Deck 13: Single-Subject Experiments

Question 1

A major advantage of single-subject research over group research is that

A) it places emphasis on the behavior of individuals rather than on group averages
B) the researcher does not have to be concerned with extraneous variables
C) the knowledge gained can also be generalized to statements concerning group performance
D) it is better suited for answering the question: "Which of the various treatments is the most effective?"

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A major disadvantage of single-subject research compared to group research is that

A) the method does not allow strong conclusions to be made concerning the factors controlling the dependent variable
B) it is often difficult to control extraneous variables
C) control must be shown both within a subject and also between the subjects
D) subjects are too different from one another

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Single subject research

A) was developed recently because of dissatisfaction with group experiments
B) permits easier use of sophisticated statistical analysis
C) permits better comparison between subjects
D) began long before the development of modern statistics

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A woman with chronic pain takes a course in relaxation therapy and reports that she has less pain.Can you be sure that the course really led to the pain relief?

A) Yes
B) No, there are too many potentially confounding variables.
C) No, you can never trust what patients tell you.
D) Only if we are careful to use the same pain scale before and after treatment.

Question 5

The term power refers to:

A) the probability of committing a Type I error
B) the probability of committing a Type II error
C) the probability that a statistical test will find a significant difference when a true difference exists in the population
D) the probability that a statistical test will account for the unexplained variability

Question 6

Suppose that Dr.Jeffers uses 10 participants in an experiment and finds a correlation of .765,while Dr.Amico uses 50 participants and finds a correlation of .361.Both results are significant.Which result should you have more trust in?

A) Dr. Jeffers, because he showed a larger effect
B) Dr. Amico, because he used more people
C) You can trust them equally
D) You can't trust either one

Question 7

A major advantage of single-subject research compared to group research is that

A) The experiment can be modified on the spot, allowing flexibility in design
B) There are no ethical problems with single-subject designs
C) There are no practical problems with single-subject designs
D) Group designs cannot detect differences well

Question 8

A major advantage of single-subject research over group research is that

A) the researcher does not have to be concerned with validity
B) the knowledge gained can also be generalized to groups
C) Individuals always act as their own controls
D) it is better suited for answering the question: "Which factor is the most effective?"

Question 9

According to the text,the founder of experimental psychology was

A)
B) Hermann Ebbinghaus
C) Gustav Fechner
D) Wilhelm Wundt
E)B. Titchener

Question 10

Early researchers used the single-subject approach extensively mainly because

A) they disdained the use of statistics
B) they did not have regular access to groups of individuals
C) the discovery that human traits followed the normal curve had not yet been made
D) modern statistical methods did not yet exist

Question 11

A single-subject experiment that showed a 75% improvement in depression after a particular treatment would certainly show ____,even without statistics

A) Power
B) Clinical significance
C) ABAB design
D) Mixed design

Question 12

The first psychological laboratory was founded in 1879 by:

A) Adolphe Quetelet
B) Hermann Ebbinghaus
C) Wilhelm Wundt
D) Gustav Fechner

Question 13

The discovery that human traits followed the normal curve was made by

A) Sir Francis Galton
B) R.A. Fisher
C)
D) Adolphe Quetelet
E)B. Titchener

Question 14

If a stable baseline cannot be obtained

A) The experiment cannot be performed
B) A baseline that changes in the opposite direction from the one predicted by the hypothesis is acceptable
C) You only need to worry if you have to compare conditions between subjects
D) The intervention worked

Question 15

Single-subject research focuses on individuals because

A) each individual is unique
B) human creativity cannot be studied by methods that assume determinism
C) it permits a researcher to focus on small effects
D) group data sometimes obscure features of individual performance

Question 16

Researchers who favor the single subject approach over the group research approach assume that most variability within the subject's behavior:

A) is intrinsic and should be controlled statistically
B) is caused by the research situation, or setting
C) cannot be removed
D) is minimal and therefore irrelevant

Question 17

The term clinical significance refers to

A) the statistical significance of a clinical study
B) the probability that a clinical test will find a significant difference when a true difference exists in the population
C) the practical importance of research findings
D) the probability that a statistical test will have clinical significance

