Saavedra and silverman
strengths (tips on how to answer below!!!!)
Research method
A strength of the study is the research method used which is a case study,
this means an in-depth analysis of a single individual. For example, the study
is about a 9-year-old American Hispanic boy with a phobia that started in his
art class, he was assessed using DSM-IV, his feelings toward buttons were
assessed as he said they had an unpleasant smell. In conclusion a lot of
qualitative data was collected to help understand the boy's phobia and how
best to treat it, and this added validity to the findings.
Application to real life
A strength of the study is that it can be applied to real life means findings
and be used to help understand humans with phobias better. For example,
both behavioral exposure and imagery exposure therapy were a success in
treating the boys specific phobia this means the same therapies can be used
for phobic children and adults to reduce fear and anxiety to phobias so can
continue with everyday activities e.g. a person who fears door handles does
Vivo exposure, to learn to cope with them and can open doors anywhere
without fear. In conclusion, applicable to real life improves its impact and
relevance of the study.
Weaknesses
Generalisability
A weakness of the study is the self reports- which means the method of
collecting data based on participants responses. For example, the use of
questionnaires via the fear hierarchy could be an issue because the Hispanic
boy may give the incorrect ratings of buttons he fears or confuse the ones he
fears most to the ones he doesn’t additionally, interviews between boy and
his mum were done, since they are narrating the origin of the phobia they
may lie or leave some information out, so the boy is not seen as having a
phobia. In conclusion self reports rely on participants response so if they
aren't truthful may lack validity affecting effectiveness of self report
measures.
Ethics