Chapter 4 Research Methods

Question 1

Hypothesis

Answer 1

an educated guess, about what you expect to find

Question 2

Research design

Answer 2

includes the aspects you want to measure in the people you are studying (dependent variable) and the influences on their behaviors (independent variable)

Question 3

Internal validity

Answer 3

1. you can be confident that the independent variable is causing the dependent variable to change
2. the extent to which we can be confident that the independent variable is causing the dependent variable to change

Question 4

External validity

Answer 4

1. how well the results relate to things outside your study- how well your findings describe similar individuals who were not among the study participants
2. refers to how well the results relate to things outside your study; in other words, how well your findings describe similar individuals outside the laboratory

Question 5

Testability

Answer 5

1. the ability to support the hypothesis
2. Ability of a hypothesis, for example, to be subjected to scientific scrutiny and to be accepted or rejected, a necessary condition for the hypothesis to be useful.treatment outcome research,

Question 6

Social psychology

Answer 6

1. heightened motivation to make sense of the world, especially if we experience situations that seem to threaten our sense of order and meaning
2. People who do not seem to want to know why others behave the way they do- psychological disorder

Question 7

Confound (confounding variable)

Answer 7

1. any factor occurring in a study that makes the results uninterpretable because a variable other than the independent variable (MDMA use) may also affect the dependent variable (scores on cognitive abilities)
   - Internal validity
2. Anything that affects a dependent variable and may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study.

Question 8

Control group

Answer 8

1. people are similar to the experimental group in every way except that members of the experimental group are exposed to the independent variable and those in the control group are not.
2. Help rule out alternative explanations for results, thereby stregthening internal validity
3. In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

Question 9

Randomization

Answer 9

1. process of assigning people to different groups in such a way that each person has an equal chance of being placed in any group
2. Randomly place people in groups but still end up with more of certain people in one group than another
3. Placing people in groups by flipping a coin or using a random number table helps improve internal validity by eliminating any systematic bias in assignment, but it does not necessarily eliminate bias in your group
4. Self-selection can affect study results
5. The most severely depressed individuals may not be motivated to come to frequent treatment sessions and so will choose the wait-list group

Question 10

Analogue models

Answer 10

1. create in the controlled conditions of the laboratory aspects that are comparable (analogous) to the phenomenon under study
2. If they used volunteers of any age, gender, race, or background, the researchers could rule out influences on the participants’ attitudes about eating that they might not be able to dismiss if the group contained only people with bulimia.
3. Such “artificial” studies help improve internal validity

Question 11

Generalizability

Answer 11

1. results apply to everyone with a particular disorder

2. the extent to which results apply to everyone with a particular disorder.

Question 12

Statistical significance

Answer 12

a mathematical calculation about the difference between groups

Question 13

Clinical significance

Answer 13

1. whether or not the difference was meaningful for those affected
2. Few of us, would say staying sober for 2 extra days was worth taking medication and participating in extensive therapy- the difference may not be clinically significant

Question 14

Effect size

Answer 14

Concern for the clinical significance of results has led researchers to develop statistical methods that address not just that groups are difficult but also how large these differences are: effect size

Question 15

Patient uniformity myth.

Answer 15

1. Kiesler (1966) labeled the tendency to see all participants as one homogeneous group the patient uniformity myth.
   - Comparing groups according to their mean scores hides important differences in individual reactions to our interventions
   - Leads researchers to make inaccurate generalizations about disorders and their treatments

