Abnormal Psychology

Researching Abnormality 179

One way to study specific factors and also control for possible confounding

factors that might infl uence treatment results is to carry out an analogue study. An

analogue study is a type of research on treatment that is conducted under controlled

conditions in a laboratory setting, thereby minimizing confounds. It is called an ana-

logue study because the therapy is provided in a way that is analogous to the way

therapy is usually provided. For example, one analogue study on family therapy

sought to determine which method of questioning family members best facilitated

each member’s sense of alliance with the family therapist (Ryan & Carr, 2001). In this

study, participating family members watched four 5-minute video clips of simulated

family therapy sessions. In each clip, the therapist and family members remained the

same; the clips differed only in the way the therapist questioned the family. Partici-

pants were asked to rate their perceptions of the alliances between the family mem-

bers and the therapist in each of the four clips. Because the participants responded to

video clips of simulated therapy sessions rather than directly experiencing different

styles of asking questions (as would patients in actual family therapy sessions), the

researchers could control for factors other than the therapist’s style of questioning.

Is Therapy Better Than No Treatment?

Many kinds of treatments have been proposed for various disorders, but researchers

have questioned whether people actually improve more by receiving therapy than

they would have improved if they didn’t receive any treatment. To address this ques-

tion, researchers randomly assign participants to one of two groups: “treatment”

and “no treatment.” However, participants in the “no treatment” group are often

assigned to a waiting list for treatment (which is ethically preferable to not provid-

ing any treatment at all), and thus this group is often called a wait-list control group

(Kendall, Holmbeck, & Verduin, 2004, Lambert & Bergin, 1994). Researchers usu-

ally assess the dependent variable, such as level of symptoms, in both groups at the

beginning of the study, before treatment begins—this is their baseline assessment.

Then, researchers assess the same variables again after the treatment period (for the

wait-list control group, this means assessing symptom level after the same duration

of time as that over which the treatment group received treatment); this is called the

outcome assessment. Researchers then compare the results of the two groups, and

may also assess the variables at a later follow-up point, called a follow-up assessment

(see Figure 5.6).

Analogue study

Research in which treatment is provided

in a way that is analogous to the way it is

usually provided, but that is conducted under

controlled conditions in a laboratory setting,

thereby minimizing confounds.

5.6 • Comparing a Treatment Group to a Wait-List Control Group Participants are randomly

assigned to one of two groups, a treatment group and a wait-list control group (although a study could have

more than two groups). Generally, the dependent variables, such as intensity of symptoms, are assessed before

the treatment period begins, to obtain a baseline. After treatment ends (or after the equivalent number of weeks

for the wait-list control group), the dependent variables are again assessed (and may also be assessed later for

follow-up) and the data from the two groups are compared.

Figure 5.6

56 iiil

Treatment group

Wait-list control group

TIME

Baseline

assessment

Outcome

assessment

Follow-up

assessment

Participants

randomly

assigned

randomly

assigned