Assignment 3: Case Study Analysis I

The first step in understanding the behaviors that are associated with mental disorders is to be able to differentiate the potential symptoms of a mental disorder from the everyday fluctuations or behaviors that we observe. Read the following brief case histories.

Case Study 1:

Bob is a very intelligent, 25-year-old member of a religious organization based on Buddhism. Bob’s working for this organization has caused considerable conflict between him and his parents, who are devout Baptists. Recently, Bob has experienced acute spells of nausea and fatigue that have prevented him from working and have forced him to return home to live with his parents. Various medical tests are being conducted, but as yet, no physical causes for his problems have been found.

Case Study 2:

Mary is a 30-year-old musician who is very dedicated and successful in her work as a teacher in a local high school and as a part-time member of local musical groups. Since her marriage five years ago, which ended in divorce after six months, she has dated very few men. She often worries about her time running out for establishing a good relationship with a man, getting married, and raising a family. Her friends tell her she gets way too anxious around men, and, in general, she needs to relax a little.

Case Study 3:

Jim was vice-president of the freshmen class at a local college and played on the school’s football team. Later that year, he dropped out of these activities and gradually became more and more withdrawn from friends and family. Neglecting to shave and shower, he began to look dirty and unhealthy. He spent most of his time alone in his room and sometimes complained to his parents that he heard voices in the curtains and in the closet. In his sophomore year, he dropped out of school entirely. With increasing anxiety and agitation, he began to worry that the Nazis were plotting to kill his family and kidnap him.

Case Study 4:

Larry, a 37-year-old gay man, has lived for three years with his partner, whom he met in graduate school. Larry works as a psychologist in a large hospital. Although competent in his work, he often feels strained by the pressures of his demanding position. An added source of tension on the job is his not being out with his co-workers, and, thus, he is not able to confide in anyone or talk about his private life. Most of his leisure activities are with good friends who are also part of the local gay community.

1. For each case, identify the individual’s behaviors that seem to be problematic for the patient.
2. For each case study, explain from the biological, psychological, or socio-cultural perspective your decision-making process for identifying the behaviors that may or may not have been associated with the symptoms of a mental disorder.
3. Based on your course and text readings, provide an explanation why you would consider some of these cases to exhibit behaviors that may be associated with problems that occur in everyday life, while others could be associated with symptoms of a mental disorder.

Do not attempt to label or diagnose the mental disorder; there is not enough information in the case study. Just look at the behaviors presented.

Assignment: t-Test

Using data to compare a sample to the whole population or another targeted sample of people can help researchers make predictions about future behavior or phenomena. Comparisons and predictions such as these can answer research questions and can make an argument or statement more persuasive. When there are two groups to compare, tools such as the one-sample t-test and the two-sample t-test allow researchers to make such predictions and comparisons.

This application will allow you to further practice hypothesis testing by using a t-test to compare scores from two samples in order to determine if results are statistically significant. Download the data set that you will use for this assignment from the Weekly Data Set forum found on the course navigation menu. Be sure to watch this week’s instructional video in the introduction or Learning Resources folder before beginning your Application Assignment.

Scenario: Imagine you are a researcher who is interested in studying whether sleep deprivation leads to increased reaction times (i.e., being slower) when driving. You randomly select a sample of 30 licensed drivers. Fifteen participants are randomly assigned to get 5 hours of sleep for three consecutive nights. The other 15 participants are randomly assigned to get 8 hours of sleep for three consecutive nights. For the purposes of this Assignment, assume that all participants sleep exactly the required amounts. After the third night, all participants take a driving simulation test that measures their reaction times.

You can find the data for this Assignment in the Weekly Data Set forum.

By Day 7

To complete this Assignment, submit a response to each of the following. Use SPSS to determine if amount of sleep is related to reaction time.

1. Explain whether the researcher should use an independent-samples t-test or a related-samples t-test for this scenario. Provide a rationale for your decision.
2. Identify the independent variable and dependent variable.
3. Knowing the researcher believes that people who sleep less will have slower reaction times, state the null hypothesis and alternate hypothesis in words (not formulas).
4. Explain whether the researcher should use a one-tailed test or two-tailed test and why.
5. Identify the obtained t value for this data set using SPSS.
6. State the degrees of freedom and explain how you calculated it by hand.
7. Identify the p value using SPSS.
8. Explain whether the researcher should retain or reject the null hypothesis. Provide a rationale for your decision. Are the results statistically significant?
9. Explain what the researcher can conclude about the relationship between amount of sleep and reaction times.

Be sure to fully explain the rationale for your answer to each question, including evidence from the text and Learning Resources.

Provide an APA reference list.

Submit three documents for grading:

• Your text (Word) document with your answers and explanations to the assignment questions, your SPSS Data file, and your SPSS Output file, your SPSS Data file , and your SPSS Output file.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Click the Week 4 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the first document you want to attach (your Word doc, SPSS Data file, or SPSS Output file) and click Open. Repeat this for the remaining two documents.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.