Design an experiment. Consider your resources (i.e. time, money, research assistants) unlimited. Your experiment should identify a group of individuals with a common behavioral problem or at risk for a problem. Your IV may be an experimental variable (i.e. a course of treatment; method of education) or your IV may be a subject variable (i.e., those who live on campus vs. those who live off campus; the difference between men and women). Remember, the goal of your research is to describe, explain, predict or control behavior. Explain all methods. Use ONLY operational definitions. Remember the purpose of the Methods section is to give the reader enough information to accurately replicate your study without giving excessive, nonessential detail regarding your design. You may use a maximum of 2 references in this section, and a minimum of zero.
I want the methods section to be based on Asian College Students and Depression. I would prefer to have the therapies to be individual therapy, Group therapy, and family therapy. It needs to be in APA format!
Conversion disorder is a psychiatric condition in which psychological stress manifests as some physical dysfunction. For example, stress associated with divorce proceedings might result in development of headaches, dermatological problems, breathing difficulties, and the like. In extreme cases, conversion disorder can result in abnormal movements, paralysis, or non-epileptic seizures. Poole, Wuerz and Agrawal (2010) recently reported that conversion disorder most frequently occurs in women, with a mean age of onset of approximately 29 years. One interesting feature of conversion disorder is that, in some cases, the effects of one individual can induce stress in other individuals, resulting in symptom manifestation in numerous people within an intimate population such as a school, workplace, or military squad (For review see: Bartholomew & Sirois, 2000). The phenomenon of multiple related cases of conversion disorder, once referred to as epidemic hysteria, is more commonly now referred to as mass psychogenic illness (MPI).
A variety of treatments for conversion disorder have been reported ranging from hypnosis (Moene, Spinhoven, Hoogduin & van Dyck, 2002) to drug therapy (Stevens, 1990). Moene and colleagues (2002) note that behavior therapy with operant conditioning may be successful in reducing symptoms in conversion disorder patients. It is reasonable to assume that such behavior therapy could be effectively administered in a group of patients. Furthermore, given the nature of social cue influences on this disorder, as seen with MPI, successful treatment of one or more individuals in a group setting could have residual positive effects on others within the group.
It is well established that positive behaviors can be shaped through modeling in a therapeutic setting. Researchers have shown, for example, that phobic behaviors can be reduced when one phobic individual watches another phobic individual (or a confederate acting as a phobic individual) calmly engaging in the fear provoking behavior (e.g. Geer & Turteltaub, 1967). Furthermore, it is possible for a single individual to evoke modeling behavior among a group, particularly when the behavior being exhibited is viewed positively by the members of that group (Peterson, Kaasa & Loftus, 2008).
With all of this information considered, the present study was designed to determine if individuals exhibiting effects of MPI would respond positively to behavior therapy in a group setting. It was further hypothesized that using a confederate, acting as a patient within the group, could enhance positive effects of therapy if that confederate reported positive influences of the therapy that could then be modeled by other members of the group. To test this hypothesis, a group of women, all diagnosed with chronic conversion disorder manifesting in abnormal movements and facial tics, were assigned to one of three groups. The first group received behavior therapy in a group setting that included a confederate actor who appeared to show significant improvement over a 3 week period. The second group received behavior therapy in a group setting that included a confederate actor who appeared to show improvement consistent with the other group members over a 3 week period. The third group acted as a control group, and received no treatment. Success of the treatment was determined by comparing posttest scores of tic frequency to pretest scores. Patients were also surveyed to measure their subjective sense of well-being following the completion of the study.
Method
Participants
Twenty one females ranging in age from 18 to 32 (mean age = 27.8) were referred by psychologists in the western New York state region. All participants had received a clinical diagnosis of conversion disorder, with symptoms manifesting as facial tics and abnormal limb movements. All participants had been diagnosed within the previous 12 months, with the most recent diagnosis being 2 months prior to the study (mean time of diagnosis = 7.1 months prior to study). None of the participants reported taking any prescription medication to treat their symptoms when interviewed for the present study.
Apparatus
A wearable device with an embedded three-axial accelerometer as described by Bernabei and colleagues (Bernabei, Preatoni, Mendez, Piccini, Porta M & Andreoni, 2010) was used to measure frequency and amplitude of tics.
Procedure
All participants were assessed for baseline tic severity during a two week period prior to the beginning of the experiment. Baseline data were collected over a 60 minute period in the research laboratory where participants were affixed with the accelerometer device and then asked to view television programming of their choice while relaxed in a chair. Baseline data were collected three times each week (Mon, Wed, Fri, or Tue, Thu, Sat) between 12:00 and 17:00. A mean baseline score was generated for each participant from the six data points collected.
After the baseline data collection period, participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Participants assigned to the confederate accelerated recovery (CAR) group (n=7) and the confederate normal recovery (CNR) group (n=7), met as separate groups for one hour per day, for two days each week (Mon & Wed), over a period of 4 months. Group therapy sessions followed standard cognitive behavior therapy procedures for treating anxiety related disorders (see O’Donohue & Fisher 2008, for a review of basic methods). Both groups were treated by the same therapist who was clinically trained and licensed to administer this form of treatment. Both groups also included a research assistant acting as a confederate and posing as a conversion disorder patient. The research assistant was trained in mimicking tic movements, and was instructed to initially display such movements at a rate equal to the mean baseline frequency for the group in which they were participating.
For the CAR group, the research assistant showed progressive improvement (a reduction in tic frequency) at a rate of 10% reduction from the previous week, for each week of the study, culminating in a total decrease of 80% from baseline at the conclusion of the experimental period. In this treatment condition, the research assistant also made one comment to the group each week indicating a sense of symptom reduction.
For the CNR group, the research assistant showed progressive improvement approximately equal to the improvement of the group, as determined by visual observations made by the research assistant and the therapist. In this treatment condition, the research assistant made no comments regarding a change in symptoms.
The remaining participants (n=7) acted as wait-list controls. This group received no formal treatment for the duration of the experiment.
The week following the conclusion of the four month experimental period, all participants were tested three times in a manner similar to that used for baseline data collection. In addition, participants were asked to respond to a 7 point Likert-type question regarding how much they felt their symptoms had improved over the 4 month experimental period with a score of 1 indicating “not at all” and a score of 7 indicating “complete remission”.
