The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) is a questionnaire. It has questions which are scored on a five-point scale. One question asks about the amount of time spent on obsessions: Time spent on obsessions | 0 hour/day | 0–1 hour/day | 1–3 hour/day | 3–8 hour/day | >8 hour/day Score: | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2018). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Marks: 1 mark for basic answer e.g. identification. 1 mark for elaboration/ example.
2. Most likely answer (other appropriate responses to be credited):
3. ∞ Obsessions: a state in which someone thinks about someone or something constantly or frequently; recurrent unwanted thoughts.
4. ∞ Compulsions: repetitive physical behaviours and actions; rituals that are performed over and over again (in an attempt to relieve the anxiety caused by obsessional thoughts).
5. Marks: 1 mark basic answer. 2 marks elaboration, twice.
6. Most likely answer (other appropriate responses to be credited):
7. ∞ The categories are not discreet: respondents may not be able to fully distinguish between each description e.g. 1 hour appears (as does 3 hours) for two different categories.
8. ∞ The categories may not apply at all times: Sometimes the respondent may be one category and sometimes another.
9. ∞ It may be difficult to distinguish between time spent on obsessions and time spent on compulsions.
10. Marks: Must be an alternative questionnaire. Any other form of assessment cannot be credited.
11. 1-2 marks basic answer. 3-4 marks detailed answer/elaboration.
12. Most likely answer (other appropriate responses to be credited):
13. The Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) is one of the most used tests in clinical psychology for assessing the obsessive and compulsive symptoms in psychiatric patients. Includes 30 items using true/false format; 4 sub-scales: Checking (9 items), Cleaning (11 items), Slowness (7 items), and Doubting (7 items).
14. Marks: Question requires discussion; always plural of each argument, and always requires conclusion.
15. 1 mark for each advantage/disadvantage (however detailed) and related to the question up to 4 max.
16. 1 mark for two strengths/weaknesses unrelated to the question.
17. 1 mark for conclusion.
18. Most likely answer (other appropriate responses to be credited):
19. Advantages:
20. ∞ Reliability is the extent to which the test gives consistent data over time i.e. the results from one person should be comparable to results from another person.
21. ∞ Validity is the extent to which a test accurately measures a person's attributes i.e. OCD.
22. ∞ the test includes items as defined by DSM as typical of people with OCD and any person can be assessed in relation to the norm.
23. ∞ tests produce quantitative data allowing comparisons.
24. Disadvantages:
25. ∞ tests do not take into account individual differences, aspects unique to the person's OCD.
26. ∞ tests may not allow a person to express their feelings.
27. ∞ Tests may attach a label to a person and the label may 'stick' when the label is too vague or inappropriate for the person and their specific OCD.
28. Conclusion: any appropriate conclusion drawn from the discussion that has been presented. 1 mark if appropriate. A conclusion is a 'decision reached by reasoning' and so a summary of points already made scores 0 marks.