HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

Academic Year 2025: January - June

Formative Assessment 1: Psychology 3A (HPSY331-1)
NQF Level, Credits: 7,24
Weighting: 20%
Assessment Type: Short Questions
Educator: Candice Briesies
Examiner: Candice Briesies
Due Date: 27 March 2025
Total: 100 Marks

Instructions:
• This paper consists of six (6) questions, all questions are compulsory.
• It is based on Units 1 - 4: Chapters 1 – 2 and 6 – 9 and 15 of your Understanding
Psychopathology: South African Perspectives textbook.
• Take note of the mark allocation per question and use this as a guide when answering.
• When answering questions, do not type out the full question first, this is not necessary.
• Unless otherwise stated, you must use your own words when answering questions.
• A Copyleaks Report will be issued via ColCampus once the assignment is submitted.
Please ensure that you follow the correct steps when uploading your assignment, to
ensure that the Copyleaks Report is correctly issued. If the incorrect document is
uploaded, or if no Copyleaks Report is issued, a mark of zero (0) will be awarded. If the
Copyleaks Report indicates that a 30% similarity rating has been exceeded, 25% of the
assessment total will be deducted from the final grade. Where a Copyleaks Cheat
Detection Report is issued, your submission will automatically be treated as if you
received a similarity rating in excess of 30% and 25% of the assessment total will be
deducted from the final grade.
• Your assessment must be typed using:
o Font: Arial
o Font size: 12
o Line spacing: 1.5

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The following Learning Outcomes (LO’s) are assessed in this paper:

Unit 1 - Chapter 1:
• Explain indigenous African understandings of the aetiology of mental illness.

Unit 2 - Chapter 6:
• Describe generalised anxiety disorder.
• Show a general understanding of the anxiety disorders and be able to distinguish the
anxiety disorders from other mental disorders

Unit 2 - Chapter 7:
• Describe and distinguish between major depression (unipolar depression), persistent
dysthymic disorder, bipolar disorder, and cyclothymia.
• Describe a major depressive episode.
• Show a general understanding of mood disorders and be able to distinguish mood
disorders from other disorders.

Unit 3 - Chapter 8:
• Distinguish between and describe the positive and negative symptoms of Schizophrenia.
• Show a general understanding of schizophrenia and distinguish schizophrenia from
other disorders.

Unit 4 - Chapter 15:

• Apply a theoretical model of psychopathology to the development of intellectual, autism
spectrum elimination, externalising and internalising in young people.

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QUESTION 1 (8 Marks)

Refer to the fictitious scenario below, and answer the following questions:
For most of Tumi’s life, she has preferred to keep to herself and actively avoid social interactions.
Even as an adolescent she was described by her mother as indifferent and emotionally cold
towards others. She has always been a loner and prefers to interact with animals as opposed to
interacting with people. Her aunt, who is a nurse, took her in when she was 14 years old as she
thought that she understood Tumi much better than her parents. Her aunt follows a Western
way of life and abandoned her African traditional customs. Thus, her aunt did not see the
necessity of performing any African traditional rituals for Tumi during different phases of her
development in line with African traditional customs. Tumi has been working as an accountant
for a major firm for the past nine years and for most of her working life she never had to meet
with clients. Now, with the appointment of a new manager, she has been instructed to start
having face to face consultations with clients which creates stress for her. The stress is
increasingly affecting the quality of her work. Her parents think that her difficulties might be due
to the fact that the necessary African traditional rituals were not performed for her, while her aunt
thinks that her niece Tumi needs to consult with a psychologist.

1.1. From an African perspective, Tumi’s parents’ explanation on the cause of her illness can
be viewed as: (1 mark)
A. Bad spell from sorcerers who are against her family.
B. Ukuthwasa.
C. “Go lahla maseko/setso” (Sesotho) / ukulahla amasiko in isiZulu.

1.2. Provide an explanation for your answer to Question 1.1. (3 marks)

1.3. Explain why the other two (2) options in Question 1.1 are incorrect. (4 marks)

QUESTION 2 (12 Marks)

Write a short case study that depicts an individual with Generalised Anxiety Disorder.
Your case study must include:
• The person in your case study should be displaying the diagnostic criteria for Generalised
Anxiety Disorder from the DSM-5.
• The case study should be ½ - 1 page in length and should include details about the person,
his/her life, his/her behaviour, etc. (12 marks)

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QUESTION 3 (12 Marks)

Refer to the fictitious scenario below and answer the following questions:
Kylie, a 23-year-old student, describes her mood as sad and ‘down’ most of the time for the past
two years. Since she has left home at the age of 19, Kylie has become socially withdrawn and
avoids interaction with other people. The only time she felt happy and content during the last
two years was during a two-week holiday which she spent with fellow students doing
archaeological excavations in Egypt. Her depressed mood returned when she got back to South
Africa. For the past two years, Kylie has been experiencing an increased need for sleep and she
lacks energy and drive. She finds it very difficult to focus on her studies. Her self-esteem is low
and most of the time she experiences feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.
Although Kylie’s grades are above the class average, she firmly believes that she is a lousy
student who will never be able to find a job. The poor results she obtained in a recent test that
contained several questions about topics that were not included in the syllabus, have led to her
increased depressed mood. Kylie took all the blame for her poor results without considering the
fact that it was an unfair paper, and that the lecturer made a mistake with regards to the content
of the paper.

