“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” The same goes for exams – if you don’t know what’s in the exams then you won’t know how to prepare. To be a successful IB Psychology student (or teacher), you’ll want to plan backwards from the assessment. With this in mind, this post outlines the contents …
Biological Approach SAQsExam Question Bank
This post explains what to expect in Paper 1 Section A – the SAQs. Jump to… IB’s Example SAQs 9 Practice SAQs Revision Questions Some Examples Deeper Analysis Study Tips Teacher Tips The Topics The short answer questions (SAQs) in Paper 1, Section A are based on the three approaches. You will be asked two SAQs. The possible topics from the biological …
Who’s better?A-SAQ Practice Questions
The applied SAQs (A-SAQs) in Paper 1, Section B are challenging. In this post, I’ve devised an example question and written my own answer. I also asked ChatGPT to write an answer as well. Can you tell whose is whose? Which one do you think would score better? The Question: Context: Human Development Prior research has shown differences in the …
Example Essay: Prevalence of Health Problems (Responsibility)IB Psychology Paper 1 Essays
IB’s made it deliberately impossible to memorise pre-written answers for the essay questions (thankfully). But that doesn’t make them impossible to prepare for. The following advice and examples in this post are designed to help both students and teachers gain confidence despite the uncertainties in Section C. The IB Psychology essays are tough. They require the ability to combine concepts with …
Example ASAQPaper 1 for IB Psychology (May 2027 curriculum)
The new Paper 1 ASAQs (pronounced A-sacks, as I like to call them) are simple in nature but difficult to predict. They combine one of the approach content topics (biological, cognitive or sociocultural), with one of the context’s “areas of study.” This post provides one example answer and some tips on how to answer these ASAQs. The rationale behind this …
Paper One Overview in IB PsychologyFor exams starting May 2027
This post outlines the contents and requirements of IB Psychology: Paper One. Each year I’ll update this with a sample of the exam questions asked in the May and November exams so a combination of IB Past Papers for IB Psychology can be accumulated. However, due to copyright reasons I can’t replicate them all. Jump To In This Post: Section …
Need ideas for HL Only Classes? Here’s a simple unit plan for Paper 3
By next year (2026) all the teacher support packs will be ready with complete lesson plans, workbooks, etc., but in the meantime you might be looking for a simple unit plan that requires little planning. The following ideas were devised in collaboration with Paul Wright. Paul and I were working through what to do with HL-only classes once a week. …
How to get 7s in Paper One?Build a course on content, not concepts.
If you’re struggling to build your course on concepts, this post will explain why. About 12 years ago I realised how irrelevant command terms were for IB Psych exams. I lamented over lost time and energy spent focusing on these, at the expense of better things, like content. Since then I’ve tried to show you all what I learned. I …
How to use real world examples in the new SAQsOne topic - two possible answers
In the new IB Psychology course (first exams 2027), the first two questions in Paper One are SAQs. These are 150-250 word answers that explain a topic and use an example. Previously, supporting examples always had to be studies. Now you have the choice – a study or a real world example. In this post, we’ll look at the same …
How to explain a psychological study
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 …
#1 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Write Things Down
Only 3% of IB Psychologists will get a 7. That means if your goal is a 7, you need to be working harder than 97% of all other IB Psychologists. Are you? If you’ve read the other 9 exam tips, you might be. Following this final tip could be the decider. In my experience, there seems to be one factor …
#2 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Use Flashcards
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
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
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 …
#5 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Ignore Command Terms
This tip is sure to cause a stir amongst some IB teachers as the command terms are like IB Gospel. In my early years of teaching I thought so, too. I had these plastered around the wall and thought they were the most important thing to know about the IB Psychology exams. However, over the years I’ve realised that they’re …
#6 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Write Plans, Not Essays
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 …
#7 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: 5 Minute Practice Exams
Practice makes permanent. The only problem is that the IB Psych exams are 3-5 hours long, so they’re very difficult to practise. There are also over 50 different topics to study, but only a few will be asked on the exam. So while it might be great doing a couple of practice exams, including your school’s mocks, it’s not good …
#8 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Set Goals
You’ve heard it all before but trust me setting goals for the IB Psych exams leads to higher marks. This is because it helps you prioritise your revision helping you to focus on the right things. Every IB Psychology student is capable of achieving at least a 5, so all you need to do is decide if you’re aiming for …
Digital vs. Print Reading: Which one’s better?
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
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
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
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?
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?
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.
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 …