PSYC7322 Exam Preparation Workshop

Please note that the information below is suggestions/guidelines. Thus, you don’t have to follow
these. You also need to determine if these guidelines are relevant to the types of questions asked
in the exam and the mark allocation for the questions.

Answering Questions

 Focus on the material covered in the textbook

 Read the question carefully
 Identify the type of answer required e.g. identify, discuss, explain, compare, critique,
provide examples, link to the case study
 Ensure that you answer all parts of the question
 Don’t write anything that doesn’t directly answer the question as marks won’t be
awarded for this
 Write enough or the marks allocated
 Adhere to instructions e.g. write an essay, short paragraph, word limits
 Essay question need to be written in paragraph form
o They should include a brief introduction and conclusion
o Try to structure the essay well
 For short questions (i.e. non-essay questions), you can use bullet points but you must
use full sentences if the question requires it
 Make sure that you say enough so that your point is clear to the reader
 Each sentence should covey a separate, relevant point
 Avoid repeating yourself
 Don’t worry about spelling and grammar (but please write legibly)
 If you can’t remember a technical term, then provide an example to show that you
understand what the term means e.g. the person doesn’t feel like socialising (for
asociality)

Case Study Questions

 Read the case study carefully

 Distinguish between information related to the diagnosis and information related to
aetiology
 Remember that information on aetiology informs decisions about the best approach to
treatment
 Determine whether the discussion on aetiology and/or treatment needs to be a general
discussion or whether it needs to be linked to the case study
 Remember to identify the specific disorder e.g. Bipolar I disorder (rather than Bipolar
disorder or manic episode)
 If the information is available, you can identify the relevant specifiers for the disorder
 Clinical description of a disorder:

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 o Focus on identify the DSM 5 criteria/symptoms. Discuss all of these and provide
evidence from the case study for the symptoms that are present
o The wording doesn’t need to be as detailed as in the DSM
o Discuss any other information about the clinical presentation that isn’t included
in the DSM 5 criteria

Aetiology of a disorder

o For case study questions, identify the information related to aetiology in the case
study
o Unless stated otherwise, an integrated perspective on the aetiology should be
provided
o Biological causes
o Psychosocial causes
o Social causes
o A brief discussion of how these factors interact to lead to the development of the
disorder
o For the different disorders, biological, psychological and social factors play a
bigger/smaller role. Spend more time discussing the causal factor that plays the
biggest role (if this is the case for a specific disorder) e.g. schizophrenia and
dissociative identity disorder

Treatments

 The terms treatment and management seem to be used interchangeably so don’t get
confused by this
 There are three main types of treatment approaches:
o Biological, psychological and psychosocial
 Try to identify the main treatment or combination of treatments for a disorder
 Briefly explain the treatment to demonstrate your understanding of it
 Briefly discuss why it’s an effective treatment option for that individual (if the question is
linked to a case study) e.g:
o CBT for depression focuses on changing maladaptive, negative thought processes
and behavioural activation
o CBT for Bipolar disorder focuses on medication compliance, mood monitoring,
anticipating and coping with stressors, problem-solving skills
 Briefly discuss the effectiveness of the treatments and whether a combined approach to
treatment is more effective
 Some disorders have guidelines on the steps in the treatment process e.g. bipolar
disorder and schizophrenia

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 Discuss possible problems with the approach to treatment e.g. the side effects of the
medication, toxicity, family may not be willing to be involved in the treatment process

Studying for the exam

These are only suggestions as everyone has their own approach to studying. If you already
have a system that works, then continue using that

 It’s going to be difficult to memorise everything. Thus, having a good understanding of

the material is essential
 Try explaining theories others or talking out loud as you are really having a (written)
conversation about the disorders, causes and treatments
 Study in pairs or groups if this works for you
 It can be helpful to use visual aids (e.g. mind maps), mnemonics, flashcards (and to stick
these up all around the house)
 Ensure that you have a good understanding and the main causes of the disorders in
general
 Ensure that you have a good understanding of the main treatments in general
 Create your own examples/case studies
 See the example of the mind map for grouping causes and treatments so that you don’t
have to study them individually
 Use of technology??