With so much riding on the EE question itself, it’s important to get it right. But I often disagree with a lot of advice offered on EE questions, so here’s my advice for writing the perfect EE question. The best EE questions are clear and focused. It’s important to have a focused EE research question because it’s stated in the rubric (see …
What Rebecca Black’s story can teach us about resilience
If you’re an old fogey like me the name Rebecca Black probably won’t mean much. And to be honest, to kids in high school today in 2020 it might not mean much either. But she was the most googled person in 2011 and she can teach all of us a lot about an important psychological concept – resilience. In 2011, …
The best topics for Paper 2
The IB Psychology guide is a little, shall we say, clunky. One benefit of the clunkiness of the guide is that we can exploit some of the oversights to our advantage. For example, there’s guaranteed one exam question per topic in Paper 2. This means you only need to study one topic per option (SL write one essay on one …
Exam Topics in IB Psychology Paper Two – Overview
The most important thing to know when studying for the IB Psychology exams are the topics. The IB Guide published by the IB has these listed. Unfortunately, the guide is a bit confusing in its layout and it’s not easy to see quickly and easily what the topics are. That’s why I put them in this post. Download the following …
How to study for Paper 2 in IB Psychology
Revising or Paper 2 in IB Psych can be challenging because it’s not always clear what the questions will be. Unlike the Paper 1 topics, Paper 2 topics are bit more ambiguous. However, the same requirements as Paper 1 essays are still needed. This means we can approach studying for Paper 2 in a similar way as Paper 1, we …
Exam Topics in IB Psychology Paper One
The most important thing to know when studying for the IB Psychology exams are the topics. The IB Guide published by the IB has these listed. Unfortunately, the guide is a bit confusing in its layout and it’s not easy to see quickly and easily waht the topics are. That’s why I put them in this post. Download the following …
Key Study: Schema Theory & the Superwoman Self-schema
Schema theory is one of the most important theories in cognitive psychology, but it can also be one of the more difficult theories to understand. The best way, I’ve found, to understand schema theory is to look at as many real-life examples as possible. In this post, we’ll look at a fascinating example – the AfricanAmerican Superwoman self-schema. A schema …
How to study for Paper 1 in IB Psychology3 Steps to Prepare for Section B: Essays
In yesterday’s post, I explained 7 simple steps for studying for Paper 1, Section A (SAQs) in IB Psychology. Now it’s time to look at how we can use that foundation to prepare for Section B – the essays. Studying for Paper 1 in IB Psychology is simple, but it’s not easy. Make sure you start your revision a few …
How to study for Paper 1 in IB Psychology7 Simple Steps to Prepare for Section A: SAQs
One of the most common questions I get asked is, “How should I study for the IB Psychology exams?” Unfortunately, it’s also one of the hardest questions to answer. In this post, I’ll do my best to plan out some really simple steps that might help for Paper 1. We’ll start easy and get harder so no matter what your …
Power Distance and Plane Crashes: The Gladwell Hypothesis
I recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s excellent book “Outliers.” In this book, Gladwell gives an interesting psychological explanation for why some countries have higher rates of plane crashes than others. The “Gladwell Hypothesis,” as it has come to be known, suggests that plane crashes can be explained by looking at cultural values. In particular, the cultural dimension of “power distance.” Power …
3 Easy Lesson Ideas: Reflecting on the IB Psych Course
As many of us come to the end of our IB Psychology courses, it’s important to take some time to reflect on everything we’ve learned. This simple lesson idea is a good way for students to do that. It also provides some feedback for the teacher. Someone once asked me, “what’s the highest aspiration you have for your teaching?” It …
Health Project Week 4Week 4 - Interviews
Week 4 is time to reflect and try something a little different. We’re going to conduct qualitative interviews on our classmates to learn about their experiences in this project. There are a few reasons I’ve chosen this activity. One reason is to have students keep in touch with other, another is that it can be done without screens (if you …
Health Project Week 3Week 3 - Analysis and Report
After two weeks of collecting data on health habits and their effects, it’s now time to write up the report. Read more: Health Project Week 4 Health Project Week 3 Health Project Week 2 Health Project Week 1 Health Self-Experimentation Project Intro The Importance of Routine Teachers: Feel free to adapt or amend any of this work in any way …
