Clinical Research and Methods

Question 1

Nomothetic understanding

Answer 1

A general understanding of the nature, causes, and treatments of abnormal functioning in the forms of laws or principles that apply across people

Question 2

Clinical researchers

Answer 2

Discover broad laws of ab psychological functioning, search for the understanding, causes, and treatments of abnormality.
-Interested in childhood upsets, present life experiences, moods, social functioning, and responses to treatment.

Question 3

Clinical practitioners

Answer 3

Seek an idiographic and/or individualistic understanding of abnormal behaviour

Question 4

Case Study

Answer 4

Detailed description of a person’s life and psychological problems. Describes the person’s history, present circumstances, and symptoms.
-May include speculation about why developed and treatment.

Question 5

Case Study Pros

Answer 5

-Source of new ideas
-Offer support for a theory
-Challenge a theory’s assumptions
-Value of new therapeutic techniques
-Study more unusual problems

Question 6

Case Study limitations

Answer 6

-Reported by biased observers
-Rely on subjective evidence
-Little basis for generalization

Question 7

Correlational Method

Answer 7

A research procedure used to determine the co-relationship between variables

Question 8

Correlational method pros

Answer 8

-Better position to generalize correlations because observe a large pool and apply statistical analyses.
-Easily repeatable

Question 9

Correlational method cons

Answer 9

-Do not explain relationship, cannot imply causation

Question 10

Experimental Method

Answer 10

Variable is manipulated and the manipulation’s effect on another variable is observed. Consists of independent and dependent variable. Eliminate all confounds

Question 11

confounds of experimental method

Answer 11

control group, random assignment, masked design

Question 12

Rosenthal effect

Answer 12

Experimenters may have expectations that they unintentionally transmit to the participants

Question 13

Quasi-experimental design

Answer 13

designs that fail to include the key elements of a pure experiment.

Question 14

matched design

Answer 14

do not randomly assign participants to control and experimental groups, make use of groups that already exist
-children of abuse vs not

Question 15

natural experiment

Answer 15

nature manipulates the independent variable and the experimenter observes the effects. Used to study psychological effects of unusual and unpredictable events

Question 16

analogue experiments

Answer 16

Induce laboratory participants to behave in ways that resemble real-life abnormal behaviour then conduct experiments on the participants

Question 17

single-case experimental design

Answer 17

when don’t have the luxury of experimenting on many participants typically of a rare disorder. Single participant is observed before and after the manipulation of an independent variable

Question 18

longitudinal study

Answer 18

investigators observe the same individuals on many occasions over a long period of time

Question 19

Epidemiological studies

Answer 19

reveal how often a problem occurs in a particular population

Question 20

incidence

Answer 20

the number of new cases that emerge in a population during a given period of time

Question 21

prevalence

Answer 21

the total number of cases in the population during a given period

Question 22

Institutional review boards

Answer 22

committee of five or more members that monitor and review every study conducted in facility to ensure ethical research and practices