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Q6.
Suggest how the behavioural approach might be used to explain Kirsty’s phobia of
balloons.

Hamish has a phobia of heights. This phobia has now become so bad that he has
(Total 4 marks)

difficulty in going to his office on the third floor, and he cannot even sit on the top deck of a
bus any more. He has decided to try systematic de–sensitisation to help him with his
problem.

Explain how the therapist might use systematic de-sensitisation to help Hamish to
overcome his phobia.
(Total 6 marks)

Q7.
‘Behaviourists believe that all behaviour, both normal and abnormal, is learned through
processes such as classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning.’

Discuss the behavioural approach to explaining phobias.

(Total 16 marks)

AQA Psychology A-level 2 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

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The researcher analysed the data in Table 1 using a Spearman’s rho statistical test.

(c) With reference to level of measurement, explain why Spearman’s rho is an

appropriate statistical test for this data.
(2)

(d) Estimate the correlation coefficient most likely to result from analysis of the data in
Table 1.

The correlation coefficient would be approximately

+0.95
+0.70
+0.30
+0.15
(1)
(Total 8 marks)

Q6.
A researcher wanted to investigate the effectiveness of therapy as a treatment for
obsessive-compulsive disorder in children. Before the therapy started, the mothers of 10
children with obsessive-compulsive disorder each rated the anxiety of their child. They
used a rating scale of 1–10, where 1 meant not at all anxious and 10 meant extremely
anxious. Each child then attended a programme of therapy. At the end of the programme,
each mother rated her child again, using the same anxiety scale. The scores for each
child before and after therapy were used to calculate a median anxiety rating.

The data are shown in the table below.

Median ratings of children’s anxiety before and after therapy

Before therapy After therapy

Median rating of anxiety 8.5 4.0

(a) Identify two symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

(2)

(b) Name and outline the experimental design used in this study.
(2)

(c) Explain one advantage of this experimental design.

(2)
(Total 6 marks)

AQA Psychology A-level 3 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

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Q1.
Depression – Questions by Topic

Explain how findings of psychological research into the treatment of depression could
have implications for the economy.
(Total 2 marks)

Q2.
Briefly describe one study in which treatment for unipolar depression or bipolar
depression was investigated.
(Total 3 marks)

Q3.
Complete the diagram below, by filling in A and B, to show Beck’s negative triad as it is
used to explain depression.

Beck’s negative triad

(Total 2 marks)

Q4.
Discuss the cognitive approach to treating depression.
(Total 16 marks)

AQA Psychology A-level 1 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

°@°
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Average and range of improvement scores

Average Range

Therapy A 6.5 2 – 19

Therapy B 6 4–9

Explain what these findings suggest about the different therapies?

(Total 4 marks)

Q5.
Discuss biological explanations of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Refer to
evidence in your answer.
(Total 16 marks)

AQA Psychology A-level 2 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

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Q1.
Phobias – Questions by Topic

Briefly outline how flooding might be used to treat a phobia.

(Total 2 marks)

Q2.
(a) Outline a behavioural explanation of phobias.
(2)

(b) Briefly discuss one limitation of the behavioural explanation of phobias that you
have outlined in your answer to part (a).
(3)
(Total 5 marks)

Q3.
Explain one weakness of systematic de-sensitisation.
(Total 2 marks)

Q4.
Read the item and then answer the question that follows.

Tommy is six years old and has a phobia about birds. His mother is worried
because he now refuses to go outside. She says, ‘Tommy used to love
playing in the garden and going to the park to play football with his friends,
but he is spending more and more time watching TV and on the computer’.

(a) A psychologist has suggested treating Tommy’s fear of birds using systematic
desensitisation. Explain how this procedure could be used to help Tommy overcome
his phobia.
(4)
(b) Explain why systematic desensitisation might be more ethical than using flooding to
treat Tommy’s phobia.
(2)
(Total 6 marks)

Q5.
Read the item and then answer the question that follows.

Kirsty is in her twenties and has had a phobia of balloons since one burst near
her face when she was a little girl. Loud noises such as ‘banging’ and ‘popping’
cause Kirsty extreme anxiety, and she avoids situations such as birthday
parties and weddings, where there might be balloons.

AQA Psychology A-level 1 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

 Suggest how the behavioural approach might be used to explain Kirsty’s phobia of
balloons.
(Total 4 marks)

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Q6.

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Hamish has a phobia of heights. This phobia has now become so bad that he has
difficulty in going to his office on the third floor, and he cannot even sit on the top deck of a
bus any more. He has decided to try systematic de–sensitisation to help him with his
problem.

Explain how the therapist might use systematic de-sensitisation to help Hamish to
overcome his phobia.
(Total 6 marks)

=
Q7.
‘Behaviourists believe that all behaviour, both normal and abnormal, is learned through
processes such as classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning.’

Discuss the behavioural approach to explaining phobias.

