OCR Psychology A Level Book 2 sample

The mark schemes and teacher comments provided here are the authors’ interpretations of OCR’s specification assessment material. The next few pages contain examples of short and long questions and answers for the Issues in mental health topic. The answers are good answers, but are not perfect. There are teacher comments on the right to explain what could be improved. We have also included sections from the mark schemes underneath that illustrate what is expected for each of these types of answers. Short question Outline how one treatment based on the medical model is used to treat a specific disorder. [4] One treatment for depression is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This involves electrodes being placed on the patient’s head and an electric current, lasting about half a second, being passed through the brain. The current causes a seizure that can last for between 20 and 50 seconds. The patient is under general anaesthetic throughout the procedure. A patient usually undergoes 6–8 treatments over a 3–4 week period. There are two types of ECT—unilateral ECT involves electrodes being attached to only one temple, and bilateral ECT passes the current through both temples. Bilateral ECT is used more because it works more quickly and effectively but causes more side effects. Unilateral ECT is less common because larger doses of electricity are needed to make it as effective. (About 125 words) The first sentence names the specific disorder which is essential for a good, clear answer. Use of terminology is crucial in your exam answers. This answer uses psychological terminology such as unilateral and bilateral ECT. What the mark scheme says… AO2 (4 marks) Good application of a biological treatment to a specified (named) disorder. The application should be mainly explicit, accurate and relevant. To achieve top level (4 marks) … (See page 278 for full mark scheme.) • Candidates should refer to one biological treatment. Candidates may suggest drugs or other biological treatments for any disorder, for example depression or schizophrenia. Detailed knowledge could include what the treatment is and how it works. Candidates must specify the disorder being treated. This answer is detailed and accurate and therefore would score 4 out of 4 marks. This answer demonstrates knowledge of a treatment based on the medical model and how it is used for a specified disorder. Short question Suggest one difference between any two definitions of abnormality. [3] The statistical definition of abnormality ignores the desirability of the trait being measured, for example a symptom may be statistically normal, but undesirable. However, the statistical definition does not take undesirability of the behaviour into account. Whereas the social norms definition takes into account cultural and historical contexts of normality. (About 50 words) It sounds obvious but make sure you mention both definitions by name, like this answer does. Your comparison needs to be about the same factor— this answer simply states an evaluation point about each definition, with no conceptual link between them. What the mark scheme says… AO3 (3 marks) Good understanding of the key assumptions of the two definitions of abnormality. To achieve top level (3 marks) … (See page 278 for full mark scheme.) • Candidates should clearly identify one point of comparison and reference it appropriately to both definitions. This answer scores 1 mark out of 3 – possibly even 0 out of 3 – but there is one vague point related to definition. This answer only describes (weakly) one evaluation point for each definition—it does not attempt to make a link between these two evaluation points. For a comparison, the point used must apply to both definitions. Just because the answer used a connective (whereas), it doesn’t mean that the two points are actually linked together. For 3 marks, state what the difference is, then give an example for each definition. Exam preparation: Questions, answers and comments 51 Exam preparation: Questions, answers and comments