Ch2 Research in Psychopathology

research

systematic search for facts using careful observation and investigations to establish new knowledge or verify existing knowledge in the field of study.

why is abnormal psychology important?

to ensure effectiveness, safety, and generalizability for theories and techniques

generalizability

can also apply to people outside of sampel

what three primary methods of investigation do researchers use?

-the case study

-correlational method

-experimental method

correlational method

determines “co-relationship” between variables

positive correlation

change in the same direction

negative correlation

change in the opposite direction

unrelated

no consistent relationship

high magnitude

variables which vary closely together

fall closest to the line of best fitlo

low magnitude

variables which do not vary as close together

loosely scattered around the line of best fit

case study

detailed description of a persons life and psychological problems

internal validity

the accuracy with which a study can pinpoint one factor as the cause of a phenomenon

external validity

     the degree to which results of a study may be generalized beyond the study

independent variable

the variable in an experiment that is manipulated to determine whether it has an effect on another variable

dependent variable

the variable in an experiment that is expected to change as the independent variable is manipulated

confound

in an experiment, a variable other than the independent variable that is also acting on the dependent variable

control group

group of research participants who are not exposed to the independent variable under investigation

-researchers compare the two groups to better determine the effect of the IV

masked design

a feature of an experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or control condition

placebo

a pretend treatment that the participant in an experiment believe to be gneuine

rosenthal effect

·       experimenter acts confident when offering real medication to experimental participants but frown when offering to control group

quantitative study

an explanatory research strategy that examined variables in their unfiltered and natural states, often through open-ended questioning, to gather rich descriptive accounts in great depth

natural experiment

·       an experiment in which nature, rather than an experimenter manipulated an independent variable

analogue experiment

a research method in which the experimenter produced psycho-pathology like behavior in laboratory participants and then conduct experiments on the participants

single case experimental design

a research method in which a single participant is observed and measured both before and after the manipulation of an independent variable

longitudinal study

a study that observed the same participants on many ocassions over a long period of time

epidemiological studies

a study that measures the incidence and prevalence of a problem, such as a disorder, in a given population

incidence

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

Prevalence

·       the number of cases in the population during a given period of time; prevalence includes both existing cases and new cases

Mixed-methods research

·       a research tradition that combines, or mixes, both quantitative and qualitative approaches within the same research project

Community based participatory research

a research tradition that has members of an affected community work or collaboratively with academically trained

generalizability

applies to people outside the study sample

why is research important for abnormal psychology

to ensure effectiveness, safety, and generalizability for theories and techniques

correlation

the degree to which events or characteristics vary with each other

determines the “co-relationship” between variables

representative sample

small group of people that mimick larger population

positive correlation

change in the same direction

upward slope

negative correlation

change in the opposite direction

downward slope

unrelated

no consistent relationship

no slope

high magnitude

variables which vary closer together

fall close to the line of best fir

low magnitude

variables which do not vary as closely together

loosley scattered around the line of best fit

correlation coefficient

relationship between two variables

indicated magnitude

statistical significance

the likelihood that the finding has ocurred by chance

-impacted by sample size

epidemiological studies

reveal incidence and prevalence of a disorder in a particular population

at least how many levels are in an experimental study

2

what are the three features in an experiment to guard against confounds?

-control group

-random assignment

-blind design

random assignment

ensures that every participant has the same chance of being put in each group

blind design

participants are blinds to which group they are in

placebo

something that simulates real therapy but has none of its key ingredients

double blind design

experimenters and the participants are kept from knowing which condition of the study participants are in

quasi experimental

no random assignment

uses groups that already exist

matched control groups—based on demographic and other variables

natural experiment

nature manipulates the IV

cannot be replicated

cannot generalize

analogue experiment

investigators can freely manipulate ivs

induce lab subjects to behave in ways that resemble real life—animal subjects

single-subject experiment

a single participant observed before and after manipulation of an iv

baseline data sets a standard for comparison

institutional review board

an ethics comittee in a research facility that is empowered to protect the rights and safety of human research participants