To avoid misconceptions and error, we must adopt a scientific approach to the study of abnormal behavior. This requires a focus on research and research methods, including an appreciation of the distinction between what is observable and what is hypothetical or inferred.To produce valid results, research must be done on people who are truly representative of the diagnostic groups to which they belong. Research in abnormal psychology may be observational or experimental.

Observational research studies things as they are. Experimental research involves manipulating one variable (the independent variable) and seeing what effect this has on another variable (the dependant variable).Mere correlation between variables does not enable us to conclude that there is a casual relationship between them. Simply put, correlation does not equal causation.

Although most experiments involve studies of groups, single-case experimental designs (e.g. ABAB designs) can also be used to make causal inferences in individual cases. Analogue studies (e.g. animal research) are studies that provide an approximation to the human disorder of interest. Although generalizability can be a problem, animal research in particular has been very informative.

Chapter 1 Definitions

ABAB design (p12): An experimental design, often involving a single subject, wherein a baseline period (A) is followed by a treatment (B). To confirm that the treatment resulted in a change in behavior, the treatment is then withdrawn (A) and reinstated (B).

Abnormal behavior (p11): Maladaptive behavior detrimental to an individual and or a group.

Acute (p.15): Term use to describe a disorder of sudden onset, usually with intense symptoms.

Analogue studies (p.23): Studies in which a researcher attempts to emulate the conditions hypothesized as leading to abnormality.

Case study (p.16): An in-depth examination of an individual or family that draws from a number of data sources, including interviews and psychological testing.

Chronic (p.15): Term used to describe a long standing or frequently recurring disorder, often with progressing seriousness.

Comorbidity (p14): is the term used to describe the presence of two or more disorders in the same person.

Comparison or control group (p.19): Group of subjects who do not exhibit the disorders being studied but who are comparable in all other aspects to the criterion group. Also, a comparison group of subjects who do not receive a condition or treatment the effects of which are being studied.

Criterion group (p.19): Group of subjects who exhibit the disorder under study.

Dependent variable (P. 20): In an experiment, the factor that is observed to change with changes in the manipulated (independent) variables.

Direct observation (P. 16): Method of collecting research data that involves directly observing behavior in a given situation.

Double-blind study (P. 4): Often use in studies examining drug treatment effects, a condition where neither the subject nor the experimenter has knowledge about what specific experimental condition (or drug) the subject is receiving.

epidemiology (P. 12): Study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health realted behaviors in a given population. Mental health epidemiology is the study of the distribution of mental disorders.

experimental research (P. 21): research that involves the manipulation of a given factor or variable with everything else held constant.

family aggregation (P. 3): The clustering of certain traits, behaviors, or disorders within a given family. Family aggregation may arise because of genetic or environmental similarities.

incidence (P. 13): Occurrence (onset) rate of a given disorder in a given population.

independent variable (P. 20): Factor whose effect are being examined and which is manipulated in some way while other variables are held constant.

labeling (P. 8): Assigning a person to a particular diagnostic category such as schizophrenia.

lifetime prevalence (P. 13): The proportion of living persons in a population who have ever had a disorder up to the time of the epidemiological assessment.

negative correlation (P. 20): A relationship between two variables such that a high score on one variable is associated with a low score on another variable.

nomenclature (P. 6): a formulized naming system.

observational research (P. 19): In contrast to experimental research (which involves manipulating variables in some way and seeing what happens), in observational research the researcher simply observes or assesses the characteristics of different groups, leaning about them without manipulating the conditions to which they are exposed. Sometimes called correlational research, although the former is the preferred term.

One-year prevalence (P. 12): the number of cases of a specific condition or disorder that are documented in a population within a one-year period.

placebo (P. 4): an inert pill or otherwise neutral intervention that produces desirable therapeutic effects because of the subject’s expectations that it will be beneficial.

point prevalence (P. 12): the number of cases of a specific condition or disorder that can be found in a population at one given point in time.

positive correlation (P. 20): A relationship between two variables such that a high score on one variable is associated with a high score on another variable.

prevalence (P. 12): In a population, the proportion of active cases of a disorder that can be identified at a given point in, or during a given period of, time.

prospective research strategy (P. 20): Method that often focuses on individuals who have a higher-than-average likelihood of becoming psychologically disordered before abnormal behavior is observed.

retrospective strategy (P. 20): Method of trying to uncover the probable causes of abnormal behavior by looking backward from the present.

sampling (P. 18): The process of selecting a representative subgroup from a defined population of interest.

self-report data (P. 16): Data collected directly from participants, typcially by means of interviews or questionnaires.

Single case research design (P. 21): An experimental research design (e.g. an ABAB design) that involves only one subject.

stereotyping (P. 8): The tendency to jump to conclusions (often negative) about what a person is like based on beliefs about that group that exist (often incorrectly) in the culture (e.g., French people are rude, homosexuals have good taste in clothes, mental patients are dangerous, etc)

stigma (P. 8): Negative labeling.

symptom (P. 9): Patient’s subjective description of a physical or mental disorder.

syndrome (P. 9): Group or pattern of symptoms that occur together in a disorder.