Key term
AQA A-Level Psychology 7182
Social Influence
Memory
Attachment
Topic overviewCaregiver-infant interactions: reciprocity and interactional synchronySchaffer's stages of attachmentMultiple attachments and the role of the fatherAnimal studies of attachmentExplanations of attachmentAinsworth's Strange Situation and types of attachmentBowlby's theory of maternal deprivation and effects of institutionalisationInfluence of early attachment on relationshipsCultural variations in attachment
Approaches in Psychology
Biopsychology
Topic overviewDivisions of the nervous systemStructure and function of neurons and synaptic transmissionThe endocrine systemThe fight or flight responseWays of studying the brainLocalisation of function and hemispheric lateralisationPlasticity and functional recovery of the brain after traumaBiological rhythms: circadian, infradian and ultradian
Clinical Psychology and Mental Health
Research Methods
Scientific Processes
Topic overviewAims and hypothesesSamplingPilot studiesExperimental designsObservational designQuestionnaire construction and design of interviewsVariablesControlDemand characteristics and investigator effectsEthicsPeer reviewImplications of psychological research for the economyReliabilityValidityFeatures of scienceReporting psychological investigations
Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Topic overviewQuantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniquesPrimary and secondary data, including meta-analysisDescriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and measures of dispersionPresentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar chartsDistributions: normal and skewed distributionsIntroduction to statistical testing; the sign test
Data Handling and Analysis
Inferential Testing
Issues and Debates in Psychology
RelationshipsOption 1
GenderOption 1
Cognition and DevelopmentOption 1
SchizophreniaOption 2
Eating BehaviourOption 2
StressOption 2
AggressionOption 3
Forensic PsychologyOption 3
AddictionOption 3
Explanations for Nicotine AddictionOption 3
Schizophrenia
- 6 subtopics
- 21 things to know
- Paper 3
- Paper 3, one topic chosen from the second option block
What Schizophrenia covers
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.
The 6 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Symptoms of schizophrenia and issues in diagnosisPositive and negative symptoms, what reliability and validity mean in psychiatric diagnosis, and the issues that threaten both.Open →
- Biological explanations for schizophreniaFamily and twin study evidence for a genetic basis, neural correlates, and the dopamine hypothesis with its evaluation.Open →
- Psychological explanations for schizophreniaDouble-bind theory, expressed emotion and its link to relapse, cognitive explanations of the symptoms, and the limitations of these accounts.Open →
- Drug therapy for schizophreniaHow typical antipsychotics act in the brain, how atypical antipsychotics differ, and the evaluation of drug treatment.Open →
- Psychological therapies for schizophreniaThe aims of cognitive behaviour therapy for schizophrenia, what family therapy involves, and the limitations of both.Open →
- The interactionist approach to schizophreniaThe diathesis-stress model applied to schizophrenia, how modern versions differ from the original, and the evaluation of the approach.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
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What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
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What do reliability and validity mean in psychiatric diagnosis?
Evaluation
Which four issues threaten the reliability and validity of a schizophrenia diagnosis?
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How do family and twin studies support a genetic explanation?
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What are neural correlates of schizophrenia?
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What does the dopamine hypothesis claim about schizophrenia?
Evaluation
Evaluate the dopamine hypothesis as an explanation of schizophrenia.
Process
How does double-bind theory explain the development of schizophrenia?
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Define expressed emotion and its link to relapse.
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How do cognitive explanations account for the symptoms of schizophrenia?
Evaluation
What are the limitations of psychological explanations of schizophrenia?
Process
How do typical antipsychotics work in the brain?
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How do atypical antipsychotics differ from typical ones?
Evaluation
Evaluate drug therapy as a treatment for schizophrenia.
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What is the aim of cognitive behaviour therapy for schizophrenia?
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What does family therapy for schizophrenia involve?
Evaluation
What are the limitations of psychological therapies for schizophrenia?
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What does the interactionist approach propose about schizophrenia?
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How have modern versions of the diathesis-stress model changed?
Evaluation
Evaluate the interactionist approach to schizophrenia.
Take Schizophrenia further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Positive symptoms vs Negative symptoms
Positive symptoms: additions to normal functioning, an excess or distortion of typical experience. Negative symptoms: a reduction or loss of normal functions and behaviours.
Hallucination vs Delusion
Hallucination: a sensory experience occurring without any external stimulus. Delusion: a firmly held false belief that persists despite contradictory evidence.
Typical antipsychotics vs Atypical antipsychotics
Typical antipsychotics: older drugs that block dopamine receptors and mainly reduce positive symptoms. Atypical antipsychotics: newer drugs acting on several neurotransmitter systems and treating both symptom types.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
Model answer
Experiences or behaviours that are added to normal functioning, representing an excess or distortion of typical experiences.
- 2
Define hallucinations in the context of schizophrenia.
Model answer
Sensory experiences that occur in the absence of external stimuli, most commonly auditory (hearing voices) in schizophrenia.
- 3
What is the most common type of hallucination experienced in schizophrenia?
Model answer
Auditory hallucinations, such as hearing voices.
- 4
What are delusions?
Model answer
Firmly held false beliefs that persist despite contradictory evidence.
- 5
Give two examples of types of delusions seen in schizophrenia.
Model answer
Paranoid delusions (belief that others intend harm) and delusions of grandeur (belief in having special powers or importance).
- 6
What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
Model answer
The reduction or absence of normal functions and behaviours.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Schizophrenia revision questions
- What does Schizophrenia cover in AQA A-Level Psychology?
- 6 subtopics: symptoms of schizophrenia and issues in diagnosis, biological explanations for schizophrenia, psychological explanations for schizophrenia, drug therapy for schizophrenia, psychological therapies for schizophrenia and the interactionist approach to schizophrenia. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Schizophrenia organised?
- By the AQA 7182 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Schizophrenia, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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