Critical review questions for Issue 3:

1. What are the differences between an efficacy study and an effectiveness study? Which was the research done by Consumer Reports (CR)? Was the CR study an experiment?
2. How many people answered the mental health questions on the CR survey? What were the results of the survey (as reported by Seligman)?
3. Strictly speaking, did the CR study have a control group? What did Seligman propose might have served as controls? What was wrong with these, according to Jacobson and Christensen?
4. How were the survey respondents selected? What were the people who responded to the survey like (in terms of age, education, income, sex, etc.)? Did this group form a representative sample of all people who seek psychotherapeutic help?
5. Were the survey respondents "mentally ill" before receiving treatment? Were they "cured" afterwards? How was the respondents’ level of functioning before and after treatment assessed?
6. What did Seligman propose as the strongest points of the CR study? What did Jacobson and Christensen propose as the weakest?
7. What is a retrospective study? What is wrong with retrospective studies? Was the CR study retrospetive?
8. According to Jacobson and Christensen, what role might spontaneous remission play in the CR findings? Did Seligman address this potential problem with the research?