Psychological Problems Exam Questions Flashcards
Identify the area of the brain investigated in Daniel, Weinberger, Jones et al.’s (1991) study
into the effect of amphetamine on regional cerebral blood flow.
C (pre-frontal cortex)
Identify the scanning technique used in Daniel, Weinberger, Jones et al.’s (1991) study into
the effect of amphetamine on regional cerebral blood flow.
D (SPECT scan)
Identify which one of the following is a conclusion from Daniel, Weinberger, Jones et al.’s
(1991) study into the effect of amphetamine on regional cerebral blood flow.
D (amphetamine significantly increased cortical activity
during the WCST cognitive task)
Outline one criticism of the procedure used in Daniel, Weinberger, Jones et al.’s (1991) study into
the effect of amphetamine on regional cerebral blood flow.
‘The study lacks construct validity (1) because the
cognitive activity was only measured using one
cognitive test (1).’
Explain one way in which the biological theory of schizophrenia can be criticised.
‘The theory is too reductionist (1) as it tries to oversimplify the cause of a complex disorder (1) by reducing
it down to the activity of neurochemicals such as
overactive dopamine system in schizophrenia (1).’
Identify the correct example of a hallucination as experienced by an individual with
schizophrenia.
C (Hearing voices that do not really exist)
Identify the prevalence of schizophrenia in the British population.
C (1% approximately)
Identify the correct statement about the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
A (Men tend to be diagnosed in their 20s.)
Explain what Daniel et al.’s (1991) findings into the effects of amphetamine show us about the
neuropsychology of schizophrenia.
When the effect of amphetamine was compared with
the placebo there was no difference the brain activity
during sensori-motor (BAR) task (1). However,
amphetamine increased performance on the cognitive
(WCST) task, despite reducing blood flow in the brain
(1). There were some significant differences in blood
flow in particular regions during this task, especially
within the pre-frontal cortex (1).
Identify which of the following is represented by the letter A in the ABC Model of clinical
depression.
B (Activating event)
Identify which of the following is represented by the letter B in the ABC Model of clinical
depression.
B (Beliefs)
Identify which of the following is represented by the letter C in the ABC Model of clinical
depression.
B (Consequences)
Describe how attitudes towards mental health have changed in the UK since the 1959 Mental
Health Act.
The Mental Health Act 1959 made a significant
difference to the way that people with mental health
issues were perceived and treated. The term mental
health disorder replaced more negative terms that had
been used before and allowed patients to be aligned
with those that had physical ailments, resulting in more
rights e.g. consenting to treatment. In the 1960’s, some
psychologists even questioned the concept of mental
health suggesting it was an unhelpful label which led to
more open debate. This has continued which means
what counts and does not count as a mental health
disorder changes over time as attitudes change e.g.
homosexuality was seen as a disorder once but not
now. Society is now much more open in terms of
recognising mental health issues and the growth in
charities and awareness days can be seen as part of
Identify the neurotransmitter associated with schizophrenia.
dopamine
identify the decision-making part of the brain that is affected in people with schizophrenia.
pre-frontal cortex
identify one idea that the biological explanation of schizophrenia ignores
nurture
State what is meant by a stigma and give an example.
1 mark for an accurate definition of a stigma,
e.g. negative thinking, stereotype, making unfair
assumptions, strong sense of disapproval about
something
1 mark for relating stigma to David’s son thinking his
father is a madman or to his workplace worrying if he
will not get well enough.
State what is meant by discrimination and give an example
1 mark for an accurate definition of discrimination, e.g.
treating someone differently, treating someone unfairly,
acting on prejudices, etc.
1 mark for relating this to David being told he cannot be
considered for a promotion.
Choose one of the individuals and briefly explain how psychotherapy may be used to help
them.
Individual’s name:
Dan could go through counselling (1) where he will
be supported to raise his self-esteem through the
counsellor essentially listening to him (1) so that he
ends up being motivated to start doing the things
that he has stopped doing like eating and sleeping
properly
Outline two criticisms of Tandoc et al.’s study into Facebook use and depression.
The sample may be unrepresentative (1) as
journalism students may use social media differently
from other students because of their interest in this
field (1).
* There may have been issues with social desirability
(1) as participants may have wanted to underplay
the time they spent on Facebook or how envious
they were so they did come across in a bad light (1).
Explain one way an individual diagnosed with a mental health problem may experience stigma
and discrimination
Not be able to find employment/ work (1) as
employers may not wish to risk employing
someone with mental health problems in case
they need lots of time off (1).
Not be in a steady long-term relationship (1)
because other people may feel they are not able
to cope (1).
Not live in decent housing/housing area (1)
because they are unable to get a
mortgage/cannot earn enough money to pay the
required rent (1).
Outline the impact of neurological damage to the frontal lobe
Neurological damage to the frontal lobe could
cause schizophrenia (1) brain scans show that
this is due to reduced activity in this part of the
brain
Daniel, Weinberger and Jones (1991) used a laboratory experiment to investigate schizophrenia.
(a) (i) Identify the independent variable in this study.
(ii) Identify the dependent variable in this study.
The independent variable was whether the
participant was given a pacebo or 0.25mg/kg of
Oral Dextroamphetamine (1)
Performance on the Wisconsin Card Sort Test
(1).
Describe one weakness of the Social Drift theory as an explanation for schizophrenia
One weakness of the Social Drift theory of
schizophrenia is that it is difficult to establish
cause and effect (1). The theory suggests that it
is the illness of schizophrenia that causes the
downward shift in social class (1). However, it
could be that being in a lower social class to
begin with is a significant contributing factor to
the development of the illness (1).
Explain why this study was not conducted as a natural experiment.
A natural experiment is one in which the
independent variable (IV) cannot be manipulated
(1). In this study Daniel et al. could manipulate
whether participants were given a placebo or a
drug therefore it would not be suitable as a
natural experiment (1).
Outline one criticism of the ABC Model of clinical depression
Overemphasises the role of nurture (1) and
ignores the influence of nature (1).
Explain how a belief about an event could lead Frank into reacting this way.
A belief about an event can be rational or
irrational. If the belief is irrational the person may
have a negative feeling (1). This can lead Frank
to have issues of anger and the belief that he is hated
