IB Psychology Paper 1: What Do I Need To Know? The Short Answer

IB Psychology Paper 1 tests your understanding of the biological, cognitive and sociocultural approaches to understanding behaviour.

To do well, you need to:

  • Understand the key theories and concepts.
  • Be able to explain psychology clearly in your own words.
  • Apply your knowledge to unfamiliar situations.
  • Use studies or alternatively relevant real or hypothetical examples.
  • Understand what different command terms are asking you to do.
  • Practise writing answers that match the requirements of the markscheme.

The biggest change for students taking the new IB Psychology syllabus is that Paper 1 is much more about understanding and applying psychology than memorising the details of lots of research studies.

IB Psychology Paper 1: What Do I Need To Know? The Long Answer

Paper 1 is based on the three approaches to understanding behaviour: biological, cognitive and sociocultural.

Rather than simply learning information and reproducing it in an exam, you need to understand the psychology well enough to explain it and apply it to different situations.

The three approaches

Biological approach

This looks at how biological factors influence behaviour, including areas such as the brain, neurotransmitters, hormones and genetics.

Cognitive approach

This focuses on mental processes involved in behaviour, such as thinking, decision-making, memory and learning.

Sociocultural approach

This looks at how other people, groups and cultures influence behaviour.

You won’t simply be asked to write down everything you know about one of these topics. The questions are designed to test whether you can use your psychological knowledge appropriately.

That means understanding the psychology is much more useful than memorising a pre-written answer.

Do I Need To Memorise Studies For IB Psychology Paper 1?

This is one of the biggest differences between the old and new IB Psychology courses.

You no longer need to memorise huge numbers of research studies and reproduce their aims, procedures and results in the way students often did on the old syllabus.

You can use appropriate real or hypothetical examples to demonstrate your understanding instead.

That doesn’t mean research is unimportant. Research is still a huge part of psychology, and knowing useful studies can help you understand theories and provide strong examples.

But your priority should be:

Understand it first. Memorise second.

For example, if you understand schema theory well, you should be able to create an example showing how an existing schema affects the way someone processes new information. That is far more useful than knowing a research study word for word but not really understanding what it demonstrates.

How Should I Answer Paper 1 Questions?

The way you approach a Paper 1 question depends on the type of question you are answering.

For the shorter questions, focus closely on what the question is asking. You need to show accurate understanding of the relevant psychology and apply it appropriately, rather than writing everything you know about the topic.

The longer questions are concept-based. You will be asked to use one of the course concepts, such as bias, causation, change, measurement, perspective or responsibility, to discuss or evaluate a psychological topic.

This means you need to do more than describe the topic. You need to think about it through the lens of the concept in the question.

For example, if a question asks you to discuss responsibility in relation to a particular topic, your answer should explore the issues of responsibility that arise from that psychology. If the concept is bias, your discussion should focus on where bias might occur, its effects and why it matters.

For these longer answers:

  • Make sure you understand the concept in the question.
  • Keep linking that concept directly to the psychological topic.
  • Use relevant theories, research or examples to support your points.
  • Develop both explanation and critical thinking rather than simply describing what you know.
  • Finish by reaching a conclusion that answers the question.

A common mistake is to write a good general essay about the psychological topic but not actually use the concept to answer the question.

Keep asking yourself:

“What does this tell me about the concept I have been asked about?”

That will help keep your answer focused throughout.

What Should I Revise For IB Psychology Paper 1?

Don’t make your revision plan a list of studies to memorise.

For each topic, check whether you can:

  • Define the important terminology.
  • Explain the theory or psychological process in your own words.
  • Give an appropriate example.
  • Apply the theory to a new situation.
  • Explain relevant research.
  • Identify strengths, limitations or alternative perspectives where appropriate.
  • Discuss the topics in relation to the concepts.
  • Answer different questions about the same topic rather than relying on one memorised response.

A great test is to explain a topic without looking at your notes.

If you can explain it simply to somebody who has never studied psychology before, you probably understand it.

My top tip for Paper 1

Practise questions, not just content.

Knowing psychology and being able to score marks in an IB Psychology examination are related, but they aren’t exactly the same skill.

Once you understand a topic, practise applying that knowledge to different questions. Pay attention to command terms and compare your response with the markscheme.

Over time, you should become much quicker at working out:

What is this question really asking me to show?

That is one of the most useful skills you can take into Paper 1.

So, Is IB Psychology Paper 1 Difficult?

It can be challenging because there is a lot of psychology to understand, and you need to be able to apply that knowledge rather than simply repeat your notes.

But the new syllabus gives you an important advantage: you don’t need to spend your course memorising the details of dozens of studies.

Focus on understanding the psychology, learn the terminology, practise applying your knowledge and get used to answering questions according to the markscheme.

Do that consistently throughout the course and Paper 1 becomes much more manageable.