Abnormal Psychology

S

uppose you are a psychologist at a college counseling

center. A student, Carlos, comes to the center because

he’s been depressed since his girlfriend, Liana, ended

their relationship 5 weeks ago. Liana’s rejection was a bolt

out of the blue, as far as Carlos is concerned. He feels aban-

doned and alone. He has been spiraling downward since the

breakup, feeling irritable and sad, sleeping a lot, and without

appetite. He was just fi red from his on-campus job because

of his poor attitude. He doesn’t care much about his classes

or schoolwork. During your sessions with Carlos, he seems

preoccupied with his relationship with Liana and worries

that no other woman will ever love him.

Carlos is not the only student on campus to have this type of

problem. You’ve noticed that a surprising number of students seek-

ing help at the counseling center are depressed and have recently

broken up with a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Like Carlos, these stu-

dents frequently report feeling hurt, rejected, and unlovable. Some

even think about suicide.

You wonder, though, whether the depression that many of these

students are experiencing is a result specifi cally of their breakups.

Perhaps they were depressed before the breakup—and that contributed

to the failure of the relationship. In Carlos’s case, perhaps his depres-

sion started earlier (although he hadn’t realized it), and Liana got

sick of his being down in the dumps. On the other hand, maybe a lot

of the students would not have become depressed if their relation-

ships had not ended.

How could you determine whether the students are depressed

because their relationships ended, or whether their relationships

ended because they were depressed (and this soured their relation-

ships)? In this chapter, we explore specifi c methods that psychologists

use to study psychopathology and its treatment, the challenges

associated with the use of the different research methods, and the

ways in which researchers address those challenges.

Using the Scientifi c Method to

Understand Abnormality

Perhaps your observations about depression and relationship break-

ups are based simply on a coincidence: People—particularly young

people—are frequently beginning and ending relationships, and

Chapter Outline

Using the Scientifi c Method to

Understand Abnormality

The Scientifi c Method

Types of Scientifi c Research

Ethical Guidelines for Research

Research Challenges in Understanding

Abnormality

Challenges in Researching Neurological

Factors

Challenges in Researching Psychological

Factors

Challenges in Researching Social Factors

Researching Treatment

Researching Treatments That Target

Neurological Factors

Researching Treatments That Target

Psychological Factors

Researching Treatments That Target

Social Factors

Feedback Loops in Action: The Placebo

Effect

153

Researching Abnormality

CHAPTER

5

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