Question 16

Case study method

Answer 16

1. investigating intensively one or more individuals who display the behavioral and physical patterns
2. Begin exploring a relatively unknown disorder
3. Noting what it is not
4. It does not use the scientific method
5. Few efforts are made to ensure internal validity
6. Many confounding variables are present that can interfere with conclusions
7. Relies on a clinician’s observations of differences among one person or one group with a disorder, people with other disorders, and people with no psychological disorders
8. Collects as much information as possible to obtain a detailed description of the person
9. Yields a great deal of information on personal and family background, education, health, and work history, as well as the person’s opinions about the nature and causes of the problems being studied
10. Important in the history of psychology
11. Sigmund Freud: psychoanalysis theory and psychoanalysis -> basis of his observations of dozens of cases
12. Freud and Josef Breuer’s description of Anna O: free association
13. Virginia Johnson and WIlliam Masters: based their work on many case studies
14. Joseph Wolpe: based his work with systematic desensitization on more than 200 cases
15. As our knowledge of psychological disorders has grown, psychological researcher’s reliance on the case study method has gradually decreased
16. Sometimes concidences occur that are irrelevant to the condition under study -> often lead to mistaken conclusions about what causes certain conditions and what treatment appears to be effective
17. The results may be unique to a particular person without the researcher realizing it or may derive from a special combination of factors that are not obvious
18. Research that collects lengthy, detailed information about a person’s background, usually for psychological treatment

Question 17

Correlation

Answer 17

1. a statistical relationship between two variables
2. Unlike experimental designs, which involve manipulating or changing conditions, correlational designs are used to study phenomena just as they occur.
3. Whether variables occur together- is important to the ongoing search for knowledge about abnormal behavior.
4. Correlation does not imply causation.
5. Two things occurring togehter does not necessarily mean that one caused the other.
6. We do not know from these studies whether A causes B (marital problems cause child problems), whether B causes A (child problems cause marital problems), or whether some third variable C, causes both (genes influence both marital problems and child problems).
7. A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

Question 18

Positive correlation

Answer 18

great strength or quantity in one variabe (a great deal of marital distress) is associated with great strength or quantity in the other variable (more child disruptive behavior). At the same time, lower strength or quantity in one variable (marital distress) is associated with lower strength or quantity in the other (disruptive behavior).

Question 19

Correlation coefficient

Answer 19

1. the correlation is represented as +1.00
   Plus sign: positive relationship
   1.00= “perfect” relationship
2. Ranges between 0.00 and +1.00 (0.00= no relationship exists)
3. The higher the number, the stronger the relationship, whether the number is positive or negative

Question 20

Negative correlation

Answer 20

as one increases, the other decreases

Question 21

Directionality

Answer 21

1. a correlation allows us to see whether a relationship exists between two variables but not to draw conclusions about whether either variable causes the effects
2. Do not know whether A causes B, B causes A, or a third variable, C, causes A and B.

Question 22

Epidemiology

Answer 22

1. study of the incidence, distribution, and consequences of a particular problem or set of problems in one or more populations.
2. By tracking a disorder among many people they will find important clues as to why the disorder exists.
3. Determining prevalence, the number of people with a disorder at any one time
4. Determine the incidence of a disorder, the estimated number of new cases during a specific period
5. Branch of medical science concerned with the incidence, distribution, and control of diseases that affect large numbers of people. The study of the incidence, distribution, and consequences of a particular problem or set of problems in a population

Question 23

Experiment

Answer 23

1. the manipulation of an independent variable and the observation of its effects
2. Manipulate the independent variable to answer the question of causality
3. We are never 100% confident that our experiments are internally valid- that no other explanations are possible- we must be cautious about interpreting our results

Question 24

Clinical trial

Answer 24

1. An experiment used to determine the effectiveness and safety of a treatment or treatments
2. Implies a level of formality with regard to how it is conducted
   Is not a design by itself but rather a method of evaluation that follows a number of generally accepted rules
3. These rules cover how you should select the research participants, how many individuals should be included in the study, how they should be assigned to groups, and how the data should be analyzed
4. Treatments are usually applied using formal protocols to ensure that everyone is treated the same
5. Use both randomization and one or more control conditions- randomized controlled trial

Question 25

“Randomized clinical trials”

Answer 25

experiments that employ randomization of participants into each experimental group

Question 26

“Controlled clinical trials”

Answer 26

experiments that rely on control conditions to be used for comparison purposes

Question 27

Placebo effect

Answer 27

when behavior changes as a result of a person’s expectation of change rather than as a result of any manipulation by an experimenter

