By Gargi Deshpande and Saanvi Modi
We know that choosing your IBDP subjects can be stressful, especially since most options are disciplines you have never studied before. In this article, we provide an overview of the subject, detailing the syllabus and assessments, for everyone interested in understanding it better before making a decision. IB Psychology studies cognitive, biological and sociocultural approaches to behaviour, as well as optional psychological investigations. Psychology is an extremely fascinating subject, to say the least, so let us know if this article helped clear some doubts!
The subject
Core
Biological Approaches to Behaviour
The biological approaches to behaviour focus on how our brain works. The underlying assumption is that every human act, feeling and thought has a biological process. In this unit, students learn about the functions of different parts of the brain, different techniques to study the brain, as well as the role of neurons in functioning. Moreover, topics like hormones, genetics and evolution are covered.
Cognitive Approaches to Behaviour
The cognitive approaches to behaviour look into how people think. The ways in which people process information, and what they do with that data. This unit focuses on cognitive processes, such as memory, thinking and decision making, keeping in mind the factors that influence them as well as what they can influence. Cognitive approaches also look at the influence that emotion has on these processes.
Sociocultural Approaches to Behaviour
The sociocultural approach examines human behaviour and identity in a group setting. It is primarily based on three assumptions; human beings have a basic need to belong, human beings have multiple social selves and they categorise themselves into groups, where the behaviour of the group affects the individual and vice versa. It explores through the basic unit– individual and the group where the effect of a group on an individual and vice versa is explored, and the second subtopic is culture, behaviour and cognition where the culture’s effects on human behaviour and cognition is explored.
Options (Paper 2)
The topics from the core are integrated in the options and they are looked at through a cognitive, biological or sociocultural lens. SL chooses one and HL chooses two.
- Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal Psychology explores the world of psychological disorders, their diagnosis and treatments. The students have to pick one disorder to study the aetiology (cause and symptoms) and treatments for.
- Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology studies the development of a child from birth in terms of their identity, behaviour and learning skills.
- Health Psychology
Health Psychology studies the different lifestyles and mindsets that lead to unhealthiness and illnesses.
- Psychology of Human Relationships
Psychology of human relationships studies the different relationships a person has– be it romantic, professional or group dynamics.
Assessments
Paper 1
- Done by both SL and HL students.
- A total of 49 marks.
- 2 hour paper in which students are expected to answer 3 short-answer-questions (SAQs) and 1 extended-response-question (ERQ).
- There is one SAQ for each of the core perspectives in psychology (biological, cognitive and sociocultural), and every answer can achieve a maximum of 9 marks, adding up to a total of 27 marks.
- The ERQ is worth 22 marks. A student chooses 1 prompt from three options, once again from each of the core perspectives.
- One difference between SL and HL in the ERQ is that the latter will get at least 1 prompt from the HL extension topics (animal research, cognition and the digital world, and globalisation).
Paper 2
- A 1 hour paper for SL students, 2 hours for HL students.
- It is an only-ERQ based paper.
- Every option chapter has one question. There are three sub questions pertaining to each of the three subtopics from the options.
- SL students choose one option question they have studied, and pick one of the three sub questions to answer. HL students pick two option questions.
- 22 marks for SL students. 44 marks for HL students.
Paper 3
- Done only by HL students.
- Worth a total of 24 marks.
- A research scenario is presented, and students must answer a total of 3 questions about the method and conclusions of the situation. All three questions are mandatory.
- Question 1 has 3 subparts, each of which is worth 3 marks, adding up to 9 marks for this part of the assessment. This question typically looks into the characteristics of the research method, the sampling method and any alternative procedures.
- Question 2, on the other hand, looks at the ethical considerations of the research scenario. There is only one prompt and it is worth 6 marks.
- Question 3 is worth 9 marks, and focuses on the conclusions of the study. It looks at the generalizability, credibility or presence of bias.
