IB Psychology

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Course Description and Aims

The IB Psychology course aims to develop an awareness of how research findings can be applied to better understand human behaviour and how ethical practices are upheld in psychological inquiry. Students learn to understand the biological, cognitive and sociocultural influences on human behaviour and explore alternative explanations of behaviour. They also understand and use diverse methods of psychological inquiry.

In addition, the course is designed to:

encourage the systematic and critical study of human experience and behaviour, physical, economic and social environments, and the history and development of social and cultural institutions;
develop the capacity to identify, analyse critically and evaluate theories, concepts and arguments about the nature and activities of the individual and society;
enable students to collect, describe and analyse data used in studies, test hypotheses, and interpret complex data and source material;
enable the student to recognise that the content and methodologies are contestable and that their study requires the toleration of uncertainty;
develop an awareness of how psychological research can be applied for the better understanding of human behaviour;
ensure that ethical practices are upheld in psychological inquiry;
develop an understanding of the biological, cognitive and sociocultural influences on human behaviour;
develop an understanding of alternative explanations of behaviour;
understand and use diverse methods of psychological inquiry.

Curriculum Model Overview

Component	Standard Level	Higher Level
Core Instruction on three topics: Biological approach to understanding behaviour. Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour. Sociocultural approach to understanding behaviour.	✓	✓
Options Choice of one (SL) or two (HL) additional topics: Abnormal psychology. Developmental psychology. Health psychology. Psychology of human relationships.	✓	✓
Additional Higher Level: Approaches to researching behaviour		✓
Experimental Study: Introduction to experimental research methodology	✓	✓

Assessment at a Glance — Standard Level

Type of Assessment	Format of Assessment	Time (hours)	Weighting Final Grade (%)
External			75
Paper 1	Question response and an essay.	2	50
Paper 2	Answer one of 15 questions in essay form.	1	25
Internal			25
Study Report	A report of a simple experimental study conducted by the student.		25

Assessment at a Glance — Higher Level