A Level Psychology AfL



Clinical Psychology - Assessment for LearningSyllabus AreasQuestionWhen/whereDate when doneCONTENTThe 4Ds of diagnosis: Diagnosis of mental disorders, including deviance, dysfunction, distress, and danger.Rachel is concerned that her friend, Alice, may have a mental disorder. Alice has started to talk to herself in public. She has also stopped going out with her friends to avoid other people looking at her and embarrassing her friends. Alice will only eat white food, and she refuses to go out in the day light because she feels it will cause her to catch fire. She has started to think that she has supernatural powers, such as being able to turn into a bat. Discuss the diagnosis of mental disorders in terms of deviance and dysfunction. You must make reference to the context in your answer. (8)June 2017Classification systems (DSM IVR or DSM V, and ICD) for mental health, including reliability and validity of diagnoses.If a person visited two different psychiatrists, they might receive two different diagnoses of their medical condition. Assess the reliability of mental disorder diagnosis using research evidence. (8)SAMS 1Alison has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder using a classification system, such as the DSM or ICD. Her family insists that she goes to another doctor to get a second opinion. Alison does not want to get a second opinion as she is happy with the diagnosis as it allows her to start treatment to help reduce her symptoms. Alison’s symptoms include hearing voices that no one else can hear, feeling sad all the time for no reason and checking her mobile phone every minute to make sure she has not missed any messages. To what extent can diagnosis of mental disorders be considered reliable and valid? You must make reference to the context in your answer. (20)SAMS 2Philip is a psychology student. His friend has just been diagnosed with a mental health disorder using a classification system, such as the DSM or ICD. Philip is concerned about the reliability of the diagnosis following his lessons in psychology. Explain whether Philip should be concerned about the reliability of his friend’s diagnosis. (4)June 2017Schizophrenia: Symptoms and features, including thought insertion, hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking. Describe one symptom of schizophrenia. (2) Describe an issue associated with making a valid diagnosis of schizophrenia. (3)SAMS 1Tanya has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Describe the symptoms of schizophrenia that Tanya may be experiencing. (4)June 2017Schizophrenia: The function of neurotransmitters as a theory/explanation. Evaluate the view that schizophrenia has a stronger biological basis than other mental disorders. Refer to one other mental disorder in your response. (20)SAMS 1 Compare two explanations of schizophrenia. (4)June 2017Schizophrenia: One other biological theory/explanation – The Role of GenesEvaluate one biological explanation of schizophrenia other than the function of neurotransmitters. (8) SAMS 2Schizophrenia: One non-biological theory/explanation: Environmental Breeder HypothesisSchizophrenia: Biological treatment –antipsychotic meds. Schizophrenia: Psychological treatment – CBTUnipolar depression: Symptoms and featuresUnipolar depression: One biological explanation - The function of neurotransmittersUnipolar depression: One psychological explanation – Beck’s Cognitive TheoryUnipolar depression: Biological treatment –anti-depressant meds.A news article has criticised the effectiveness of psychological treatment. The headline was ‘Psychological treatments for mental disorders do not work as these disorders are not psychological in origin’. For a mental disorder other than schizophrenia, use your knowledge of the possible explanations of its causes to assess how effective a psychological treatment would be compared to a biological treatment. (8)SAMS 1Unipolar depression: Psychological treatment - CBTSyllabus AreasQuestionWhen/Where Date achievedCONTENTIndividual differences Cultural effects can lead to individual differences in mental health disorders, e.g. non-biological explanation for schizophrenia. Individual differences Cultural effects can lead to different diagnoses of mental health disorders affecting reliability and validity. Developmental psychology Issues around genes and mental health, such as a genetic or biochemical explanation for schizophrenia, can affect development.Syllabus AreasQuestionWhen/ Where Date achievedMETHODSAwareness of Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) guidelines for clinical practitioners.Katerina is a clinical psychologist with two patients. Patient A is being cared for in the community. Patient A has told Katerina that he is going to harm himself, and has previously been hospitalised due to self-harm. Patient B is being cared for in a hospital and Katerina manages patient B’s care team. Patient B experiences breaks from reality and does not understand why she is in hospital. Discuss Katerina’s use of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) guidelines in relation to patient A and patient B. You must make reference to the context in your answer. (8) SAMS 2Researching mental health: The use of longitudinal studiesAlex has been asked to take part in a longitudinal study of the relationship between mothers with a social phobia and elements of social phobia in their children. Describe a suitable longitudinal procedure for this study. (2) Describe an appropriate sampling technique for this longitudinal study looking at the relationship between mothers and their children in relation to social phobias. (3) SAMS 1Researching mental health: The use of cross-sectional studiesResearching mental health: The use of cross-cultural methodsResearching mental health: meta-analysisResearching mental health: The use of primary and secondary dataThe use of case studies in clinical psychology: To include an example e.g. Lavarenne et al. (2013) (we do Bradshaw)Interviews are one research method used within clinical psychology. Evaluate the use of interviews within clinical psychology. (8)June 2017The use of interviews in clinical psychology: To include an example e.g. Vallentine et al. (2010) (we