Learn Before
Case Study

Explain why the therapist's plan is not an appropriate application of the alternating treatments design, focusing on the characteristics of the treatments and how they interact with the design's requirements.

Case context: A therapist wants to compare two therapeutic interventions for a child's task-refusal behavior. Therapy A is a cognitive restructuring technique that takes about four weeks of daily training before any behavioral change can be measured. Therapy B is a direct reinforcement system that provides immediate feedback and rewards on a session-by-session basis. The therapist plans to use an alternating treatments design, switching between Therapy A and Therapy B from session to session.

Question: Explain why the therapist's plan is not an appropriate application of the alternating treatments design, focusing on the characteristics of the treatments and how they interact with the design's requirements.

Sample answer: The therapist's plan is inappropriate because the alternating treatments design requires that the interventions being compared are fast-acting. Therapy A is slow-acting and takes four weeks to show any changes in behavior. If Therapy A and Therapy B are rapidly alternated session to session, the delayed effects of Therapy A will overlap with the immediate effects of Therapy B, making it impossible to accurately compare their individual effectiveness.

Key points:

  • The design requires compared treatments to be fast-acting.
  • Therapy A is slow-acting and requires four weeks to produce measurable change.
  • Therapy B is fast-acting with immediate feedback.
  • Rapid alternation will lead to overlapping treatment effects, violating the design's requirements.

Rubric: Grading criteria: 1. Explains that the alternating treatments design is only effective with fast-acting treatments. 2. Identifies Therapy A as slow-acting and Therapy B as fast-acting. 3. Explains that alternating them rapidly would cause overlapping or carryover effects, preventing a clear comparison of the two interventions.

0

1

Updated 2026-05-26

Contributors are:

Who are from:

Tags

KPU

Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

Related