In-depth and easy to understand evaluation points written in both point form and paragraphs on all Clinical psychology topics included in the CIE A Level 9990 Psychology subject.
These notes were used and compiled by two A* students!
• the applica0on of psychology to everyday life
• individual and situa0onal explana0ons
• nature versus nurture
• the use of children in psychological research
• cultural differences
• reduc0onism versus holism (treatment e0ology fallacy → more of an explana0ons thing)
Reduc0onist approach is not always bad. Especially for clinical psych where a
mul0disciplinary/perspec0ve approach is needed to understand disorders such as
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
• determinism versus free-will
• idiographic versus nomothe0c
Not wriEen in the syllabus but in the eg essays:
Evalua0ng studies on their reliability
1. Review the methodology (sample size, sample, selec0on criteria, biases, limita0ons
2. Examine if the research can be reproduced/replicated
3. Consider confounding variables
4. Assess the conclusion, evaluate conclusions drawn in light of the results/evidence shown
(does the data support the conclusion? Are there any alterna0ve explana0ons for the
findings?)
Evalua0on
1. Claim
2. Reason
3. Evidence
4. Evalua0ve comment
5. Counter-argument (e.g. reduc0onist but it allows researchers to clearly understand that
specific explana0on?? Need to use mul0-disciplinary approach) 6. Conclusion
individual and situa0onal explana0ons, use of children in research, idiographic versus nomothe0c,
case studies, generalisa0ons from findings
Use of children in research
- Aneja et al. (2018) involved 3 children in the study which can lead to certain ethical issues
- Informed consent: When working with children, the researcher needs to make all
informa0on related to the study accessible for children to let them know what is required
of them for their consent. However, it may be difficult for children to fully understand what
the study entails and decide. Thus, they cannot consent to it. Instead, parental consent
should be obtained, and the parents should come to an agreement with the child.
- Protec0on from harm: Children may react differently from adults and may feel distressed as
they find it difficult to communicate their feelings
- Right to withdraw: Children may not realise their right to withdraw from the study or they
may not be able to express their will to withdraw as they may be scared to speak up or find
it difficult to iden0fy and express their feelings.
- Nonetheless, use of children in research is important to understand and increase our
knowledge of their experiences with schizophrenia and to create interven0ons specialized
for children.
Individual and situa0onal explana0ons
- Freeman et al. (2003) aims to inves0gate whether a non-clinical sample would experience
persecutory idea0on in a neutral virtual environment. It considers how both individual
factors and situa0onal factors may lead to these persecutory thoughts.
- How a person processes informa0on can be affected by their feelings of paranoia and
anxiety, both of which are individual factors. These factors may increase their vulnerability
to persecutory thoughts. As such, paranoia and anxiety of the sample was measured using
the Paranoia scale and Spielberger State Anxiety Ques0onnaire respec0vely.
- The study also uses VR to simulate a situa0on with the 5 avatars talking, smiling and looking
at each other. This ambiguous behaviour is a situa0onal factor that may be an indicator for
persecutory thoughts.
- Thus, this study highlights the role of both individual and situa0onal explana0ons in the
development of persecutory idea0on.
,Idiographic vs nomothe0c
- Freeman et al. (2003) took on both idiographic and nomothe0c approaches.
- The study used different psychometric tests and self-reports such as the VR-paranoia
ques0onnaire to collect quan0ta0ve data on the persecutory thoughts and ideas of
reference of the 24 par0cipants in the sample. This data is objec0ve and can be sta0s0cally
analysed with the aim of generalizing these findings to a wider target popula0on. This
shows the use of the nomothe0c approach.
- Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain qualita0ve data on the par0cipants’
thoughts on their VR experience and any feelings of distress. This shows the use of the
idiographic approach as it focuses on the individual’s experiences which is important to
improve the current VR technology for further research to provide psychologists a beEer
understanding of persecutory idea0on in people with schizophrenia. Thus, helping them
create treatments for people with schizophrenia to cope with persecutory idea0on.
