Tips for Teaching Concepts in IB Psychology

Travis DixonCurriculum

Originally posted on MyIB forum and adapted here in case it helps. The biggest challenge facing IB Psychology students and teachers in the new curriculum is the introduction of the SIX CONCEPTS: change, measurement, perspective, causality, bias and responsibility. This adds a lot of research method content to an already content-rich course. So here are some ideas I’m playing with …

Does fluoride affect IQ?

Travis DixonGeneral Interest

You might have seen the debate about fluoride and IQ in the news recently. I didn’t know much about the subject, so I decided to spend a few hours deep diving into the research. Fluoride has been used since the 1930s to help protect teeth. It’s a mineral that strengthens tooth enamel reducing the chance of cavities. In many places, …

How to explain a psychological study

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation, Studies and Theories

Whether it’s for an extended essay, a test or an exam, writing about psychological studies can be a challenging task. This post is designed to help you focus your attention and efforts so you can write the best explanations possible. We’ll begin by breaking down the studies and then look at some examples.  The Short Answer 100-200 words Focus on …

The Working Memory Model (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974)- A Simple Summary

Travis DixonCognitive Psychology

At first glance the working memory model can be very complicated and overwhelming. This post will break it down into four simple steps so you can understand it. Step One: What is “working memory?” Step Two: What are the “slave systems?” Step Three: What is the “central executive?”  Step Four: What is the “episodic buffer?” The Working Memory Model 1. …

Key Theory & Studies: The empathy-altruism hypothesis (Batson et al. 1981 & 1982)
An explanation of prosocial behaviour

Travis DixonKey Studies, Social and Cultural Psychology, Studies and Theories

Why do people help others? It’s a simple question but it intrigues psychologists because it doesn’t make sense evolutionarily speaking. In this post we look at one simple explanation: empathy.  Why do we humans help one another when there’s nothing to be gained for ourselves? This seems to contradict what we know about evolutionary psychology – that we instinctively look …

Key study: Working memory and a dual task study on chess (Robbins et al. 1996)

Travis DixonCognitive Psychology, Key Studies

Looking for a study that supports the working memory model? Here’s a good one. Working memory is the stuff we’re thinking about right now. The working memory model (WMM) was an elaboration of the multi-store model of memory (MSM) as it zooms in on the short-term store and explains how our short-term (working) memory actually works. If you can comprehend …

Can you bench-press your way out of depression?
The relationship between strength and depressive symptoms.

Travis DixonAbnormal Psychology

The common explanation for increased rates of depression for boys and men is because they’re unwilling to seek help and talk about their feelings. Personally, I have my doubts about this explanation. An alternative explanation is that men are becoming physically weaker, and this is leading to the psychological problems. But what does the research say? Before we get to …

The Warrior / Worrier Hypothesis
A biological explanation of stress

Travis DixonBiological Psychology, Health Psychology

The following is adapted from our textbook, Stress: A Student’s Guide for IB Health Psychology. Are some people naturally more stressed than others? The Warrior / Worrier hypothesis says yes. This theory identifies the specific gene that explains stress levels.  The Basic Theory How do genes affect stress? How you respond to stress could be based on your COMT gene. …

#2 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Use Flashcards

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

Flashcards are the most effective way for remembering lots of information. That’s why it’s important to use them when studying for your exams. They’re great for things like key terms, studies and theories. You could use digital apps like Quizlet or make hard copies. If hard copy, you could use the Leitner System or the Three Pile System.  How good …

#4 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Match Topics with Studies

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

Only 3% of IB Psychology students get 7s. There’s very little room for error if you’re aiming for top marks.  The biggest error I see some students making is using the wrong studies. For example, the question might ask about social identity theory and someone writes about Bandura’s bobo doll study, or about Loftus and Palmer’s car crash study on …

#3 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Focus on Results

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

While psychological studies aren’t the only part of the IB Psychology exams, they’re very important. So make sure you’re focusing on the right thing. Some students spend all their efforts revising the aims and procedures of the experiments but miss the most important part – the results.  By exam day you should be ready to write about 100-150 words on …

#6 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Write Plans, Not Essays

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

A popular but silly strategy for IB Psych exams is to pre-write essay answers for every.single.question and then try to memorise them. Worse yet, downloading or buying existing essays and trying to memorise them. This is much, much harder than planning your own revision strategy. A much better strategy, imho, is to write plans for each topic. Don’t worry about …

Digital vs. Print Reading: Which one’s better?

Travis DixonCognitive Psychology, IB Psychology HL Extensions, Revision and Exam Preparation

Are you trying to study with your laptop and smartphone? You might even argue that you need your phone to study because that’s how you read your textbook. You might even be reading this digitally if your school has shifted to digital texts in favour of old-fashioned textbooks. In this post, we’ll see what the research says about reading digitally …

IB Psychology Exam Banks + Past Papers

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

The links below will take you to a list of the most probably exam questions you’ll be asked about each topic in IB Psychology. They also include questions from past papers.  PAPER ONE SL/HL Paper 1: Biological approach (Link) Paper 1: Cognitive approach (Link) Paper 1: Sociocultural approach (Link) PAPER ONE HL Extensions Paper 1: HL Ext Bio Animal Studies …

#9 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Work Backwards

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

When you’ve started studying seriously, it’s tempting to tell yourself, “I’ll just read the textbook then figure out what I need to know for the exams.” While this is the easiest way to think about studying, it’s not very effective. You’ll end up working way harder than you need to. Let’s look at a more systematic approach. In the previous …

#10 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Get Started

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

Action precedes motivation. I learn this every time I need to work on something boring. Act first and the motivation to do it will come later. It sounds counterintuitive but trust me, it’s true. Studying for your IB Psychology exams probably doesn’t make you excited. You’ll start cleaning your room, making study playlists, writing a letter to your Grandma, or …

Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better?

Travis DixonCognitive Psychology, IB Psychology HL Extensions, Revision and Exam Preparation

IB students are the iGen, so you probably can’t imagine working without a laptop. This begs the question – is it better to take notes by hand on paper or typing on a laptop? Let’s review the research. Let’s first look at Mueller and Oppenheimer’s now famous study “the pen is mightier than the keypad:” In this quasi-experiment, 67 students …

Flashcards: Are online or hard copy better?

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

Flashcards are the best method for studying lots of content. But which is better – using digital (like Quizlet) or hard copy (like our IB Psych flashcards)? In this post we’ll review the research and see.  Numerous studies have found benefits to using apps like Quizlet to improve memory, particularly for second language learners studying vocab. These studies do pre and post-tests …

Essay Introductions: How to write the perfect essay introduction for IB Psych exams.

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation, Teaching Ideas

This post will show you four easy steps you can apply to any exam question to write the perfect introduction. Scroll to the bottom for a simple practice tip. First impressions matter, especially in your IB exams. You’re writing essays in IB Psych to show what an excellent psychologist you are, but you have about 1,000 words and 60 minutes to …