abnormal psych ch 02

A general understanding of the nature, causes, and treatments of abnormal functioning, in the form of laws or principles that apply across people.

The process of systematically gathering and evaluating information, through careful observations, to understand a phenomenon.

A hunch or prediction that certain variables are related in certain ways.

A detailed account of a person’s life and psychological problems.

The accuracy with which a study can pinpoint one factor as the cause of a phenomenon.

The degree to which the results of a study may be generalized beyond that study.

The degree to which events or characteristics vary along with each other.

A research procedure used to determine how much events or characteristics vary along with each other.

A research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the effect of that manipulation on another variable is observed.

The variable in an experiment that is manipulated to determine whether it has an effect on another variable.

The variable in an experiment that is expected to change as the independent variable is manipulated.

In an experiment, a variable other than the independent variable that is also acting on the dependent variable.

In an experiment, a group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable.

In an experiment, the participants who are exposed to the independent variable under investigation.

A selection procedure in an experiment that ensures that participants are randomly placed either in the control group or in the experimental group.

A feature of an experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or the control condition. Previously called blind design.

A pretend treatment that the participant in an experiment believes to be genuine.

A research design that fails to include key elements of a “pure” experiment and/or intermixes elements of both experimental and correlational studies.

A research design that matches the experimental participants with control participants who are similar on key characteristics.

An experiment in which nature, rather than an experimenter, manipulates an independent variable.

an experimental design in which the procedures or participants used are similar but not identical to the situation of interest.

A research method in which a single participant is observed and measured both before and after the manipulation of an independent variable. Also called single-subject experimental design.

A study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time.

A study that measures the incidence and prevalence of a problem, such as a disorder, in a given population.

The number of new cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time.

The total number of cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time.

An ethics committee in a research facility that is empowered to protect the rights and safety of human research participants.