Exam Zone

Want Some Exam Questions... Here You Go...

click Here for the June 2010 exam paper Edexcel Psychology A Level Unit 4 Paper

You have learned about a study that investigates one disorder other than

Schizophrenia.

e.g. Mumford & Whitehouse

(a) Outline the findings (results and/orconclusions) of this study. Identify the study in your answer.  (3)

Mumford & Whitehouse

The mean scores on the eating attitudes test were 10.6 for Asian girls and 7.7 for white girls. This was statistically significant at p<0.001.  There was no significant difference on the results of the body shape questionnaire between the two groups

(b) Evaluate the study that you have outlined in (a).  (5)

• The original sample of over 200 Asian girls and over 350 white girls all attending school in a large metropolitan area therefore the results are generalisable within the UK.
• Participants were girls aged 14-16 so generalisation beyond this cohort may be limited as views on eating and body image change over time.
• The subset interviewed in detail were selected on the basis of responses to a questionnaire, however they may not have been entirely truthful in these responses
• Eight Asian and 10 white girls identified for interview on questionnaire results did not attend the interview. Only 75% of those invited for interview attended meaning results may be biased.
• Both researchers were male which may have created difficulties when interviewing adolescent girls about body image.

From the June 2012 Edexcel Psychology A Level Unit 4 Paper

You have studied one disorder from the following list:

·         Unipolar depression

·         Bipolar depression

·         Phobias

·         Obsessive compulsive disorder

·         Anorexia nervosa

·         Bulimia nervosa

Choose one disorder from the list

(a)  Outline one explanation for your chosen disorder (3)

One explanation for anorexia is the faulty thinking process (cognitive explanation) the explanation argues that you become anorexic because of misperception of the body and faulty thoughts; this includes all or nothing thinking “I ate one biscuit... that’s blown everything”, over generalising “If I fail at controlling my eating I will fail in life.”, minimising “my weight loss isn’t serious” and magical thinking “If I reach size 6 my life will be perfect”

(b)  Using research evidence, evaluate the explanation you have outlined in (a). In your answer make at least one comparison with a different explanation for the disorder you are using. (4)

 Everyone in Western culture is exposed to the same models yet only a small percentage adopts anorectic behaviour.

 Evidence from several studies (e.g. Nasser, Becker) has shown an increase in the incidence of anorexia in groups exposed to western cultural images, supporting SLT.  Harrison & Cantor (1997) showed a significant predictive relationship between the reading of thinness promoting magazines and the onset of anorexia.

Psychodynamic explanations of remaining as a child cannot explain the onset of anorexia post puberty or in males.

Patton et al (1999) found that a history of dieting was the single most reliable predictor of onset, meaning unconscious motivations do not play a major role.

The control that anorectic behaviour gives over diet and weight can be argued to substitute for the maturational development of identity in adolescence so supporting the psychodynamic.