BETHEL
COLLEGE
Department of Psychology
Fall, 2006
Abnormal Psychology Laboratory
Lab Overview
We shall be focusing on the scientific method as it
applies to the study of abnormal psychology. Our lab time shall
consist of lecture/discussion related to the principles and mechanics
of the method, as well as experiencing firsthand its workings through
the use of some current as well as classic assessment devices and
technology within both experimental and quasi-experimental designs.
Required Books and Readings
Seligman, M.E.P, Walker, E. F.., & Rosenhan, D.L. (2001) Abnormal
psychology. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
Other articles or books may be placed on
Reserve from time to time.
Recommended Texts
American Psychiatric Association. (2000) Quick reference to the
diagnostic criteria from DSM-IV-TR. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychiatric Association Press.
deVries, M. (Editor). (1992). The experience of
psychopathology: Investigating mental disorders in their natural
settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Leong, F.T.L., & Austin, J.T. (1996). The psychology of
research handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Rosenthal, R., and Rosnow, R.L. (1991). Essentials of behavioral
research: Methods and data analysis. New York:
Mcgraw-Hill Inc.
Yaremko, R.M. et al. (1986). Handbook of research
and quantitative methods in psychology: For
students and professionals. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Most of these books are available on Reserve in the
library (Psy 481, 482: Psychology Seminar); some copies have also been
placed in the Psychology Department reading and work areas.
Students wanting additional clarification and/or amplification of
lecture/discussion topics should consult the appropriate sections in
these references.
Exercises
These will consist of the collective devising and
implementation of studies utilizing the individual creation of
observation schedules, questionnaires and interviews; the
administration of the Rorschach Inkblot Test or the Draw a Person Test
(DAP), as well as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(M.M.P.I.-2); the statistical analysis and interpretation of these new
and already collected data; your written reactions to, as well as
summaries, evaluations, critiques and discussions of the significance
and implications of such data protocols; and finally, a fully A.P.A.
formatted experimental report of one of the lab experiments.
Other possibilities include computer exercises; experience in operating
a camcorder, producing a videotape of a conversation of two persons
with schizophrenia, and analyzing that videotape; collecting
psycho-physiological and interpretive data on persons with mental
disorders, analyzing that data; and so on.
Class Itinerary
8/29- Basics of
the Scientific Method and
9/12
Research in Abnormal Psychology;
(SWR, chap 2;
DSM; Sel's from R & R and L & A)
9/19- Objective
Testing; The MMPI. and MMPI-2
9/26
Brainstorming and data collection: Study #1 (Reserve Readings)
10/3 Study #1
data analysis and postmortem
10/10*
Projective Testing; The Rorschach and the DAP
Brainstorming and data
collection: Study #2 (Reserve Readings)
10/17 FALL
BREAK
10/24
Projective Testing (Continued); The Rorschach and the DAP
Brainstorming and data
collection: Study #2 (Reserve Readings)
10/31 Study #2
data analysis and postmortem
11/7-*
Contemporary Approaches
11/28 to Psychopathological
Research
(Selections
from Reserve Readings)
12/4* Lab Final
Exam
A.P.A. Formatted lab report due.
* Lab exercises due.
Evaluation
1. You must pass (75% and above) an objective/short-answer
scientific method competency test. You may take the test as many
as three times (or more, in some hapless cases) in order to pass
it. You must sign-up to take it the week of 9/26, and each week
thereafter until you pass it. You should see your instructor to
schedule a time. Your grade on this exam does not count toward
the final lab grade.
2. Class attendance, discussion, doing various miscellaneous
exercises, upholding one's responsible role in carrying out various lab
assignments, etc., worth 15% of your grade. You may miss one lab
with no penalty.
3. One final lab test over the scientific method as it is applied
to the phenomena of abnormal psychology, worth 20% of your grade.
4. Three experimental reports, worth 15%, 20%, and 30% each, 65%
of your total lab grade.
The final lab is to be an expanded and revised A.P.A. formatted version
of one of the first two.