A clinical psychologist studying Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) wanted to investigate the relationship between the frequency of checking rituals and the severity of obsessive doubts. She administered two standardized psychometric scales to 10 patients currently undergoing treatment.
One scale measured the frequency of checking rituals (e.g., checking locks, light switches). A high score (out of 50) indicated extremely frequent physical compulsions.
The other scale measured the frequency and persistence of intrusive, obsessive doubts (e.g., fear that a door was left unlocked). A high score (out of 50) indicated intense and persistent obsessive thoughts.
The results for each patient are shown in the table below:
Table 1: Checking rituals score and obsessive doubts score for each patient
| Patient | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Checking rituals score | 15 | 22 | 18 | 31 | 29 | 35 | 40 | 38 | 44 | 47 |
| Obsessive doubts score | 12 | 25 | 19 | 28 | 32 | 37 | 39 | 42 | 41 | 49 |
Which of the following best describes the clinical classification of the characteristic measured by the obsessive doubts score?
Behavioural
Cognitive
Emotional
Physiological
Practise AQA A Level Psychology Characteristics of phobias, depression and OCD with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 46 questions, matched to the AQA A Level Psychology (7182) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