Question 18

The most important control strategy in single-subject research is

A) controlling for rival hypotheses
B) obtaining a stable baseline
C) random assignment of subjects to treatments
D) using reliable statistical techniques

Question 19

Obtaining baseline stability:

A) is an objective process
B) is not always possible
C) is always necessary
D) can best be accomplished using modern statistical methods

Question 20

When naming single-subject designs,an "A" in the title refers to the

A) Intervention
B) Baseline
C) First subject
D) Validity

Question 21

A researcher plans to use the reversibility of the desired target behavior as evidence of a treatment effect.She does not want the subject to leave the experiment showing the original,undesirable behavior.Which one of the following designs would be most appropriate for this study?

A) A-B-A design
B) A-B-A-B design
C) interaction design
D) multiple-baseline design

Question 22

What is the name of the single-subject research design that introduces an independent variable at different times for different behaviors to see if changes in behavior coincide with manipulation of the independent variable?

A) multiple-baseline design
B) changing-criterion design
C) interaction design
D) multiple-conditions design

Question 23

When is the changing-criterion design an appropriate design to use? When

A) the behavior change is reversible
B) the behavior change is irreversible
C) the behavior is difficult to measure
D) it is impossible to obtain stable baseline behavior

Question 24

The problem with an ABA design is that

A) You may want to leave the participant in their new state, rather than return them to the old one
B) The effect of the treatment may be reversible
C) People don't want to continue in the study after the initial treatment
D) It is unethical

Question 25

I obtained a baseline level of John's cooking behavior of 25% of the meals without praise.I then highly praised his cooking behavior,and it increased to 85% of the meals.Later,I stopped praising his cooking,and his behavior began to drop back to its baseline level.What sort of design was I using?

A) Multiple Baseline
B) ABA
C) Alternating-treatments
D) Reversal Replication

Question 26

Which one of the following strategies is not a basic control strategy in single-subject research?

A) withdrawing the treatment
B) repeating treatments
C) using multiple baselines
D) changing more than one variable at a time

Question 27

A behavioral therapist is trying to decrease an autistic child's disruptive behavior.He first observes the baseline level of the behavior,then observes the behavior again after his intervention.Since his therapy seems to be effective,he continues to treat the child in the same way.This type of design is called a(n):

A) A-B Design
B) A-B-A-B Design
C) A-B-C Design
D) Cross sectional Design

Question 28

A researcher conducts a study to gradually bring about the desired behavior change for a subject.At each session,the researcher introduces a more stringent set of guidelines to see if behavior changes coincide with the new reinforcement.Which one of the following designs would be most appropriate for this study?

A) changing-criterion design
B) multiple-baseline design
C) interaction design
D) A-B-A-B design

Question 29

A researcher conducts a study to bring about permanent changes in three different behaviors in a single subject.Which one of the following designs would be most appropriate for this study?

A) A-B-A-B design
B) interaction design
C) multiple-baseline design
D) changing-criterion design

Question 30

Skipper does the laundry 25% of the time and washes dishes about 50% of the time.Barbie decides to start praising Skipper for doing the laundry.After that,Skipper begins to do the laundry about 75% of the time.Since that was successful,Barbie decides to try praising Skipper's dish washing,too.Soon,Skipper is washing the dishes 100% of the time.What experimental design was Barbie using?

A) A-B Design
B) Changing Criterion
C) Multiple Baseline
D) A-B-A-B Design

Question 31

A single-subject research design that manipulates treatments one at a time to determine their effect is the:

A) multiple-baseline design
B) changing criterion design
C) alternating treatments design
D) A-B-A-B design

Question 32

Which one of the following control strategies is not a part of the A-B-A design?

A) repeating the treatments
B) measuring the behavior before, during, and after treatment
C) withdrawing the treatments
D) obtaining a stable baseline

Question 33

A researcher assesses the effects of two different kinds of punishment on a reversible behavior.Which one of the following designs would be most appropriate for this study?