Question 28

Placebo control groups

Answer 28

1. the placebo is given to members of the control group to to make them believe they are getting treatment
2. People in the untreated group receive something that looks like the medication administered to the treatment group
3. In psychological treatments, it is not always easy
4. Clients in these types of control groups are often given part of the actual therapy

Question 29

Control Group

Answer 29

1. Answer to the what-if dilemma
2. People who are similar to the experimental group in every way except they are not exposed to the independent variable.
3. Using a control group allows the researchers to see that their treatment did help the treated participants keep their sleep time from decreasing further.
4. Ideally a control group is nearly identical to the treatment group in such factors as age, gender, socioeconomic backgrounds, and the problems they are reporting.
   - Would do the same assessments before and after the independent variable manipulation to people in both groups
   - Any later differences between the groups after the change would, therefore, be attributable only to what was changed.

Question 30

Double-blind control

Answer 30

1. not only are the participants in the study “blind,” or unaware of what group they are in or what treatment they are given (single blind), but so are the researchers or therapists providing treatment (double blind).
2. Eliminates the possibility that an investigator might bias the outcome
3. Allegiance effect
4. Does not work perfectly in all cases
5. Participants and researchers may be able to tell whether or not they have received it
6. Participants often know whether or not they are receiving a powerful treatment
7. An experimental technique in which biased expectations of experimenters are eliminated by keeping both participants and experimental assistants unaware of which participants have received which treatment

Question 31

Allegiance effect

Answer 31

1. A researcher comparing two treatments who expected one to be more effective than the other might “try harder” if the “preferred” treatment wasn’t working as well as expected.
2. If the treatment that wasn’t expected to work seemed to be failing, the researcher might not push as hard to see it succeed.

Question 32

Comparative treatment research

Answer 32

the researcher gives different treatments to two or more comparable groups of people with a particular disorder and can then assess how or whether each treatment helped the people who received it
-compare different forms of treatment in similar groups of people.the researcher gives different treatments to two or more comparable groups of people with a particular disorder and can then assess how or whether each treatment helped the people who received it.

Question 33

Process research

Answer 33

1. the mechanisms responsible for behavior change, or “why does it work?”
2. Looking a psychological interventions, we determine what is “causing” the observed changes.
3. If we understand what the “active ingredients” of our treatment are, we can often eliminate aspects that are not important, thereby saving clients’ time and money.
4. In addition, knowing what is important about our interventions can help us create more powerful, never versions that may be more effective.

Question 34

Treatment process

Answer 34

1. finding out why or how your treatment works

2. Treatment outcome: finding out what changes occur after treatment

Question 35

Single-case experimental designs

Answer 35

1. involves the systematic study of individuals under a variety of experimental conditions
2. Differ from case studies in their use of various strategies to improve internal validity, thereby reducing the number of confounding variables
3. Can help explain why people engage in abnormal behavior, as how to treat them
4. Strengths and weaknesses
5. research tactic in which an independent variable is manipulated for a single individual, allowing cause-and-effect conclusions but with limited generalizability

Question 36

Repeated measurement

Answer 36

1. One of the more important strategies used in single-case experimental design
2. A behavior is measured several times instead of only one before you change the independent variable and once afterward.
3. Takes the same measurements repeatedly to learn how variable the behavior is and whether it shows any obvious trends
4. Helps identify how a person is doing before and after intervention and whether the treatment accounted for any changes

Question 37

Variability

Answer 37

1. from day to day could be important in an interpretation of the effect of treatment
2. Variability or degree of change over time
3. The extent to which the scores in a data set tend to vary from each other and from the mean.

Question 38

Trend

Answer 38

1. be important in determining the cause of any change
2. Trend or direction of change
3. A change (either positive, negative or constant) in data values over time.

Question 39

Level

Answer 39

1. degree of behavior change with different interventions

Question 40

Withdrawal design

Answer 40

a researcher tries to determine whether the independent variable is responsible for changes in behavior
-gives researchers a better sense of whether or not the treatment itself caused behavior change.
-is also unsuitable when the treatment can’t be removed.
Similarly, some treatments involve teaching people skills, which might be impossible to unlearn.

