Research Methods Chapter 4 Abnormal Psychology

Researching Abnormal Behavior Scientific method Developing a hypothesis Research design

Research Methods Case study Correlation Controlled experiment

Case Study In depth study of a single person Case studies in the history of psychology Benefits and drawbacks to the case study method?

Withdrawal Designs Getting a baseline Gradually removing/reducing treatment Notable behavior/symptom changes? May happen naturally over the course of treatment

Correlational Method Measures the degree and strength of a relationship Are the variables linked/related? Is there a link between social support and recovery from depression? Is there a link between stress and mental illness?

Correlational Method Positive correlation: both variables increase or both variables decrease Negative Correlation: an increase in one variable is associated with a decrease in another variable

Correlational Design Correlational designs measure the strength of a relationship Are the variables strongly related? Strongest positive correlation value= 1.0 Strongest negative correlation value= -1.0

Correlational Designs

Epidemiological Research Prevalence: the number of people with the disorder at any given time Incidence: estimated number of new cases during a specific period of time Helps to determine historical influences, reactions to interventions, etc.

Controlled Experiment Experimental Group: receives the treatment Control Group: no treatment The experimental and control groups only differ in regard to the independent variable Randomization- to reduce systemic bias

Controlled Experiment Independent variable: the variable we manipulate/change Dependent variable: the variable we measure

Experimental Method Single-blind procedure: participant doesn’t know if he/she is receiving drug or placebo Double-blind procedure: participant and researcher do not know if the participant receives drug or placebo

Experimental Method Placebo effect: participants feel better after taking a sugar pill (which they think is a drug) because they expect to feel better

Comparative Treatment Groups Comparing treatments across multiple groups Comparable groups- to assess the effectiveness of different interventions

Internal Validity Internal Validity: making sure nothing but the independent variable can influence the outcome High internal validity- when the study is carefully controlled

External Validity External Validity: findings can generalize to real-life settings Psychological realism: extent to which psychological processes triggered in an experiment resemble real life psychological processes External and Internal Validity: often a trade-off

Genetic Studies Family studies Adoption studies Twin studies

Study Design Cross-sectional: comparing different “cohorts” or age groups Longitudinal: following the same group over time Sequential: combines cross-sectional and longitudinal

Generalizability and Replication Do the findings generalize to diverse groups? When replicated, do the results hold? Use of meta-analyses: combining the results of many studies on the same topic

Cross-Cultural and Cultural Research Are psychological disorders universal or culture-specific? Diversity in symptom patterns Depression: US- loss of interest; China- worthlessness and suicidality Cross-cultural research vs. cultural research

Ethical Issues Principle: Do No Harm Informed consent Use of deception Debriefing