Seeking to test a new SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor)

anti-depressant, a company tracked the depressive episodes of two

groups of 5 women suffering from clinical depression. Both groups
were entirely female. Group A, aged 25-34, received a placebo
while Group B, aged 34-45, received the active drug. Subjects had
their serotonin levels checks every week; each participant also
completed a survey regarding the amount of days they experienced
depressive symptoms in a 6-month period. All participants reported
more than 60 days of depressive symptoms in the 6 months prior
to the study from November-April. Correctly label, log, and analyze
the data below.

Group A Group B
Subject Days Serotonin Subject Days Serotonin
Depressed Levels Depressed Levels
1 67 107 ng/mL 6 13 223 ng/mL
2 95 30 ng/mL 7 27 177 ng/mL
3 24 131 ng/mL 8 68 188 ng/mL
4 37 97 ng/mL 9 24 303 ng/mL
5 54 51 ng/mL 10 7 198 ng/mL

AP Psychology College Board Unit Guide learning objectives: 1.F, 1.M, 2.A, 2.C ©Morgan AP Teaching
 SSRI vs Depressed Women

90
Group A
(control)
80 Group B
(experimental)
70
1 1 1 1 1
Days 60
Depressed 1 1 1 1 1
50 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
40
1 1 1 1 1
30

20

10

50 100 150 200 250 300

Seretonin Level

AP Psychology College Board Unit Guide learning objectives: 1.F ©Morgan AP Teaching
 1. What type(s) of research method were used to gather data?
Survey and longitudinal study

2. What is the correlative relationship between serotonin and

depressive symptoms experienced?
Negative correlation; the higher the seretonin level is, the fewer days a
person feels depressed
3. According to the data, does the drug work?
Yes, the drug works.

4. Does this data conclusively prove the drug helps to remedy

depression? Yes, the data shows that the group with the active drug generally
had fewer number of days of being depressed.

5. What additional data may have been helpful for validating this
experiment? Additional data could have been the measurement of how
depressed each participants were
Control group of no placebo nor drug
6. Explain how confounding variables may distort the data.
The different intensity of depression could have distorted the data by having
inaccuracies. For example, Group A, the control group, could have been more
depressed than Group B, which is why their data on depressed days are higher.
Another confounding variable may have been the dose participants were given.
Some could have taken more than others, or some could have taken less which
could explain why others had more depressed days.

AP Psychology College Board Unit Guide learning objectives: 1.H, 1.I-L, 2.A, 2.C ©Morgan AP Teaching