Efficacy of Prayer- Case Notes

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Author - Jim Radiker - Summer 1998

Background

Case Notes

Day 1 Assignment: Read both Byrd (1988) and Thomson (1995). Write a 300-500 essay on your assigned thesis. Bring your essay to class to turn in and to use in discussion.

Day 1 Discussion will focus on the question of whether or not prayer can be scientifically evaluated as specifically illustrated by the Byrd study. Questions for discussion:

  1. How did Byrd define the independent and dependent variables in his study? Are these definitions adequate? Why or why not?
  2. How did Byrd assure that the patients in the intercessory prayer group were comparable to those in the control group?
  3. What data does Byrd present to assure the reader that the two groups were comparable?
  4. What systematic differences might have been present between the two groups before or during the experiment?
  5. How did Byrd control for experimenter bias and placebo effects?
  6. How many subjects were in each group?
  7. What were the results of the study?
  8. Explain what a Type I and a Type II error would be in this study? What is the probability of each?
  9. What are the practical and theoretical consequences of each type of error?
  10. What does Byrd conclude?

Day 2 Assignment Students are encouraged to re-write their essays to improve style and content. They are encouraged to consider the following questions for discussion in class:

  1. Why did Byrd do the study?
  2. Do Byrd's motives taint the study making it "unscientific"? Why or why not?
  3. Is the study an attempt (as Thomson charges) to prove the existence of God?
  4. Does the study support the existence of God? What are some other explanations for the results? How could these explanations be scientifically tested?
  5. If there had been absolutely no difference between the prayer and the control group would that suggest that God doesn't exist? Why or why not?
  6. Name and discuss potential mediating and moderating variables in this experiment.