In the new IB Psychology guide they “clarified” their expectations by adding a number of new terms to the syllabus. For the biological approach, this has added significant content and quite a bit of confusion. This post aims to simplify the requirements and help you find the right studies for the right examples. You can get this post as a …
IB Psych Key Terms Quiz – THE BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
You can prepare for IB Psychology by asking three simple questions: What is…? How does…? …but…? The first question tests your knowledge, the second tests your deeper understanding of the topic and the third tests your critical thinking. The following quiz is designed to test your ability to answer the first question. (Scroll down for the answers) Read More Understanding IB …
Biological Approach: Key Terms Glossary
Knowing the meaning of key terms is one of the first steps in learning (and revising) any topic in Psychology. The following is a list of key terms and their definitions for the Biological Approach in IB Psychology. You can download a quiz to test your knowledge of these terms HERE. Glossary The biological approach to understanding human behavior: Trying …
Let’s STOP the research methods madness!
“What was the research method of (x’s) study?” Along with, “Is this a good EE question…”, it’s the most common question IB Psych teachers ask. But we shouldn’t have to and we need to put an end to the research methods madness. Why? Well, let me count the ways (or if you’d rather just read some exam tips, scroll to …
Describe vs. Explain: Is there a difference?Understanding command terms with REAL examples of exam answers
Describe and Explain mean different things. Obviously. But when they’re used in short answer questions in IB Psychology, do they really require different answers? In this post I’ll put forward my argument for my the command terms in SAQs are irrelevant and how a generic structure can be used to score top marks. Those of you who have read my posts …
Key Study: The Marshmallow Test Across Cultures: German vs. Cameroon Kids (Lamm et al. 2018)An example of how enculturation can influence behaviour.
“The Marshmallow Test” was designed by Stanford Psychologist Walter Mischel in the 1960s. It’s a test of a kid’s ability to delay gratification – to wait for something they really want. The ability to delay gratification has been correlated with a number of successful outcomes, including doing better at school, getting higher SATs and being less likely to end up …
Exam Tip: Etiologies of Abnormal PsychologyTips for writing excellent essays in Paper 2
As my students are preparing for an essay test this week on the topic “Etiology of Abnormal Psychology,” I thought I would share some advice on how to write good essays. The advice gets more specific and complex and the post goes on, so if nothing else I’d strongly recommend following tips 1 and 2. The etiology of abnormal psychology …
YouTube Live Q&A
YouTube LIVE Exam Q&A TOMORROW I thought I’d do this especially for the Auzzies (since many of you use ThemEd materials). But anyone is welcome to join, teachers or students, or click the link now and add a question any time. That’s 6:30pm Australian time (Wednesday). Share with your students if you think they might be interested. …
Key Study: “The Sweaty T-shirt Study” (Wedekind et al. 1995)
Updated June, 2020 Can we smell someone’s genes? Not their trousers, but their genetics. The Swiss Biological Researcher Claus Wedekind and his colleagues conducted a famous study to see if our preference for smells is linked with our genetics. In other words, they wanted to see if we prefer the smell of someone who has genes that would be a …
How to evaluate any study in 3 simple steps
Being able to critically evaluate a study is a key skill for any budding psychologist. However, like anything, when you’re first learning how to do this it can be very difficult. In this post, we look at 3 simple steps you can take to evaluate any study. Read More 7 exam tips for evaluating studies So you want to assess …