explanation offered to provide a basis for investigation
Benefits of case studies?
Provide a source for new ideas about behaviour, can offer tentative support for a theory or can serve to challenge a theory’s assumptions, can show the value of new therapeutic therapies, offer opportunities to study unusual problems
Limitations of case studies?
Reported by biased observers (therapists who have a personal stake in seeing their treatments succeed). Rely on subjective evidence, difficult to observe all the factors that could be contributing to the situation, lacks internal validity and external validity
What is internal validity?
The accuracy with which a study can pinpoint one factor as the cause of the phenomenon
What is external validity
The degree to which the results of a study may be generalized beyond that study, therefore the findings of an investigation can be generalized beyond the immediate study
Benefits of the correlational method and the experimental method?
Help researchers draw broad conclusions about abnormality in the population at large
What are the three features of the correlational method and the experimental method that enable general (nomothetic) insights?
The researchers typically observe many individuals. The researchers apply procedures uniformly, thus other researchers can repeat or replicate a particular study to see whether it consistently gives the same findings. The researchers use statistical tests to analyze the results of a study and determine whether broad conclusions are justified
What is correlation?
The degree to which events or characteristics vary along with each other
What is the correlational method?
A research procedure used to determine how much events or characteristics vary along with each other, is there a co-relationship between variables?
What is required of a sample?
A sample must be representative of the larger population that the researchers wish to understand. External validity
What is a positive correlation?
When variables change the same way
What is a negative correlation?
The value of one variable increases as the value of the other variable decreases
What is no correlation?
The variables under study may be unrelated, meaning there is no consistency relationship between them
Wha does magnitude of correlation mean?
How closely do the two variables correspond. When two variables are found to vary together very closely in person after person, the correlation is said to be strong. The variable will hug the line of best fit closely such as in the positive correlation photo!
What is the correlation coefficient?
Calculates the direction and magnitude of a correlation numerically. Can vary from +1.00 meaning a perfect positive correlation between two variables down to -1.00 meaning a perfect negative correlation. (+/_) signify the direction of the coefficient, number represents the magnitude
How do researcher prove when a correlation found in a given sample of participants accurately reflects a real correlation in the general population?
Can never know for certain, but they can test their conclusions with a statistical analysis of their data, using principles of probability. How likely is it that the findings occurred by chance? must be unlikely to condole that their findings reflect a real correlation in the general population.
What is the percent probability that a study’s findings are due to chance (p < .05)
If there is less than 5 percent probability, the findings are said to be statistically significant and reflect the larger population
When is a finding statistically significant?
Less than 5 percent
What else contributes to a correlation being statistically significant?
Confidence increases with the magnitude of the correlation and the size of the sample, the larger they are the more likely
Benefits of the Correlational method?
High external validity because researchers measure their variables, observe large samples, and apply statistical analyses and can repeat correlation studies using new samples of participants to check the results of earlier studies
Limitations of the Correlational method?
Lack internal validity, it allows researchers to describe the relationship between two variables but it does NOT explain the relationship. Say nothing about causation
What is the experimental method?
An experiment is a research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the effect of the manipulation on another variable is observed
What is the independent variable?
The variable manipulated, the variable in an experiment that is manipulated to determine whether it has an effect on another variable
What is the dependent variable?
The variable being observed, the variable expected to change as the independent variable is manipulated
In treatment what is the independent and dependent variable?
The therapy itself is the independent variable and the psychological outcome is the dependent variable
What is a confound?
A variable other than the independent variable that is also acting on the dependent variables. Experimenters try to eliminate all confounds from their studies
How do researchers prevent confounds in their experiment?
a control group, random assignment, and a masked design
What is a control group?
A group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable but whose experience is similar to that of the experimental group
What is a experimental group?
The participants who are exposed to the independent variable
How does a control group prevent confounds
if the experimental group improves with therapy compared to the control group who does not receive it, this suggests that above the effects of time, office setting and other confounds, the therapy was effective
How do control groups further prevent confounds?
Having the experience of both the experimental group and the control group be identical in every way except for the independent variable
Is statistical analysis needed in the experimental method?
Yes, researchers must do a statistical analysis on their data to find out how likely it is that the observed different are due to chance.
What conclusions can be drawn when the chance is less than 5 percent?
When the differences between the two groups are considered to be statistically significant the experimenter may conclude with some confidence that they are due to the indecent variable.
What does statistically significant mean in terms of an experiment?
Indicates whether a participants improvement in functioning - large or small- occurred because of treatment
What does clinical significance mean?
Indicates whether the amount of improvement is meaningful in the Individual’s life
What is random assignment?
A selection procedure that ensures that participants are randomly placed either in the control group or in the experimental group
What confound does random assignment prevent?
Difference in the makeup of the experimental and control groups can confound a studies results, therefore random assignment is needed
What is a masked design?
An experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or the control condition
What confound does masked design prevent?
Bias, participants may bias an experiments results by trying to please or help the experimenter
Ways masked design occurs?
