Edexcel A Level Psychology Paper 2 June 2023 question paper 9PS0/02

In your studies of clinical psychology, you will have learned about classification systems for mental health.

Define the term ‘reliability’ in relation to classification systems used for diagnosing mental health.

Explain two reasons why classification systems for mental health may not be valid.

Charles conducted an investigation to see whether therapy delivered online was as effective as therapy delivered face to face (in person). If people were interested in taking part in Charles’s investigation, they could contact him.

His participants came from a variety of different therapists and had a range of different mental health disorders. The participants were separated into two groups.

• Condition A: the therapy was delivered online.

• Condition B: the therapy was delivered face to face (in person).

Every participant had completed eight weeks of therapy and Charles asked them if their mental health disorder had improved, stayed the same, or deteriorated.

Identify the dependent variable (DV) in Charles’s investigation.

Charles used a volunteer sampling technique.

Explain one weakness of Charles using a volunteer sampling technique in his investigation.

Once Charles had collected his data, he conducted a chi‑squared test.

State one reason why Charles used a chi‑squared test to analyse his data.

Explain one improvement Charles could make to his investigation.

You will have learned about the function of neurotransmitters as an explanation of schizophrenia.

Describe the function of neurotransmitters as an explanation of schizophrenia.

Explain one strength of the function of neurotransmitters as an explanation of schizophrenia.

Evaluate how issues around genes and mental health can affect development.

Lydia is a clinical psychologist. She is investigating the experiences of patients who attend the local mental health unit. Lydia has decided to use interviews to ask the patients about communication at the mental health unit and wants some feedback regarding the areas they think are effective as well as possible improvements.

Lydia interviews each patient individually and uses a variety of question types within her interviews. Once the interviews have been completed, Lydia collates her data and then reports on her findings to the manager of the mental health unit.

Discuss how Lydia could use interviews with the patients in the mental health unit.

You must make reference to the context in your answer.

Henry has been referred to a psychiatrist and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Whilst talking to the psychiatrist he disclosed he has a variety of symptoms including hearing voices telling him he is not a good person. He also has delusions where he thinks he is a superhero and can save the world. Henry has also withdrawn from his family and friends and no longer goes out to see his local rugby team play. He does not get on with his parents as he feels they were not loving parents when he was a child.

Henry’s psychiatrist wants to treat him with a psychological treatment.

To what extent could one psychological treatment be effective for Henry’s schizophrenia?

You must make reference to the context in your answer.

In your studies of criminological psychology you will have learned about treatments for offenders.

Describe one biological treatment for offenders.

Explain one strength of a biological treatment for offenders.

Alicia conducted an experiment to investigate perceptions of criminal behaviour. She gave participants from a local office two different scenarios about an office manager.

In the first scenario the participants had to say how likely it was that the office manager committed assault (condition A). In the second scenario the same participants had to say how likely it was that the office manager committed fraud (condition B).

The participants were asked to give a score from 1 to 10, where 1 was highly unlikely and a score of 10 was highly likely.

Explain one weakness of Alicia collecting quantitative data for her experiment.

Alicia’s results are shown in Table 1. Complete Table 1 and calculate the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test for Alicia’s experiment.

Explain one improvement Alicia could make to her experiment.

George is a psychologist who works in a local prison. He has been asked to carry out a case formulation on a prisoner who is due for parole. The prisoner has not been engaging in a treatment programme.

George asks the prisoner about his childhood when he was neglected by his parents. He also asks about his current relationships, which are unstable. George finds out that the prisoner has an addiction and was homeless before going to prison.

Discuss how George may conduct a psychological formulation to understand the function of offending behaviour in the prisoner.

You must make reference to the context in your answer.

Mark is 20 years old and is very tall and muscley. He is constantly in trouble with the police.

When Mark was a toddler, he started to talk at a slightly later age than his sister. At school Mark found it difficult to concentrate as he was easily distracted from his work. He was a member of a junior rugby team until he was asked to leave after being too aggressive. As a teenager Mark often got into fights. He left school at the age of 16 with average exam results, but his parents were disappointed as he did not do as well as his sister.