- Both approaches are needed to understand the frequency of persecutory idea0on in the
general popula0on.
- The ICD-11 takes on a nomothe0c approach as it was developed based on mass
experimental research with large samples of data to create a diagnos0c criterion for the
general popula0on of people with schizophrenia. However, it may be useful to incorporate
an idiographic approach such as using interviews to obtain in-depth informa0on on any
unique symptoms of schizophrenia. This can help avoid misdiagnoses for people with
comorbidi0es and decreases the likelihood of someone with schizophrenia going
undiagnosed. It also helps psychologists create more personalized treatments for each
pa0ent based on their individual experiences.
Freeman et al. (2003)
Quan0ta0ve vs qualita0ve data
- Both quan0ta0ve and qualita0ve data are obtained in this study.
- Quan0ta0ve data was obtained through a range of ques0onnaires such as the Brief
Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Paranoia Scale, the VR-Paranoia and more. This data is
objec0ve and can be analysed sta0s0cally. It cannot be interpreted differently as it is
numerical data which increases its validity. However, no range of scores are specified in
these ques0onnaires to assess the severity of the constructs measured. Therefore, leaving
room for some subjec0vity.
- Qualita0ve data was obtained through the semi-structured interviews conducted to find
out about the par0cipants’ experiences with the VR. This data is subjec0ve and can be
interpreted differently across different people. The interviews were videotaped and were
then rated on a 6 point scale for the indica0on of persecutory thoughts by Freeman. While
this data provides a deeper understanding of the VR experience and the thoughts of the
par0cipants, it cannot be generalized to anyone with schizophrenia.
, Applica0on to everyday life
- This study has greatly contributed to psychologists’ understanding of persecutory idea0on
and can be applied in research.
- It can be applied in clinical seengs where the findings on persecutory idea0on can be used
to develop new VR therapies where people can focus on developing new ways of
interac0ng in the real world.
- However, the par0cipants reported rela0vely low levels of presence within the virtual
library where the average presence ra0ng was 2.3/6. This suggests that the VR environment
may not be a natural enough environment for the par0cipants, the dura0on spent in the
room may have been too short or the nature of the task was too passive which led to poor
immersion, decreasing the ecological validity of the findings. Thus, the VR technology may
not be applicable to everyday life un0l improvements are made to the credibility of the
avatars and their ability to demonstrate human behaviours.
Strengths
- Half the par0cipants answered the BSI, paranoia and anxiety ques0onnaires before and
afer their 0me in the virtual room and the other group only completed them afer the VR
experience. This was done to inves0gate whether the comple0on of the ques0onnaires
which revolved around persecutory idea0on primed the par0cipants to experience
persecutory thoughts when they were forming an impression of the people in the room.
Weaknesses
- There is a sample bias as the par0cipants are all from the same university in London, were
recruited through volunteer sampling (adver0sements), did not have any history of mental
disorders and were rela0vely young with a mean age of 26. Therefore, the par0cipants may
have had an increased interest in psychology and VR compared to the general popula0on.
Thus the sample is not representa0ve and the findings cannot be generalized to people
outside the sample.
Treatment & management
Validity
- Low validity because it is mainly based upon the original dopamine hypothesis theory
instead of revised dopamine hypothesis theory
- An0psycho0cs believed to alleviate posi0ve symptoms by reducing the ac0on of dopamine
- This believe contradicts with the revised dopamine hypothesis theory which suggests that
abnormally low levels of dopamine in the cortex are responsible for symptoms
- This paradox causes uncertainty of validity
- Study by Sensky et al. on effec0veness of CBT has high validity
- Treatment sessions audiotaped, and randomly selected and assessed by blind eaters
- Showed that CBT is an effec0ve treatment for reducing symptoms
- Benefits contribute for at least 9 months afer treatment
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