Unit 4: Clinical psychology and psychological skills Students should know, understand, apply, critically analyse and evaluate the content, including performing procedures and making connections where appropriate: Topic H: Clinical psychology Students must show an understanding that clinical psychology is about mental health issues, including issues in diagnosing such issues, features and symptoms, explanations, and treatments and therapies. Topic I: Psychological skills This is a synoptic section in which students will be asked to draw on other areas of the qualification in order to understand conceptual and methodological issues. Students will develop an understanding of how to use theories, methodology and evidence from many areas of psychology and apply them to issues. Relevant psychological skills have been contextualised in Topics A–H. This topic collects them together (excluding Topics F and G) in order to ensure that all content has been covered. Students must consider issues and debates from across all topics in order to develop a general knowledge of key issues and debates. There are opportunities for students to develop mathematical skills throughout the content. Students are required to apply the skills to relevant psychological contexts.
● The assessment is 2 hours. ● The assessment is out of 96 marks. ● Students must answer all questions from five sections. ● Section A: Clinical psychology, totals 32 marks and comprises short-answer questions. ● Section B: Clinical psychology, comprises one 16-mark extended open response question. ● Section C: Psychological skills, totals 20 marks and comprises short-answer questions drawing on research methods from other topic areas (except Topics F and G). ● Section D: Psychological skills, comprises one eight-mark extended open response question based on the analysis of a key question from other topic areas (except Topics F and G). ● Section E: Psychological skills, comprises one 20-mark synoptic question based on issues and debates from other topic areas (except Topics F and G). ● Sections C, D and E assess synopticity. Students have to draw on knowledge from other topics. ● The formulae and statistical tables given in Appendix 8: Formulae and statistical tables will also be given in the paper. ● Calculators may be used in the examination. Please see Appendix 6: Use of calculators. ● Students may be required to respond to stimulus material using psychological concepts, theories and/or research from across topic areas. ● Students may be asked to consider issues of validity, reliability, credibility, generalisability, objectivity, and subjectivity in their evaluation of studies and theories. ● Students should be able to define any terms given in the specification.
The guide below has been published to give you a summary of the things you need to know for this module, including the method/design issues (which can be found in the 'Skills' section of this module outline) :