What is covered in OCR Psychology psychological problems?

Psychological problems is a Component 01 topic. It covers how mental health and abnormality are defined and the rising incidence of mental health problems, depression (its clinical characteristics, the biological explanation of genes and serotonin, the cognitive explanation, and treatments of antidepressants and CBT), addiction (its characteristics, the biological explanation of dopamine, the learning explanation, and treatments including drug therapy and aversion therapy), the classic core study Caspi et al. (2003), the contemporary core study Tandoc et al. (2015), and the effects of mental health problems on individuals and society.

What are the core studies for psychological problems?

The classic study is Caspi et al. (2003), a longitudinal study showing that people with two short alleles of the 5-HTT serotonin gene became depressed much more often when they faced many stressful life events, a gene-environment interaction. The contemporary study is Tandoc et al. (2015), a survey finding that heavy Facebook surveillance use raised envy, and that it was the envy (not Facebook use itself) that was linked to depression.

How should I revise psychological problems?

Learn several definitions of abnormality and why incidence has risen. For both depression and addiction, learn the clinical characteristics, the biological explanation, the psychological explanation and the treatments, keeping each explanation matched to its treatment. Memorise both core studies in full, and learn the individual and society effects plus stigma. Practise applying explanations and treatments to scenarios using OCR command words such as Describe, Explain, Evaluate and Discuss.

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OCR GCSE Psychology: Psychological problems overview (J203)

Q: Which exam paper assesses psychological problems in OCR Psychology J203?

Psychological problems is assessed on J203/01 (Studies and applications in psychology 1), alongside criminal psychology and development. The paper is 1 hour 30 minutes, worth 90 marks and 50 percent of the GCSE, and it also includes a research methods task on designing an investigation. Questions range from multiple choice to extended responses up to 13 marks.

An overview of the psychological problems topic in OCR GCSE Psychology (J203), mapping the definitions of mental health and incidence, depression and addiction (their explanations and treatments), the core studies Caspi et al. (2003) and Tandoc et al. (2015), and the effects of mental health problems, and how they are examined on Paper 1.

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The psychological problems content
How this topic is examined
How to study the psychological problems topic
For the official specification

Psychological problems is one of the three topics on Component 01 (Studies and applications in psychology 1) of OCR GCSE Psychology (specification J203). It asks how we define mental health, what causes depression and addiction, how they are treated, and what effects mental health problems have. This page maps the topic and links to a focused answer page for each part.

The psychological problems content

Defining mental health and incidence: Definitions of abnormality, the rising incidence of mental health problems, the effects on individuals and society, and changing attitudes. See Defining mental health and incidence.
Depression: explanations and treatment: Clinical characteristics, the biological explanation (genes and serotonin), the cognitive explanation, and treatments (antidepressants and CBT). See Depression: explanations and treatment.
Addiction: explanations and treatment: Clinical characteristics, the biological explanation (dopamine), the learning explanation, and treatments (drug therapy and aversion therapy). See Addiction: explanations and treatment.
The core studies: The classic study Caspi et al. (2003) on the 5-HTT gene and life stress, and the contemporary study Tandoc et al. (2015) on Facebook use, envy and depression. See Core studies: Caspi and Tandoc.
Effects and attitudes to mental health: The effects on individuals and society, the role of stigma, and ways of supporting mental health. See Effects and attitudes to mental health.

How this topic is examined

Psychological problems is assessed on the first paper (J203/01), which is 1 hour 30 minutes, worth 90 marks and 50 percent of the GCSE, shared with criminal psychology and development. Questions include multiple choice, short structured items, research methods (designing an investigation) and extended responses up to 13 marks. Expect to describe and evaluate the explanations and treatments for depression and addiction, recall both core studies precisely, and apply ideas to scenarios.

How to study the psychological problems topic

Learn several definitions of abnormality and the reasons incidence has risen.
For depression and addiction, learn the characteristics, the biological explanation, the psychological explanation and the treatments, matched up.
Keep explanation and treatment paired. Biological leads to drugs; psychological leads to CBT or aversion therapy.
Learn both core studies in full (Caspi's gene-environment interaction, Tandoc's envy mediation).
Learn the effects and stigma and practise applying them to scenarios.

For the official specification

OCR publishes the full specification, past papers and mark schemes at ocr.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and OCR's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.

Sources & how we know this

OCR GCSE (9-1) Psychology J203 specification — OCR (2017)