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Multiple-Baseline Design
A single-subject research design developed to address the ethical and practical limitations of the reversal design. In a multiple-baseline design, baselines are established for multiple participants, behaviors, or settings, and the treatment is introduced at a different time for each. This design demonstrates the effect of a treatment without requiring its removal.
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Clinical Practice of Psychology
Psychology
Social Science
Empirical Science
Science
KPU
Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook
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Multiple-Baseline Design
What are the two potential problems associated with the removal of treatment in a reversal design?
A researcher is evaluating a new mnemonic device to help a student learn vocabulary. After the treatment phase, the student's memory performance remains high even during the withdrawal phase, failing to return to the original levels. True or False: In this scenario, the researcher can still definitively conclude that the mnemonic device was the cause of the improvement because the student's skills stayed better than they were at the start.
A researcher is evaluating a study where a successful behavior intervention was withdrawn, but the participant's behavior did not return to its original state. Arrange the steps in the logical order required to analyze why this specific outcome limits the study's conclusions.
True or False: A major limitation of the reversal design is that once a treatment is removed, the participant's behavior may not return to baseline levels, making it difficult to determine if the treatment was the actual cause of the change.
In a single-case experimental design that uses a reversal () design, a researcher observes that a participant's behavior does not return to baseline levels after the treatment is withdrawn. Why does this failure to return to baseline present a primary limitation for the study's conclusions?
In a reversal design, researchers transition from a treatment phase back to a baseline phase to establish that the treatment caused the observed change. Match each limitation of the reversal design with the research scenario that best illustrates it.
When a researcher chooses not to withdraw a successful treatment for self-injury in a reversal design because doing so would be unethical, the resulting causal evidence is considered _____, since the study can no longer rule out external factors as the cause of improvement.
Match each hypothetical single-subject research scenario with the specific limitation of the reversal design it demonstrates.
A researcher evaluates a social-skills intervention using a reversal design. After withdrawing the intervention, the participant's positive behavior remains high. Because the dependent variable does not return to baseline, the researcher cannot rule out alternative explanations (such as the participant making new friends), meaning this study suffers from a major threat to _____ validity.
A researcher is planning a single-subject study to test a new anxiety-reduction program. Order the steps the researcher should take to evaluate whether a reversal design is ethically and methodologically appropriate.
Describe the two primary limitations associated with the removal of treatment in a reversal design, as discussed in the context of single-subject research designs.
Based on the limitations of reversal designs, explain why the researcher should NOT withdraw the treatment in this scenario, and describe the methodological challenge they would face if they did withdraw the treatment but the patient's self-injurious behavior remained low.
A researcher implements a new reading intervention for a student using a reversal design. After the intervention is removed, the student's reading comprehension scores remain high. Apply the concepts of reversal design limitations to explain why this result prevents the researcher from claiming the intervention caused the improvement.
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Multiple-Baseline Design Across Participants
Multiple-Baseline Design Across Behaviors
Multiple-Baseline Design Across Settings
What is the primary defining characteristic of a multiple-baseline design in single-subject research?
Observe the provided graph of a multiple-baseline design. Arrange the following implementation steps in the correct order to reflect how this design demonstrates that a treatment is responsible for behavioral changes.
A researcher is designing a single-subject study to evaluate a new intervention while avoiding the ethical issues associated with withdrawing a treatment. Match each research scenario to the specific type of multiple-baseline design it represents.
In a multiple-baseline design, if a researcher observes that behavior across all participants improves at the exact same moment the treatment is introduced to only the first participant, this outcome provides strong evidence that the treatment is the cause of the change.
Match each variation of the multiple-baseline design to the focus of its baseline measurements.
In a multiple-baseline design, what is the interpretive purpose of staggering the introduction of the treatment across participants, as shown in the provided graph?
A colleague critiques a study on social skills training by suggesting that participants' improvement was simply due to maturation—becoming more comfortable with the observer over time. To rebut this, the researcher points out that the third participant's behavior remained at baseline levels for several weeks until the treatment was finally introduced, even though the other participants had already received it. The ability to rule out threats to internal validity like maturation by staggering the timing of treatment introduction is the core evaluative strength of the _____.
A school psychologist wants to evaluate a self-quieting intervention for a student. They establish baseline measurements of the student's disruptive behavior in three different settings: the classroom, the playground, and the cafeteria. They then introduce the intervention in all three settings simultaneously. True or False: This procedure represents a multiple-baseline design.
A researcher is studying the effects of a token economy on a child's social skills. Because they are concerned that withdrawing the token economy might cause the child's improved behavior to deteriorate, they analyze the limitations of a reversal design and decide to use a multiple-baseline design instead. By selecting the multiple-baseline design, the researcher demonstrates the effect of the treatment without requiring its _____.
A researcher plans to evaluate a reading intervention across three participants using a multiple-baseline design. Order the following steps to describe the correct sequence of implementing the design to evaluate the treatment's effectiveness without removing it.
Describe the multiple-baseline design in single-subject research. In your concise analytical response, explain why this design was developed and outline the three primary ways baselines can be established according to this method.
Based on the provided scenario, decide how the psychologist should implement the intervention to demonstrate its effect without requiring its removal. Justify your decision using the principles of the multiple-baseline design.
A researcher wants to test a new classroom management strategy to reduce disruptive behavior, increase on-task behavior, and improve peer sharing in a specific student. If the researcher wants to avoid withdrawing the strategy once it is implemented, how should they apply a multiple-baseline design to evaluate this single student? Provide a brief one- to three-sentence answer.