| ABAB design | An experimental research design that seeks to confirm a treatment effect by showing that behavior changes systematically with alternate conditions of no treatment (A) and treatment (B).
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| analogue experiment | An experimental situation that attempts to reproduce, under controlled conditions, the essential features of naturally occurring psychopathology or its treatment.
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| behavioral high-risk design | A research design in which high-risk subjects are selected on the basis of behavioral traits thought to be associated with the disorder in question.
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| case-control design | A research design in which cases, people diagnosed as having a mental disorder, are compared with controls, people who have not been diagnosed as having the disorder.
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| case study | A research design that focuses on a single individual for description and analysis.
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| clinical significance | A statistical effect that has practical value or importance.
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| clinical trials | Studies of the effectiveness of treatments, involving randomized comparisons between two or more forms of therapy.
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| clinicians | Therapists who work with people with mental health problems.
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| confounding | In a research study, a phenomenon that occurs when two or more causal factors are operating on the same thing simultaneously, interfering with accurate measurement of the causal role of either factor.
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| control | The ability to manipulate or change a phenomenon.
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| control group | Groups that do not receive the experimental treatment or manipulation.
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| control techniques | The three methods by which the independent variable in an experiment can be controlled: manipulating, holding conditions constant, and balancing.
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| correlation coefficient | A numerical measure of the linear relationship between two variables.
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| correlational research | Research studies that seek to find the relationships between subjects' characteristics and their performance. Such studies effectively meet two of the objectives of the scientific method—description and prediction—but the results of correlational studies should not be used to make causal inferences.
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| covariation of events | The first condition to be met before causality can be demonstrated: Two events must vary together; when one changes, the other must also change.
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| demand characteristics | A methodological problem in which a subject's response is strongly determined by the expectations of the subject or the researchers.
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| dependent variable | In a research study, the factor (in psychology, a particular behavior) that will be affected by the experimenter's manipulation of the independent variable, and whose changes the researcher wishes to measure.
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| description | (1) The first objective of the scientific method: the procedure by which events and their relationships are defined, classified, catalogued, or categorized. (2) The first goal of psychological assessment: the rendering of an accurate portrait of personality, cognitive functioning, mood, and behavior.
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| double-blind | A procedure in scientific research that seeks to minimize the influence of subjects' and experimenters' expectations. Both the subject and the experimenter are unaware of what treatment is being administered—that is, whether the subject is in the experimental group or the control group.
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| elimination of plausible alternative causes | The third condition to be met before causality can be demonstrated: The proposed causal relationship can be accepted only after other likely causes have been ruled out.
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| epidemiology | The study of the frequency and distribution of disorders within specific populations.
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| experimenter effects | A methodological problem in which researchers inadvertently influence the subject's responses or perceive the subjects' behavior in terms of their own biases.
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| external validity | The degree to which research results can be generalized, or applied, to different populations, settings, and conditions.
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| generalizability | The ability of research results to be applied to different populations, settings, and conditions.
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| genetic high-risk design | A research design in which high-risk subjects are selected on the basis of genetic factors associated with the disorder in question.
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| high-risk design | A form of longitudinal research that involves the study of people who have a high probability of developing a disorder.
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| hypothesis | A tentative explanation for behavior that attempts to answer the questions "How?" and "Why?" Scientific research often begins with a hypothesis.
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| incidence | The number of new cases of a disorder reported during a specific time period.
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| independent variable | In a research study, a factor that has been determined before the experiment and may be manipulated by the experimenters in order to measure its effect.
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| informed consent | An individual's agreeing to participate in a research study based on an understanding of the purpose, procedures, risks, and benefits of the study.
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| internal validity | The extent to which the results of an experiment can be confidently attributed to the effects of the independent variable.
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| longitudinal studies | Scientific research designs in which a group of subjects is studied several different times over an extended period of time. Also called prospective studies.
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| multiple-baseline design | An experimental research design in which treatment is introduced at different intervals across subjects, behaviors, or situations.
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| null hypothesis | The assumption that the independent variable had no effect on the differences between experimental groups.
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| operational definitions | The definitions of concepts involved in a hypothesis in terms of operations that can be observed and measured, so that the hypothesis can be tested.
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| placebo | An inert substance used in research, which may manifest some effects of the drug it has been substituted for.
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| prediction | (1) The second objective of the scientific method: the ability to predict the relationship between events. (2) The second goal of psychological assessment: the development of hypotheses about future behavior, treatment, and statistical likelihoods.
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| prevalence | The percentage of a population that has a particular disorder at a particular time.
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| prospective studies | Longitudinal studies in which the hypothesized predictors or causes of a phenomenon are measured or manipulated prior to the onset of the phenomenon.
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| random assignment | A balancing control technique that involves assigning subjects randomly to the different groups in an experiment.
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| random sample | A sample in which every element of a population has an equal likelihood of being included.
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| replicate | To repeat aspects of a research study with some changes in certain variables in order to show whether a previous study's results are found under similar circumstances.
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| representativeness | The degree to which a research sample's characteristics match those of the population under study.
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| single-case experiment | A research design that focuses on behavior change in one person but, unlike the case study, methodically varies the conditions surrounding the person's behavior and monitors the behavior under the changing conditions.
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| statistical inference | A technique used by researchers to try to determine whether differences between experimental groups are due to the independent variable. It begins by assuming the null hypothesis and then using probability theory to determine the likelihood of having obtained the experimental results if the independent variable had had no effect. If the likelihood is small, the result is judged to be statistically significant, and the independent variable is assumed to have had an effect.
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| third-variable problem | In scientific research, an alternative factor, not considered by the researchers, that may be causing the covariation of the two factors being investigated.
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| time-order relationship | The second condition to be met before causality can be demonstrated: the presumed cause must occur before the presumed effect.
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| understanding | The identification of the cause or causes of a phenomenon.
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