Question 41

A simple withdrawal design has three parts

Answer 41

1. A person’s condition is evaluated before treatment, to establish a baseline
2. Then comes the change in the independent variable
3. Last, treatment is withdrawn (“return to baseline”) and the researcher assesses whether level changes again as a function of this last step

Question 42

Drug holidays

Answer 42

periods when the medication is withdrawn so that clinicians can determine whether it is responsible for the treatment effects.

Question 43

Multiple baseline

Answer 43

1. the researcher starts treatment at different times across settings, behaviors, or people.
2. Internal validity is improved
3. Single-case experimental designs are sometimes criticized because they tend to involve only a small number of cases, leaving their external validity in doubt.
4. We can’t say the results we saw with a few people would be the same for everyone.
5. Researchers can and often do use them with several people at once, in part to address the issue of external validity.
6. The effectiveness of a treatment for the severe behavior problems of children with autism spectrum disorder
   - Taught the children to communicate instead of misbehave- functional communication training
   - Only when we began treatment did each child’s behavior problems improve and communication begin
   - This multiple baseline design let us rule out coincidence or some other change in the children’s lives as explanations for the improvements.
7. It does not require withdrawal of treatment
8. Typically resembles the way treatment would naturally be implemented.
9. A clinician can’t help a client with numerous problems simultaneously but can take repeated measures of the relevant behaviors and observe when they change.
10. A clinician who sees predictable and orderly changes related to where and when the treatment is used can conclude the treatment is causing the change.

Question 44

Phenotypes

Answer 44

the observable characteristics or behavior of the individual

Question 45

Genotypes

Answer 45

the unique genetic makeup of individual people

Question 46

Human genome project

Answer 46

1. Genome: all the genes of an organism
2. Completed a rough draft of the mapping of the approximately 25,000 human genes
3. Identified hundreds of genes that contribute to inherited diseases

Question 47

Endophenotypes

Answer 47

1. the genetic mechanisms that ultimately contribute to the underlying problems causing the symptoms and difficulties experienced by people with psychological disorder

Question 48

Family studies

Answer 48

1. scientists simply examine a behavioral pattern or emotional trait in the context of the family
2. If there is a genetic influence, presumably the trait should occur more often in first-degree relatives (parents, siblings, or offspring) than in second-degree or more distant relatives
3. The presence of the trait in distant relatives, in turn, should be somewhat greater than in the population as a whole.
4. The tendency of a trait to run in families, or familial aggregation, is as high as 60% for this disorder- blood-injury-injection
   - One of the highest rates of familial aggregation for any psychological disorder we have studied
5. There might be something in their shared environment that causes the high familial aggregation.

Question 49

Proband

Answer 49

the family member with the trait singled out for study

Question 50

Adoption studies

Answer 50

scientists identify adoptees who have a particular behavioral pattern or psychological disorder and attempt to locate first-degree relatives who were raised in different family settings

Question 51

Twin Studies

Answer 51

1. whether identical twins share the same trait more often than fraternal twins
2. Determining whether a trait is shared is easy with some physical traits

Question 52

Genetic linkage analysis

Answer 52

1. when a family disorder is studied, other inherited characteristics are assessed at the same time
2. Genetic markers
3. The inability to replicate findings -> doubt on conclusions that only one gene is responsible for such complex disorders

Question 53

Genetic markers

Answer 53

because we know their exact location. If a match or link is discovered between the inheritance of the disorder and the inheritance of a genetic marker, the genes for the disorder and the genetic marker are probably close together on the same chromosome.

