Exam 4: Research Methods for Studying Mental Disorders

A researcher believes that depressive symptoms will be reduced when family members give attention to competent behavior and express disinterest when depressive behavior is exhibited. In this example, attention is the ____ and depressive symptoms are the ____.

Alicia suspects that her estranged husband is sexually abusing their daughter Kimberly during custodial visits. She tells her friend Heather that she became suspicious when she noticed Kimberly touching her sexual parts in bed on three separate occasions in the past week. Upon hearing this, Heather remarks, "Isn't it common for four-year-old girls to touch themselves in that way out of general curiosity?" Heather's comment concerns which of the following?

Experiments with large groups of subjects reflect the ____, whereas single-subject studies reflect the ____.

Operational definitions are employed in order to ____.

When researchers feel that an analogue study is too contrived to represent what goes on in real life accurately, they are likely to resort to what type of study instead?

A researcher has identified seventy individuals with a relatively rare psychological disorder. These individuals are asked to identify blood relatives, who are contacted by the researcher to see if they have the same disorder. What kind of research study is being performed?

Dr. Gonzalez devised a new scale to measure depressive symptoms of Hispanic females. To be sure that his test is actually measuring depressive symptoms, he will have his test group respond to his new instrument and the Beck Depression Inventory, as well as completing a social desirability scale, which should be unrelated to depression. Dr. Gonzalez is ____.

If the results of a study are due to factors other than those included in the research investigation, the study is said to have ____.

A large school district introduces a new reading program into one-half of its first-grade classrooms. Three years later, the reading scores of the 10,000 children in the new program average 3 points higher on a 100-point test than the scores of the 10,000 children who did not get the program. Although 3 points is statistically significant, the problem with saying that the program was a great success is that ____.

The case study and the single-participant experiment are two examples of ____.

Dr. Cummins publishes an article describing a man who abused alcohol for 25 years before becoming abstinent after having a religious conversion experience. This article illustrates a ____.

Which of the following is the strongest correlation?

A newspaper headline in 2004 might have read, "Antidepressants raise suicide risk in children and adolescents." What might subsequent news stories have reported?

Dr. Quillen treats a chronic smoker by first recording the number of cigarettes smoked daily, then offering monetary rewards for each day that one fewer cigarette is smoked. Because the client's own behavior serves as a control, this kind of study is called a(n) ____.

Your neighbor tells you, "I'm concerned about vaccinating my children. I understand that scientists have proved that childhood vaccines cause autism." What response to your neighbor is most accurate?

People with schizophrenia who are given large doses of certain medications begin to smack their lips and grimace. They look as though they are getting worse instead of better. The fact that treatment leads to these additional symptoms illustrates ____.

The town of Mayberry wants to know if a new suicide prevention telephone line is effective based on public opinion. What kind of research should the town do to find out?

What can be done to reduce publication bias?

The 2007 Parents Television Council Study reported that people who watch more than three hours of television a day during the family time slot were much more likely to commit violent acts than people who watched less than one hour of television a day. What can be said about this research?

Which statement about clinical and statistical significance is accurate ?