Chapter One: Overviews and Research Approaches

1-year prevalence

the total number of cases of a health-related state or condition in a population for a given year

ABAB design

an experimental design, often involving a single subject, wherein a baseline period (A) is followed by a treatment (B); to confirm that the treatment resulted in a change in behavior, the treatment is then withdrawn (A) and reinstated (B)

abnormal psychology

field of psychology concerned with the study, assessment, treatment, and prevention of abnormal behavior

acute

term used to describe a disorder of sudden onset, usually with intense symptoms

analogue studies

studies in which a researcher attempts to emulate the conditions hypothesized as leading to abnormality

bias

observer _____ occurs when the researcher has preconceived ideas and expectations that influence the observations they make in the research study

case study

an in-depth examination of an individual or family that draws from a number of data sources, including interviews and psychological testing

chronic

term used to describe a long-standing or frequently recurring disorder, often with progressing seriousness

comorbidity

occurrence of two or more identified disorders in the same psychologically disordered individual

comparison or control group

group of subjects who do not exhibit the disorder being studied but who are comparable in all other respects to the criterion group; also a group of subjects who do not receive a condition or treatment the effects of which are being studied

correlation

the tendency of two variables to change together; with positive _____, as one variable goes up, so does the other; with negative _____, one variable goes up as the other goes down

correlational research

a research strategy that examines whether and how variables go together (co-vary) without manipulating (changing) any variables

correlation coefficient

a statistic that ranges from +1.0 to -1.0 and reflects the degree of association between two variables; the magnitude of the _____ indicates the strength of the association, and the sign indicates whether the _____ is positive or negative

criterion group

group of subjects who exhibit the disorder under study

dependent variable

in an experiment, the factor that is observed to change with changes in the manipulated (_____) variables

direct observation

method of collecting research data that involves directly observing behavior in a given situation

double-blind study

often used in studies examining drug treatment effects, a condition where neither the subject nor the experimenter has knowledge about what specific experimental condition (or drug) the subject is receiving

effect size

a statistical term referring to the strength of the relationship between two variables in a statistical population

epidemiology

study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviors in a given population; mental health _____ is the study of the distribution of mental disorders

etiology

factors that are related to the development (or cause) of a particular disorder

experimental research

research that involves the manipulation of a given factor or variable with everything else held constant

external validity

the extent to which the findings of a single study are relevant to other population, contexts, or times

family aggregation

the clustering of certain traits, behaviors, or disorders within a given family; _____ may arise because of genetic or environmental similarities

generalizability

the extent to which the findings from a single study can be used to draw conclusions about other samples

hypothesis

statement or proposition; usually based on observation, that is tested in an experiment; may be refuted or supported by experimental results but can never be conclusively proved

incidence

occurrence (onset) rate of a given disorder in a given population

independent variable

factor whose effects are being examined and which is manipulated in some way, while other variables are held constant

internal validity

the extent to which a study is free of confounds, is methodologically sound, and allows the researcher to have confidence in the findings

labeling

assigning a person to a particular diagnostic category, such as schizophrenia

lifetime prevalence

the proportion of living persons in a population who have ever had a disorder up to the time of the epidemiologic assessment

longitudinal design

a research design in which people are followed over time

meta-analysis

a statistical method used to combine the results of a number of similar research studies; the data from each study are transformed into a common metric called effect size; this allows the data from the various studies to be combined and then analyzed

negative correlation

a relationship between two variables such that a high score on one variable is associated with a low score on another variable

nomenclature

a formalized naming system

placebo treatment

an inert pill or otherwise neutral intervention that produces desirable therapeutic effects because of the subject’s expectations that it will be beneficial

point prevalence

the number of case of a specific condition or disorder that can be found in a population at one given point in time

positive correlation

a relationship between two variables such that a high score on one variable is associated with a high score on another variable

prevalence

in a population, the proportion of active cases of a disorder that can be identified at a given point in time or during a given period

prospective research

method that often focuses on individuals who have a higher-than-average likelihood of becoming psychologically disordered before abnormal behavior is observed

random assignment

a procedure used to create equivalent groups in which every research participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group in the study

retrospective research

research approach that attempts to retrace earlier events in the life of a subject

sampling

the process of selecting a representative subgroup from a defined population of interest

self-report data

data collected directly from participants, typically by means of interviews or questionnaires

single-case research design

an experimental research design (e.g., an ABAB design) that involves only one subject

statistical significance

a measure of the probability that a research finding could have occurred by chance alone

stereotyping

the tendency to jump to conclusions (often negative) about what a person is like based on beliefs about that group that exist (often incorrectly) in the culture

stigma

negative labeling

third variable problem

refers to the problem of making causal inferences in correlational research, where the correlation between two variables could be due to their shared correlation with an unmeasured third variable