Case Study

Based on the principles of a multiple-baseline design across settings, what specific pattern of data across Week 3 and Week 4 would allow the researcher to comprehend that the positive attention treatment—and not an external confounding variable—is driving the change in reading behavior?

Case context: A researcher is studying the effects of positive attention on a child's free-time reading. Following a multiple-baseline design across settings, the researcher measures the child's reading time in two environments: at school and at home. After establishing steady baselines in both settings, the researcher introduces the positive attention treatment at school on Week 3. The treatment is not introduced at home until Week 5.

Question: Based on the principles of a multiple-baseline design across settings, what specific pattern of data across Week 3 and Week 4 would allow the researcher to comprehend that the positive attention treatment—and not an external confounding variable—is driving the change in reading behavior?

Sample answer: To comprehend that the treatment is effective, the researcher must see an increase in the child's reading behavior at school starting in Week 3, corresponding to the introduction of positive attention there. Simultaneously, the reading behavior at home must remain unchanged at its baseline level during Weeks 3 and 4. The staggered change demonstrates that the behavior is responding specifically to the treatment rather than to a general external factor like maturation or a broader environmental shift.

Key points:

  • Reading behavior at school must increase after the treatment is introduced in Week 3.
  • Reading behavior at home must remain at baseline levels during the delay (Weeks 3 and 4).
  • Changes must be specific to the setting where the treatment is currently active.
  • This staggered pattern rules out extraneous variables affecting both settings simultaneously.

Rubric: Award full credit if the student explains that the reading behavior should change in the school setting upon treatment introduction, while simultaneously remaining stable at baseline in the home setting during the delay period.

0

1

Updated 2026-05-27

Contributors are:

Who are from:

Tags

KPU

Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

Related