Essay

Based on the provided text, recall and explain why the removal of the treatment is considered essential in a reversal design. In your answer, describe the limitation of a simple AB design that this removal addresses, and state the critical condition regarding the treatment's effects that must be met for a reversal design to be valid.

Question: Based on the provided text, recall and explain why the removal of the treatment is considered essential in a reversal design. In your answer, describe the limitation of a simple AB design that this removal addresses, and state the critical condition regarding the treatment's effects that must be met for a reversal design to be valid.

Sample answer: In a reversal design, removing the treatment is essential to demonstrate causality and establish internal validity. While a simple AB design cannot easily rule out the possibility that an extraneous variable caused the change in the dependent variable, withdrawing the treatment addresses this. If the dependent variable reverts to its original baseline state when the treatment is removed, it strongly indicates that the treatment (and not an extraneous variable) caused the effect. However, this design is only valid if the treatment's effects are not permanent; if they are permanent, the behavior will not revert, and causality cannot be demonstrated via reversal.

Key points:

  • Removal of the treatment is essential for demonstrating causality in a reversal design.
  • A simple AB design cannot easily rule out extraneous variables causing changes in the dependent variable.
  • Reversion of the dependent variable upon treatment removal indicates that the treatment caused the effect, improving internal validity.
  • The reversal design assumes and requires that the treatment's effects are not permanent.

Rubric: To earn full credit, the response must: 1) Identify that removing the treatment is essential to demonstrate causality and internal validity; 2) Explain that a simple AB design cannot rule out extraneous variables; 3) Explain that a reversion to baseline upon treatment removal indicates the treatment caused the effect; and 4) State that the treatment's effects must not be permanent for the design to work.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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