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In this post I’ll outline the five theories I think are the best to base your experiment on. I’ll suggest some good studies that go with those theories.  We always think about the IA based on the key study being replicated. But since the most important thing is the background theory or model, maybe that’s a better place to start. …

The IB Psychology IA gives you the opportunity to become a real psychologist. You’ll work in a group to plan, prepare and conduct a psychological experiment on actual participants. Let’s start at the end… The Final Report Your final IA is 1,800 – 2,200 word report summarizing your experiment. It will have four major sections: Introduction Exploration Analysis Evaluation The …

Your IA experiment didn’t work? You were hoping to “prove” your theory right and have the same results as the original weren’t you? Never mind, this can teach you a few valuable lessons and it won’t affect your marks. Here’s what you need to do.  You’ll still need to conduct your descriptive and inferential statistics. You’ll also need to explain …

If you miss one important detail you could lose marks. Read carefully so you can score 6/6 in the IA Evaluation. Of the four sections in the IA (Introduction, Exploration, Analysis and Evaluation), the Evaluation is the hardest to write. Fewer students score in the top mark band (5-6 out of 6) for this than any other section. In fact, …

I can almost guarantee you’ll need a one-tailed test for your inferential statistics in the IB Psychology IA. Let’s see why. It’s one of the most common mistakes made in the analysis, but it’s so easy to avoid. Do you need a one or two-tailed inferential statistics test (e.g. MWU or Wilcoxon)? The Easy Answer If you have a one-tailed …

Your graph must be accurate and “address the hypothesis.” In this post we’ll look at how you can create the perfect IA graph for the IB Psychology IA.  Your research hypothesis will be based on the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable. To test this hypothesis you created two conditions (I hope) in your experiment to see …

Read carefully so you’ll know how to apply descriptive statistics for the IA PROPERLY! (Or watch the video explanation here). I will freely admit, that I can’t explain it any clearer than what’s included on this excellent post on MyIB. Perhaps the most value I can offer is to make people aware of this resource. Before we look at what you have …

Here I explain how to describe the theory or model in your IA Introduction for IB Psychology. WARNING: This post is only for those aiming for 7s. (Henceforth I will just say “theory” to make things easier but know that I mean theory or model) There are three things I would recommend including to have a full description of your …

Knowing how to write the IA Introduction for IB Psychology can be difficult. This post gives a few tips to make it easier. While there is no prescribed way to write your IA Introduction in IB Psychology. if you’re struggling to get started the following format might help. However, feel free to structure it in a way that makes sense …

Online learning can be a challenge so here are some tips for doing the IA online.  Read more: Key Studies for the IA IA Tips: How to explain your…DESIGN How to avoid the biggest mistake in IAs Which studies work best? I’ve been through my complete recommended IA studies list and found the ones I recommend to my own students …

Explaining the sampling technique might just be the easiest part of the Exploration. Let’s look at how it can be done properly. The IB’s given some advice, too, but be careful – it’s not as straightforward as first appears. The most common sampling technique is opportunity sampling (aka convenience sampling). Alternative choices include: Random sampling Volunteer sampling (aka self-selected sampling) …

In previous posts and videos I’ve advised to move your procedures to the appendices if word count is an issue in the IA. Is this really an acceptable approach? Here are 4 reasons why you don’t need a procedures section and one reason why you should have it. Some examiners think you’re not allowed to put the procedures in the appendices. …

Explaining the “controlled variables” is tricky. Most students state or maybe describe, but few really explain them. Here’s how to do it and an example to show you. What are controlled variables? A “controlled variable” is any factor that could affect your results so you kept it constant in both conditions of your experiment. You want to control certain variables …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

I can barely get through a psychology TED™ Talk by a psychologist these days without sighing at the blatant manipulation being presented. In class, I can’t help but pause the video and comment. My students know what’s coming and I’m sure I annoy the heck out of them. But I think it’s important. Here’s why these psychologists would fail their …

Disclaimer: This list contains studies that have been conducted successfully by students in the past. However, it’s the responsibility of teachers and students to assess the suitability of specific studies for the internal assessment. The most important thing when choosing a study is to know how its results are related to a theory or model. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE. Important …

Have had your IAs lose marks after moderation? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This post will give you a step-by-step guide on how to annotate your IAs so you won’t lose marks. For years my top IAs would all come down a few marks and my lowest ones would go up a couple. We are given IA feedback from moderators …

There is one massive change to the new IB Psychology IA rubric that I overlooked at first with my students. After moderating around 200 IAs it seems I wasn’t alone.  In the old curriculum, IB Psych Internal Assessments were replications of an existing study. Surprisingly, in the new curriculum a student could technically score perfect marks without replicating an original study or even …