Research Methods Chapter (Clinical Trials) Flashcards
Explain the example of eye movement desensitization reprocessing
Step 1: determine that there is a psychological trauma
Step 2: activate trauma
Step 3: introduce horizontal eye movement (dot on screen)
Step 4: verbalize memory, reducing emotional arousal
(Repeat step 3 and 4)
People get less emotional, which helps in trauma
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Design 1: just bring people with disorder over and test the clinical trial
Design 2: within group design with pretest Posttest to see the difference –> problem is internal validity (there are many alternative explanation
Design 3: with control group to sort out confounds
Design 4: Mixed factorial Design with waiting list control group (Control group get treatment after experiment because they expect treatment)
Design 5: with traditional placebo treatment
Design 6: double blind design added
Design 7 multiple control groups for different confounds
Explain maturation threat and spontaneous remission
Patient improves because time passes
Spontaneous remission is when patient improves without known reason
Solution is control group
Explain history threat
An external favor independent of the study influences the participant
For example the weather influences mood
Solution is control group
Explain the regression threat
Participant with extreme scores are typical less extreme at another measurement (extreme scores dont repeat themself most of the time)
Germany beats Brazil 7-1
Solution is control group
Explain the non specific effect threat
Any other effect that causes a change in condition that is unrelated to the treatment
For example a diet change improves general wellbeing or people engage in change themselves because of treatment
Solution is waiting list for control group so that they recieve the same treatment (after study)
Explain the placebo effect threat
It is a fake treatment
Example is when painkiller were tested with an open injection group and a hidden group –> people in hidden group need more
It is difficult to test it in psychological practice as it is subjective (use a traditional treatment as control group and see difference (positive control group))
Solution is placebo control group
Explain the difference between non specific effect and placebo effecz
Non specific effect is when the patient believes that they will be treated
Lacebo effect occur when you think you are being treated
History effect just occur, without any known cause
Explain the difference between non specific effect and placebo effecz
Non specific effect is when the patient believes that they will be treated
Lacebo effect occur when you think you are being treated
History effect just occur, without any known cause
Explain observer bias and demand characteristics
Observer bias is when the researcher believes to observe an effect that is not there
Demand characteristics is when a participant has the tendency to behave according to the research hypothesis
Solution is a double blind design
Explain attrition, testing and instrumentation
Attrition is when people may drop out
Testing is the effect of being tested tested twice (memory or practice effexts)
Instrumentation is when the measurement instruments differ between the pre and post test design
Explain the difference in research between small and large n design
In small n research you are more interested in individuals
To determine the internal validity of one individual, you have to use replication
In large n design you are more interested in a population parameter and
To get the validity of a group average you have to use an inferential test like hypothesis test or confidence interval
Explain solutions to the internal validity threat in small n designs
- Stable baseline design: measure often to find average in scores
- Reversal design: look for effects if you remove treatment for certain time
- Multiple baseline design: apply treatment at different times in different subjects so that certain events don’t influence all patients
Explain quasi experiments
Sometimes experimental manipulations are not possible or undesirable (unpractical, unethical, unnatural, impossible)
You can then do quasi experiments, where you select people for the independent variable in
- between group designs (non equivalent control group design) where you select groups who differ in the independent variable
- within groups designs, where the manipulated variable is an already scheduled event (like surgery) and compare them in the difference
- Interrupted time series design, which is similar to stable baseline design but depends on set events
There can also be combinations in these designs
Due to selection effect the internal validity is always questionable
Explain design confounds, selection effects and order effects
Confounds: other effects cause change
Selection effects: systematic mistakes in selection
Order effects: order causes change
