CIE A Level Psychology Clinical Psychology Exam Questions

About CIE A Level Psychology Clinical Psychology

Clinical psychology is one of four specialist options at A Level on the Cambridge 9990 course, and you study two of them. It has five topics: 1.1 Schizophrenia, 1.2 Mood (affective) disorders, 1.3 Impulse control disorders, 1.4 Anxiety disorders and fear-related disorders, and 1.5 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Each topic covers diagnostic criteria, explanations and treatment and management. The five key studies are Freeman et al. (2003), Oruč et al. (1997), Grant et al. (2008), Chapman and DeLapp (2013) and Lovell et al. (2006). The option is assessed in Paper 3 (approaches, issues and debates) and Paper 4 Section A (application and research methods).

What you need to know

• 1.1 Schizophrenia Know symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations and disorganised speech, and Freeman et al. (2003), who used a virtual reality library with neutral avatars to show that paranoid thoughts occur in non-clinical people. Explanations include genetic, biochemical (dopamine hypothesis) and cognitive; treatments include antipsychotics and CBT (Sensky et al., 2000).
• 1.2 Mood disorders Depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, measured using the Beck Depression Inventory. Oruč et al. (1997) looked for links between serotonin receptor genes and bipolar disorder in families and found no significant association. Other explanations are Beck's cognitive theory and learned helplessness; treatments include antidepressants, cognitive restructuring and Ellis's REBT.
• 1.3 Impulse control disorders Kleptomania, pyromania and gambling disorder. Explanations include dopamine, positive reinforcement and feeling-state theory. Grant et al. (2008) found that naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, reduced urges and stealing behaviour in kleptomania compared with placebo; covert sensitisation and imaginal desensitisation are psychological treatments.
• 1.4 Anxiety and fear-related disorders Generalised anxiety disorder, agoraphobia and blood-injection-injury phobia. Explanations include genetic, classical conditioning (Watson and Rayner's Little Albert) and psychodynamic (Freud's Little Hans). Chapman and DeLapp (2013) is a case study of CBT with applied tension for blood-injection-injury phobia, where tensing muscles prevents fainting.
• 1.5 OCD Obsessions and compulsions, measured with Y-BOCS and the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory. Explanations are biochemical, genetic, cognitive, operant and psychodynamic. Lovell et al. (2006) found telephone-delivered CBT with exposure and response prevention was as effective as face-to-face treatment.
• Evaluation of clinical topics Compare biological and psychological explanations and treatments for effectiveness, side effects, reductionism and the nature versus nurture debate. Consider the validity and reliability of diagnosis and of self-report measures.

Common mistakes in Clinical Psychology

• Describing Oruč et al. as finding a gene for bipolar disorder. They found no significant association with the serotonin receptor genes studied, which suggests these genes alone do not explain it.
• Confusing applied tension with relaxation. In blood-injection-injury phobia, patients tense their muscles to raise blood pressure and prevent fainting.
• Treating diagnostic criteria as just a list of symptoms. Include required duration and impact on functioning, and name the measure where the syllabus specifies one.
• Saying Freeman et al. studied people diagnosed with schizophrenia. The participants were a non-clinical sample, showing paranoid thoughts exist on a continuum in the general population.
• Evaluating drug treatments only by side effects. Also consider effectiveness, relapse when stopping and the fact that they treat symptoms rather than causes.

Try three Clinical Psychology exam-style questions