Practise IB Psychology HL 3.1.8 questions by evaluating biological treatments and comparing biomedical with psychological approaches using evidence.
Evaluate the biological treatment of one or more disorders.
Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks.
The command term "evaluate" requires candidates to make an appraisal of the effectiveness of the biological treatment by weighing up its strengths and limitations. Although a discussion of both strengths and limitations is required, it does not have to be evenly balanced to gain high marks.
Candidates may evaluate biological treatment of one disorder in order to demonstrate depth of knowledge or may evaluate biological treatment of a larger number of disorders in order to demonstrate breadth of knowledge. Both approaches are equally acceptable.
Biological treatment could include, but is 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.
Discussion may include, but is not limited to:
- long term/short term effectiveness of the chosen treatment(s) (including the issue of side effects)
- the assumptions about etiology upon which the treatment is based
- advantages and disadvantages of the treatment
- comparing/contrasting alternative approaches to treatment eg CBT or interactionist approach by linking these to potential advantages and disadvantages of biological treatments
- relevant issues and debates
- real world implications (e.g. for the economy, mental health services).
If the candidate addresses only strengths or only limitations, the response should be awarded up to a maximum of [3] for criterion D: critical thinking. All remaining criteria should be awarded marks according to the best fit approach.