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Psychopathology Practice

A-Level Psychology — Psychopathology Practice

18 MCQ practice problems on psychopathology. Select an answer, submit, and review the explanation. Questions follow A-Level examination style (AQA specification) and cover definitions of abnormality, depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, phobias, biological treatments, cognitive treatments, behavioural therapies, and the diathesis-stress model.

What These Questions Test

These problems test your understanding of how psychological disorders are defined, diagnosed, explained, and treated. You will need to apply different definitions of abnormality, explain disorders using different approaches, and evaluate treatment effectiveness.

Typical question types:

  • Definitions of abnormality: Statistical infrequency (deviating from the norm). Social norm violation (breaking unwritten rules). Dysfunction (interferes with daily functioning). Deviation from ideal mental health (Jahoda: self-actualisation, positive attitudes, environmental mastery, etc.). Each definition has strengths and weaknesses.
  • Phobias: Emotional: extreme fear, anxiety, panic. Cognitive: negative thoughts about the phobic object, catastrophising. Behavioural: avoidance of the phobic object. Two-process model (Mowrer): classical conditioning creates the fear; operant conditioning maintains it through avoidance.
  • Depression: Emotional: sadness, hopelessness, loss of interest. Cognitive: negative thoughts about self, world, and future (Beck’s negative triad), poor concentration. Behavioural: withdrawal, poor appetite, sleep disturbance, possible self-harm.
  • OCD: Obsessions: intrusive, unwanted thoughts (e.g. contamination fears). Compulsions: repetitive behaviours performed to reduce anxiety (e.g. hand-washing). The cycle: obsession → anxiety → compulsion → temporary relief → obsession returns.
  • Biological treatments: Drug therapy: SSRIs (block reuptake of serotonin, increasing levels in the synapse). Tricyclics and MAOIs are older alternatives. Advantages: effective, easy to administer. Disadvantages: side effects, doesn’t address underlying causes, relapse when stopped.
  • Cognitive therapy (CBT): Identifies and challenges irrational thoughts (cognitive restructuring). Beck’s cognitive therapy: identifies negative automatic thoughts and core beliefs. Ellis’s REBT: challenges irrational beliefs (A-B-C model). Advantages: treats the cause, not just symptoms. Disadvantages: requires motivation, not effective for all disorders.
  • Behavioural therapies: Systematic desensitisation: gradual exposure to the feared stimulus while relaxed (reciprocal inhibition). Flooding: immediate, prolonged exposure to the most feared stimulus. Token economy: rewards desirable behaviour with tokens (token = secondary reinforcer).
  • Diathesis-stress model: Mental disorders result from an interaction between a predisposition (diathesis) and environmental stress. The diathesis may be genetic, biochemical, or cognitive. The stress may be life events, relationships, or work. This model integrates biological and psychological explanations.

Approach Strategy

  1. Apply all three levels of analysis. For any disorder, describe the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural characteristics. This ensures a complete answer.
  2. Use the two-process model for phobias. Classical conditioning explains how the phobia develops; operant conditioning (negative reinforcement) explains how it is maintained through avoidance.
  3. Evaluate each treatment. Discuss effectiveness (does it work?), practicality (is it available and affordable?), and ethics (are there side effects or consent issues?).
  4. Apply the diathesis-stress model. This is often the best framework for explaining why some people develop disorders and others don’t — they have different levels of vulnerability and different levels of stress.

Intuition

Psychopathology is about understanding what goes wrong in the mind and how to fix it. Each approach offers a different explanation: the biological approach says it’s a brain chemistry problem; the cognitive approach says it’s a thinking problem; the behavioural approach says it’s a learning problem. In reality, all three may contribute.

The diathesis-stress model is like a bucket. The diathesis is the size of the bucket (genetic vulnerability). The stress is the amount of water poured in. A small bucket (high vulnerability) overflows with a small amount of water (low stress). A large bucket (low vulnerability) can hold a lot of water (high stress) without overflowing.

Common Mistakes

  1. Confusing obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are thoughts (intrusive, unwanted). Compulsions are behaviours (repetitive, performed to reduce anxiety). They are linked but distinct. Not all people with obsessions have compulsions.
  2. Misunderstanding systematic desensitisation. It is NOT just gradual exposure. It specifically pairs relaxation with increasingly feared stimuli (reciprocal inhibition). Gradual exposure without relaxation is just gradual exposure, not SD.
  3. Assuming drug therapy is always the best option. Drug therapy is effective for many people but has side effects, doesn’t address the root cause, and relapse rates are high when medication is stopped. It is often most effective when combined with psychological therapy.
  4. Confusing the two-process model with the diathesis-stress model. The two-process model explains how phobias are acquired and maintained through conditioning. The diathesis-stress model explains why some people are more vulnerable to developing disorders than others. They address different questions.

See Also