IB Psychology HL 3.1.8 Biological Treatment Questions

Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks.
The command term "discuss" requires candidates to offer a considered review of biological treatment(s) of one or more disorders.

Biological could include, but are not limited to:
- drug therapy
- electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
- brain stimulation
- psychosurgery.

Relevant studies may include, but are not limited to:
- TADS (2004-2007) multi-site longitudinal study on drug treatment of adolescents with depression
- Kirsch et al.'s (2014) and Holen et al.'s (2002) study on criticism of drug treatment for depression
- Spaans et al.'s (2015) study on remission using ECT vs. medication among elderly patients with depression
- MacNamara et al.'s (2016) study on the effectiveness of SSRIs for post-traumatic stress disorder
- Boggio et al.'s (2010) study on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment for the post-traumatic stress disorder
- Norris et al.'s (2011) study on the effectiveness of drug treatment for eating disorders
- Mayberg et al.'s (2005) study on deep brain stimulation.

Discussion may include, but is not limited to:
- the effectiveness of the chosen treatment(s)
- the assumptions about etiology upon which the treatment is based advantages and disadvantages of the treatment
- alternative approaches to treatment e.g. CBT or interactionist approach
- holism vs reductionism
- methodological and ethical considerations
- how the findings of research have been interpreted
- practical applications of the research
- implications of the findings
- supporting and/or contradictory evidence.

Candidates may discuss one disorder in order to demonstrate depth of knowledge, or may discuss a larger number of disorders in order to demonstrate breadth of knowledge. Both approaches are equally acceptable.

Candidates may focus on one biological treatment in detail to demonstrate depth of knowledge, or may discuss a range of biological treatments to demonstrate breadth of knowledge. Both approaches are equally acceptable.