Disclaimer: These questions are not IB “official” questions and are written with our best guess as to what the probable exam questions may look like. Not every possible question is covered but rather a wide sample of questions has been asked so you can get an idea of the types of questions that may appear.

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• Abnormal Psychology exam bank (link)
• Biological approach core exam bank (link)
• Cognitive approach core exam bank (link)
• Sociocultural approach core exam bank (link)

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Human Relationships

Exam Questions

TOPIC	Content	Essay Questions
Personal Relationships		Evaluate one or more studies relevant to the study of personal relationships.
	Formation of personal relationships	Discuss the formation of personal relationships. Discuss one or more factors that may affect the formation of personal relationships. Evaluate one explanation for the formation of personal relationships. Evaluate one or more studies related to personal relationships.
	Role of communication	Discuss the role of communication in personal relationships. Discuss  one or more studies and/or theories related to the role of communication in personal relationships.
	Explanations for why relationships change or end	Evaluate one or more explanations for why relationships change or end.
Group Dynamics		Evaluate one or more studies related to group dynamics. Discuss group dynamics.
	Co-operation and competition	Discuss the role of co-operation and/or competition in group dynamics. Evaluate one study or theory related to co-operation and/or competition.
	Prejudice and discrimination	Discuss prejudice and discrimination. Evaluate research related to prejudice and/or discrimination.
	Origins of conflict and conflict resolution	Discuss one or more origins of conflict and/or conflict resolution. Evaluate research (one or more studies) related to origins of conflict and/or conflict resolution.
Social Responsibility		Discuss one or more factors influencing social responsibility. Evaluate one or more studies or theories related to social responsibility.
	Bystanderism	Discuss one or more explanations of bystanderism. Evaluate one or more studies or theories related to bystanderism.
	Prosocial behaviour	Discuss one or more factors influencing prosocial behaviour. Evaluate one or more studies or theories related to prosocial behaviour.
	Promoting prosocial behaviour	Evaluate one method for promoting prosocial behaviour. Evaluate one or more studies or theories related to promoting prosocial behaviour.

Approaches (Bio, Cog & Socio-cult)

If questions about the three core approaches are asked they will be based on the three “topics” for the human relationships option (personal relationships, group dynamics and social responsibility).

Personal Relationships

• Discuss the biological or cognitive approach to understanding personal relationships.
• Discuss the sociocultural approach to understanding personal relationships.
• Contrast the biological and cognitive approaches to understanding personal relationships.

Group Dynamics

• Discuss the sociocultural and/or cognitive approach to understanding group dynamics
• Evaluate the sociocultural approach to understanding group dynamics.

Social Responsibility

• Discuss the biological approach to understanding social responsibility.
• Evaluate the biological or cognitive approach to the study of social responsibility.
• Discuss the sociocultural approach to understanding social responsibility.

Research Methods & Ethical Considerations

Questions about research methods and ethics will be based on the three “topics” for the human relationships option (personal relationships, group dynamics and social responsibility).

Research Methods

Essay Questions

• Evaluate the use of one research method used to study personal relationships.
• Evaluate one or more research methods used to study social responsibility.
• Evaluate one research method used to study group dynamics.
• Discuss how and why one research method is used to study group dynamics.
• Discuss the use of one research method used to study personal relationships.
• Evaluate one approach to the research of social responsibility.
• Discuss one or more approaches to research (i.e. research method/s) used in the study of personal relationships.

*the phrase “approaches to research” is used in the official IB Psychology guide and it means “research methods” (e.g. true experiments, correlational studies, etc.) Students should be prepared for this phrasing, but hopefully the IB exam team will use the phrase “research methods” so as not to get confused with the three approaches (bio, cog & socio-cult). 

Ethical Considerations

Essay Questions

• Discuss one or more ethical considerations related to research on personal relationships.
• Discuss one ethical considerations related to research on group dynamics.
• Discuss one ethical considerations related to research on social responsibility.

Notes

• Paper Two is essay questions only.
• SL students write one essay for one option, HL students write two essays on two options.
• Like all options, there are three topics in the human relationships option and there will definitely be one question per topic, which means you can safely study only one topic per option. HOWEVER, if you’re doing this then you need to be prepared to answer any possible question on that topic, including the three approaches, research methods and ethical considerations in relation to that topic.

 

Noticed a mistake? Always feel free to let me know in the comments.