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | |
| HL/SL | HL and SL | HL and SL | HL |
| Marks | 49 | 44 (HL) and 22 (SL) | 24 |
| Length | 2h | 2h (HL) and 1h (SL) | 1h |
| Question Division | 3 (SAQs) and 1 (ERQ) | 1 ERQ (SL) and 2 ERQs (HL) | 3 Questions. Question 1 has 3 subparts. |
| Question Details | There is one SAQ for each of the core perspectives in psychology (biological, cognitive and sociocultural), and every answer can achieve a maximum of 9 marks, adding up to a total of 27 marks. The ERQ is worth 22 marks. A student chooses 1 prompt from three options, once again from each of the core perspectives. One difference between SL and HL in the ERQ is that the latter will get at least 1 prompt from the HL extension topics (animal research, cognition and the digital world, and globalisation). | Every option chapter has one question. There are three sub questions pertaining to each of the three subtopics from the options. SL students choose one option question they have studied, and pick one of the three sub questions to answer. HL students pick two option questions. | Question 1 has 3 subparts, each of which is worth 3 marks, adding up to 9 marks for this part of the assessment. This question typically looks into the characteristics of the research method, the sampling method and any alternative procedures. Question 2, on the other hand, looks at the ethical considerations of the research scenario. There is only one prompt and it is worth 6 marks. Question 3 is worth 9 marks, and focuses on the conclusions of the study. It looks at the generalizability, credibility or presence of bias. |
Internal Assessment
IAs in Psychology are done in groups with a minimum of two members. It involves replicating an actual, already done research study in Psychology. Research studies are almost always done from the cognitive approach because they are easy to administer and harmless. After conducting the research, each student individually writes a detailed report about their investigation, results and connects it back to the topic.
HL and SL Differences
SL
Students taking Psychology at the standard level have, arguably, quite a bit less work than HL students. In terms of the syllabus, they don’t have to study the three HL extensions (animal research, cognition and the digital world, and globalisation). On top of that, they only need to study 1 of the 4 optional topics.
As for the assessments, they only need to complete Paper 1, Paper 2 and the Internal Assessment. Moreover, Paper 1 is only 1 hour, and asks SL students to write only one ERQ from a choice of 3 questions based on the optional syllabus topics. Lastly, fewer assessments means that each is worth a greater percentage of the overall grade. Paper 1 is worth 50%, while Paper 2 and the IA are worth 25% each.
HL
On the other hand, higher level students study psychology at a more in-depth level than SL students. These students have to study the three HL extensions (animal research, cognition and the digital world, and globalisation) and study 2 of the 4 optional topics.
HL students further need to do Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 in addition to the Internal Assessment. For paper 1, HL will have at least one mandatory ERQ based on the HL extensions. For paper 2, HL students must write 2 ERQs from two different options. For them, Paper 2 is 2 hours long. The percentage distributions are different as well, with each assessment worth less in total. Paper 1 is 40%, Paper 2 is worth 20%, Paper 3 is worth 20%, and the IA is also worth 20%.
Tips
- Practice is everything
Psychology can be very subjective, and so regular practise is the only way to guarantee good marks. Writing practice SAQs and ERQs for every section of the syllabus is vital, as is going through the markschemes and feedback on the same. Understanding what the examiner expects from an answer and integrating those into your writing over the course of the diploma will lead to success. You can look at the sample ERQs online for the same.
- Know how to answer command terms
Focus in a question can be maintained if you know how to answer your command term. Make sure you know how you can answer each command term for both SAQs and ERQs. These include “discuss”, “to what extent” and more.
- Work smarter, not harder
Psychology is a very efficient subject. You will need to be able to recognise which studies are overlapping the most and which you will remember the best, and only study those. Furthermore, since you only need to attempt one ERQ which will be from one approach, you can learnt two studies for each topic from the approach you want to attempt for the ERQ, and just learn one for the topics in the other two. For HL ERQs, you can just skip all the SL topics and learn the HL extensions of all the approaches for the ERQs. That way, you know you will be able to tackle the mandatory HL extension ERQ.
Ever heard of Freud or Skinner and wanted to know more? IB Psychology gives you the chance to do just that, and so much more. In this article, we touch upon the various elements of the course for both standard and higher level students. This includes a breakdown of the syllabus, an insight into the external and internal assessments, as well as the difference between standard and higher level content. You can learn everything from memory to mental disorders, essay writing to replicating an experiment! The article further includes tips and links that will do you nothing but good when navigating this, sometimes complicated, yet fascinating subject.
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