In a phobia treatment study, the participants spend three hours facing their fears. Post-treatment scores show significant improvement in overall distress levels when handling the feared objects, so the treatment is judged as effective by the researcher. To improve the study's design, the researcher can

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Including a control group would help to determine if the improvement seen in the treatment group was due to the treatment itself or other factors such as time or the attention received from the researcher. This would increase the internal validity of the study. While increasing the length of time for the treatment component may enhance the effectiveness of the treatment, it is not necessary to improve the study design. Repeating the study with a new set of participants could improve external validity, but it is not as necessary as including a control group. Changing to a correlational design would not allow for causal conclusions to be drawn about the effectiveness of the treatment.

In a Phobia Treatment Study, the Participants Spend Three Hours