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40 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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adoptees method
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Research method that studies children who were adopted and reared completely apart from their abnormal parents, thereby eliminating the influence of being raised by disordered parents.
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analogue experiment
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An experimental study of a phenomenon different from but related to the actual interests of the investigator; for example, animal research used to study human disorders, or research on mild symptoms used as a bridge to clinical disorders.
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case study
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The collection of historical or biographical information on a single individual, often including experiences in therapy.
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clinical significance
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The degree to which effect size is large enough to be meaningful in predicting or treating a clinical disorder.
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concordance
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As applied in behavior genetics, the similarity in psychiatric diagnosis or in other traits within a pair of twins.
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control group
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Those for whom the active condition of the independent variable is not administered, thus forming a baseline against which the effects of the active condition of the independent variable can be evaluated.
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correlation
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The tendency for two variables, such as height and weight, to covary.
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correlation coefficient
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A statistic ranging in value from -1.00 to +1.00 that measures the degree to which two variables are related. The sign indicates whether the relationship is positive or negative, and the magnitude indicates the strength of the relationship.
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correlational method
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The research strategy used to establish whether two or more varibales are related without manipulating the independent variable. Relationships may be positive - as values for one variable increase, those for the other do also - or negative - as values for one variable increase, those for the other decrease.
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cross-fostering
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Research method that studies offspring who were adopted and reared completely apart from their biological parents, where the adoptive parent has a particular disorder but the biological parent does not, thereby introducing the influence of being raised by disordered parents.
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cross-sectional design
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Studies in which different age groups are compared at the same time
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dependent variable
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In a psychological experiment, the behavior that is measured and is expected to change with manipulation of the independent variable.
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directionality problem
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A difficulty that arises in the correlational method of research when it is known that two variables are related but it is unclear which is causing the other.
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dizygotic (DZ) twins
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Birth partners who developed from seperate fertilized eggs and who are only 50% alike genetically, just as siblings born from different pregnancies involving the same father; also called fraternal twins.
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double-blind procedure
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A method for reducing the biasing effects of the expectations of research participant and experimenter; neither is allowed to know whether the independent variable of the experiment is being applied to the participant.
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epidemiology
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The study of the frequency and distribution of illness in a population
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experiment
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The most powerful research technique for determining causal relationships; involves the manipulation of an independent varibale, the measurement of a dependent variable, and the random assignment of participants to the several different conditions being investigated.
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experimental effect
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A statistically significant difference between two groups experiencing different manipulations of the independent variable.
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external validity
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The extent to which the results of a study can be considered generalizable.
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family method
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A research strategy in behavior genetics in which the frequency of a trait or of abnormal behavior is determined in relatives who have varying percentages of shared genetic background.
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high-risk method
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A research technique involving the intensive examination of people, such as the offspring of people with schizophrenia, who have a high probability of later becoming abnormal.
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hypothesis
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Specific expectations or predictions about what should occur or be found if a theory is true or valid.
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incidence
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In epidemiological studies of a particular disorder, the rate at which new cases occur in a given place at a given time.
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independent variable
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In a psychological experiment, the factor, experience, or treatment that is under the control of the experimenter and that is expected to have an effect of participants as assessed by changes in the dependent variable.
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index case (proband)
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The person who in a genetic investigation bears the diagnosis or trait in which the investigator is interested.
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internal validity
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The extent to which results can be confidently attributed to the manipulation of the indepedent variable.
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longitudinal design
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Investigation that collects information on the same individuals repeatedly over time, perhaps over many years, in an effort to determine how phenomena change.
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meta-analysis
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A quantitative method of analyzing the results of a set of studies on a topic, by standardizing the results.
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monozygotic (MZ) twins
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Genetically identical twins who have developed from a single fertilized egg.
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placebo
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Any inactive therapy or chemical agent, or any attribute or component of such a therapy or chemical, that affects a peron's behavior for reason's related to his or her expectation of change.
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placebo effect
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The action of a drug or psychological treatment that is not attributable to any specific operations of the agent. For example, a tranquilizer can reduce anxiety both because of its special biochemical action and because the recipient expects relief.
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prevalence
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In epidemiological studies of a disorder, the percentage of a population that has the disorder at a given time.
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random assignment
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A method of assigning people to groups by chance (e.g. using the flip of a coin) The procedure helps to ensure that groups are comparable before the experiment manipulation begins.
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reversal (ABAB) designs
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An experimental design in which behavior is measured during a baseline period (a), during a period when a treatment is introducted (b), during the reinstatement of the conditions that prevailed in the baseline period (a), and finally during a reintroduction of the treatment (b); commonly used in operant research to isolate cause-effect relationships.
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risk factor
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A condition or variable that inreases the likelihood of developing a disorder.
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single-subject experimental design
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A design for an experiment conducted with a single subject. Typically, behavior is measured within a baseline condition, then during an experimental or treatment condition, and finally within the baseline condition again.
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statistical significance
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A result that has a low probability of having occurred by chance alone and is by convention regarded as important.
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theory
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A formally stated and coherent set of propositions that explain and logically order and range of phenomena, generating testable predictions or hypotheses.
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third-variable problem
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The difficulty in the correlational method of research whereby the relationship between two variables may be attributable to a third factor.
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twin method
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Research strategy in behavior genetics in which concordance rates of monozygotic and dizygotic twins are compared.
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