Paper 2: Structure & Guidance (DP IB Psychology)

The structure of Paper 2

• Paper 2 consists of four sections, each of which includes questions from the four option topics:

  • Abnormal Psychology

  • Developmental Psychology

  • Health Psychology

  • The Psychology of Human Relationships

• Each question is worth 22 marks in total

• Each option topic section includes three questions:

  • You need to choose one of these three questions (do not answer any more than one question - you won’t get any extra credit for doing so)

• The command terms that you may be asked on Paper 2 are:

  • Evaluate

  • Discuss

  • Contrast

  • To what extent

HL syllabus learners

• If you are studying the HL syllabus you must answer two ERQs (extended response questions):

  • One question from one of the option topics you have studied (e.g. Abnormal Psychology)

  • One question from the other option topic you have studied e.g. (Health Psychology

• Paper 2 is worth 44 marks in total if you are HL

• Paper 2 is two hours long so you have one hour to complete each question

SL syllabus learners

• If you are studying the SL syllabus you must answer one ERQ (extended response question):

  • One question from the option topic you have studied (e.g. Abnormal Psychology)

• Paper 2 is worth 22 marks in total

• Paper 2 is one hour long so you have one hour to complete the question

Paper 2 option topics

Abnormal Psychology

• Factors influencing diagnosis

  • Normality versus abnormality

  • Classification systems

  • The role of clinical biases in diagnosis

  • Validity and reliability of diagnosis

• Aetiology of abnormal psychology

  • Explanations for disorder(s)

  • Prevalence rates and disorder(s)

• Treatment of disorder(s) 

  • Biological treatment

  • Psychological treatment

  • The role of culture in treatment

  • Assessing the effectiveness of treatment(s)

Developmental Psychology

• Influences on cognitive and social development

  • Role of peers and play

  • Childhood trauma and resilience

  • Poverty/socio-economic status

• Developing an identity 

  • Attachment

  • Gender identity and social roles

  • Development of empathy and theory of mind

• Developing as a learner 

  • Cognitive development

  • Brain development

Health Psychology

• Determinants of health 

  • Biopsychosocial model of health and well-being

  • Dispositional factors and health beliefs

  • Risk and protective factors

• Health problems 

  • Explanations of health problem(s)

  • Prevalence rates of health problem(s)

• Promoting health 

  • Health promotion

  • Effectiveness of health promotion programme(s)

The Psychology of Human Relationships

• Personal relationships 

  • Formation of personal relationships

  • Role of communication

  • Explanations for why relationships change or end

• Group dynamics 

  • Cooperation and competition

  • Prejudice and discrimination

  • Origins of conflict and conflict resolution

• Social responsibility 

  • By-standards

  • Prosocial behaviour

  • Promoting prosocial behaviour

Guidance for Paper 2

Tips

• Make sure that you choose the correct option(s) to answer questions 

• 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 Paper 2 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. 

  • Theory of mind is the awareness that other people may hold different views than your own…

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

  • A key factor which influences bystanderism is diffusion of responsibility which involves…

• 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.

  • Rosenhan (1973) highlighted the processes involved in deindividuation which served to raise awareness of the validity of mental illness diagnosis…

• 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

• Remember to not answer more than one question from the same option section 

  • Answer only one question from your one option if you are SL

  • Answer only one question from each of your two options if you are HL

• Don’t answer questions from any option that you have not studied in class (sounds obvious but some students have made this mistake!)

• Avoid worrying too much about researchers’ names and dates of research - if in doubt, leave them out

• 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, and include study details that aren’t helping to answer the question

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

• Remember to use critical thinking and evaluation - it is amazing how often students simply don’t include this essential Paper 2 component in their essays - and by doing so they throw away the opportunity to gain lots of extra marks

• Don’t waste time 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!