Smith, Glass, and Miller's 1980 Psychotherapy Effectiveness Study
In 1980, Mary Lee Smith, Gene Glass, and Thomas Miller published a comprehensive summary of hundreds of experiments that utilized random assignment to compare treatment and control conditions in psychotherapy. Their findings demonstrated that psychotherapy is generally highly effective, revealing that approximately of participants receiving treatment showed greater improvement than the average participant in a control group.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Smith, Glass, and Miller's 1980 Psychotherapy Effectiveness Study
What is the primary purpose of adding a control group to a pretest-posttest design?
To properly rule out threats to internal validity in a pretest-posttest design, the control group must be shielded from the external events and passage of time experienced by the treatment group.
A researcher is studying the effectiveness of a new therapy for depression using a pretest-posttest design with a control group. Match each internal validity threat to the specific way the inclusion of a control group helps rule it out in this scenario.
A researcher using a pretest-posttest design with a control group observes that the treatment group's scores improved. Arrange the logical steps the researcher must follow to analyze these results and isolate the unique effect of the treatment from alternative explanations like maturation or history.
In a pretest-posttest design, which of the following is experienced by the control group?
In a pretest-posttest control group design, each component of the control group's experience helps rule out a specific threat to internal validity. Match each action taken with the control group to the alternative explanation it is designed to address.
If a researcher observes that both the treatment group and the control group in a pretest-posttest design show identical levels of improvement, the researcher must evaluate the treatment as having _____ actual effect on the outcome.
A researcher tests a new memory training program using a pretest-posttest design with a control group. At the end of the study, both the treatment group and the control group show similar improvements in memory scores from pretest to posttest. Applying the logic of pretest-posttest control group designs, the researcher should conclude that the memory training program caused the improvement in the treatment group.
A researcher studying the effect of a study-skills workshop on exam performance uses a pretest-posttest design with a control group. After the intervention, exam scores improved for students in both the treatment group and the control group. Analyzing these results, the researcher would identify the control group's improvement as most likely reflecting a _____ threat to internal validity, because repeated exposure to similar exams—rather than the workshop itself—may account for the score gains.
A critic is evaluating whether a researcher's conclusion—that a 10-week mindfulness program caused a reduction in anxiety—is justified. The researcher used a pretest-posttest design with a control group. Arrange the following steps in the order the critic should follow to render this evaluative judgment.
List the six specific threats to internal validity that can be effectively ruled out by adding a control group to a pretest-posttest design. In addition, describe how the control group is treated in comparison to the treatment group.
Explain why comparing the pretest-to-posttest changes between the treatment group and the control group allows the researcher to comprehend and isolate the actual effect of the memory-training program from alternative explanations.
A school psychologist tests a new reading app. The treatment group (using the app) improves their reading speed by words per minute from pretest to posttest, while the control group (using standard books) also improves by words per minute. Apply your understanding of pretest-posttest control group designs to state the conclusion the psychologist should draw about the app's effectiveness and why.
Smith, Glass, and Miller's 1980 Psychotherapy Effectiveness Study
What did Hans Eysenck's 1952 study conclude was the likely reason for the observed improvements in both psychotherapy patients and untreated individuals?
In Eysenck's 1952 investigation of psychotherapy outcomes, the fact that treated patients showed measurable improvement after therapy was sufficient evidence to conclude that psychotherapy was effective.
A researcher wants to evaluate the effectiveness of a new 'Stress-Reduction Workshop' using the logical framework Hans Eysenck applied in his 1952 study. Arrange the following steps in the correct sequence to determine if the workshop truly causes improvement.
Hans Eysenck’s 1952 critique of psychotherapy effectiveness relied on a specific logical structure. Match each component of his analysis with its scientific role in his argument.
Imagine you are a clinical researcher tasked with generating a validation protocol for a new 'Anxiety-Reduction Seminar'. To ensure your design is resilient against the specific critique leveled by Hans Eysenck in his analysis of psychotherapy, which of the following research plans should you create to prove that the seminar—and not just the natural passage of time—is responsible for participant improvement?