(Total 16 marks)

AQA Psychology A-level 2 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

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Q1.
Disorder Characteristics – Questions by Topic

Outline one behavioural and one cognitive characteristic of obsessive-compulsive

disorder (OCD).
(Total 4 marks)

Q2.
Outline characteristics of either phobic disorders or obsessive compulsive disorder.
(Total 4 marks)

Q3.
Outline characteristics of depression.
(Total 4 marks)

Q4.
Bob always checks that doors are locked and plug sockets are switched off. His checking
routine has become very time consuming. He now feels overwhelmed with fears that his
family could be in danger if he does not complete his checking routine. His doctor thinks
Bob has obsessive compulsive disorder.

(a) Explain what is meant by ‘obsessions’ and ‘compulsions’. Refer to Bob in your
answer.
(4)

(b) Bob’s doctor is sending him for a brain scan and is looking into his family history.

How might the biological approach be used to explain Bob’s obsessive-compulsive

disorder?
(4)
(Total 8 marks)

Q5.
A researcher studying depression wanted to see whether or not there was a relationship
between level of self-esteem and negative schema score. She constructed two
questionnaires and asked ten people who had been diagnosed with depression to
complete them.

One questionnaire measured the participant’s level of self-esteem. A low score (out of 50)
indicated low self-esteem.

The other questionnaire measured whether the participant showed evidence of negative
schema. A low score (out of 50) indicated evidence of negative schema. The two sets of
results for each participant are shown in the table below.

Table 1 - Self-esteem score and negative schema score for each patient

AQA Psychology A-level 1 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

 Participant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Self-esteem
8 9 9 11 13 17 18 18 20 22
score

Negative
schema 11 15 13 18 12 14 20 16 17 19
score

(a) Is negative schema score best described as measuring a cognitive, emotional or

behavioural characteristic of depression?

A Cognitive
B Emotional
C Behavioural

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(1)

(b) Draw a suitable graphical display to represent the data in Table 1. Label your graph
appropriately.

Title:_______________________________________________________________

(4)

AQA Psychology A-level 2 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

seee
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Definitions of Abnormality – Questions by Topic

Abnormality can be defined as ‘the failure to function adequately’.

Outline and evaluate this definition of abnormality.

(Total 6 marks)

Q2.
Outline two limitations of the deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality.
(Total 4 marks)

Q3.
Identify one definition of abnormality and explain one limitation associated with this
definition.
(Total 3 marks)

Q4.
Bina has been diagnosed with depression. Her doctor says that depression is a common
problem but Bina is miserable. She cannot be bothered to get washed in the morning and
her manager is unhappy that she is taking a lot of time off work. When she does go to
work she is irritable, has temper tantrums and is rude to customers.

Using your knowledge of three definitions of abnormality, explain whether or not Bina’s
behaviour might be considered to be abnormal.
(Total 6 marks)

Q5.
“Abnormality is very difficult to define. It can be hard to decide where normal behaviour
ends and abnormal behaviour begins.”

Discuss two or more definitions of abnormality.

(Total 12 marks)

Q6.
Rob is a sixth form student who has started hearing voices in his head. The voices come
often, are usually threatening and make Rob feel frightened. The voices are making it
difficult for Rob to complete his homework properly and he is worried about how this may
affect his chances of going to university. Rob has not told anyone about his experiences,
but his parents and teachers have noticed that he appears distracted, anxious and untidy.

Outline and evaluate failure to function adequately and deviation from ideal mental health
as definitions of abnormality. Refer to the experiences of Rob in your answer.
(Total 16 marks)

AQA Psychology A-level 1 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

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Q1.
OCD – Mark Scheme

Outline the use of one or more drugs in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD).
(Total 4 marks)

Q2.
Read the item and then answer the questions that follow.

Researchers analysed the behaviour of over 4000 pairs of twins. The

results showed that the degree to which obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD) is inherited is between 45% and 65%.

(a) Distinguish between obsessions and compulsions.

(2)

(b) With reference to the study described above, what do the results seem to show
about possible influences on the development of OCD?
(4)
(Total 6 marks)

Q3.

Gavin describes his daily life.

‘I sometimes get gripped with the thought that my family is in danger. In

particular, I worry about them being trapped in a house fire. I now find that I
can only calm myself if I check that every plug socket is switched off so an
electrical fire couldn’t start. I used to switch each socket on and off, but now I
have to press each switch six times. It takes me ages to leave the house’.

Outline two characteristics of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Refer to Gavin in your

answer.
(Total 4 marks)

Q4.
Two different drug therapies were tested on a group of patients. All the patients suffered
with the same anxiety disorder. Half the patients were given Therapy A and the other half
were given Therapy B. Improvement was assessed on a scale from 0-25, where 0 = no
improvement.

The table below shows the improvement made between the start and the end of the
treatment.

AQA Psychology A-level 1 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com

 Average and range of improvement scores

Average Range

Therapy A 6.5 2 – 19

Therapy B 6 4–9

Explain what these findings suggest about the different therapies?

(Total 4 marks)

-n
Q5.
Discuss biological explanations of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Refer to
evidence in your answer.
(Total 16 marks)

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AQA Psychology A-level 2 PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com