Your questions
I thought it was time to answer some general questions about the course, the class practicals, and what constitutes “content”, among other things. If you have any questions that this blog has not addressed, please add them to the comments section below.
General questions
When will the updates to the course be published?
The latest news is that the updates will be available at the end of November or the beginning of December. I know we are all waiting.
What is the “content” of the course?
This has caused some confusion, as it is a change from previously. The content is the three approaches (biological, cognitive and sociocultural) and the research methods. They can be found in tables 3.1-3.4, on pages 23-28 of the Psychology guide. The contexts are organised by areas of study and learning objectives, and we will try to avoid using the word “content” for these.
Do I have to teach every concept for every context?
There is not enough time to teach all the concepts for all the learning objectives. The goal of the assessment is that students will be able to apply concepts to any content. So, learning how to discuss causality in research in general should enable students to write an essay on causality with regard to any content that they know. The same applies to all the learning objectives. Some concepts will fit more easily into certain areas of study than others. These would be good examples of what to practice for exams.
The preamble to the research methodology table (3.4) says that data analysis and interpretation should be studied by HL and SL students, but only HL students will be assessed on this. This is confusing.
Paper 3 assesses data analysis and interpretation, and this paper is an HL paper. There is no requirement to teach the content in Table 3.4 to SL students. However, when evaluating a study using a concept like measurement, the study design, type of data collected, and how it is analysed become relevant. Use your own judgement, but be wary of “over-teaching”.
I am finding it hard to predict exact exam questions for this course. How can I do this?
This is deliberate, as the course is based on the understanding and application of psychological concepts and content, and not on any rote preparation of answers. InThinking has clarified the types of questions that may be asked, but predicting actual questions, apart from Paper 1A and Paper 2A (class practical questions), is more challenging than before. See this section for more help on the types of questions.
Class practicals
We are doing the experiment as our first class practical. Can I run the experiment with my students as participants? If so, how will this be a true experiment, without demand characteristics, if they design the materials?
Yes, you can have your own students as the participants in a study. If you have two classes, then one class could carry out the study on the other. If not, you could design and conduct the study with your students. They will then have to reconstruct the study retrospectively. Why was that list of words chosen? Why was this design chosen? They don't need to design the experiment; however, doing so will help to prepare them for their internal assessment. See the InThinking page on the class practical experiment for further help.
Will Question 2 on Paper 2, Section A always state the concept, and can it be any concept?
Yes, the concept will always be stated, and it could be any concept, so students should practice applying each concept to the method of their class practical. The question will always be worded “Explain the concept of ______ in relation to the [method] in your class practical.”
How much reference do students have to make to their own class practical when comparing and contrasting research methodologies in Question 3?
I have checked this, and as long as students compare and contrast the methodology of their class practical, discussing similarities and differences in detail, there is no requirement for them to refer back to their specific class practical at all.