In this post, I will share my tips on how I do the viva voce – a compulsory final interview with the student after they’ve submitted their EE final draft. The viva voce takes about 20-30 minutes and is conducted after the final draft is submitted. According to the EE Guide, the viva voce is an opportunity … “…to ask …
IA Tips…How to explain your PARTICIPANTS
You must “explain” the five elements of the exploration: Design, Sampling technique, Controls, Materials, Participants to get full marks for the IA exploration (4 marks). In this post we’ll look at how to explain your choice of participants. Explaining participant choices is quite difficult. I would aim to have one really excellent explanation that clearly shows how you are controlling …
IA Tips: How to explain your…MATERIALS
The key to a great IA is attention to detail. The Exploration is worth the fewest marks (4) but probably requires the most attention. I don’t think the Exploration is a difficult section to write, as long as you follow some basic guidelines. I’ve already made a video explaining how to use the What-How-Why method (State-Describe-Explain) to explain each section …
Generalizability in Animal Studies: Cognition and Culture
Generalizability is the extent to which we can confidently predict the results of a study would apply to a different context, including different people, places, and procedures. When considering the extent to which we can generalize findings from animal studies, we are considering how confidently we could predict the same finding in humans. For example, animal studies like Sapolsky’s research …
IA Tips for Loftus and Palmer
By far it’s the most popular study to conduct for the IB Psychology IA. But watch out, the “car crash study” can cause major accidents if you’re not careful. So if you’re doing Loftus and Palmer for the IA, read this post carefully. Below is a summary of some common errors students make and tips on how to avoid these …
IA tips for Glanzer and Cunitz Studies
It’s a popular study to replicate for the IA, but Glanzer and Cunitz’s 1966 study on the serial position effect is filled with danger when you’re not careful. If you’re doing this study for your IA, read this post carefully! Read more: Key Study: Multi-store Model and The Primacy and Recency Effects Key Studies for the IA These famous psychologists …
How to avoid the biggest mistake in IAsLink your investigation to the background theory
The most common mistake I’ve seen in IAs with the new curriculum is the lack of focus on the background theory or model. Students spend all their time and energy on the original study they’re replicating, that they completely overlook this crucial element. In this blog post (and video), (and in the video below) I want to show you an easy …
Key Study: Social status and stress in Olive Baboons (Sapolsky, 1990)
An interesting finding in the field of stress and health psychology is that people with higher social status are generally in better health: they have lower rates of heart disease, are less obese and live longer. Why? One reason could be because they are less stressed. A lot of our knowledge about stress and health comes from animal studies, particularly those …
10 ways to stress a monkeyFindings from studies on primate stress and social rank
Why would you want to stress a monkey? Hopefully you don’t. But learning about stressed monkeys can help us explain stress problems in humans. Decades of animal research has shown that social status is connected with stress. Typically speaking, monkeys with a higher rank in their group are less stressed and have lower levels of stress hormones like cortisol. Low-ranking …
Over 2200 words? 5 tips to help
It’s a great problem to have, but it’s still a problem. Hard-working students lament over having to cut out aspects of their IA to get under the 2200 words. But there’s always the fear that you’ll lose something important and that will cost you marks. Here’s 5 ways you can reduce your word count without losing marks. Firstly, remember that …