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Homework answers / question archive / Read each hypothetical study and then try to critique each study by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the research design
Read each hypothetical study and then try to critique each study by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the research design. Answers should be two paragraphs long site sources in apa with in text citations
1. A teenager with severe obsessions (unwanted thoughts) and compulsions (uncontrolled, ritualistic behaviors) tried to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head. He survived the shooting and discovered that all his obsessions and compulsions were gone. A psychologist did in-depth interviews with this person and linked the area of brain damage from the shooting with obsessions and compulsions.
2. Ninety adults with chronic abdominal pain keep records on the frequency and intensity of their pains. Family members are interviewed concerning their experiences of illness, family conflict, and behaviors that encourage expression of pain. It is discovered that subjects with highest frequency and intensity of pain reports have families in which illness is common and family members engage in behaviors that encourage pain expression.
3. Thirty phobic and thirty non-phobic individuals are shown slides of either fear inducing scenes or non-fear inducing scenes. Measures of brain functioning (PET scan and electroencephalogram) show higher levels of arousal in phobics, but only when they observe the fear inducing slides.
Study 1
With the teenager going to a point of thinking that nothing matters in life and therefore suicide is a solution, this is a red flag for a mental disorder. Here, it is seen that the teenager has two characteristics of the mental disorders- severe obsessions, as well as compulsions. These are likely to bring about unwanted thoughts and weird behaviors (that are only justifiable for the individual) which can lead to suicide. Therefore the study’s strength lies in the explanation of these characteristics.
Upon trying to take his life, the sudden realization that he doesn’t want to die must have been the cause of his obsessions and compulsions to live. Therefore, I do not agree with the psychiatrist’s perspective that the damage made by his suicide attempt caused these symptoms to disappear. A lot of mental health patients achieve self-realization following the occurrence of a near-death incident (Costanza, 2020); hence the weakness and critic of this study.
Study 2
Chronic abdominal pain is one that exists for more than 6 months and it occurs with minimal or no evidence of a particular physical disorder. In addition to this, the pain has no relation to body functions. A key strength of this study is the large sample size (90 adults) hence making results more realistic. In addition to this, the study involves measuring two crucial parameters- frequency and intensity of pains.
Upon interviewing family members, it would be important to include a control group- who do not experience the pain- and match their family conditions with the other individuals who experience pain. Based on the results of this study, one can make a conclusion that the pain is hereditary and it is also highly linked to specific behaviors around family members and other close individuals.
Study 3
This study has very strong implications as there are parameters and treatments involved to specifically test the hypothesis. In this case, I think the strength of the hypothetic study is that it has employed controls (the non-phobic and the non-fear inducing scenes) and all the participants were exposed to similar conditions. This way, it keeps the results tidy and sincere.
In addition to this, the study has involved parameters linked to the main aim- levels of arousal. This ensures that the data collected tends to have definitive implications of the hypothesis. However, in order to give more details on the study, the research should have included more parameters. This way, it would be possible to give more explanations even for the controls.
