Please note – This lesson is best viewed in desktop mode – click the three dots on your browser and tick ‘desktop mode’ if viewing on a small screen device
Following is a level-3 answer for the question,
“Describe what psychologists have discovered about:
- diagnostic criteria (ICD-11) of schizophrenia and
- a case study of schizophrenia [6]”
Lets-
- review it first;
- then review markscheme requirements;
- then review part-by-part why the answer scores only 3 out of 6; and how it can be improved to achieve a full 6 out of 6
- then see a model answer that would score full 6 marks
The Level-3 Answer
Schizophrenia is a mental health problem where people lose touch with reality. They might have positive symptoms like hallucinations, which are hearing voices that aren’t there. They can also have delusions, which are strange beliefs that aren’t true. Negative symptoms are when people lack normal behaviours, like not talking much or not feeling emotions. The ICD-11 is used to diagnose it and looks at different symptoms.
A case study I remember is about a boy. He had a difficult home life and his parents divorced. He started hearing voices that teased him. He was suspicious of his mother and didn’t speak much. He didn’t sleep well and didn’t look after himself. He was alone a lot and didn’t understand he was ill. He was given medication but it didn’t work for long. He was diagnosed with very-early-onset schizophrenia.
Markscheme Requirements
Level 3 (3-4 marks out of 6)
- Partially addresses the requirements of the question. May cover one theory/concept only.
- Description is sometimes accurate but lacks detail.
- The use of psychological terminology is adequate.
- Demonstrates good understanding.
Level 4 (5-6 marks out of 6)
- Clearly addresses the requirements of the question.
- Description is accurate and detailed.
- The use of psychological terminology is accurate and appropriate.
- Demonstrates excellent understanding of the material
Review of the Answer
| ANSWER | MARKING AS PER MARKSCEHEME CRITERIA (LEVEL 3) | SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT TO ACHIEVE LEVEL 4 |
| Schizophrenia is a mental health problem where people lose touch with reality. Positive symptoms are extra things added on, like hallucinations, which are hearing voices that aren’t there. They can also have delusions, which are strange beliefs that aren’t true. Negative symptoms are when people lack normal behaviours, like not talking much or not feeling emotions. | Adequate but simplistic. Core terms are used, but definitions lack precision and key details about the ICD-11 are missing. | Use “psychotic disorder.” Define symptoms as “presence of abnormality” (positive) and “absence of normal function” (negative) for accurate terminology. Add specific ICD-11 criteria details, e.g., “symptoms must last one month.” |
| The ICD-11 is used to diagnose it and looks at different symptoms. A case study I remember is about a boy. He had a difficult home life and his parents divorced. He started hearing voices that teased him. He was suspicious of his mother and didn’t speak much. | Accurate but descriptive. Correctly identifies symptoms from the case but uses everyday language instead of clinical terms. | Use specific terminology: “auditory hallucinations,” “persecutory ideation,” and “alogia”, etc. |
| He didn’t sleep well and didn’t look after himself. He was alone a lot and didn’t understand he was ill. He was given medication but it didn’t work for long. He was diagnosed with very-early-onset schizophrenia | Good factual recall, weak analysis. Identifies key features but describes them simply, does not show excellent understanding only good understanding. | Use accurate and appropriate terms “poor self-care” and “asociality.” Note that “lack of insight” is a key feature. Briefly explain the medication issue shows “treatment challenges,” to show excellent understanding. |
A Level-4 Model Answer
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder characterised by a loss of contact with reality. According to the ICD-11, diagnosis requires at least one core symptom, such as hallucinations or delusions, to be present for a minimum of one month. Positive symptoms reflect the presence of abnormal experiences, including hallucinations, which are involuntary sensory experiences like hearing voices, and delusions, which are fixed, false beliefs such as persecutory ideation. Negative symptoms involve a reduction of normal functions, exemplified by alogia – poverty of speech; and flat affect – lack of emotional expression.
A relevant case study by Aneja et al. involved a boy with a troubled background. He showed clear positive symptoms, including auditory hallucinations where voices teased him and persecutory ideation towards his mother. He also showed negative symptoms such as alogia and asociality, preferring to be alone. Importantly, he showed a significant lack of insight into his condition. Despite initial treatment, his symptoms persisted, leading to a diagnosis of very-early-onset schizophrenia (VEOS), bringing about the challenges in managing this disorder.
search terms – 9990 psychology, 9990 a levels psychology, clinical psychology, cie psychology, as and a levels , schizophrenia, diagnostic criteria of schizophrenia, icd-11 criteria of schizophrenia, aneja et al., case study of schizophrenia, VEOS, ao1, ao3, evaluation, strengths and weaknesses, issues and debates, essays, 10-markers, 6-markers, revision, past paper solutions, 9990 2024-26 new syllabus