Unit 4: Research in Clinical
Psychology - Seminar
Tonight the Seminar Discussion is
based on information in part; from the
research article, �Genes matter in
addiction.
Genes matter in addiction…

From the required reading
Price, M. (2008). Genes matter in addiction. Monitor on
Psychology, 39, p. 14. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/06/genes-addict.html
 It reads “At least half of a person's susceptibility to
drug addiction can be linked to genetic factors.”
 “When it comes to tobacco, genetics account for about 75
percent of a person's inclination to begin smoking, said
University of Pennsylvania psychologist Caryn Lerman, PhD.
Genes also account for 60 percent of the tendency to become
addicted and 54 percent of one's ability to quit.” (Price,2008)
Genes That Drive You To
Drink (But Don't Make You
An Alcoholic)

October 29, 2009 — Your genetic make up may
predispose you to drink more but may not increase
your genetic risk for alcoholism. New research
pinpoints genetic pathways and genes associated
with levels of alcohol ...
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/0
91026192900.htm

Does genetic make up also affect our
desire to drink alcohol not merely
become an alcoholic?
Addiction; Nature versus
Nurture

What are the new research
findings about the ways addiction
is based on nature (genetics) vs.
nurture (environment &
experiences)?
What impact do your genes
have on your behavior?
Implications

What implications does this new
information have for your work as
a psychologist or counselor?
Leapfrogging…

Since the research in this area is
leapfrogging ahead now, how will
you keep up to date about the
evolving research findings that
could affect your work?
Ethical Issues

What ethical issues would you be
concerned about in conducting
research of this kind?
In our Discussion Board


We discussed how executive
functioning of the teenage brain has
been affected by the limits of the brain
development of their frontal cortex.
We also discussed the implications of
this on behavior outcomes.
In our Reading this week
We read chapter 6: "Conducting
Research in Clinical Psychology"
and chapter 11: "General Issues in
Psychotherapy" in our textbook,
Clinical psychology: Science, practice
and culture.
Addiction analysis

In your own words describe what
addiction is. Is it the same for
everyone?
One time drugs..

Can one time drug use affect a
teenage brain for the rest of their
lives?
Teen Interventions

What therapeutic interventions might
be effective for dealing with teenage
addictions?
Gene Interventions

In studying the correlation between genes and addiction they
are looking for SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) these
are used to flag gene sequences. Researchers have found
hotspot on chromosome 11, which the team were able to
track down to a gene called PKNOX2. This gene appears to
regulate genes linked to addiction. It appears the gene may
play a role in the general behavior of addictive tendencies.
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/news/news/1806/
If found to be true what affect does
this have on your role as a Clinical
Psychologist?
Psychological Research
Of the psychological research
studies of which you are aware,
which studies do think have most
greatly contributed to the
development of the field?
An example might include Pavlov’s dogbased studies of classical conditioning.
Internal vs External Validity



Do you think studies with greater internal
validity or greater external validity are
ultimately more beneficial to clients who
receive psychological services?
How do research findings with high
internal validity benefit the field?
How do research findings with high external
validity benefit the field?
Ethical Issues in Research
in Clinical Psychology

Numerous APA ethical standards specifically
address research:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Obtain informed consent
Don’t coerce participation
Use deception only when justified and necessary
Minimize harm to participants
Don’t fabricate or falsify data
Assign authorship appropriately
Share data with other researchers for verification
Ethical Issues …



Do the APA’s Code of Ethics effectively
address all aspects of psychological
research?
Are there any improvements or additions
that you feel are necessary to the code. If
so, what are they?
Are there any current standards of the code
relating to research that you feel are
unnecessary? If so, what are they, and why
are they unnecessary?
Which Type of
Psychotherapy is Best?


Supporters of various kinds of therapy
have often claimed theirs is superior
However, comparative outcome
studies have consistently reached the
same finding: a virtual tie
– Different therapies are equally effective
– This finding was nicknamed the “dodo
bird effect” (from Alice in Wonderland)
Which Type of
Psychotherapy is Best?
(cont.)

How could various therapies be equally
effective?
– Common factors—shared, fundamental elements
of therapy (rather than specific techniques) are
“active ingredients”



Therapeutic relationship/alliance
Hope
Attention
– Three step model of common factors

Support, learning, action factors (in that sequence)
Which Type of
Psychotherapy is Best?
(cont.)
The dodo bird verdict has not gone
unchallenged (dodo bird)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo_bird_verdict
– Some researchers argue that for specific
disorders, some therapies are demonstrably better
(e.g., Dianne Chambless)
– Outcome studies using manualized treatments for
specific disorders can lead to a prescriptive
approach to psychotherapy

Certain therapies are “treatments of choice” for specific
disorders
– This controversy continues today
What Types of
Psychotherapy Do Clinical
Psychologists Practice?
Why is it important to query multiple sources
when investigating the effectiveness of
psychotherapy?
How might a client’s opinion suffer biases?
How might a psychologist’s opinion suffer
biases?
How might an outside party, such as a
managed care company, suffer biases?
Questions?