The guidance in this post is going to be most helpful for teachers who are: teaching a two year course using our textbook, IB Psychology: A Student’s Guide …and are following a similar course structure to the one I’ve proposed here. (i.e. Criminology, Social Influence and Quantitative Methods covered in Year One). Here’s what I include in my End-Of-Year Exam for …
Free flashcard maker
When it comes to revising for tests and exams, it’s hard to go past flashcards as an excellent way to review. While digital versions, such as quizlet, have their benefits, I personally have always preferred to have hard-copies in my hands. But who has the time to spend hours and hours writing out flashcards? What if you’ve got messy handwriting? …
Exam Review: Why I’m pleased I didn’t teach the command terms (Paper 2)
I realize that critiquing the inconsistent use of command terms in IB Psychology assessments is like shooting very confused fish in a very small barrel, but I just can’t help myself. Was anyone else surprised to see the command term “Explain” in Paper 2 this year for the Abnormal Option? Here’s the question in question: Explain, with reference to psychological …
How to go beyond “describing” and into “application” of studies
One of the most common mistakes IB Psychology students make is they don’t explain studies, i.e. they don’t apply the study to show how the study is relevant to the question. Instead, students summarize aims, methods and results and that’s it. This is description. What’s missing? An applied conclusion. Describing a study = summarizing aims methods conclusions Explaining a study = summary …
7 exam tips for evaluating studies
When you’re preparing for your exams and you’re aiming for a 7, here are some tips that will help you study smarter, not harder. Tip #1: Ignore internal validity, including… Hawthorne effect Screw you effect Demand characteristics Participant expectancy effect I think you should avoid focusing on internal validity factors when you’re trying to explain limitations. Why? Here are a …
Sociocultural etiologies of bulimia nervosa (and studies)
Background Information Research has shown that body dissatisfaction is widespread amongst Western teenage girls and adult women. Furthermore, body dissatisfaction has been found to be an independent predictor of disordered eating. This makes it a significant risk factor in the development of Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and other eating disorders. Body dissatisfaction: being unhappy with one’s body. It’s usually measured by comparing …
Cognitive etiologies of bulimia nervosa (and studies)
Introduction Potential risk factors for the development of bulimia nervosa (BN) include those related to thought patterns (i.e. cognition) like body dissatisfaction, idealization of thinness, distorted body images and what people perceive others to prefer in terms of body weight and shape. These thought patterns could then lead to behaviours that could lead to the development of BN, like dieting …
Flashbulb Memory Studies
Here is a summary of evidence to use when discussing Brown and Kulik’s FBM theory: SUPPORTING EVIDENCE Brown and Kulik conducted a study to test their theory using 80 American participants – 40 African American and 40 caucasian. They were asked questions about 10 events, 9 being very famous public events (e.g. assassinations of public figures like JFK and MLK) …
Lesson idea: Understanding research methods (with worksheet)
Research methodology is best understood when it’s made concrete and practical. Talking about concepts in the abstract will make it hard for students to comprehend. So this lesson idea is a simple way of getting students to think about research methods in a practical way. It will only work towards the end of a research methods unit when they already …
Subscribe to our brand new YOUTUBE channel
I have to apologize for being a bit slow on blog posts these days – I’ve been busy getting Grade 12s ready for upcoming exams. But I’ve also been busy with our brand new youtube channel. I love creating materials that make life a little easier for teachers and students, so it’s great now I can make video tutorials that …