Disclaimer: These questions are not IB “official” questions and are written with our best guess as to what the probable exam questions may look like. Not every possible question is covered but rather a wide sample of questions has been asked so you can get an idea of the types of questions that may appear.
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- Biological approach core exam bank (link)
- Cognitive approach core exam bank (link)
- Sociocultural approach core exam bank (link)
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Abnormal Psychology
The exam questions will be based on the topic and content headings as shown above. This page is taken from our IB Psych revision book now available from our online store (here).
Exam Questions
| TOPIC | Content | Essay Questions |
Factors Influencing Diagnosis |
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Normality versus abnormality |
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Classification systems |
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The role of clinical biases in diagnosis |
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Validity and reliability of diagnosis |
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Etiology of Abnormal Psychology
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Explanations for disorders |
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Prevalence rates and disorders |
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Treatment of Disorders |
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Biological treatments |
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Psychological treatments |
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The role of culture in treatment |
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Assessing the effectiveness of treatment(s) |
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Approaches (Bio, Cog & Socio-cult)
If questions about the three core approaches are asked they will be based on the three “topics” for the abnormal option (diagnosis, etiologies and treatments).
Factors Influencing Diagnosis*
- Discuss how one or more sociocultural factors may influence diagnosis.
*It is unlikely students will be asked about biological factors in relation to factors influencing diagnosis.
The difficulty in predicting exam questions for the diagnosis topic is one reason why the etiology or treatment topics are more appealing for exam preparation.
Etiology of Abnormal Psychology
- Discuss the biological approach to understanding the etiology of abnormal psychology.
- Discuss the cognitive approach to understanding the etiology of abnormal psychology.
- Evaluate the sociocultural approach to understanding the etiology of abnormal psychology.
- Contrast the biological and cognitive approaches to understanding the etiology of abnormal psychology.
Treatment of Disorders
- Discuss the biological approach to the treatment of disorders.
- Evaluate the biological or cognitive approach to the treatment of disorders.
- Contrast two approaches (biological, cognitive or sociocultural) to the treatment of disorders.
Research Methods & Ethical Considerations
Questions about research methods and ethics will be based on the three “topics” for the for the abnormal option (diagnosis, etiologies and treatments).
Research Methods
Essay Questions
- Evaluate the use of one research method used to study factors influencing diagnosis.
- Discuss approaches to research in the study of factors influencing diagnosis.*
- Evaluate the use of one research method used to study the etiology of abnormal psychology.
- Evaluate one or more research methods used to study the treatment of disorders.
- Evaluate one approach to research (i.e. one research method) used to study the treatment of disorders.
- Evaluate one research method used to study the treatment of one or more disorders.
*the phrase “approaches to research” is used in the official IB Psychology guide and it means “research methods” (e.g. true experiments, correlational studies, etc.) Students should be prepared for this phrasing, but hopefully the IB exam team will use the phrase “research methods” so as not to get confused with the three approaches (bio, cog & socio-cult).
Ethical Considerations
Essay Questions
- Discuss one or more ethical considerations related to research on factors influencing diagnosis.
- Discuss one or more ethical considerations related to research on the treatment of disorders.
- Discuss one ethical considerations related to research on the etiology of abnormal psychology.
- Discuss one or more ethical considerations relevant to one study on the treatment of disorders.
Notes
- Paper Two is essay questions only.
- SL students write one essay for one option, HL students write two essays on two options.
- There are three topics in the abnormal psychology option and there will definitely be one question per topic, which means you can safely study only one topic per option. HOWEVER, if you’re doing this then you need to be prepared to answer any possible question on that topic, including the three approaches, research methods and ethical considerations in relation to that topic.
Noticed a mistake? Always feel free to let me know in the comments.
Travis Dixon is an IB Psychology teacher, author, workshop leader, examiner and IA moderator.