Reflecting on the scenario above, point out and justify the depressive disorder that best
describes Kylie’s abnormal behaviour. (12 marks)

QUESTION 4 (15 Marks)

Refer to the fictitious scenario below and answer the following questions:
Jason, a healthy six-year-old, was brought to the psychologist by his parents as he continues to
wet his bed. His mother reports that he has never been able to achieve complete night-time
dryness since she had potty-trained him at three years old. However, Jason verbalised that, "I
sometimes have slept the whole night through without wetting my bed.” However, on further
exploration, experiencing a dry bed was not sequentially or predictably achieved by him. His
parents were worried as Jason was to go on a school camping trip in a couple of weeks, and
they were concerned that his peers may tease him for wetting his sleeping bag.

4.1. Identify and describe the diagnostic criteria from the DSM-5 of the diagnosis the
psychologist will likely make in Jason’s case. (5 marks)

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4.2. Explain the three (3) different subtypes of the diagnosis identified in Question 4.1,
according to Von Gontard (1998, in Haugaard, 2008). (10 marks)

QUESTION 5 (37 Marks)

Refer to the fictitious scenario below and answer the following questions:
Tom is a 27-year-old law graduate. He is currently serving his articles at a prestigious law firm
in Cape Town. He has been referred to a psychologist since his colleagues and management
team noticed a marked difference in his work ethic and overall behaviour over the past nine
months. Before the decline, Tom was noted for his attention to detail and his ability to work
effectively and efficiently under extreme pressure. He was able to balance the demands of work
with that of his moderate social life.
His colleagues however noticed a gradual yet progressive change in his behaviour. Tom rapidly
lost a substantial amount of weight within a month or two. He has refused to socialise with his
team members during their Friday night drinks ritual as he enthusiastically used to. His
colleagues and management team noticed a steady decline in his work with Tom frequently
missing deadlines. He has been unable to concentrate, and this affected his ability to construct
meaningful case arguments.
During his first consultation with the psychologist, Tom would frequently launch into
monologues that the psychologist had trouble comprehending. During the moments that Tom
spoke with some clarity, he described his marked sense of despair and hopelessness to his
psychologist. He described how he simply did not feel the same zeal for life as he once did. He
often felt like he had no energy but still could not fall asleep at night. When probed further Tom
revealed that his feelings of despair and hopelessness were not continuous. He did have periods
when he would “regain perspective” as he put it but for the most part, he felt overwhelming
periods of emptiness.
During the second consultation with the psychologist, Tom described how his girlfriend had
left him because of his jealousy. He was incoherent for the most part, but the psychologist pieced
together that he (Tom) was convinced that his (Tom’s) girlfriend was having an affair despite the
fact that his beliefs were proven untrue repeatedly. He narrated how he would check her cell
phone daily and would follow her regularly to work and to the gym without her knowledge to see
who she was cheating on him with. He said that despite his lack of evidence he knew beyond a
shadow of a doubt that she was cheating on him because he heard numerous voices speaking
to him regularly giving him direction as to how to pursue his next plot to catch her out. He
described how it was during these periods (approximately two weeks) that he would forget his

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sense of hopelessness since he became pre-occupied with what he called his “higher calling” to
prove his girlfriend’s infidelity.
Blood tests confirmed that Tom ’s symptoms were not attributable to the physiological effects of
a substance or an underlying medical condition.

5.1.1 After the first consultation, identify the depressive disorder Tom’s psychologist would
most likely diagnose him with. (1 mark)

5.1.2 Describe the diagnostic criteria A from the DSM-5 for the disorder identified in Question
5.1.1. (13 marks)

5.1.3 Based on your answer in Question 5.1.2, provide six (6) symptoms Tom is exhibiting that
corresponds with the diagnostic criteria. Tabulate your answer using the below format.
Symptoms from the scenario Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder
(6 marks)

5.2 During Tom’s second consultation with his psychologist, the psychologist updated his
initial diagnosis after being presented with additional information. According to the DSM-
5, Tom’s symptoms relate to schizoaffective disorder.

Provide an explanation for the schizoaffective disorder and draw examples from the
scenario to motivate your answer. Tabulate the examples using the below format. (10
marks)

Symptoms from Case Study Symptoms of Schizoaffective

Disorder

5.3 Problems with attention is one of the various forms disorganised speech in
schizophrenia can take on. Describe the other two (2) forms of disorganized speech that
schizophrenia can take on. (7 marks)

QUESTION 6 (16 Marks)

6.1. “Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or practice peace” – Joan Borysenko

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 Discuss some physiological and psychological reactions you have experienced when
under significant stress, and how you have overcome it. (8 marks)

6.2. Access and watch the video below, and answer the question that follow:
YouTube
TED. 2013. How to make stress your friend | Kelly McGonigal. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU [Accessed 11 September 2024].

After having watched the video above, evaluate whether your perception of stress has
changed. (8 marks)

TOTAL: 100 MARKS

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