Edexcel A Level Psychology
Edexcel A Level Psychology Topic 5: Clinical Psychology Exam Questions
Free Edexcel A Level Psychology exam questions for Topic 5: Clinical Psychology, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers diagnosis using DSM and ICD, reliability and validity, schizophrenia and a second disorder, explanations, treatments and Rosenhan (1973).
Topic 5: Clinical Psychology exam questions
1 question pack of real past exam questions, each with its mark scheme. Do not stop after a few: answer as many as you can without notes, then mark every answer with the mark scheme. The more questions you do, the more quickly you will spot how examiners ask about each idea.
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About Edexcel A Level Psychology Topic 5: Clinical Psychology
Clinical Psychology is Topic 5 of Edexcel A Level Psychology and is the compulsory topic on Paper 2, Applications of Psychology. It looks at how mental disorders are defined and diagnosed using classification systems such as DSM and ICD, and the reliability and validity of diagnosis. You study schizophrenia in depth, including its symptoms, one biological and one non-biological explanation and two treatments, and then the same for a second disorder: unipolar depression, anorexia nervosa or obsessive compulsive disorder. Methods include primary and secondary data, longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, meta-analysis and interviews. The classic study is Rosenhan (1973), and you also study contemporary research.
What you need to know
- Defining and diagnosing disorders Definitions include statistical infrequency, deviance from social norms, dysfunction and distress. DSM and ICD classify disorders using symptom lists, and diagnosis depends on reliability (consistency) and validity (accuracy).
- Schizophrenia: symptoms Positive symptoms include hallucinations and delusions; negative symptoms include social withdrawal and flattened affect.
- Schizophrenia: explanations Biological explanations include the dopamine hypothesis and genetic explanations from twin and family studies. A non-biological explanation could be a cognitive or social explanation such as expressed emotion.
- Schizophrenia: treatments Antipsychotic drugs reduce dopamine activity; psychological treatments include CBT and family therapy. Evaluation considers effectiveness, side effects and ethics.
- Second disorder Choose one of unipolar depression, anorexia nervosa or OCD and learn its symptoms, one biological and one non-biological explanation, and two treatments.
- Classic study: Rosenhan (1973) Eight pseudopatients reported hearing voices saying 'empty', 'hollow' and 'thud' and were admitted to psychiatric hospitals; all but one were diagnosed with schizophrenia. They stayed between 7 and 52 days (average 19), suggesting diagnosis lacked validity.
- Methods Primary and secondary data, longitudinal, cross-sectional and cross-cultural research, meta-analysis, case studies and interviews.
Common mistakes in Topic 5: Clinical Psychology
- Confusing reliability and validity of diagnosis; reliability is whether clinicians agree, validity is whether the diagnosis is correct.
- Saying Rosenhan's pseudopatients behaved abnormally on the ward; they behaved normally once admitted.
- Describing antipsychotics as curing schizophrenia; they manage symptoms and can have serious side effects.
- Giving two biological explanations when the question asks for one biological and one non-biological explanation.
- Mixing up the details of the second experiment in Rosenhan, where hospitals were told to expect pseudopatients but none were actually sent.
Try three Topic 5: Clinical Psychology exam-style questions
1. Explain what is meant by the reliability of diagnosis. (2 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Reliability is the consistency of diagnosis; different clinicians should give the same diagnosis to the same patient (inter-rater reliability), and the same clinician should give the same diagnosis at different times (test-retest reliability).
2. Describe the procedure of Rosenhan's (1973) first study. (4 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Eight sane people acted as pseudopatients and contacted 12 hospitals in the USA; they complained of hearing voices saying 'empty', 'hollow' and 'thud'; apart from this and their names and jobs they gave truthful information; once admitted they behaved normally and said the voices had stopped; they kept written records of their experiences on the wards.
3. Outline the dopamine hypothesis as an explanation of schizophrenia. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Schizophrenia is linked to excess dopamine activity in certain pathways; this may involve too much dopamine or too many or oversensitive D2 receptors; evidence comes from drugs such as amphetamines which increase dopamine and can produce psychotic symptoms, and from antipsychotics which block dopamine receptors and reduce symptoms.
Topic 5: Clinical Psychology FAQs
What does Edexcel A Level Psychology Topic 5 Clinical Psychology cover?
It covers definitions of abnormality, diagnosis using DSM and ICD, reliability and validity, schizophrenia and one other disorder with explanations and treatments, clinical research methods, Rosenhan (1973) and contemporary studies.
Which paper is Clinical Psychology examined in?
Clinical Psychology is the compulsory topic on Paper 2, Applications of Psychology.
Which second disorder should I study?
You study one of unipolar depression, anorexia nervosa or obsessive compulsive disorder, chosen by your school, and you need its symptoms, two explanations and two treatments.
