Chapter 2 Abnormal Psychology Ronald J Comer Ninth

Research in Abnormal Psychology • _____ is the systematic search for facts through the use of careful observations and investigations • Theories and treatments that seem reasonable and effective in individual instances may prove disastrous when widely applied • Only by fully testing a theory or technique on representative groups of individuals can clinicians evaluate the accuracy, effectiveness, and safety of their ideas and techniques Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – It is the key to accuracy in all fields but it is particularly important in the field of abnormal psychology

Research in Abnormal Psychology • Clinical researchers face certain challenges that make their work very difficult: Measuring unconscious motives Assessing private thoughts Monitoring mood changes Calculating human potential • Clinical researchers must consider different cultural backgrounds, races, and genders of the people they study • They must always ensure that the rights of their research participants, both human and animal, are not violated Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – –

What Do Clinical Researchers Do? • Clinical researchers try to discover universal laws, or principles, of abnormal psychological functioning: – Search for nomothetic understanding – Do not typically assess, diagnose, or treat individual clients – Rely on the scientific method to pinpoint relationships between variables – Use three methods of investigation to form and test hypotheses and to draw broad conclusions… Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • General or universal laws or truths

The Case Study • Can provide a detailed, interpretative description of a person's life and psychological problems • Can be a source of new ideas about behavior • May offer tentative support for a theory • May challenge a theory's assumptions • May inspire new therapeutic techniques • May offer opportunities to study unusual problems Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • The case study:

The Case Study Limitations: • Reported by biased observers • Relies on subjective evidence • Provides little basis for generalization – Has low external validity • These limitations are addressed by the two other methods of investigation Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – Has low internal validity

The Correlational Method and The Experimental Method – Typically involve observing many individuals – Researchers apply procedures uniformly • Studies can be replicated – Researchers use statistical tests to analyze results Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved These research methods: • Do not offer richness of detail • Do allow researchers to draw broad conclusions • Preferred method of clinical investigation

The Correlational Method • ______ is the degree to which events or characteristics vary with each other • The people chosen for a study are its subjects or participants, collectively called a sample – The sample must be representative of the larger population Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – The correlational method is a research procedure used to determine the “co-relationship” between variables

• Are stress and onset of mental disorders related? • Is culture (or gender or race) generally linked to mental disorders? • Are income and mental disorders related? • Are social skills tied to mental disorders? • Is social support tied to mental disorders? • Are family conflict and mental disorders related? • Is treatment responsiveness tied to culture? • Which symptoms of a disorder disappear altogether? • How common is a disorder in a particular population? Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved Most Investigated Correlational Questions in Clinical Research

Describing a Correlation – _____ correlation (slope is upward and to the right) = variables change in the same direction – ______ correlation (downward slope) = variables change in the opposite direction – ______(no slope) = no consistent relationship Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • Correlational data can be graphed and a “line of best fit” can be drawn

Describing a Correlation – _______ magnitude = variables which vary closely together; fall close to the line of best fit – ____ magnitude = variables which do not vary as closely together; loosely scattered around the line of best fit Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • The magnitude (strength) of a correlation is also important

Describing a Correlation • Direction and magnitude of a correlation are often calculated numerically • The correlation coefficient can vary from +1. 00 (perfect positive correlation) to -1. 00 (perfect negative correlation) • Sign (+ or -) indicates direction • Number indicates magnitude – 0. 00 = no consistent relationship • Most correlations found in psychological research fall far short of “perfect” Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – This statistic is the “________, ” symbolized by the letter “r”

When Can Correlations Be Trusted? • Correlations can be trusted based on a statistical analysis of probability • By convention, if there is less than a 5% probability that findings are due to chance (p <. 05), results are considered “statistically significant” and are thought to reflect the larger population – Generally, confidence increases with the size of the sample and the magnitude of the correlation Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – “Statistical significance” means that the finding is unlikely to have occurred by chance

What Are the Merits of the Correlational Method? • Advantages of the correlational method: – Has high external validity • Can generalize findings • Difficulties with correlational studies: – Lack internal validity • Results describe but do not explain a relationship – Results say nothing about causation Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – Can repeat (replicate) studies on other samples

Special Forms of Correlational Research • There are two special forms of correlational study: – Epidemiological studies – Incidence = number of new cases that emerge in a given period – Prevalence = total number of cases in a given period – Longitudinal studies • Researchers observe the same individuals on many occasions over a long period Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • Reveal the incidence and prevalence of a disorder in a particular population

The Experimental Method • An ______ is a research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the manipulation's effect on another variable is observed • Allows researchers to ask questions such as: Does a particular therapy relieve the symptoms of a particular disorder? ” – Questions about causal relationships can only be answered by an experiment Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – Manipulated variable = ______ variable – Variable being observed = ______ variable

