chap 4

Cards (49)

  • Scientific Method
    Obtain and evaluate (in a systematic way) information that is relevant to a problem
  • Operationalization
    The way we measure or manipulate the variables in a study
  • Generalizability
    The ability to apply what we have learned to other individuals or groups
  • Group comparison study

    A type of correlational study where researchers are interested in the relationship between people's membership in a particular group and their scores on some other variable
  • Case Studies
    Detailed histories of unique individuals who have some form of psychological disorder
  • Hypothesis
    A testable statement of what we predict will happen in a study
  • Dependent variable/ DV
    The factor the study aims to predict
  • Independent Variable/ IV
    The factor used or manipulated to predict the other variable
  • Sample
    A group taken from the population of interest to participate in the study. The sample for the study must be representative of the population of interest, and the research must be generalizable to the population of interest
  • Control Group
    A group similar in most ways to the primary group of interest but who do not experience the variable the theory hypothesizes causes changes in the dependent variable
  • Third Variable
    Variables unrelated to the theory that still may have some effect on the dependent variable
  • Basic Rights of the Participants
    • Understanding the Study
    • Confidentiality
    • Right to refuse or withdraw participations
    • Informed Consent
    • Deception
    • Debriefing
  • Correlational Studies
    Examine the relationship between two variables without manipulating the variables
  • Correlation Coefficient
    An index of the relationship between two variables
  • Positive Correlation
    Indicates that as values of one variable increase, values of the other variable increase
  • Negative Correlation
    Indicates that as values of one variable increase, values of the other variable decrease
  • Statistically significant
    A result that is unlikely to have happened by chance
  • A correlational study can show that two variables are related, but it cannot show that one variable causes the other
  • Third Variable Problem

    The possibility that variables not measured in the study actually account for the relationship between the variables measured in the study
  • Continuous variable studies
    Evaluate the relationship between two variables that vary along a continuum
  • Representative sample
    A sample that resembles the population of interest on all important variables. One way to generate this sample is to obtain a random sample
  • Cross-sectional studies
    Assess a sample at one point in time
  • Longitudinal studies
    Assess a sample at multiple points in time
  • Double-blind Experiment
    Both the participants and the experimenters who interact with them should be unaware of whether participants are in the experimental condition or the control condition
  • Internal Validity
    The extent to which changes in the dependent variable can confidently be attributed to our manipulation of the independent variable and not to other factors
  • Demand Characteristics
    Situations that cause participants to guess the purpose of the study and thus change their behavior
  • Wait list control groups
    Control participants wait to receive the interventions until after the studies are completed
  • External Validity
    The extent to which a study's results can be generalized to real-life phenomena
  • Group comparison studies
    Evaluate differences between key groups, such as a group that experienced a certain stressor and a matched comparison group that did not
  • Epidemiological Studies
    Look at the frequency and distribution of a disorder in a population
  • Prevalence
    Proportion of the population that has the disorder at a given point or period in time
  • Incidence
    The number of new cases of the disorder that develop during a specific period of time
  • Risk Factors
    Conditions or variables associated with a higher risk of having the disorder
  • Experimental Studies
    Can provide evidence that a given variable causes psychopathology
  • Therapy outcome study
    Allows researchers to test a hypothesis about the causes of a psychopathology while providing a service to participants
  • Placebo control groups
    Participants receive the general support of therapists but none of the elements of the therapy thought to be active
  • Single-case experimental designs

    Involve the intensive investigation of single individuals or small groups of individuals before and after a manipulation or intervention
  • ABAB or reversal design

    An intervention is introduced, withdrawn, and then reinstated, and the behavior of a participant on and off the treatment is examined
  • Multiple Baseline Designs
    Allow researchers to manipulate their subjects in different settings or at different times, and the effects of the treatment are systematically observed
  • Animal studies raise questions about their generalizability to humans