Paper 1: Structure & Guidance (DP IB Psychology)

Paper 1 structure

• Paper 1 consists of two sections:

  • Section A

  • Section B

• The exam is two hours long

• Paper 1 is worth a total of 49 marks

  • This is the highest total marks per section across all three exam papers

  • If you do well on Paper 1 this will stand you in good stead for achieving a high mark overall

Section A

• Section A consists of:

  • Three SAQs (short-answer questions) on

    • The Biological Approach

    • The Cognitive Approach

    • The Sociocultural Approach

• You must answer all three questions in Section A

  • Each question is worth 9 marks 

• Section A is worth 27 marks in total

• You have one hour to complete Section A, which gives you 20 minutes to complete each Section A question

• The command terms that you may be asked in Section A are:

  • Outline

  • Describe

  • Explain

Section B

• Section B consists of:

  • Three ERQs (extended response questions) on:

    • The Biological Approach

    • The Cognitive Approach

    • The Sociocultural Approach

• You must answer one question in Section B

  • Choose the question you want to answer from the three approaches

• Each question is worth 22 marks 

• Section B is worth 22 marks in total

• You have one hour to complete this question

• The command terms that you may be asked in Section B are:

  • Evaluate

  • Discuss

  • Contrast

  • To what extent

Guidance for Section A

Tips

• Keep it concise: you only have 20 minutes to complete each SAQ 

• Include an explanation of the keywords e.g. 

  • Schemas are mental representations which serve to provide packets of information to help us understand the world

• Make sure you use the words from the question in your answer e.g.

  • One study which demonstrates the effect of one neurotransmitter on behaviour is Fisher et al.(2005)

• Make sure that you have established a clear link between the theory and a supporting study then link these back to the question e.g.

  • Basu et al. (2017) thus highlights the role of enculturation in the formation of gender roles and expectations in collectivist cultures

Things to avoid

• Don’t worry too much about the command term: 

  • There is some difference between each command term in Section A but not hugely (if in doubt see our helpful page on command terms)

• Don’t worry too much about researchers’ names and dates of research - if in doubt, leave them out

• There is no need for an in-depth introduction – this is not necessary for a SAQ and you have no time to do so

• Only use one study to demonstrate the theory particularly if the question asks for only one study

• Try not to be vague, repeat points, or include study details that aren’t helping to answer the question

• Don’t use anecdotal examples - keep the focus on theory/study evidence

• No need to evaluate

  • There are no marks for evaluation with SAQs - it is a waste of time and energy to do so

Guidance for Section B

Tips

• Expand on the points you make, develop ideas, use depth and detail

• Make sure that you adhere to the demands of the command term

  • This is very important for Section B as not all of the command terms are asking you to do the same thing e.g.

    • ‘Contrast’ requires you to highlight the differences between two theories/explanations

    • ‘Evaluate’ requires you to make an appraisal of a theory/study/explanation, weighing up its strengths and limitations

• Include an explanation of the keywords e.g. 

  • Schemas are mental representations which serve to provide packets of information to help us understand the world

• Make sure you use the words from the question in your answer e.g.

  • One study which demonstrates the effect of one neurotransmitter on behaviour is Fisher et al.(2005)

• Make sure that you have established a clear link between the theory and a supporting study then link these back to the question e.g.

  • Basu et al. (2017) thus highlight the role of enculturation in the formation of gender roles and expectations in collectivist cultures

• Make sure that you have used enough critical thinking (which includes evaluation) to fully satisfy the marks available (6 for use of supporting evidence; 6 for critical thinking)

Things to avoid

• Don’t answer more than one question - remember that you choose one question from either the Biological, Cognitive or Sociocultural approach

• Don’t worry too much about researchers’ names and dates of research - if in doubt, leave them out

• Remember that if the question asks for ‘One or more theory(s)/study(s)’ that you don’t need to cover two theories/studies (students often interpret ‘one or more’ as ‘two’ when in fact it simply means ‘choose one if you want to’)

• Don’t be vague, repeat points, or include study detail that isn’t helping to answer the question

• Avoid anecdotal examples - keep the focus on theory/study evidence

• Don’t forget to use critical thinking and evaluation - this needs repeating as it is amazing how often students simply don’t include this essential Section B component in their essays - and by doing so they throw away the opportunity to gain lots of extra marks

• Avoid spending too long trying to work out how to write the introduction and conclusion to your essay

  • These are nice to have but not crucial as examiners want to see how you handle theory/study/critical thinking more than essay conventions

  • Remember: if in doubt, leave them out!