How Do I Write A Good Extended Essay In IB Psychology? The Short Answer
A good IB Psychology Extended Essay (EE) is not about collecting your own data or simply explaining everything you know about a psychological topic. Instead, you need to:
- choose a focused psychological research question
- use peer reviewed psychological research
- develop an argument in under 4000 words that answers your research question
- analyse and evaluate evidence that supports and challenges that argument
- connect research findings to relevant psychological theory
- reach a conclusion that is justified by the evidence you have reviewed.
Most importantly, a Psychology EE is a literature review. You are not allowed to conduct primary research yourself.
How Do I Write A Good Extended Essay In IB Psychology? The Long Answer
The Extended Essay gives you the opportunity to investigate a psychological issue in much greater depth than you normally would in your Psychology course.
Your topic could come from something you have studied in class, something you have encountered in your own life, or a psychological issue you are simply interested in exploring further. The important thing is not necessarily what you choose, but whether you approach it from a genuinely psychological perspective, using appropriate psychological concepts, theories and research.
Do I Need To Carry Out My Own Research?
No. In fact, you must not.
This is one of the most important things to understand about a Psychology EE.
You cannot conduct experiments, interviews, questionnaires or other forms of primary research. A Psychology EE must be based entirely on secondary sources. The IB describes the Psychology EE as a review of literature involving the analysis of peer reviewed research.
So, rather than asking participants whether mindfulness reduces their stress, for example, you would find published psychological research investigating mindfulness and analyse what that existing evidence tells us.
This means your ability to find, understand, compare and evaluate psychological research is particularly important.
What Makes A Good Psychology EE Research Question?
Your research question needs to be focused enough to answer properly within the 4,000 word limit.
Try to avoid questions that encourage you to simply describe a topic. You want a question that gives you something to investigate, analyse and debate.
For example, the EE guide gives:
Is mindfulness or CBT a more effective means of coping with stress?
This works because there is something to compare and evaluate. A student could examine published evidence for both approaches before reaching a judgement about their relative effectiveness.
A question such as “What is CBT?”, on the other hand, would encourage description rather than the sustained argument expected in an Extended Essay.
Do I Need Psychological Studies?
Yes. They should be at the heart of your essay.
But your EE should not become a long sequence of study summaries.
The research needs to help you construct an argument. Ask yourself:
What does this study tell me about my research question?
Then go further. How strong is the evidence? Does other research support the finding? Is there contradictory evidence? How does the research connect to psychological theory? Are there limitations that affect the conclusions you can draw?
The IB's example comparing CBT and mindfulness specifically recommends comparing and evaluating published research findings, linking those studies to relevant psychological theory, and using the evidence to develop a balanced argument and conclusions.
That is a useful model for thinking about almost any Psychology EE.
How Much Theory Should I Include?
Enough to help you answer your research question.
One common mistake is spending hundreds of words explaining theories before getting to the actual argument.
The IB makes this point in its CBT and mindfulness example. Although students would need to explain the key assumptions behind the two treatments, the guide says this should not form a significant part of the essay.
Think of psychological theory as something that helps you understand and interpret the evidence, rather than something you need to describe simply to demonstrate that you know it.
Do I Have To Include Research That Disagrees With My Argument?
Where relevant, yes – and this can make your essay stronger.
A good Psychology EE should not begin with a conclusion and then select only the studies that prove it.
Instead, look at the evidence available and allow that evidence to shape your answer.
The IB's perfectionism example explicitly expects evidence that both supports and challenges the idea that perfectionism can have a detrimental effect on sporting performance. Similarly, its CBT and mindfulness example recommends developing a balanced argument from evaluated research.
Psychology rarely gives us perfectly straightforward answers, and recognising that complexity gives you much more opportunity for analysis and evaluation.
So, Is Psychology A Good Subject For The EE?
It certainly can be, particularly if you enjoy reading psychological research and asking questions about why people think and behave as they do.
You also have a huge range of potential topics because Psychology can be applied to so many aspects of human behaviour.
But remember: a Psychology EE is not just a very long Psychology essay.
The strongest EEs have a carefully focused question and use psychological research and theory to construct a sustained argument. You are not trying to tell the reader everything you know about your topic. You are selecting and evaluating the evidence that helps you answer one specific question.
My top tip
Keep returning to your research question.
Every theory you explain, every study you include and every piece of evaluation should have a purpose:
Does this help me answer my research question?
If the answer is no, it probably doesn't need to be in your EE.
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