Paper 3 Practice: Trauma and the September 11 Attacks

Travis DixonAssessment (IB), Qualitative Research Methods, Revision and Exam Preparation

The best way to prepare for Paper 3 is to do lots of practice. The study below is designed to replicate what you will see on Paper 3.  Read more: Practice Paper 3: Observation of Hospitals Paper 3: Guided Answer Paper Three Questions 1a,b,c: Details IB Psychology HL Paper 3 Practice The stimulus material below is based on a qualitative …

Key Study: Gandhi and the Anchoring Effect
Strack & Mussweiler, 1997

Travis DixonCognitive Psychology, Key Studies, Studies and Theories

Are we always in control of our thoughts, or can they be influenced by invisible forces? The art of persuasion and subtle manipulation is a fascinating field of study in psychology. In this post, we’ll look at how people can manipulate our cognitive biases to influence our decision-making. One of the more interesting cognitive biases  is the “anchoring effect.”  The anchoring …

Globalization & Behaviour Part Three
Immigration and Terrorism

Travis DixonAbnormal Psychology, IB Psychology HL Extensions, Social and Cultural Psychology

It seems like a simple question – how does globalization influence behaviour? But the explanation is actually quite tricky since globalization itself is a rather abstract concept. Because of this, we need to find concrete examples. In the first two posts in this series we focused on changes in cultural dimensions and television through Westernization (see links below).  This final …

Globalization & Behaviour Part Two
Does Western TV cause eating disorders?

Travis DixonAbnormal Psychology, IB Psychology HL Extensions, Social and Cultural Psychology

How does globalization influence behaviour? First we need to understand what globalization is and how it occurs. In the second post in this series, we review the definition of globalization and examine another potential example of its influence on human behaviour – through Western TV, the thin ideal and eating disorders. Globalization is often referred to as Westernization because the …

How does globalization influence behaviour?
Part I: The rise of Japanese individualism and its effects on happiness

Travis DixonIB Psychology HL Extensions, Social and Cultural Psychology

A simple way to understand how globalization has influenced human behaviour is to look at how some cultures values have changed over time. It is important to note that globalization is often referred to as Westernization, as the result is most frequently cultures adapting more Western values.  In the first post in this globalization series, we are going to look …

Key Study: Conformity Across Cultures (Berry, 1967)

Travis DixonSocial and Cultural Psychology, Studies and Theories

Conformity is one of the most popular topics in psychology. Not surprisingly, it’s also one of the most studied. The origins of conformity studies go back to Solomon Asch’s famous “line length” experiments. Almost as old is Berry’s now classic study that asked the question: why do different cultures have different rates of conformity?  Conformity is the act of behaving …

IB Psych Key Terms Quiz – THE BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

Travis DixonAssessment (IB), Biological Psychology, Revision and Exam Preparation

You can prepare for IB Psychology by asking three simple questions: What is…? How does…? …but…? The first question tests your knowledge, the second tests your deeper understanding of the topic and the third tests your critical thinking. The following quiz is designed to test your ability to answer the first question. (Scroll down for the answers) Read More Understanding IB …

Biological Approach: Key Terms Glossary

Travis DixonBiological Psychology

Knowing the meaning of key terms is one of the first steps in learning (and revising) any topic in Psychology. The following is a list of key terms and their definitions for the Biological Approach in IB Psychology. You can download a quiz to test your knowledge of these terms HERE. Glossary The biological approach to understanding human behavior: Trying …

Describe vs. Explain: Is there a difference?
Understanding command terms with REAL examples of exam answers

Travis DixonAssessment (IB)

Describe and Explain mean different things. Obviously. But when they’re used in short answer questions in IB Psychology, do they really require different answers? In this post I’ll put forward my argument for my the command terms in SAQs are irrelevant and how a generic structure can be used to score top marks. Those of you who have read my posts …

Key Study: The Marshmallow Test Across Cultures: German vs. Cameroon Kids (Lamm et al. 2018)
An example of how enculturation can influence behaviour.

Travis DixonDevelopmental Psychology, Key Studies, Social and Cultural Psychology

“The Marshmallow Test” was designed by Stanford Psychologist Walter Mischel in the 1960s. It’s a test of a kid’s ability to delay gratification – to wait for something they really want. The ability to delay gratification has been correlated with a number of successful outcomes, including doing better at school, getting higher SATs and being less likely to end up …

Exam Tip: Etiologies of Abnormal Psychology
Tips for writing excellent essays in Paper 2

Travis DixonAbnormal Psychology, Assessment (IB)

As my students are preparing for an essay test this week on the topic “Etiology of Abnormal Psychology,” I thought I would share some advice on how to write good essays. The advice gets more specific and complex and the post goes on, so if nothing else I’d strongly recommend following tips 1 and 2. The etiology of abnormal psychology …

