Chp.12

Question 0

Case studies are……

Answer 0

• Exploratory

* Sources of hypotheses and ideas

Question 1

An intensive description and analysis of a single individual is called what?

Answer 1

case study

Question 2

Without control, it is difficult to make what?

Answer 2

inferences about the relationships between variables.

Question 3

What are the advantages of a Case study?

Answer 3

• Sources of Ideas about Behavior
—Provides information about individuals and insights into possible causes of behavior
•Opportunity for Clinical Innovation
—–You can “try out” new therapeutic techniques or unique applications of existing techniques.
• Method to Study Rare Phenomena
——-Can study infrequent diseases and disorders.
•Challenge To Theoretical Assumptions
——Scientific theories can be challenged when the behavior of a single case contradicts principles or claims.
•Tentative Support for a Psychological Theory
——-The results of a case study can provide tentative support for a theory, but a case study is not enough for conclusive evidence that a theory is true.

Question 4

•________ ________ – involves large numbers of participants and seeks to determine the “average” or typical performance of a group.

Answer 4

Nomothetic approach

Question 5

________ ________ – the study of the individual, is important for clinical psychologists.

Answer 5

•Idiographic approach

Question 6

Disadvantages of a Case Study?

Answer 6

nDifficulty of Drawing Cause and Effect Conclusions
•Little or no control
•Several “treatments” may be applied simultaneously
nBias
•Observer bias and biases in data collection can lead to incorrect interpretations of the results
nProblem of Generalizing from a Single Individual
•Our ability to generalize the results of a case study (external validity) depends on the variability of the population the participant comes from.

Question 7

Explain the Single Subject

Answer 7

• Comes from experimental analysis of behavior developed by B.F. Skinner.
• He believed there was more to gain by carefully, continuously measuring the behavior of a single participant (or a small number of participants than by comparing different groups of people.
• The IV is manipulated, extraneous variables are systematically controlled, and the DV is measured.
• There can be multiple baselines and treatments examined.

Question 8

: Children pay more attention to violent cartoons than to cartoons that are not violent.

Answer 8

Sample hypothesis

Question 9

_______ ______ – multiple observations on the DV are 1st recorded without manipulation of the IV.

Answer 9

Baseline stage