Mark has just been arrested after crashing a stolen car. His mother says his criminal behaviour is due to his genetics whilst his father says it is due to Mark being seen as a naughty child in the past.

Evaluate XYY syndrome as an explanation of Mark’s behaviour.

You must make reference to the context in your answer.

In your studies of child psychology you will have learned about therapies for helping children with autism.

Describe one therapy used to help children with autism.

Explain one strength of a therapy for helping children with autism.

Alicia conducted an experiment to investigate perceptions about whether day care improved the cognitive development of children. She gave parents from a local nursery two different scenarios about a child.

In the first scenario the participants had to say how likely it was that the cognitive development of a child who did not attend day care would have improved (condition A). In the second scenario the same participants had to say how likely it was that the cognitive development of a child who did attend day care would have improved (condition B).

The participants were asked to give a score from 1 to 10, where 1 was highly unlikely and a score of 10 was highly likely.

Explain one weakness of Alicia collecting quantitative data for her experiment.

Alicia’s results are shown in Table 2. Complete Table 2 and calculate the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test for Alicia’s experiment.

Explain one improvement Alicia could make to her experiment.

George is a psychologist who works at a children’s clinic. He has been asked to work with a child who they are worried may develop the effects of deprivation. This is the second occasion that the child’s mother has had to stay in hospital for a long period of time. The child will be placed in foster care with a family.

During the first separation the child was placed in a children’s home and had to fit in with the routines that were already in place there. The parents of the child are concerned as they noticed a change in their child’s behaviour after the first separation.

Discuss how George may reduce the negative effects of deprivation.

You must make reference to the context in your answer.

Mark works at a nursery. There are children from a variety of different cultures at the nursery.

He has noticed that children from different cultures behave differently when they are at nursery. Some children get upset when their parent leaves and take time to settle down and start joining in the activities. Other children happily start playing and do not seem to be upset when their parent leaves. A small minority of the children become so upset that the workers at the nursery find it very hard to comfort them.

Mark has been asked by his manager to investigate why children from different cultures behave differently when at the nursery. He will present his findings to the other workers.

Evaluate cross‑cultural research into attachment types as an explanation of the children’s behaviour at the nursery.

You must make reference to the context in your answer.

In your studies of health psychology you will have learned about treatments for alcohol addiction.

Describe one treatment for alcohol addiction.

Explain one strength of a treatment for alcohol addiction.

Alicia conducted an experiment to investigate perceptions about whether a drug addict is more likely to commit a crime than a non‑drug addict. She gave participants from a local town two different scenarios about a crime.

In the first scenario the participants had to say how likely it was that the person who was not a drug addict committed the crime (condition A). In the second scenario the same participants had to say how likely it was that the person who was a drug addict committed the crime (condition B).

The participants were asked to give a score from 1 to 10, where 1 was highly unlikely and a score of 10 was highly likely.

Explain one weakness of Alicia collecting quantitative data.

Alicia’s results are shown in Table 3. Complete Table 3 and calculate the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test for Alicia’s experiment.

Explain one improvement Alicia could make to her experiment.

George is a health psychologist. He has been asked to create an anti‑drugs campaign. The campaign is to be aimed at teenagers as there has been an increase in illegal drug use in the area.

George plans to use a social media celebrity, who is a recovered addict, as part of his campaign. He intends to ask the celebrity to talk about the highs and the lows of being addicted. George also plans to show graphic images of what drugs can do to the body and use statistics about the long‑term effects of drugs.

Discuss the psychological strategies behind George’s anti‑drugs campaign.

You must make reference to the context in your answer.

Mark is training to be a health psychologist. He is currently studying causes of heroin addiction using addicts he treats as his participants.

In one case Mark noted that the person took heroin in specific places, such as in the kitchen but not in the bedroom. He noted that overdoses are caused when people take heroin in places they do not normally take it.

Mark asked another addict the reasons why they took heroin. On some occasions they were positive, such as getting high, and sometimes negative to take away pain.

He also observed that a lot of heroin addicts had friends who are addicted to heroin, and some of the heroin addicts said that they started taking heroin because someone they knew also took it.

Evaluate one learning explanation for heroin addiction in relation to Mark’s case studies.

You must make reference to the context in your answer.