Chapter 6

Question 1

Why do clinical psychologists do research?

Answer 1

• Psychological Disorders
• Treatment Outcome
• Efficacy Versus Effectiveness
• Internal Versus External Validity
• Assessment Methods
• Diagnostic Issues
• Professional Issues
• Teaching and Training Issues

Question 2

Perhaps the most fundamental reason clinical psychologists do research is to gain knowledge about _____________

Answer 2

psychological disorders

Question 3

Another important reason clinical psychologists conduct research is to determine how well their therapies work

Answer 3

treatment outcome

Question 4

It refers to the success of a particular therapy in a controlled study conducted with clients who were chosen according to particular study criteria.

Answer 4

Efficacy

Question 5

It refers to the success of a therapy in actual clinical settings in which client problems span a wider range, and clients are not chosen as a result of meeting certain diagnostic criteria.

Answer 5

Effectiveness

Question 6

How well the therapy works “in the lab”.

Answer 6

Efficacy

Question 7

How well the therapy works “in the real world”.

Answer 7

Effectiveness

Question 8

When measuring the outcome of therapy in either an efficacy or an effectiveness study, researchers must be careful to distinguish _____________________ (assessed quantitatively) from ___________________ (assessed qualitatively) when interpreting their results.

Answer 8

statistical significance, clinical significance,

Question 9

It refers to the extent to which the change in the dependent variable is due solely to the change in the independent variable.

Answer 9

Internal Validity

Question 10

It refers to the generalizability of the result—to what extent is the same finding valid for different settings and populations?

Answer 10

External Validity

Question 11

Such studies may involve the development, validation, or expanded use of new instruments; the establishment of normative data for specific populations on an assessment tool; a comparison of multiple assessment tools to one another; or other research questions.

Answer 11

Assessment Methods

Question 12

Efforts to promote therapies that have demonstrated effectiveness in treatment studies to large numbers of therapists.

Answer 12

Dissemination Strategies

Question 13

Clinical psychologists conduct research to explore issues of diagnosis and categorization regarding psychological problems. Such studies may examine the validity or reliability of existing or proposed diagnostic constructs, the relationships between disorders, the prevalence or course of disorders, or numerous related topics.

Answer 13

Diagnostic Issues

Question 14

Clinical psychologists also examine elements of their own profession through empirical research. They study clinical psychologists’ activities, beliefs, and practices, among other aspects of their professional lives.

Answer 14

Professional Issues

Question 15

Clinical psychologists also pursue research questions related to how to educate those entering the profession. Areas of study include training philosophies, specific coursework, opportunities for specialized training, and the outcome of particular training efforts.

Answer 15

Teaching and Training Issues

Question 16

Like other psychologists (and, more generally, scientists), clinical psychologists adhere to the ____________ whenever possible in their research efforts.

Answer 16

experimental method

Question 17

In general, this method involves a number of discrete, sequential steps. It begins with an observation of events. Second, the clinical psychologist develops a hypothesis to explain the observed events. After the hypothesis is developed, the third step, empirical testing of the hypothesis, ensues. The fourth step takes place after this testing has been completed and involves altering the hypothesis to match the results and interpretations obtained during empirical testing.

Answer 17

Experimental Method

Question 18

Those variables in the study that are manipulated by the experimenter

Answer 18

Independent variables

Question 19

Those variables that are expected to change as a result of changes or manipulation.

Answer 19

Dependent Variables

Question 20

In clinical psychology, experimental studies often take the form of ___________________________. With this, researchers test the outcome of a particular, manualized therapy on a particular diagnosis.

Answer 20

randomized clinical trials (RCTs)

Question 21

Research in clinical psychology often involves variables that the researcher is not entirely able to control. Ethical, practical, or other constraints often limit the researcher’s ability to assign people randomly to certain conditions, make particular manipulations, or otherwise experimentally test certain hypotheses. In such cases, clinical psychologists may use a/an ________________________________.

Answer 21

quasi-experimental design

Question 22

When clinical psychologists conduct a study with a/an _________________, participants in different conditions receive entirely different treatments.

Answer 22

between-group design

Question 23

The group that receives experimental treatment.

Answer 23

Experimental condition

Question 24

The group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

Answer 24

Control group

Question 25

A/An _______________________ involves
comparisons of participants in a single condition to themselves at various points in time

Answer 25

within-group design

Question 26

At times, clinical psychology researchers will combine aspects of between-group and within-group designs, creating a/an _____________________________.

Answer 26

mixed-group design

Question 27

A study of this type involves an approximation of the target client or situation as a substitute for the “real thing.”

Answer 27

Analogue design

Question 28

It can involve using participants whose characteristics resemble (but don’t exactly match) those of the target population, or asking participants to remember or imagine themselves in a certain situation

Answer 28

Analogue design

Question 29

Studies utilizing _______________ examine the relationship that exists between two or more variables. Unlike experiments and quasi-experiments, these studies do not identify variables as either independent or dependent.

Answer 29

correlational methods

Question 30

Correlations approaching ______ are positive correlations, suggesting that the two variables vary together—as A increases, B increases; as A decreases, B decreases.

Answer 30

+1

Question 31

Correlations approaching _______ are negative correlations, suggesting that the two variables vary in an inverse way—as A increases, B decreases; as A decreases, B increases

Answer 31

-1

Question 32

Correlations near _____ are neither strongly positive nor negative and suggest that the two variables vary independently of each other

Answer 32

0

Question 33

_______________________ involve a thorough and detailed examination of one person or situation. Typically, they include descriptive observations of an individual’s behavior and an attempt by the researcher to interpret it.

Answer 33

Case studies

Question 34

An approach emphasizing or revealing the unique qualities of each person

Answer 34

Idiographic approach

Question 35

An approach determining similarities or common qualities among people

Answer 35

Nomothetic approach

Question 36

In which a treatment is alternately applied and removed

Answer 36

ABAB design or reversal design

Question 37

A variation of ABAB/reversal design that involves two treatments alternating rather than a single treatment alternating with no treatment.

Answer 37

alternating treatment designs

Question 38

It is a statistical method of combining results of separate studies (translated into effect sizes) to create a summation (or, statistically, an overall effect size) of the findings.

Answer 38

Meta-Analysis

Question 39

It is a study of studies, a quantitative analysis in which the full results of previous studies each represent a small part of a larger pool of data

Answer 39

Meta-Analysis

Question 40

_______________________ assess or compare a participant or group of participants at one particular point in time.

Answer 40

Cross-sectional designs

Question 41

____________________ emphasize changes across time, often making within-group comparisons from one point in time to another.

Answer 41

Longitudinal designs