Question 54

Association studies

Answer 54

1. also uses genetic markers
2. Compare such people to people without the disorder
3. If certain markers occur significantly more often in the people with the disorder, it is assumed the markers are close to the genes involved with the disorder
4. Better able to identify genes that may only be weakly associated with a disorder

Question 55

Universal prevention strategies

Answer 55

focus on entire populations and target certain specific risk factors without focusing on specific individuals

Question 56

Selective prevention

Answer 56

specifically targets whole groups at risk and designs specific interventions aimed at helping them avoid future problems

Question 57

Indicated prevention

Answer 57

for those individuals who are beginning to show signs of problems but do not yet have a psychological disorder

Question 58

Cross-sectional design

Answer 58

researchers take a cross section of a population across the different age groups and compare them on some characteristic

Question 59

Cohorts

Answer 59

1. the participants in each age group
2. Members of one cohort differ from members of other cohorts in age and in their exposure to cultural and historical experiences.
3. Differences among cohorts in their opinions about alcohol use may be related to their respective cognitive and emotional development at these different ages and to their dissimilar experiences.

Question 60

Cohort effect

Answer 60

the confounding of age and experience, is a limitation of the cross-sectional design.

Question 61

Retrospective information

Answer 61

1. looking back
2. Less than accurate
3. Ask the adults whether they were anxious about school when they were children

Question 62

Longitudinal designs

Answer 62

1. researchers may follow one group over time and assess change in its members directly
2. They do not suffer from cohort effect problems
3. Allow the researchers to assess individual change

Question 63

Cross-generational effect

Answer 63

trying to generalize the findings to groups whose experiences are different from those of the study participants

Question 64

Sequential design

Answer 64

1. sometimes psychopathologists combine longitudinal and cross-sectional designs
2. Repeated study of different cohorts over time

Question 65

Replication

Answer 65

1. The strength of a research program is in its ability to replicate findings in different ways to build confidence in the results.
2. The more times researchers repeat a process (and the behavior they are studying change as expected), the surer they are about what caused the changes.

Question 66

Informed consent

Answer 66

1. a research participant’s formal agreement to cooperate in a study following full disclosure of the nature of the research and the participant’s role in it.
2. Is derived from the war trials after World War II
3. In studies using some form of treatment delay or withdrawal, the participant is Told why it will occur and the risks and benefits, and permission to proceed is then obtained.
4. In placebo control studies, participants are told they may not receive an active treatment, but they are usually given the option of receiving treatment after the study ends.

Question 67

Baseline

Answer 67

A condition of an experiment in which the independent variable is not present; data obtained during baseline are the basis for determining the effects of the independent variable; a control condition that does not necessarily mean the absence of instruction or treatment, only the absence of a specific independent variable of experimental interest.

Question 68

Incidence

Answer 68

Occurrence - the

estimated number of new cases during a specific period.

Question 69

Treatment outcome research

Answer 69

Studies of the effectiveness of clinical interventions, including the comparison of competing treatments.

Question 70

In a treatment study, the introduction of the treatment to

the participants is referred to as the………………(4.1-1)

Answer 70

independent variable

Question 71

After the treatment study was completed, you found that
many people in the control group received treatment out-
side of the study. This is called a ………(4.1-2)

Answer 71

confound

Question 72

A researcher’s guess about what a study might find is

labelled the …..(4.1-3)

Answer 72

hypothesis

Question 73

Scores on a depression scale improved for a treatment
group after therapy. The change in these scores would be
referred to as a change in the ….(4.1-4)

Answer 73

dependent variable

Question 74

A relative lack of confounds in a study would indicate
good ________________, whereas good generalizability
of the results would be called good ________________. (4.1-5)

Answer 74

internal validity ; external validity

Question 75

A researcher changes the level of noise several times to

see how it affects concentration in a group of people. (4.2-1)

Answer 75

(e) experiment,

Question 76

A group of researchers uses chance assignment to
include participants in one of two treatment groups and
uses published protocols to make sure treatment is
applied uniformly. (4.2-2)

Answer 76

(c) randomized clinical trials

Question 77

A researcher wants to investigate the hypothesis that

children listen to louder music as they go through adolescence. (4.2-3)

Answer 77

(b) correlation,

Question 78

A researcher is interested in studying a woman who had

no contact with civilization and created her own language (4.2-4)

Answer 78

(a) case study

Question 79

A researcher wants to know how different kinds of music

will affect a five-year-old who has never spoken. (4.2-5)

Answer 79

(f) single-case experimental design.