YouTube Live Q&A

Travis DixonRevision and Exam Preparation

YouTube LIVE Exam Q&A TOMORROW   I thought I’d do this especially for the Auzzies (since many of you use ThemEd materials). But anyone is welcome to join, teachers or students, or click the link now and add a question any time.   That’s 6:30pm Australian time (Wednesday). Share with your students if you think they might be interested.   …

Key Study: “The Sweaty T-shirt Study” (Wedekind et al. 1995)

Travis DixonBiological Psychology, Human Relationships, Key Studies

Updated June, 2020 Can we smell someone’s genes? Not their trousers, but their genetics. The Swiss Biological Researcher Claus Wedekind and his colleagues conducted a famous study to see if our preference for smells is linked with our genetics. In other words, they wanted to see if we prefer the smell of someone who has genes that would be a …

How to evaluate any study in 3 simple steps

Travis DixonResearch Methodology, Revision and Exam Preparation, Studies and Theories

Being able to critically evaluate a study is a key skill for any budding psychologist. However, like anything, when you’re first learning how to do this it can be very difficult. In this post, we look at 3 simple steps you can take to evaluate any study. Read More 7 exam tips for evaluating studies So you want to assess …

Key Studies for the IA

Travis DixonInternal Assessment (IB)

Disclaimer: This list contains studies that have been conducted successfully by students in the past. However, it’s the responsibility of teachers and students to assess the suitability of specific studies for the internal assessment. The most important thing when choosing a study is to know how its results are related to a theory or model. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE. Important …

MDMA and PTSD
How ecstacy (a serotonergic agonist) could help alleviate PTSD

Colin McElvennyAbnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology

Ecstasy has been a popular party drug since the 1980s. The active ingredient,  MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine), can cause feelings of euphoria, increased empathy, enhanced sensations (e.g.; touch, sight, and auditory) and a positive mindset. Due to being categorized by the US’ Drug Enforcement Agency as Schedule 1 which is described as,  “…substances, or chemicals…with no currently accepted medical use and a …

Agonists and Behaviour: Pramipexole
Dopamine agonists in the treatment of depression

Travis DixonAbnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology

An agonist is a chemical messenger that binds to the receptor sites of neurons and activates them to create a response. In this post, we’ll look at how the drug pramipexole is an agonist of the receptor sites for dopamine. Since dopamine has been linked to depression, we can also understand why this might be another option for treatment.  Depression …

How to solve the reproducibility crisis in Psychology

Travis DixonCurriculum, Research Methodology

The “reproducibility crisis” (or “replicability crisis”) is the term used to describe the recent discovery in psychology that many classic studies are failing to have their results reproduced. In fact, the whole of psychology, especially social psychology research, seems to be in a crisis regarding its credibility as a source of knowledge. Other fields like economics and the sciences are facing …

Posts You May Have Missed…

Travis DixonBiological Psychology

We’ve been doing some upgrading to our blog. In this time, you may not have been getting the email alerts of new posts. Here they are just in case. Synaptic Pruning and Neural Networks Synaptic pruning (aka neural pruning) helps the formation of neural networks. In this post we’ll look to understand the terms “synaptic pruning” and “neural networks.” We’ll …

Ketamine and PTSD
How an antagonist of glutamate may help treat PTSD

Travis DixonAbnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology

Agonists and antagonists are chemical messengers that affect the process of neurotransmission. They bind to specific receptor sites of neurotransmitters and this can affect brain function and behaviour. Ketamine is one antagonists of the receptor sites of the neurotransmitter, glutamate. In this post we’ll learn more about antagonists, how they work, how ketamine may help PTSD and a key study …

Ketamine: An antagonist used in the treatment of depression

Travis DixonAbnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology

Ketamine is the newest drug in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). But how does it work? In this post, we’ll look at how ketamine is an antagonist of the neurotransmitter glutamate and why this can help fight depression. For years serotonin has been the main focus of causes and cures for depression. As low levels of serotonin and …

Synaptic Pruning and Neural Networks

Travis DixonBiological Psychology

Synaptic pruning (aka neural pruning)¹ helps the formation of neural networks. In this post we’ll look to understand the terms “synaptic pruning” and “neural networks.” We’ll also look at how synaptic pruning can help the formation of neural networks.  What is a “neural network?” A “neural network” is a series of connected neurons. Information travels along these networks that enable …

How to stop your IAs from losing marks
A step-by-step guide for annotating your IAs using PDF marking tools

Travis DixonInternal Assessment (IB)

Have had your IAs lose marks after moderation? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This post will give you a step-by-step guide on how to annotate your IAs so you won’t lose marks. For years my top IAs would all come down a few marks and my lowest ones would go up a couple. We are given IA feedback from moderators …