Paper Three Overview (HL Only)
IB Psychology (May 2027)

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

A quick overview of Paper 3.

Let’s give a quick rundown of Paper 3. This is an HL-only exam, so if you’re studying SL you can skip this post.

Paper Three tests your understanding of psychological research methods (just like Paper Two). You will be given a booklet with summaries of findings from several studies. These will be a combination of different graphs, tables and paragraph descriptions of studies related to one of the HL extension topics:

  • Technology
  • Culture
  • Motivation

You will then be asked four very predictable questions about these studies. These questions get progressively more difficult (and worth more marks).

What’s predictable: The questions.

The unpredictable: The source material.

Jump To…

Content on this page has been adapted from our textbook, Chapter 16: Revision

Paper 3 Overview

The following table gives you a quick overview of Paper 3.

Paper 3 isn’t as confusing as it first appears.

Q1: Interpretation of Graphs

This 3-mark question requires students to explain one issue that limits the interpretation of the information from a given source. To get the full marks, you have to identify what the issue is and explain why it’s an issue. The source will be one of the following:

  • Bar graph
  • Box and whisker plot
  • Histogram
  • Line graph
  • Frequency table
  • Scatterplot

Example Question:

Example Question 1 in Paper 3.

Q2: Data Analysis

This question is worth six marks and requires students to analyse the findings from one of several given sources and state a conclusion. It’s likely you’ll be asked to draw a conclusion that’s linked to the central “claim” in the paper.

Example Question:

Example Question 2 in Paper 3.

Q3: Research Considerations 

The first two questions will be based on quantitative research – studies that gather numerical data (e.g. average scores and percentages). Question 3 will test your understanding of qualitative research – studies that gather descriptive data. Instead of measuring behaviour using numbers, these studies gather data on people’s subjective experiences. Interviews and observations are the most common qualitative methods. You’ll be asked to discuss one of the following three considerations:

  • Credibility
  • Bias
  • Transferability

This six mark question will be one of the following:

  • Discuss how the researcher could improve the credibility of the findings.
  • Discuss how the researcher could avoid bias.
  • To what extent are the findings transferable to other populations or contexts?

Example Question: 

Example Question 3

Q4: Synthesis

The source paper will have a 1-2 sentence “claim” about the topic: culture, motivation or technology. This question requires you to discuss the validity of that claim using the source material and your own knowledge. The claim will also be stated as part of the question.

Here’s an example from the IB’s specimen paper:

  • Claim: “The sources in this examination have been collated to assess the claim that the use of technology in education may have a negative effect on the mental health of students.”
  • Question: “To what extent can we conclude that the use of technology in education may have a negative effect on the mental health of students? In your answer, use your own knowledge and at least three of sources 2–5.”

Example Question: 

Past Papers

I won’t reproduce the IB’s Specimen Paper because it would violate copyright law. Teachers can access it via MyIB and you can see a similar questions above.

Study Tips

  • Revise methods, not extensions: The content in the HL extensions (technology, culture and motivation) is relevant only to Question 4. Most of your answer to this question will also be based on the findings in the source material you’ve been provided. For this reason, I recommend focusing your revision on how to analyse graphs, statistics and qualitative methods.

Paper 3 is commonly students’ worst paper. I think that’s because they spend so much time studying for Paper 1 and 2, they run out of time for it. L

Teacher Tips

  • Borrow Time: We’ve been given 45 hours to cover content for this exam paper. Compared to Paper 1, there’s not that much content knowledge required for this exam. I would recommend using 10-15 hours from this allocation in other areas of your course, like revising for Paper 1 and 2.

Example Answers

Coming Soon…

Example student responses and examiner marks are available on MyIB.

Video

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