CH 2 Research Methods in Abnormal Psychology – Flashcards

Research on psychological disorders occurs onmany levels from the cellular or neuroanatomical, to the individual or group levels, and to the population level. Applying all of these approaches to the study of a single disorder helps us form a comprehensive picture of the nature and course of a particular illness

At the cellular level, we can understand mental disorders as we study the brain from an evolutionary perspective, which involves moving from the brain stem (which controls fundamental biological functions) to the forebrain (where higher cognitive functions occur). New techniques at the cellular level include neuroimaging (taking pictures of the brain), studying the function and interrelation of neurotransmitters (chemicals that relay electrical signals between the cells), and molecular genetics (identifying genes that influence risk for psychological disorders).

Researchers have learned much about the genetics of psychological disorders over the past decade. Scientists use the family, twin, and adoption studies to study the role of genes in the development of psychological disorders indirectly. Candidate gene, genomewide linkage, and genomewide association studies are more direct techniques that allow for the actual identification of genetic regions or actual genes associated with a trait of disorder.

Case studies, which provide significant details about abnormal behavior or its treatment, allow us to study relatively rare psychological condition s and develop hypotheses for larger studies. Case studies do not, however, allow us to draw conclusions about causality. Single-case designs (ABAB and multiple baseline designs) are studies of individual people that lead to conclusions about causality. These studies do not, however, allow us to generalize the results to heterogeneous groups of people, and they do not address the impact of individual differences.

Correlational research tells us about the relationships between different variables, but it does not tell us about causality because variables that are highly correlated do not necessarily have a causal relationship with each other. One of the variables does not necessarily cause the other

The outcomes of a randomized clinical trial are influenced by how participants are selected, the study design's internal and external validity, and the types of measures used. Different types of clinical trials are designed to answer different questions. Efficacy research, for example, attempts to maximize internal validity and the ability to draw causal conclusions. Effectiveness research emphasizes external validity and increased applicability to real-world patients and settings

Epidemiology, the study of populations, permits a bird's eye view of the study of causes, course, and outcome of psychological disorders. THis type of research can tell us about the prevalence of disorders (the number of times the disorder apperars in the population) and their incidence (the number of new cases that emerge during a given period of time) as well as whether certain subsets of the population are more likely to suffer from the disorder.