In the Following Study, Participants Were Randomly Assigned to Receive

question 135

Essay

In the following study, participants were randomly assigned to receive humanistic therapy, psychodynamic therapy, or behavioral therapy for their depression. Six months after therapy ended, participants' levels of depression were rated on a Likert scale from 1 (not at all depressed) to 15 (extremely depressed).
$\begin{array}{lcccc}{\text { GROUP }} & \text { N } & \text { MEAN } & \text { STD DEV } & \text { STD ERROR } \\\text { 1 (humanistic) } & 10 & 5.40 & 2.17 & 0.69 \\\text { 2 (psychodynamic) } & 10 & 7.50 & 2.84 & 0.90 \\\text { 3 (behavioral) } & 10 & 5.60 & 3.13 & 0.99\end{array}$


ONEWAY ANOVA: THERAPY bY DEPRESSION
$\begin{array} { l c c c c c } & \text { SUM OF } & & \text { MEAN } & & \\ \text { SOURCE } & \text { SQUARES } & \text { DF } & \text { SQUARES } & \text { F RATIO } & \text { PROB. } \\ & & & & & \\ \text { BETWEEN GROUPS } & 26.87 & 2 & 13.73 & 1.78 & .187 \\ \text { WTHIN GROUPS } & 203.30 & 27 & 7.53 & & \\ \text { TOTAL } & 230.17 & 29 & & & \end{array}$

POST HOC TEST: Tukey-HSD with significance level .05
* Indicates significant differences shown for pairings

$\begin{array}{lll}G & G & G \\r & r & r \\p & p & p \\1 & 2 & 3\end{array}$

$\begin{array}{ll}\text { Mean}& \text { THERAPY }\\5.40 & \text { Grp 1 } \\7.50 & \text { Grp 2 } \\5.60 & \text { Grp 3 }\end{array}$

-Is this a true experiment or an ex post facto study? How do you know?

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Definitions:

Libido

A psychological term used to describe sexual desire or drive.

Psychosexual Development

A Freudian concept outlining how personality development takes place through stages during childhood, centered around the gratification of libidinal urges.

Fixation

An obsessive focus or attachment to a person, concept, or object, often stemming from unresolved developmental conflicts.

Striving for Superiority

A concept introduced by Alfred Adler, suggesting that a primary motivation for human behavior is the drive to overcome feelings of inferiority.