• Does factor X cause a disorder? • Is cause A more influential than cause B? • How does family communication and structure affect family members? • How does a disorder affect the quality of a person's life? • Does treatment X alleviate a disorder? • Is treatment X more helpful than no treatment at all? • Is treatment A more helpful than treatment B? • Why does treatment X work? • Can an intervention prevent abnormal functioning? Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved Most Investigated Causal Questions in Clinical Research

The Experimental Method – Researchers must try to eliminate all confounds – variables other than the independent variable that may also be affecting the dependent variable – Three features are included in experiments to guard against confounds: • A control group • Random assignment • Blind design Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • Statistics and research design are very important

The Control Group – By comparing the two groups, researchers can better determine the effect of the independent variable • Rules of statistical significance are applied – In addition, clinicians may also evaluate clinical significance Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • A ________ is a group of research participants who are not exposed to the independent variable, but whose experience is similar to that of the experimental group

Random Assignment – To do so, researchers use random assignment – any selection procedure that ensures that every participant in the experiment is as likely to be placed in one group as another • Examples: coin flip; picking names out of a hat Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • Researchers must also watch out for differences in the makeup of the experimental and control groups

• In 2001, Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, presented a paper at a meeting of the American Psychiatric Association about something called “reparative therapy” [also known as “conversion therapy”]f or gay men and women. By undergoing reparative therapy, the paper claimed, gay men and women could change their sexual orientation. • In 2012, month he sent a letter to the Archives of Sexual Behavior, which published his work in 2003, asking that the journal retract his paper because of the negative effect it had on the gay community. • Why might an outstanding and highly regarded researcher have made such errors in the conduct and interpretation of this study? Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved Flawed Study, Gigantic Impact

Blind Design • A final confound problem is bias – To avoid bias by the participant, experimenters employ a “_______, ” in which participants are kept from knowing which assigned group (experimental or control) they are in – To avoid bias by the experimenter, experimenters employ a “double-blind design, ” in which the experimenters and the participants are kept from knowing which condition of the study participants are in • Often used in medication trials Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • One strategy for this is providing a placebo – something that simulates real therapy but has none of its key ingredients

Alternative Experimental Designs – – _______ designs __________ experiments Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • It is not easy to devise an experiment that is both well controlled and enlightening • Clinical researchers often must settle for designs that are less than ideal and include:

Alternative Experimental Designs • In _________, or mixed designs, investigators do not randomly assign participants to groups, but make use of groups that already exist • To address the problem of confounds, researchers use matched control groups – These groups are “matched” to the experimental group based on demographic and other variables Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – Example: Children with a history of child abuse

Alternative Experimental Designs • In _____ experiments, nature manipulates the independent variable and the experimenter observes the effects • These events cannot be replicated at will • Broad generalizations cannot be made Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – Example: Psychological impact of flooding

Alternative Experimental Designs • ______ experiments allow investigators to freely manipulate independent variables while avoiding ethical and practical limitations • Example: Animal subjects – The major limitation of all analogue research is that experimenters can never be certain that the phenomena observed in the lab are the same as the psychological disorders being investigated Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – They induce laboratory subjects to behave in ways that seem to resemble real life

Alternative Experimental Designs – Experiments rely on baseline data to set a standard for comparison – An example is the ABAB, or reversal, design Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • In a ______ experiment, a single participant is observed both before and after manipulation of an independent variable

• In an ABAB (reversal) design, a participant's reactions are measured during a baseline period (A), after the introduction of the independent variable (B), after the removal of the independent variable (A), and after reintroduction of the independent variable (B) – The participant is, essentially, compared against himself or herself under different conditions rather than against control subjects Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved Alternative Experimental Designs

Alternative Experimental Designs • Single-subject experiments are similar to individual case studies • However, the single-subject experiment has higher internal validity than the case study, given the manipulation of an independent variable Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved – Both focus on one subject only – Both have low external validity

Protecting Human Participants Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • Institutional Review Board (IRB): An ethics committee in a research facility that is empowered to protect the rights and safety of human research participants Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition

Protecting Human Participants – The participants enlist voluntarily. – Before enlisting, the participants are adequately informed about what the study entails (“informed consent”). – The participants can end their participation in the study at any time. – The benefits of the study outweigh its costs/risks. – The participants are protected from physical and psychological harm. – The participants have access to information about the study. – The participants’ privacy is protected by principles such as confidentiality or anonymity. Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Ninth Edition Copyright © 2015 by Worth Publishers. All rights reserved • IRBs try to endure that each study grants the following rights to participants: