Deck 6: Conducting Research in Clinical Psychology

Question 1

The 1995 Consumer Reports survey regarding psychotherapy outcome as an example of a(n) ______ study.

A) efficacy
B) effectiveness
C) cognitive
D) behavioral

Answer 1

effectiveness

Question 2

In short, the ______ of a form of therapy is how well it works "in the lab," where it is practiced according to manualized methods.

A) outcome
B) efficacy
C) effectiveness
D) status

Answer 2

efficacy

Question 3

______ significance in an efficacy or effectiveness study refers to a numerically significant difference between two groups. It is measured quantitatively.

A) Statistical
B) Clinical
C) Theoretical
D) Control

Answer 3

Statistical

Question 4

Compared to effectiveness studies, efficacy studies of psychotherapy outcome generally have ______.

A) greater internal validity
B) greater external validity
C) little or no criteria for who is allowed to participate
D) significant funding from the American Counseling Association

Question 5

Dr. Smithton initially creates a new PTSD treatment under highly controlled laboratory conditions. He then shares the treatment with practitioners who subsequently implement the treatment with real-world patients. The practitioners report that Dr. Smithton's PTSD treatment is very helpful for their patients. The benefit the practitioners' patients experienced seems to support the ______ of Dr. Smithton's treatment.

A) internal validity
B) external validity
C) power
D) design

Question 6

______ variables are those variables in an experiment that are manipulated by the experimenter.

A) Internal
B) External
C) Independent
D) Dependent

Question 7

Compared to effectiveness studies, efficacy studies of psychotherapy outcome generally have ______.

A) weaker internal validity
B) weaker external validity
C) little or no criteria for who is allowed to participate
D) significant funding from the American Counseling Association

Question 8

In a(n) ______ design, the researcher cannot always assign people randomly to conditions, make particular manipulations, or test certain hypotheses due to ethical, practical, or other constraints.

A) quasi-experimental
B) analogue
C) between-group
D) within-group

Question 9

______ significance in an efficacy or effectiveness study refers to how two groups differ in real-world terms. It answers the question, "Is there a meaningful difference between the groups?"

A) Statistical
B) Clinical
C) Theoretical
D) Control

Question 10

______ variables are those variables in an experiment that are expected to change as a result of changes in the variable manipulated by the researcher.

A) Internal
B) External
C) Independent
D) Dependent

Question 11

______ refers to the generalizability of the result of a scientific study or the extent to which the same finding is applicable to different settings and populations.

A) Internal validity
B) External validity
C) Convergent validity
D) Reliability

Question 12

According to the textbook, which of the following is NOT a question clinical psychologist should ask themselves when designing research studies?

A) How should psychotherapy outcome be measured?
B) What should be measured when assessing psychotherapy outcome?
C) Who should rate psychotherapy outcome?
D) Where should the study be conducted?

Question 13

______ refers to the success of a particular therapy in a controlled study conducted with clients who were chosen according to particular study criteria.

A) Effectiveness
B) Psychotherapy outcome
C) Efficacy
D) Therapeutic quotient

Question 14

The 1995 Consumer Reports study found that ______.

A) less than 40% of respondents reported that therapy was beneficial
B) longer therapy generally produced greater benefit
C) the profession of the person providing the therapy made a significant difference, such that clinical psychologists produced better outcomes than psychiatrists, social workers, and counselors
D) shorter therapy tended to produce greater benefit

Question 15

______ refers to the success of a therapy in actual clinical settings in which client problems may be diagnostically complex.

A) Effectiveness
B) Exposure and response prevention
C) Internal validity
D) Efficacy

Question 16

______ refers to the extent to which change in the dependent variable is due solely to change in the independent variable.

A) Internal validity
B) External validity
C) Test-retest reliability
D) Split-half reliability

Question 17

Dr. Grant is a practicing clinical psychologist who is thinking about using a new treatment for anxiety with patients in his practice. If he is most concerned with how this new treatment works in the real world, Dr. Grant will be most interested in published studies that discuss the treatment's ______.

A) efficacy
B) effectiveness
C) power
D) design

Question 18

Clinical psychologists may develop, validate, or expand the use of psychological instruments such as the MMPI-2 and the WAIS-IV. Such activity is an example of ______.

A) researching assessment methods
B) exploring diagnostic issues
C) evaluating professional issues
D) appraising teaching standards

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a step in the experimental method?

A) observation of events
B) development of a hypothesis
C) empirical testing of the hypothesis
D) altering data to fit the hypothesis

Question 20

In ______ trials, researchers test the outcome of a manualized therapy on a particular diagnosis. Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or nontreatment groups, and target variables are assessed at the outset and end of the study.

A) independent
B) dependent
C) randomized clinical
D) homogenized clinical

Question 21

Reading a single review of a movie can be informative, but reading a synthesis of many reviews of the same movie can be much more informative about the effect the movie had across many individuals. This notion is analogous to the research strategy known as ______.

A) case studies
B) between-group designs
C) correlational methods
D) meta-analysis

Question 22

______ involve a thorough and detailed examination of one person or situation.

A) Case studies
B) Correlational studies
C) Meta-analyses
D) Within-group design studies

Question 23

In a(n) ______ design, participants in different conditions receive entirely different treatments.

A) quasi-experimental
B) analogue
C) between-group
D) within-group

Question 24

______ variables are those variables in a study that are manipulated by the experimenter.

Question 25

Which of these statements is NOT consistent with ethical standards of the most recent edition of the APA ethical code?

A) Researchers should obtain informed consent from prospective participants
B) Researchers should never fabricate or falsify data
C) Researchers should share their data with other competent researchers for reanalysis
D) Researchers may coerce participation in select circumstances

Question 26

______ designs examine changes in a participant or group across time, often over many years.

A) Cross-sectional
B) ABAB
C) Analog
D) Longitudinal

Question 27

A(n) ______ is a statistical method of combining results of separate studies to create a summation of its findings.

A) ABAB design
B) case study
C) qualitative review
D) meta-analysis

Question 28

Another phrase for "generalizability" is ______.

A) internal validity
B) external validity
C) positive psychology
D) negative psychology

Question 29

Who published a 1952 review of psychotherapy stating (erroneously) that psychotherapy did not work?

Question 30

A study in which participants in a single condition are compared to themselves at various points in time is using a ______ design.

Question 31

In a(n) ______ design, participants within a single condition are compared to themselves at various points in time.

A) analogue
B) within-group
C) between-group
D) experimental

Question 32

A researcher planning to follow a group of depressed patients over a 20-year period would likely be using a ______ design.

Question 33

A(n) ______ design is often used by clinical psychologists when they cannot adequately access the target population or situation, so they approximate it to the extent possible. For example, they may ask participants to imagine themselves in a particular situation.

A) analogue
B) between-group
C) within-group
D) mixed-group

Question 34

______ validity refers to the generalizability of a study's results or the extent to which the study's findings hold true across different settings and populations.

Question 35

The ABAB design is an example of a(n) ______.

A) case study
B) analogue design
C) between-groups design
D) meta-analysis

Question 36

______ tend to be held in high regard by researchers who prefer the idiographic approach over the nomothetic approach.

A) Experiments
B) Quasi-experiments
C) Case studies
D) Correlational studies

Question 37

The growing popularity of Amazon Mechanical Turk, or MTurk, is an example of ______.

A) the implementation of technology in the delivery of online psychotherapy services
B) a shopping platform that sells self-help and other books useful for therapy patients
C) the use of technology in clinical psychology research
D) an Internet-based intervention for social anxiety disorder

Question 38

What is one APA ethical standard that applies to research in clinical psychology?

Question 39

A study examining a psychotherapy's success in an actual clinical setting is measuring the therapy's ______.

Question 40

What is a meta-analysis?

Question 41

Compare and contrast the idiographic and nomothetic approaches.

Question 42

Compare and contrast efficacy and effectiveness studies of psychotherapy outcome.

Question 43

Compare and contrast cross-sectional designs and longitudinal designs.

Question 44

What is the primary difference between correlational methods and experimental methods?

Question 45

In ______, researchers test the outcome of a manualized therapy on a particular diagnosis. Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or nontreatment groups, and target variables are assessed at the outset and end of the study.

Question 46

What are the two main areas in which clinical psychologists conduct research?