A) A-B-A-B design
B) Alternating treatments design
C) Multiple-baseline design
D) Changing-criterion design

Question 34

Multiple-baseline designs may be conducted across all of the following variables EXCEPT

A) Behaviors
B) Individuals
C) Settings
D) Antecedents

Question 35

Jamal was continually late to work.In an effort to reduce this behavior,his supervisor told him that for each minute he was late to work,it would be deducted from his break time.During the week,the supervisor noticed that Jamal was no longer coming late to work.In an attempt to see if it was indeed his intervention that was the cause of Jamal's behavior change,the supervisor told him that the following Monday,there would no longer be a penalty for coming late to work.Jamal's behavior of lateness returned.Convinced,the supervisor reinstated the consequence.Jamal again began arriving to work on time.What design does this procedure describe?

A) Teaching Design
B) Changing Conditions Design
C) ABAB
D) AB

Question 36

Madge took special classes from Barbie to improve her spelling.Barbie first tested Madge's current spelling ability.Barbie was not sure what teaching method would work best,so she tried 3 different ones: positive practice,positive reinforcement,and correction.She tried a different method during each class,testing Madge's spelling at the end of the day.What design was Barbie using?

A) Alternating Treatment
B) Changing Criterion
C) Multiple Baseline
D) Interaction Design

Question 37

Which one of the following control strategies is not a part of the A-B-A-B design?

A) repeating the treatments
B) withdrawing the treatments
C) obtaining a stable baseline
D) using multiple baselines

Question 38

Marla conducts a study to gradually teach a poodle to jump through a flaming hoop.At each session,Marla introduces a more stringent set of guidelines before reinforcing the poodle.Which one of the following designs would be most appropriate for this study?

A) changing-criterion design
B) A-B-A-B design
C) multiple-baseline design
D) interaction design

Question 39

____ research often employs single-participant designs

A) Personality
B) Psychophysical
C) Neuropsychological
D) Medical

Question 40

Which of the following areas of psychology is most likely to employ single-subject research?

A) social
B) personality
C) biopsychology
D) sensation

Question 41

What kind of research lends itself to single-subject experiments? Should researchers use single-subject research whenever it is possible to do so?

Question 42

A new program has been developed to increase students' speed and accuracy in doing simple arithmetic computations.You have been asked to evaluate its effectiveness.One of the first decisions you must make is whether to use a group or single-subject experimental design.What are several questions you might ask the curriculum specialist about the program and about the purpose of the experiment that will help to determine the more appropriate type of experimental design to be used?

Question 43

Compare and contrast group designs with the single-subject approach.What are the advantages of the single-subject design? Disadvantages?

Question 44

Consider the following hypothetical experiment: A researcher conducted a study to decrease the frequency with which a college professor used the words "uh" and "you know" during his lectures.The treatment consisted of a small signal at the back of the room which the experimenter flashed each time the professor uttered one of the verbal phrases targeted for extinction.An A-B-A design was used to assess the treatment effect.The results indicated a high baseline frequency of the behaviors,followed by a dramatic decrease in frequency when the treatment was initiated.The behaviors increased again when the treatment was withdrawn.Describe an alternative single-subject design that might be used to demonstrate a treatment effect.

Question 45

Define and/or describe the term "statistical power".

Question 46

Maya wanted to learn to play the piano well,but she hated to practice.Her teacher felt that she should be practicing for an hour a day,but she just couldn't manage to do it.Her mother made a deal with her.Maya would be asked to practice twice a day,and each time that she practiced for 30 minutes,she would receive a reward.Her mother told her that since she wasn't sure which reward would be best for her,she would receive either extra dessert after dinner or $2.00 for each practice that lasted 30 minutes.Her mother alternated the rewards,and kept track of which system resulted in the most immediate increases in the number of minutes practiced.Maya's mother found that the money improved the practice best.
a.What was the Independent Variable(s)?
b.What was the Dependent Variable(s)?
c.What Single Subject design is used in the story?
d.Draw a graph to illustrate the design.