IB Psychology HL

Psychology at a Higher Level (HL) focuses on developing a rigorous understanding of the mental processes by using a holistic approach of examining sociocultural, cognitive, and biological causes of behaviour. Within the two year course, students will learn and examine different models, theories, and key research on human behaviour. HL students are invited to develop methodological, cultural, gender, ethical, evaluation of studies and content to be able to apply their understanding of the core topics and optional content.

Questionbank

All the questions you could need! Sorted by topic and arranged by difficulty, with mark schemes and video solutions for every question.

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Research in Psychology

Explore approaches to research in Psychology with Paper 3 style sample stimulus research and corresponding questions.

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Practice Exams

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Past Papers

Full worked solutions to all past paper questions, taught by experienced IB instructors.

Course Structure and Content

Students at the Higher Level will cover different approaches to researching behaviour and how to analyse research methods in Psychology. To add, the majority of the course will cover the core topics which are the three main approaches to understanding behaviour (biological, sociocultural, cognitive). Additionally, HL students will learn about the following topics: Technology & Cognitive Processing, Animal Research & Human Behaviour, and Globalisation & Behaviour. These topics will be assessed in Paper 1.

To apply their knowledge of the core topics, HL students cover two out of these four applied psychology areas: Developmental Psychology, Health Psychology, Psychology of Human Relationships, & Health Psychology. This will be the focus of the Paper 2 exam. Through these options, students can show their grasp of the core topics and how it applies to a specific area (e.g how prosocial behaviour may be influenced by evolution and cognitive models, how the reliability of diagnosis of abnormal behaviour may be affected by cultural beliefs).

HL students will also be assessed on their command and understanding of research methods and ethical considerations in research, through the Paper 3 exam.

Lastly, students will develop a simple psychology experiment which replicates study following basic research requirements. This internal assessment aims to apply the student's knowledge covered all throughout the course.

Tips for Success

Show mastery of key terminology, theories, models, and studies in the core topics and options in syllabus. Be aware of current trends in Psychological research.
Synthesize and analyse core content and applied areas in Psychology by practising critical thinking.
Be open-minded. Accept uncertainty. Although Psychology seeks to describe and explain behaviour, the subjective nature of human experience, and the changing contexts of the times may result to variations on human thought and behaviour. Theories which may be applicable before, may have certain limitations now.

RV Psychology is designed to maximise your academic results through multiple-choice questions related to key terminology and research, practise critical analysis and understanding of content through short-answer and essay questions on all topic and content areas available through our Questionbank and other tools available to meet your learning needs.