do Luhrmann (2012)Within the methods mentioned here: Analysis of quantitative data using both descriptive and inferential statistics (chi-squared, Spearman's, Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U as appropriate). A group of researchers is conducting research into anxiety among adults. The researchers believe that negative life events may be a cause of anxiety. They have asked people with anxiety to record the number of positive and negative life events they have experienced over the last 12 months. Examples of events participants were asked to consider included marriage/divorce, promotion/losing a job, moving home/losing a house, bereavement and births. The participants provided a total score for both positive and negative life events. The results are presented in Table 1. (see exam paper for table)(i) Calculate the standard deviation for negative life events. Show your working and give your answer to two significant figures. (4)(ii) State how the standard deviation for positive life events would differ from the negative life events you have calculated. (1) When using a Wilcoxon Test to compare the positive and negative life events, the calculated value (T) was 1 (T=1). The critical value table can be found in the formulae and statistics table at the front of the paper. Explain whether these results were significant at pSAMS 1A group of psychiatrists conducted research with patients experiencing depression. They asked the patients to rate their mood every day over a month, using a scale where 1 was extremely happy and 10 was extremely unhappy. The results for patients with depression are in Table 1 below.Calculate the measures of central tendency for the data in Table 1 and complete Table 1 with your answers. (3)Define what is meant by the term ‘a measure of dispersion’. (1)A group of patients without depression were asked to rate their mood every day over a month to act as a control group. The psychiatrists calculated the standard deviation for the mood score for patients with depression. The psychiatrists found a standard deviation of 1.43 for the mood score for the patients with depression. The psychiatrists found a standard deviation of 3.46 for the mood score of patients without depression. Interpret what the two standard deviations tell us about the results. (2)June 2017Analysis of qualitative data using thematic analysis and grounded theory.Syllabus AreasQuestionWhen/where Date achievedSTUDIESClassic study: Rosenhan (1973) On being sane in insane places.One contemporary study on schizophrenia: Carlsson et al. (2000) You will have learned about Carlsson et al. (2000) Network interactions in schizophrenia – therapeutic implications. Describe the role of neurotransmitters in schizophrenia, according to the review by Carlsson et al. (2000). (2)Explain one weakness of Carlsson et al. (2000). (2)SAMS 2One contemporary study on depression: Williams et al. (2013) Evaluate a contemporary study on a disorder other than schizophrenia. (20)June 2017KEY QUESTIONOne key question of relevance to today’s societySuitable examples: ● How do different societies define mental health disorders?● What are the issues surrounding mental health in the workplace?Our KQ: Why do so many people who are homeless also have mental health problems?PRACTICALOne practical research exercise to gather data relevant to topics covered in clinical psychology. The practical must be a summative content analysis that explores attitudes to mental health; must involve at least two sources (e.g. radio interviews, newspapers, magazines) to compare attitudes towards mental health.You will have carried out a content analysis on attitudes to mental health whilst studying clinical psychology. Describe how you carried out the content analysis for your practical investigation in clinical psychology. (4)Explain one strength of the content analysis for your practical investigation in clinical psychology. (2)SAMS 2Syllabus AreasQuestionWhen/whereDate achievedISSUES AND DEBATESEthics, e.g. of diagnosis, labelling, consent; HCPC guidelines Practical issues in the design and implementation of research (e.g. quan v qualdata, balancing validity with reliability).Reductionism (e.g. causes of mental disorders are isolated, diagnoses are not holistic).Comparisons between ways of explaining behaviour using different themes (e.g. ICD and DSM; different explanations for mental health issues).Psychology as a science (e.g. biological methods; drug therapies; scientific research methods such as laboratory experiments)Culture (e.g. cultural differences in diagnosis and gender difference in frequency of a disorder).Nature-nurture (e.g. different theories of what causes mental disorders, biological vs social psychology)An understanding of how psychological understanding has developed over time (e.g. changes in DSM changes; therapies; explanations)Issues of social control (e.g. treatment and therapy can be seen as a form of social control).The use of psychological knowledge within society (e.g. therapies and treatments for mental health issues).Issues related to socially sensitive research (e.g. research in the area of mental health and cultural issues).Additional Leonard has carried out an experiment to determine the effectiveness of a new drug in treating a mental health disorder. He recruited his participants through random sampling from a local health authority. He gave half the participants the new drug and half the participants a placebo (sugar pill). The participants did not know whether they received the new drug or the placebo, however Leonard did know. State the independent variable (IV) of Leonard’s experiment. (1)State the dependent variable (DV) of Leonard’s experiment. (1)State a fully operationalised null hypothesis for Leonard’s experiment. (2)Table 1 shows the percentage of reduction in symptoms from Leonard’s experiment: Calculate Leonard’s results as a ratio. You must express the ratio to the lowest whole numbers. (1)Leonard concluded that the new drug was more effective in reducing symptoms than the placebo. Explain how Leonard’s interpretation of the results of his experiment may have been influenced by subjectivity. (3) ................
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