Chapter 4: Psychological Assessments & Research Methods Flashcards
What are the challenges in conducting research in abnormal psychology?
- difficult to convince people to participate
- abnormal behaviours and feelings are difficult to measure
→ self-reports are often distorted
→ observers’ reports can be biased - most forms of abnormality have multiple causes that are difficult to design a study around
What are the four steps to conducting any scientic research?
1 - define a problem
2 - specify a testable hypothesis
3 - choose and implement a research method
4 - analyze data, draw appropriate conclusions, communicate findings
How is a prediction tested?
- as predicted (relationship and effect)
OR
- as if prediction is incorrect (no relationship or effect
→ called the null hypothesis
What is operationalization?
- way in which the researcher measures or manipulates the variables in a study
What are case studies?
- detailed histories of individuals who have suffered some form of psychological disorder
- single experiences and general inferences
What are the advantages of case studies?
- rich and unique detail about individual
- sometimes only way to study rare problems
- useful for generating ideas and hypotheses
What are the disadvantages of case studies?
- not generalizable
- lack objectivity
- hard to replicate
What is statistical significance?
- threshold at which we conclude that there is a real relationship between variables that is not attributable merely to chance
- generally 0.05
What is an experimental effect?
- when differences in a dependent variable are found to occur as a function of manipulation of the independent variable
- i.e. when a thing happens
What are the advantages of a controlled experiment?
- allows inference of causation
- high internal validity
What are the disadvantages of a controlled experiment?
- extremely difficult because of the need to control many factors
- ethical dilemmas may arise
- limired generalizability due to rigorous requirements of participant selection and intervention procedures
What are the advantages of a correlational studies?
- reflect real world problems by capturing many variables at play in real world setting
- good external validity
What are the disadvantages of a correlational studies?
- cause v. consequence challenge
(including third variable problem) - findings are dependent on timing of observation, report, or measurement
What are demand characteristics?
- unwanted effect of a participant trying to guess what the hypothesis might be or to try to meet some perceived expectation
What are the types of experimental studies used in abnormal psych?
- human laboratory (analogue) study
- animal study
- therapy outcome
What is meta-analysis?
- statistical technique for analysing results across multiple studies
What are the limitations to meta-analysis?
- incorporates finding of poorly done studies
- file drawer effect: cannot capture studies that were not published
What is clinical significance?
- concerned with practical utility
What is epidemiology?
- study of incidence and prevalence of disorders in a population
- also identifies risk factors that increase likelihood of developing a disorder
What is incidence?
- number of new cases of a disorder in a particular population over a specified time period, usually a year
What is prevalence?
- frequency of a disorder in a population at a given point or period of time
What is the advantage of epidemiological research?
- detailed collection of information concerning the incidence and prevalence of disorders in large population
- essential to understanding factors contributing to the health of population
What are the limitations of epidemiological studies?
- not easy to make inferences about cause and effect
- large number of participants required for relationships between factors to be recognized
- time consuming and financially costly
