Introduction An evaluation requires the explanation of strengths and limitations. Thus, in order to evaluate anything we need to first understand its purpose or what it’s trying to do. So before you can evaluate a study in psychology you must first know and understand what the study is trying to do! Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental …
Evaluating Psychological Theories
Updated Aug 2020 Remember that before you can begin to evaluate a psychological theory you must first know and understand the theory in question. Once you know and understand the theory, including what it is a theory of (i.e. what it’s attempt to explain and how) and the key components of the theory, you can then begin your evaluation. Read More: …
Biological Research Methods Example Essay (ERQ)
The following is an example essay about research methods used in the biological approach. It is by no means a perfect essay, but it would score well (14-16/22). The use of a human study instead of Rosenzweig would be one improvement, for example. Example Essay: Research Methods Biological Approach to Understanding Behaviour Paper One. Part B: Discuss how and why …
What are the design types in experiments?
Choosing the best research design for your experiment is an important part of the planning process. When conducting an experiment for the IB Psychology IA, you must think very carefully about which design is best for your purposes. Experimental Designs (MP, IS, RM) There are three design types of experiments: Independent Samples Repeated Measures Matched Pairs Independent Samples is when the …
What is a “controlled variable?”
A controlled variable is a variable that’s kept constant between the conditions of the experiment so that the only difference between the groups is the independent variable. Imagine you’re doing an experiment on yourself to see if drinking coffee in the morning gives you energy. On Monday you wake up, do yoga and then have a cup of coffee. At …
Operational DefinitionsHow to operationally define IVs and DVs
Updated May 2020 Operational definitions became important in Psychology when psychologists wanted to establish that psychological experimentation is truly scientific in nature. In this blog post, we’ll look at exactly what is an operational definition is and how to do it. This is a common error in IB Psychology IAs. Hopefully after reading this post, students will be able to …
Hypotheses
Updated June 2020 Writing good hypotheses in IB Psychology IAs is something many students find challenging. After moderating another 175+ IA’s this year I could see some common errors students were making. This post hopes to give a clear explanation with examples to help with this tricky task. Null and Alternative Hypotheses Null Hypothesis (H0) The term “null” means having …
Single and Double Blind Designs
How are single blind and double-blind techniques used in experiments? Before understanding about single and double-blind techniques, it is important that you understand the amazing power of the placebo effect. This is an interesting film about placebos and their effect. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfRVCaA5o18&w=560&h=315] Single Blind: A single-blind design is when the participant doesn’t know if they are in the “treatment group” or the “control …
Confounding Variables
Sometimes factors other than the IV may influence the DV in an experiment. These unwanted influences are called confounding variables. In laboratory experiments, researchers attempt to minimize their influence by carefully designing their experiment so all conditions are exactly the same – the only thing that’s different is the independent variable. Here are some confounding variables that you need to …
Independent and Dependent Variables
What are independent, dependent variables? The DV is what is being measured. It is the effect in other words. The IV is what is being manipulated by the researcher. In other words, it is the factor that changes in the different conditions of the experiment. The aim of an experiment, therefore, is usually to investigate the effect of the IV on the DV. Take this …