Hans Eysenck's 1952 study on psychotherapy effectiveness is a classic example of an experiment in which the researcher randomly assigned new clinical patients to either a psychotherapy group or an untreated control group.
A researcher concludes that a new 'Stress-Reduction Workshop' is effective because 70% of participants improved after the session. According to the logic of Hans Eysenck's 1952 study, this conclusion is scientifically insufficient for evaluating efficacy because the study design fails to include a(n) _____.
A research team is investigating the efficacy of a new online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program. To apply the methodology and logic of Hans Eysenck's 1952 psychotherapy study, match each component of this new investigation to its corresponding methodological role or concept.
By comparing clinical outcomes to archival records of untreated patients and finding similar recovery rates, Eysenck demonstrated that the pretest-posttest designs used in the original clinical studies were flawed because they lacked a _____, making it impossible to rule out spontaneous remission as the cause of improvement.
To evaluate the validity of a clinical claim using the methodological critique established by Hans Eysenck in 1952, a researcher must logically order the steps of the evaluation process. Sequence the steps a researcher must follow to determine if a therapy's observed benefits are truly due to the treatment itself rather than natural recovery.
Describe the methodology and findings of Hans Eysenck's classic 1952 study on psychotherapy effectiveness. In your answer, recall the design of the original studies Eysenck evaluated, the source of the comparison data he used, and the primary conclusion he drew regarding patient improvement.
Analyze the researchers' claim using the logic and findings from Hans Eysenck's 1952 study on psychotherapy. Explain why the researchers cannot conclude that the app caused the reduction in anxiety, and identify the specific alternative explanation they must rule out.
Suppose you are designing an evaluation study for a new online stress-management workshop. Applying the key methodological lesson from Hans Eysenck's 1952 study, describe one specific control group you would implement and explain how it helps you determine if the workshop itself is actually causing the stress reduction.
Learn After
Smith, Glass, and Miller (1980) conducted a comprehensive summary of hundreds of experiments that used random assignment. What did their results suggest about the general effectiveness of psychotherapy?
Suppose you are applying the research methodology used by Smith, Glass, and Miller (1980) to evaluate the general effectiveness of a new psychological treatment. Arrange the following steps in the correct chronological order to follow their synthesis design.
Analyze the components of Smith, Glass, and Miller's 1980 landmark study by matching each methodological feature or finding to its specific scientific role in validating the effectiveness of psychotherapy.
It is a scientifically sound evaluation to conclude that Smith, Glass, and Miller's 1980 study provides a more robust demonstration of psychotherapy's general effectiveness than any single experiment could, given that their work was a comprehensive summary of hundreds of experiments utilizing random assignment.
According to Smith, Glass, and Miller's 1980 comprehensive summary of psychotherapy research, what specific design feature did the hundreds of evaluated experiments utilize to compare treatment and control conditions?
Smith, Glass, and Miller's 1980 conclusion about the high effectiveness of psychotherapy was based on conducting a single, newly designed experiment with a massive sample size.
In their landmark 1980 summary of hundreds of psychotherapy experiments, Smith, Glass, and Miller found that approximately _____% of participants who received psychotherapy showed greater improvement than the average participant in a control group.
Match each researcher's methodological goal in studying psychotherapy with the corresponding design decision or finding from the Smith, Glass, and Miller (1980) study.
An investigator analyzing the methodology of Smith, Glass, and Miller's (1980) study wants to determine if the findings are internally valid. They analyze the summary and note that the main conclusion—that psychotherapy is highly effective—was derived by reviewing hundreds of experiments that compared treatment and control groups using _____ assignment.
To evaluate the strength of evidence for psychotherapy's effectiveness in Smith, Glass, and Miller's (1980) study, a psychologist must systematically assess the study's design and findings. Order the steps of this evaluation from verifying initial study selection criteria to drawing a final conclusion.