The control participants could be given a placebo
What is placebo therapy?
A pretend treatment that the participant in an experiment believes to be genuine
What is experimenter bias (confound)?
experimenters may have expectations that they unintentionally transmit to the participants in their studies (Rosenthal Effect)
How can experimenters eliminate their own bias?
By arranging to be unaware themselves
What is a double-masked design
Where both the participants and the experimenter are kept unaware in an experiment
What is a triple masked design
where a third party assess and statistically analyze’s the patients improvement independently, the third party is kept unaware of the group assignments (judges for example are used)
What is a quasi-experimental design/mixed designs?
A research design that fails to include key elects of a “pure” experiment and/or intermixes the elements of both experimental and correlational studies
What are alternative research designs (quasi-experimental designs)
Matched design, natural experiment, analogue experiment, single-subject experiment, longitudinal study, and epidemiological study
What is a matched design?
A research design that matches the experimental participants with control participants who are similar on key characteristics (sex, age, race, socioeconomic status)
When is matched designs used?
In cases where it is unethical to create a experimental group, example child abuse research
What is a natural experiment?
Nature manipulates the independent variable, while the experimenter observes the effects
What are natural experiments used for?
To study the psychological effects of unusual and unpredictable events such as natural disasters (floods, earthquakes, etc).
Why does natural experiments count as an quasi-experiment
participants are selected by accident of fate rather than by the investigator’s design
Who are the control group in natural experiments?
Control groups are those who lived in areas not directly affected by the natural disaster
Limitation of a natural experiment?
each natural event is unique in certain ways making it difficult to draw broad generalizations from a single study
Benefits of a natural experiment?
Enables clinical scientists/researchers to identify patterns of reactions that people often have across such situations
What is an Analogue experiment?
A research method in which the experimenter produces abnormal-like behaviour in laboratory participants and then conducts experiments on the participants
Benefits of an analogue experiment?
Allow experimenters to manipulate independent variables relatively freely while avoiding many of the ethical and practical limitations of clinical research
How does an analogue experiment work?
The experimenter induce participants to behave in ways that seem to resemble real-life abnormal behaviour and then conduct experiments on the participants in hope of shedding light on the real-life abnormality. Often use animals as participants.
Limitation of analogue experiments?
researchers can never be certain that the phenomena they see in the laboratory are the same as the psychological disorders they are investigating
What are single subject experiments?
A research method in which a single participant is observed and measured both before and after the manipulation of an independent variable
What do single subject experiments rely on?
They rely on baseline data (information gathered prior to any manipulations). The data set a standard with which later changes may be compared
Types of single subject experiments?
ABAB or reversal design, having the participant subjected to two conditions A and B and seeing if they improve in condition B
Difference between single subject experiments and case studies
The independent variable is manipulated systematically so that the investigator can, with some degree of confidence, draw conclusions about the cause of an observed effect.
Limitation of single subject experiments
External validity cannot be applied generally, the researcher cannot be sure that the participant’s reaction to the independent variable is typical of people in general
What are Longitudinal Studies (high risk or developmental studies)?
A study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time
Limitations of longitudinal studies?
Researchers cannot definitively pinpoint causes because they cannot directly manipulate the independent variable or randomly assign participants to conditions
Benefits of longitudinal studies?
Report order of events therefore provide compelling clues about which events are more likely to be causes and which are more likely to be consequences
What are Epidemiological studies?
A study that measures the incidence and prevalence of a problem, such as a diorder in a given population, as well as, how often the problem occurs in a given population
What is incidence?
The number of new cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time
What is prevalence?
The total number of cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time, prevalence includes both existing and new cases
Benefits of epidemiological studies?
Helped researchers identify groups at risk for particular disorders
Limitations of epidemiological studies?
Cannot confirm suspicions of causation, such as why anorexia is more prevalent in western countries can speculate because of the societies unique setting but cannot confirm
Ethically Challenged Research Designs
Placebo studies, Symptom Exacerbation studies, Medication-Withdrawal Studies
What are placebo studies?
When a new drug is being tested, control participants often people with severe disorders- may receive only a placebo drug
What are symptom-Exacerbation Studies?
In some studies, patients are given drugs to intensify their symptoms so that researchers may learn more about the biology of their disorder
What are medication-withdrawal studies?
In some studies, researchers prematurely stop medications for patients who have been symptom-free for a while, hoping to learn more about when patients can be taken off particular medications
What are Institutional Review Boards?
An ethics committee in a research facility who review and monitor every study conducted in that research facility. Is empowered to protect the rights and safety of human research participants
IRB’s try to ensure what rights to the participants?
Participants enlist voluntarily, informed consent, can end their participation in the study at any time, the benefits of the study outweigh the risks/costs, protected from physical and psychological harm, have access to information about the study, privacy is protected by confidentiality and anonymity (7)
Limitations of IRB systems?
ethical principles are subtle notions that do not always translate into simple guidelines, ethical decisions are also subject to differences in perspective, interpretation, and decision-making style
