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Imagine you are conducting a literature review to evaluate the effectiveness of a new cognitive behavioral therapy technique. Knowing that the psychological literature is affected by the file drawer problem, how should you apply this knowledge when interpreting the overall strength of the therapy's effects as reported in published journal articles?

Question: Imagine you are conducting a literature review to evaluate the effectiveness of a new cognitive behavioral therapy technique. Knowing that the psychological literature is affected by the file drawer problem, how should you apply this knowledge when interpreting the overall strength of the therapy's effects as reported in published journal articles?

Sample answer: When interpreting the published literature, I should assume that the reported strength of the therapy's effectiveness is likely artificially overstated relative to its true effect in the population. To get a more accurate estimate, I should actively search for unpublished null findings, replication attempts, or registered reports.

Key points:

  • Concludes that the therapy's effect size in published literature is likely overstated relative to the population.
  • Recognizes that non-significant studies of the therapy are probably missing from the review.
  • Proposes a method to locate unbiased data, such as searching for registered reports or null results.

Rubric: To receive full credit, the response must apply the concept of the file drawer problem by: 1) Stating that the reported effectiveness of the therapy in published articles should be interpreted as likely overstated or inflated compared to its actual population effect. 2) Suggesting a concrete step to counter this bias (such as looking for registered reports, replication studies, or sources documenting null/non-significant results).

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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