Practise anxiety and phobia diagnosis, GAD-7 or BIPI measurement, competing explanations and systematic desensitisation, CBT or applied-tension treatment.
Generalised anxiety disorder can be assessed using the GAD-7.
Outline how answers are scored on the GAD-7 scale.
Outline how answers are scored on the GAD-7 scale.
Syllabus 1.4.1 Generalised Anxiety Disorder assessment (GAD-7).
Award 2 marks for a detailed outline. Award 1 mark for a partial outline.
Definitive answer:
- the 'GAD score' is calculated by assigning scores of 0 (not at all), 1 (several days), 2 (more than half the days), and 3 nearly every day, to all 7 questions (hence GAD-7).
- a GAD-7 total score for the seven items ranges from 0 to 21 . Scores represent: 0-5 mild anxiety, 6-10 moderate anxiety, 11-15 moderately severe anxiety and 15-21 severe anxiety.
Example: the GAD-7 has a four-point scale (1 mark) ranging from 0 not at all to 3 nearly every day (2 marks).
Outline what is meant by 'nurture', including an example from the behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders.
Award 1 mark for outline of nurture.
Award 1 mark for example from behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders.
Example:
Nurture is where behaviour is caused by the environment / is learned. (1) The behaviourist explanation of phobias suggests that a phobia is learned through association of the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus until it produces a conditioned response of fear. (1)
Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
2
Context - behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders.
Social learning theory is creditworthy as an example e.g. learning a phobia due to copying the phobia of a parent, vicarious reinforcement, role model, observational learning.
Trauma on its own is not creditworthy. Needs to outline that trauma is then associated with the object, situation, etc. that the person becomes phobic to.
Behavioural - phobias can be learned =0 marks.
Just identifying a study e.g. Little Albert or button phobia or identifying 'classical conditioning' on its own =0 marks.
Explain one weakness of the behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders from the nurture side of the nature versus nurture debate.
Award 2 marks for an explanation of the weakness in context.
Award 1 mark for a basic outline of weakness.
Weaknesses might include:
- Ignores biological/psychodynamic explanations of fear-related disorders.
- Impossible to determine if fear-related disorders are due to nurture or nature (or the extent to which the disorder is due to nurture or nature).
- Reductionist explanation suggests the factor causing the fear-related disorder is the environment (pairing of NS and UCS) when some have a fear-related disorder without this experience.
- Suggests that anyone exposed to a negative stimulus will develop a phobia (deterministic) when this is not the case.
Example:
One weakness of the behavioural explanation of phobias from the nurture side of the debate is that it is difficult to determine if the phobia is due to nurture or nature.
(1) There is evidence that phobias may develop due to genetics and evidence from the study on Little Albert that phobias can be learned. (1) It is impossible to know whether a phobia someone has is due to their genetics/environment or a mixture of the two. (1)
Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
2
Context = behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders.
The weakness must be a weakness of behavioural explanation being due to nurture and not a generic weakness of behavioural (e.g. the Little Albert study is unethical).
No credit to just identifying a weakness on its own. (e.g. it is reductionist).
Craig has a phobia of blood and injections. He watches someone having an injection on television, feels faint and now he is too frightened to turn on his television.
Suggest how applied tension could treat Craig's phobia so that he can watch television.
Award 3-4 marks for a detailed answer with clear understanding of applied tension linked to treating Craig's phobias so he can watch television.
Award 1-2 marks for a basic answer with some understanding of applied tension linked to treating Craig's phobia.
Example:
Craig should go to therapy to learn applied tension as he is likely to feel faint or actually faint when he tries to watch television. (1) During the therapy Craig can learn to tense his muscles (1) when he sees a television or tries to switch the television on. (1) Craig should practice this several times a day and he will find that he can watch television without fainting. (1)
Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
4
For full marks
Must reference Craig needs to do the AT/tensing muscles while he is watching TV.
Must be in context to achieve 3-4 marks (e.g. referencing watching tv, blood/injections).
Can achieve 1 mark for tensing muscles and a 2nd mark for approximate timings of tensing/relax e.g. He should tense his muscles (1) for about 10 to 15 seconds and then relax for about 20 to 30 seconds. (1)
Relaxation on its own =0 marks.