Points: 90 maximum points Length of Paper: 3 pages
Your Role: Research Clinical Psychologist Grading Criteria: As Per WID Guidelines
Minimum Sources: Textbook
Due Date First Full Draft on Blackboard: Sunday, February 23 (11:59 p.m.) [late penalty applies (you lose 10% if you do not turn in a draft)]
Due Date Final Draft on Blackboard: Sunday, March 08 (11:59 p.m.) [late penalty applies]
Purpose:
To apply critical thinking to research with emphasis on the following concepts:
1. Apply models of abnormality
2. Correlation versus true experiment
3. Random assignment
4. Random sampling and generalizability
5. Independent versus dependent variables
Task:
Critically evaluate this research answering the following questions:
1. Which model(s) of abnormality does this study reflect? How might a researcher go about testing another model?
2. How was random assignment handled in this research? Why is random assignment critical in experimental research? How best could the researchers go about random assignment?
3. How generalizable is this study? Why is generalizability important in research in abnormal psychology?
4. What are the independent and dependent variables? What additional independent or dependent variables would you recommend?
5. Why is this study not correlational?
Abnormal Psychology WID Assignment II Page 2
Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Depression
A team of researchers wanted to determine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on depression. They contacted three mental health centers, one in Chicago, one in Boston, and one in Seattle. The mental health center in Chicago had 654 patients of whom 110 were diagnosed with major depression. The mental health center in Boston had 538 clients of whom 78 were diagnosed with major depression. The center in Seattle had 711 clients of whom 97 were diagnosed with major depression. Thus, there were a total of 285 clients among the three mental health centers who were diagnosed with major depression.
All participants were given the MMPI-2-RF and the Beck Depression Inventory. The researchers choose only those who scored at or below the 20th percentile on the Demoralization and Low Positive Emotion subscales of the MMPI-2-RF and at or below the 30th percentile on the Beck Depression Inventory.
In each city, the researchers put them into three groups: (1) fifteen (15) participants received an antidepressant only, (2) fifteen (15) received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) only, and (3) fifteen (15) received no treatment—they were on the waiting list to be seen by a therapist. Half way through the study, the mental health center in Chicago got a new director who chose to withdraw her center from the study. At the end of four months all the remaining participants were again given the MMPI-2-RF and the Beck Depression Inventory. The results showed that those who took the antidepressant only scored significantly lower on the Demoralization and Low Positive Emotion subscales of the MMPI-2-RF and scored lower on the Beck Depression Inventory. Those who received the CBT only scored significantly lower on the Demoralization and Low Positive Emotion subscales of the MMPI-2-RF and scored lower on the Beck Depression Inventory. In fact both groups improved similarly. The third group (on the waiting list) showed no improvement on their scores on the Demoralization and Low Positive Emotion subscales of the MMPI-2-RF and showed no improvement on the Beck Depression Inventory.
The researchers concluded that CBT was just as effective as antidepressant medication for anyone who has major depression.
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