Final answer:
The student's homework assignment involves conducting an experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive therapy for depression in the field of clinical psychology.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's homework assignment, which involves carefully screening potential participants and randomly assigning them to a treatment or control group, is an example of an experiment in the field of clinical psychology. In this case, the experiment is specifically focused on the treatment of depression using cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy is a form of therapy that targets negative thinking patterns and cognitive distortions that contribute to depression.
This type of study helps researchers evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive therapy as a treatment for depression compared to other treatments, such as medications. By carefully selecting participants based on strict diagnostic criteria and randomly assigning them to treatment or control groups, the researcher can minimize biases and determine if cognitive therapy produces better outcomes than other treatment options.
Overall, the study described aligns with the field of clinical psychology and involves conducting an experiment to assess the efficacy of cognitive therapy for depression.