Schizophrenia | AQA A-Level Psychology (7182)
Schizophrenia
- 128 questions
- 6 subtopics
- Paper 3: Issues and options in psychology
- Paper 3
Schizophrenia is an optional topic for Paper 3.
It covers the symptoms and the problems of diagnosing them reliably, biological and psychological explanations, drug and psychological treatments, and the interactionist approach that combines the two.
Sample questions from Schizophrenia
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Symptoms of schizophrenia and issues in diagnosis
What areas of functioning does avolition typically affect?
Show the answer
Work, self-care, and social interaction. -
Symptoms of schizophrenia and issues in diagnosis
Which disorders have symptoms that overlap with schizophrenia?
Show the answer
Bipolar disorder, severe depression with psychotic features, and certain personality disorders. -
Biological explanations for schizophrenia
What are neural correlates in relation to schizophrenia?
Show the answer
Measurable brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, including structural and functional differences. -
Biological explanations for schizophrenia
According to the revised dopamine hypothesis, what causes negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
Show the answer
Low dopamine (hypodopaminergia) in the mesocortical pathway to the prefrontal cortex. -
Psychological explanations for schizophrenia
What is the relationship between high expressed emotion in families and schizophrenia outcomes?
Show the answer
High expressed emotion in families is linked to increased relapse rates in individuals with schizophrenia, suggesting family environment influences the course of the disorder. -
Psychological explanations for schizophrenia
What is central control dysfunction in cognitive explanations of schizophrenia?
Show the answer
Central control dysfunction refers to the inability to suppress automatic responses while performing deliberate actions. -
Drug therapy for schizophrenia
If a psychiatrist wanted to prescribe a first-generation antipsychotic, which drug from the typical class might they choose?
Show the answer
Haloperidol -
Drug therapy for schizophrenia
What are extrapyramidal side effects, and what is tardive dyskinesia?
Show the answer
Extrapyramidal side effects are movement-related side effects caused by typical antipsychotics; tardive dyskinesia is one such effect involving involuntary repetitive movements.
The 6 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Symptoms of schizophrenia and issues in diagnosis | Positive and negative symptoms, what reliability and validity mean in psychiatric diagnosis, and the issues that threaten both. | 25 |
| Biological explanations for schizophrenia | Family and twin study evidence for a genetic basis, neural correlates, and the dopamine hypothesis with its evaluation. | 17 |
| Psychological explanations for schizophrenia | Double-bind theory, expressed emotion and its link to relapse, cognitive explanations of the symptoms, and the limitations of these accounts. | 19 |
| Drug therapy for schizophrenia | How typical antipsychotics act in the brain, how atypical antipsychotics differ, and the evaluation of drug treatment. | 28 |
| Psychological therapies for schizophrenia | The aims of cognitive behaviour therapy for schizophrenia, what family therapy involves, and the limitations of both. | 25 |
| The interactionist approach to schizophrenia | The diathesis-stress model applied to schizophrenia, how modern versions differ from the original, and the evaluation of the approach. | 14 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,999 questions with their answers.