Health Project Week 2Week 2 - Treatment Condition
In Week 1 the main job was collecting data on a range of health habits (sleep, diet, exercise) and their possible effects. This week, you’re going to choose one of those habits that you want to improve. If you can do better this week, that will be your manipulation of your independent variable. We’ll then see in Week 3 if …
Health Project Week 1Week 1 Instructions - Control Condition
Week 1 is focused mainly on gathering a range of data on health habits (sleep, diet, exercise) and their psychological effects. The big job for students is to figure out what they’re going to measure and how. Read more: Health Project Week 4 Health Project Week 3 Health Project Week 2 Health Project Week 1 Health Self-Experimentation Project Intro The …
Health Self-Experimentation Project IntroA Four Week Project for Online Learning in Psychology
Purpose We are going to learn about health psychology through a self-experimentation project. With school closed and all of us turning to online learning, it’s easy to break our routines and fall into bad habits. Read more: Health Project Week 4 Health Project Week 3 Health Project Week 2 Health Project Week 1 Health Self-Experimentation Project Intro The Importance of …
Spot the mistake before it’s too late! 2.0
Here are the answers for an activity in our “10 Example Answers” (2nd Edition) resource (coming soon). On the reverse side of all 5 short answer responses in this pack is an activity designed to help students prepare for their exams. In this activity students were given some questions and proposed answers. This post can be used to check their …
Paper 3 Practice: Sleep and Happiness
The best way to prepare for Paper 3 is to do lots of practice. The study below is designed to replicate what you will see on Paper 3. Read more: Paper 3 Practice: Smartphones and Sleep Quality Paper 3 Practice: Individualism and Happiness in a Japanese Workplace Paper 3 Practice: Trauma and the September 11 Attacks Paper 3 Practice: Observation …
Paper 3 Practice: Smartphones and Sleep Quality
The best way to prepare for Paper 3 is to do lots of practice. The study below is designed to replicate what you will see on Paper 3. Read more: Paper 3 Practice: Individualism and Happiness in a Japanese Workplace Paper 3 Practice: Trauma and the September 11 Attacks Paper 3 Practice: Observation of Hospitals IB Psychology HL Paper 3 …
The Importance of Routine5 benefits of good habits in the time of online learning
One of the biggest challenges we’re facing right now is the disruption to our normal routines. With schools closing and moving to online learning, it’s very easy to get into bad habits. My goal as an online teacher at the moment is to offer meaningful work and help my students maintain good routines. The biggest challenge for students is to …
Teenage pregnancy: an evolutionary explanation
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked with increased risks of developing a number of issues, including health problems (cancer, heart disease), psychological problems (addiction, depression) and sexual health issues (STDs, high-risk sexual behaviour and unwanted pregnancies). Studies have shown that teenage pregnancy is correlated with ACEs and there might be an evolutionary explanation for this link.¹ Most teenage pregnancies …
Paper 3 Practice: Individualism and Happiness in a Japanese Workplace
The best way to prepare for Paper 3 is to do lots of practice. The study below is designed to replicate what you will see on Paper 3. Read more: Paper 3 Practice: Trauma and the September 11 Attacks Practice Paper 3: Observation of Hospitals Paper 3: Guided Answer Paper Three Questions 1a,b,c: Details IB Psychology HL Paper 3 Practice …
Feeling stressed? Here’s how you can cope.
It’s a stressful time for everyone. The latest news that the IB has cancelled exams will be causing massive amounts of stress for many students (and teachers). Here are some ways you can cope. Stress is caused by things happening to us (stressors) and how we think about those things (appraisals). In psychology jargon, we call this top-down or bottom-up …
Exams Cancelled – May 2020And why the IB made the right decision
I understand that a lot of teachers and students will be incredibly disappointed by this announcement, perhaps even angry, especially if you’re living in a country that is relatively unaffected by the coronavirus. It’s natural to question the IB’s announcement and perhaps even be angry. Heck, I’m the first to raise issues with a number of policies and practices rolled …
Paper 3 Practice: Trauma and the September 11 Attacks
The best way to prepare for Paper 3 is to do lots of practice. The study below is designed to replicate what you will see on Paper 3. Read more: Practice Paper 3: Observation of Hospitals Paper 3: Guided Answer Paper Three Questions 1a,b,c: Details IB Psychology HL Paper 3 Practice The stimulus material below is based on a qualitative …