Chapter 4

Question 1

What is research to psychology?

Answer 1

it is the foundation of clinical psychology
it is about the data and the science; it uses the scientific method

Question 2

What is the goal of research?

Answer 2

to acquire knowledge regarding human behaviors and uses knowledge to better understand lives of others; to get to the base level of knowledge

Question 3

What is external validity

Answer 3

generalizability of research results

Question 4

what is required for a research study to be generalizable

Answer 4

must be applicable to other, larger population samples
must be applicable to the real-world environment
must be applicable to other times and other places

Question 5

What is a true experiment?

Answer 5

consists of an independent and dependent variable that measures across 2 groups, the experimental group containing the independent variable being manipulated and the control group containing the dependent variable being measured/controlled based on the change resulting from the independent variable changes

Question 6

what is randomization in a research study

Answer 6

the act of randomly assigning groups in a study, but these groups should not be significantly different (i.e. in terms of demographics)

Question 7

explain the basics of an experiment

Answer 7

develop a testable hypothesis
- design experiment
select independent and dependent variables
IV - manipulated/provides the structure of study
DV - treatment/control/changes dependent on IV

measure & obtain data

Question 8

what is experimental error

Answer 8

changes in dependent variable due to factors other than the influence of the independent variable (i.e. if the researcher has a bias on the IV manipulation pre-testing and effects results)

Question 9

what is experimenter expectancy effect

Answer 9

experimenter behaves differently towards subjects in certain research conditions (i.e. being more friendly to one group)

Question 10

what is reliability

Answer 10

stability or consistency of a measure (i.e. test results should measure similarly no matter the time of day)

Question 11

what is validity

Answer 11

notion that an instrument should measure what is was designed to measure (i.e. anxiety tests should measure anxiety)

Question 12

what is internal validity

Answer 12

potential extraneous influences on the dependent variable (outside factors that influence IV, should not happen)

Question 13

what are threats to internal validity

Answer 13

1. history - events outside experimentation (hurricane, death of a loved one)
2. Maturation - changes within subjects (aging, becoming bored)
3. testing - influence of testing on results bc of repeated measure (familiarity of testing pre and post experiment)
4. instrumentation - influences of tests and measurement devices (invalid test-anxiety scale for study population)

Question 14

what is statistical regression

Answer 14

the idea that over time, scores have a tendency to measure closer to the mean/avg.

Question 15

what is external validity

Answer 15

generalizability of research results

• more real-world study/results = more generalizable

Question 16

what are threats to external validity

Answer 16

1. testing - use of assessment device that might sensitize/alter response - effects DV
2. reactivity - subjects response to participating (may act/respond different in experiment vs natural)
3. multiple-treatment interference - too many treatment conditions, unable to measure conditions (using music, images, and touch to measure relaxation at once)
4. interaction selection bias - (groups may respond different based on assigned group)

Question 17

what is a true experiment

Answer 17

demonstrates cause and effect relationships

used randomization, experimental and control conditions

uses IV and DV across two groups ^

pre+post test design
measure both groups before exp.
introduce treatment
post design to measure after exp.

Question 18

what is a quasi-experimental design

Answer 18

random assignment and control conditions not possible (i.e. studying smokers)
- cannot infer cause and effect

though no randomizations, ensure groups are not significantly different in demographics

Question 19

what is a between groups design

Answer 19

two or more separate groups of subjects are given different interventions, including a separate control group
(i.e. anxiety measure, one group music, one group aerobics, one control)

Question 20

factorial design

Answer 20

2x2
two independent variables studied at once (i.e. studying race and gender - therapists, man woman black white - DV = therapeutic outcomes)

Question 21

what is a within group design

Answer 21

examine influence of IV on same subjects over time

not assigned to groups - same patient studied at different points in time; subject is own control (i.e. hypertension patients studied over time for blood pressure and heart rate during cognitive tasks)

Question 22

what is an analog design

Answer 22

not real-life but mimics real-life in a lab. experimental conditions controlled easier

high internal validity
low external validity

Question 23

what is a case study

Answer 23

in-depth investigation, observation, and description of a single person or situation
-primary technique of Freud
not experiements - no DV. no manipulation of IV, no randomization

includes single subject (experiment and case study of one patient/case - ABAB design no intervention, intervention pattern)
includes multiple baseline design (multiple behaviors of a case are studied - behavior at home vs school)

Question 24

what is a correlational design

Answer 24

examine the degree of association between two or more variables

no cause and effect conclusion

positive or negative correlations

studies degree of association between variables (correlation coefficient)

Question 25

what is epidemiolgy

Answer 25

examination of incidence or disturbance of a clinical problem or variable

measures prevalence and incidence of an issue
(how many people experience a certain issue)

Question 26

what is a cross sectional design

Answer 26

research providing snapshot view of behavior at a given moment

Question 27

what is a longitudinal design

Answer 27

measures view of behavior over a period of time

Question 28

to conduct research on treatment outcome in randomized clinical trials, what are Kazdin’s 7 treatment outcome research strategies

Answer 28

treatment package strategy - “does treatment work?”
dismantling - “Which aspects of treatment work?”
constructive “what might be added to make a treatment more effective?”
parametric “What aspect of treatment can be altered to make it better?
comparative “Which treatment works better”
client-therapist variation “Which therapist or for which type of patient is the therapy most effective?
process research “How does the process of therapy impact treatment?

Question 29

what is statistical significance

Answer 29

very small probability of obtaining a particular finding by error or chance
- if there is a less than a 5 in 100 times chance the means of two groups come from the same population, then hypothesis is supported

this is p < .05 (probability of error is less than 5%)

effect size determines the strength of impact on results

Question 30

what is a meta-analysis

Answer 30

research must be replicated to have confidence, consistency, and stability in conclusions

meta-analysis is a method of examining the results of a large number of studies