Abnormal Psychology. William J. Ray

Reprinted with permission from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

      Modern researchers have sought to use the case of Phineas Gage to illustrate types of brain damage. Hanna Damasio and her colleagues (1994), using photographs and X-rays of the skull, created a three-dimensional reconstruction including the entry and exit points of the iron rod. From this, they described the suggested damage to the left and right prefrontal cortex, which would include a lack of inhibition as shown by his angry outbursts, a lack of planning, memory problems, and deficits in social cognition. Peter Ratiu and his colleagues (Ratiu, Talos, Haker, Lieberman, & Evert, 2004) performed computerized axial tomography (CAT) scans on the skull of Phineas Gage to determine the manner in which the rod was projected through his skull. Using these same CAT scans, John Van Horn and his colleagues (2012) sought to model damage to the white and gray matter of the brain. In order to estimate the damage to Gage’s brain, these researchers examined the white matter connections of 110 healthy male individuals 25 to 36 years of age using brain imaging techniques. They suggested that Gage suffered from damage to the left frontal cortex and that impairment to network connectedness between the left frontal area and other brain areas would have been considerable. This modeling is shown in Figure 3.2.

      Figure 3.2 Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of the Rod

      Source: Van Horn et al. (2012).

      The basis of every case study is the clinical notes of the professionals. Diagnosis and treatment notes are kept for each individual these professionals see. The case study offers an opportunity for an in-depth examination of an individual’s manifestation and experience of psychopathology. It is particularly important for the description of rarer conditions in which the salient factors are not yet well understood. However, it is difficult to know from a case study whether the relationships described were unique to that individual or could be generalized to others with the disorder. As such, it is perhaps most useful for directing future research concerning the critical variables involved in the disorder.

      Naturalistic Observation: Just Looking

      If little is known about a particular phenomenon, it often is useful simply to watch the phenomenon occur naturally and get a general idea of what is involved in the process. Initially, this is accomplished by observing and describing what occurs. This scientific technique is called naturalistic observation. A classic example of this approach is Charles Darwin’s observation of animals in the Galápagos Islands. He carefully noted their appearance and environment. The observations formed the basis of his theory of evolution. Psychologists have used naturalistic observation techniques to study children and adults, as well as the interactions of those in a mental hospital. New technologies such as video or audio capture have allowed for even greater possibilities.

      naturalistic observation: research method based on observing and describing the phenomenon occurring naturally, without manipulating any variables

      Using a naturalistic observation study, Rachel Tomko and her colleagues (2012) collected data from individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and other individuals with depression. These researchers wanted to better understand the social and emotional interactions of individuals with these disorders. As you will read in later chapters, individuals with BPD may show emotional instability such as an angry outburst. Those with depression do not. The researchers used a device that periodically recorded 50-second snippets of audio. What these researchers reported was that individuals with depression were more likely to spend time alone if they had previously been angry. Individuals with BPD did not display withdrawal from others after anger and at times showed the opposite.

      The naturalistic observation method has four characteristics:

      1 Noninterference is of prime importance. Scientists using this method must not disrupt the process or flow of events. In this way, they can see things as they really are, without influencing the ongoing phenomenon.

      2 This method emphasizes the invariants or patterns that exist in the world. For example, if you could observe yourself in a noninterfering manner, you might conclude that your moods vary with the time of day, particular weather patterns, or even particular thoughts.

      3 This method is most useful when we know little about the subject of our investigation. It is most useful for understanding the “big picture” by observing a series of events rather than isolated happenings.

      4 The naturalistic method may not shed light on the factors that directly influence the behavior observed. The method provides a description of a phenomenon; it does not answer the question of why it happened.

      Correlational Approach: What Goes With What

      The correlational approach is designed to help us understand how specific factors are associated with one another. As with much of human behavior, there are complex relationships between psychological variables and factors associated with them. The correlational approach helps us see what factors are related to one another. For example, you can ask if having friends is associated with better physical and psychological health or if negative experiences in one’s past are associated with becoming depressed. Thus, we ask if one aspect of a system is associated with another aspect. It should be noted that both the statistical methods used to determine the degree of association and the research designs used to research the relationship between variables use the same term: correlational.

      correlational approach: a research method designed to measure how specific factors are associated with one another

      correlation coefficient: a statistic ranging from –1 to +1 that indicates the degree of association between two variables

      How would you go about answering these questions? Let’s begin with the relationship between friends and health. You would first need to determine how you know how many friends someone has. One way is to ask them, or you could ask how many friends they have on their Facebook page. What about health? One approach is to determine the number of times the person went to the health center. If you did this with a number of individuals, you would have two numbers for each person—the number of friends and the number of health center visits.

      What would you do with this data? One helpful technique is to create a scatterplot of the data. A scatterplot is a graph on which the data from each person is plotted. In this way, we would use the y-axis to display the number of friends on Facebook (e.g., 0–150) and the x-axis to display the number of visits to the health center during the past year (e.g., 0–20). We could then look at these measures for each person and plot that point on the graph. This scatterplot is shown in Figure 3.3. It is now possible to look at the graph and visually determine if there is a relationship.

      In the Galápagos Islands, Charles Darwin used the naturalistic observation technique by carefully observing and describing animals in their natural habitat.

      Bettmann/Contributor/Bettmann/Getty Images

      Although humans are good at determining patterns, a statistical technique would allow for better precision. Such a technique is the correlation coefficient. The correlation coefficient gives both the strength of the relationship and its direction. If the number of friends on Facebook was associated with more health center visits, then this relationship would be called a positive correlation. However, if fewer friends were associated with more visits, then this relationship would be called a negative correlation.

      Figure 3.3 Scatterplot Diagram Showing Negative Relationship Between Two Measures

      In the real world, few relationships are perfectly related to one another. Thus, the correlation coefficient is also able to reflect the