With the new guide the learning outcomes are out the window. While for many of us used to the old system of LO’s this may appear daunting, I for one am pleased to see the back of “describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behaviour” and “explain emic and etic concepts.” These are poorly phrased, to say …
Tajfel and Turner’s Social Identity Theory
Why does my blog have three different posts explaining social identity theory? Because for the first few years teaching this theory I had to write it out for myself to fully comprehend it. It’s difficult to understand at first. My best advice is to always remember that its’ a theory of intergroup conflict (e.g. prejudice and discrimination), so think of real …
Work Smarter, Not Harder: Improve Exam Results
Work smarter, not harder: Improving exam results with a themantic approach Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to worry about exam results, and instead we could just focus on getting our students interested and engaged with what they’re learning about? Thankfully I think adopting a themantic approach to teaching the IB Psych’ course can do both. There are …
Why change to a themantic approach?
Why change to a themantic approach? Here are four of the key benefits I can see in switching to a themantic approach: It reduces the amount of content knowledge the students need to remember Less content means more time for developing critical thinking and other skills (e.g. writing, research, communication, collaboration, etc.) It increases depth of knowledge and understanding It increases options …
What is the themantic approach?
What is the themantic approach? The traditional and by far the most common way of teaching IB Psychology is to teach it in a linear way,., i.e. teach each approach (level of analysis) and the options topics separately. So, for instance, the course begins with Research Methods, then moves into the BLA (or approaches, as they’re now called), the CLA. And …
The Frontal Lobe and the Prefrontal Cortex
Numerous studies have shown that there are correlations found between brain function (or dysfunction) and behaviour. In order to fully understand these studies, it’s important to have a general understanding of some of the functions of important parts of the brain. The frontal lobe is an important part of the brain to understand. One important function of the frontal lobe is …
Key Study: Moral Dilemmas – The Trolley and the Footbridge
Note: This was in a first draft of our textbook IB Psychology: A Student’s Guide but was later removed because of it’s complexity in nature, and the fact that it doesn’t thread as well as other studies on system one and two decision making. Morality and Decision Making The prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role in executive functions, also known as …
Key Study: Moral judgement and the prefrontal cortex (Ciaramelli, et al)
This study helps to explain how dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex might make people more susceptible to violent and/or impulsive behaviours. Similar to the VHIS, Ciaramelli et al investigated the differences between moral judgements in people with damage to their prefrontal cortex and healthy controls. Their study cites existing research that suggests people with damage to their PFC have “high levels of …
Evaluating Psychological Studies (Quantitative)
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: …
Key Studies: Minimal Group Paradigm (SIT – Tajfel et al)
Background Information Social Identity Theory (read more here) is a theory that attempts to explain inter-group behaviour, and in particular inter-group conflict, discrimination and prejudice. The theory basically explains how four key processes (social comparison, social identity, social categorization and positive distinctiveness) can influence inter-group behaviour. The theory can be used to explain how group conflict may occur, even when there …
Command Terms and Definitions
Updated Aug, 2020 The command terms are the verbs at the start of IB exam questions. While they be important, they are actually far less important than many people think. Command terms in SAQs Short-answer questions (SAQs) may use one of three command terms in IB Psychology exams: outline, describe and explain. However, you don’t need to worry about the …
Key Study: Testosterone,the Brain and Aggression (Goetz et al, 2014)
Background Information Many studies have shown that testosterone can influence levels of aggression. But there haven’t been many studies that show exactly how testosterone may cause aggressive behaviours. The amygdala is a part of the brain associated with emotional response and it prepares our body for fight or flight. Goetz et al hypothesized that testosterone might influence the activity (or reactivity) of the …
Emic and Etic Concepts: An Introduction
GLT: Using one or more examples, explain “emic” and “etic” concepts. Emic Concepts: Accounts, descriptions and explanations used to understand culturally specific behaviours. READ MORE: Key studies and emic concepts in THIS BLOG POST Etic Concepts: An explanation used to understand a culture in scientific terms by comparing the culture to others and addressing the universals of human behaviour. Levine’s …
Attribution Errors: An Introduction
Discuss two errors in attributions. Self-Serving Bias Fundamental Attribution Error It is important that you can define both of these attribution errors. It is also important that you are using, and that you understand terms like situational and dispositional factors. These are important to understand throughout the whole socio-cultural level of analysis. Self-Serving Bias: When we attribute our success to disposition …
Compliance: An Introduction
Compliance is the act of obeying a request. It’s different to conformity, which involves changing your behaviour to fit in with a group. Compliance occurs when one person makes a direct request on another and they comply with that request. There are a number of techniques people use to get compliance from others. Here are a few. The five compliance …
What is a psychological theory?
In the IB Psychology course there are a range of theories that students need to be familiar with. But it’s easy to dive straight into the complex assignments like evaluating these theories, and to overlook asking the simple questions. Here are just some of the theories that may be relevant* to the IB Psych’ course: Social Learning Theory Social Identity …
Example SAQ: Describe SIT
Social Identity Theory (SIT) is a theory that was proposed by Tajfel and Turner in the 1970s and that attempts to explain intergroup behaviours. More specifically, an original aim of SIT was to help explain situational factors in behaviour. The theory consists of four interrelated concepts: social categorization social identity social comparison and positive distinctiveness. These concepts outline the various …
What is Social Identity Theory?
The following is a brief description of Tajfel and Turner’s SIT. Updated March, 2021 What is Social Identity Theory? Social Identity Theory (SIT) is a theory proposed by Tajfel and Turner that attempts to explain intergroup behaviour, and in particular, conflict, prejudice and discrimination. The theory was an elaboration on Sherif’s Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT). RCT’s major claim was that …
What’s the difference between outline and describe?
There is none. Quite simply, in an exam sense there is no difference between outline and describe and so if you’re worried about “meeting the demands of the command term” and trying to understand the nuances between these, don’t bother. There is one difference – the definition. A “detailed” (describe) account versus a “brief” (outline) account. But if you think …
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 …
IB Psychology Past Exam Papers
Updated, July 2020 Past Psych specimen papers are available on the IB OCC website. If you’re a student, your teacher will be able to access these. You can also purchase these from the IB Online Store. See examples of Past Paper One questions in this video See examples of Past Paper Two questions in this video See examples of Paper …
Evaluating Psychological Research (Studies and Theories)
The term “research” in IB Psychology refers to theories and studies. It is absolutely essential to develop the skill of being able to THEORIES (Link) The above link will take you to a page that has some good guidelines on how to go about evaluating a psychological theory. STUDIES (Link) There are lots of ways to evaluate psychological studies. The …
Allocation Methods
What are the allocation methods used in independent samples experiments? The allocation method simply refers to how the researchers decide who receives what treatment in an experiment. There are two ways to allocate participants: a) Randomly b) Selectively Random allocation is when the researchers divide the participants and allocate them to certain groups using a random method. For instance, in an …
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 …