OCR A Level Psychology
OCR A Level Psychology Issues in Mental Health Exam Questions
Free OCR A Level Psychology exam questions for Issues in Mental Health, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers the historical context of mental health, categorising disorders, the medical model and alternatives to the medical model.
Issues in Mental Health 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 OCR A Level Psychology Issues in Mental Health
Issues in Mental Health is the compulsory section of OCR A Level Psychology Paper 3, Applied Psychology. It covers three topics: the historical context of mental health, the medical model, and alternatives to the medical model. For each topic you learn background content, a piece of key research, and how the ideas are applied, usually to treatment. Key research is Rosenhan (1973) for the historical context, Gottesman et al. (2010) for the medical model and Szasz (2011) for alternatives to the medical model. You also need the characteristics of affective, psychotic and anxiety disorders. Questions often ask you to evaluate explanations or apply them to a scenario.
What you need to know
- Historical context How mental illness has been defined over time, including deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately and statistical infrequency, and how disorders are categorised using DSM and ICD.
- Types of disorder The characteristics of an affective disorder (such as depression), a psychotic disorder (such as schizophrenia) and an anxiety disorder (such as a phobia).
- The medical model Explains disorders as illnesses with biological causes: biochemical explanations (neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin), genetic explanations and brain abnormality explanations. Treatments are biological, such as drug therapy.
- Key research: Rosenhan (1973) Pseudopatients claiming to hear voices were admitted to psychiatric hospitals and diagnosed mostly with schizophrenia, showing problems with the validity of diagnosis.
- Key research: Gottesman et al. (2010) A Danish register study of the offspring of couples where both parents had been admitted with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, showing that the risk of disorder in the children was much higher when both parents were affected.
- Alternatives to the medical model Behaviourist, cognitive and other non-biological explanations and treatments, such as systematic desensitisation or CBT. Szasz (2011) argued that mental illness is a myth and that psychiatric labels can be used for social control.
Common mistakes in Issues in Mental Health
- Describing the key research without linking it to its topic, for example not explaining what Gottesman et al. show about genetic explanations.
- Confusing definitions of abnormality with explanations of disorders.
- Writing that Szasz denied people experience distress; he argued 'problems in living' are not medical diseases.
- Describing drug treatments without explaining the biochemical mechanism.
- Giving characteristics of the wrong type of disorder, such as describing hallucinations as an affective disorder.
Try three Issues in Mental Health exam-style questions
1. Outline the medical model of mental illness. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Mental disorders are seen as physical illnesses with biological causes; such as neurotransmitter imbalances, genetic inheritance or brain abnormalities; they are diagnosed from symptoms using classification systems and treated with biological treatments such as drugs.
2. Explain what Gottesman et al. (2010) suggests about the causes of mental disorders. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
The risk of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in children was much higher when both parents had the disorder than in the general population; this supports a genetic explanation; however the offspring also shared an environment with ill parents, so environmental factors cannot be ruled out.
3. Outline Szasz's (2011) view of mental illness. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Szasz argued that mental illness is a myth because the mind is not a bodily organ that can become diseased; so-called mental illnesses are problems in living; psychiatric diagnosis can be used as a form of social control, removing responsibility and freedom.
Issues in Mental Health FAQs
What does OCR A Level Psychology Issues in Mental Health cover?
It covers the historical context of mental health, the categorising of disorders, the medical model, alternatives to the medical model, and the key research by Rosenhan, Gottesman et al. and Szasz.
Which paper is Issues in Mental Health examined in?
Issues in Mental Health is the compulsory section of Paper 3, Applied Psychology.
How should I structure my notes for Issues in Mental Health?
For each of the three topics, make notes on the background, the key research and its evaluation, and the application, as these are the parts the questions target.
