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IB Psychology›Psychology HL
Revision Notes

IB Psychology HL

Clear, student-friendly revision notes for the whole IB Psychology Higher Level course — health and wellbeing, human development, human relationships, learning and cognition, research methods, and the Higher Level units on culture, motivation and technology — written for what Papers 1, 2 and 3 actually ask.

Psychology HL · Revision Notes

Table of Contents

125 notes across 9 units. Click a unit to expand it, then open a sub-topic to see its notes. Notes marked HL are Higher Level only.

HLSwitch to SL
1

Health and Wellbeing

Mental health, physical health problems, and what actually treats them.

20 notes▾
1.1

Mental Health Disorders

9▾
How Genes Contribute to Depression→ Neurotransmitters and Depression→ What Animal Studies Tell Us About Depression→ Beck’s Cognitive Model of Depression→ Negative Schemas and Depression→ Cultural Dimensions and Rates of Depression→ How Cultures Differ in Defining Mental Illness→ Operant Conditioning as an Explanation of Depression→ Why Social Support Protects Against Depression→
1.2

Health Problems

6▾
How Common Is Obesity?→ How Common Is Smoking?→ Why Obesity Rates Differ Between Cultures→ Why Smoking Rates Differ Between Cultures→ Social Learning as an Explanation of Obesity→ Stress, Cortisol and Weight Gain→
1.3

Prevention and Treatment

5▾
Drug Treatments for Depression→ Drug Treatments for Nicotine Addiction→ Is Drug Treatment Too Reductionist?→ Using CBT to Treat Nicotine Addiction→ Using CBT to Treat Depression→
2

Human Development

How people grow, and what shapes the person they become.

11 notes▾
2.1

Models of Development

5▾
Brain Maturation and Development→ Neuroplasticity in the Developing Brain→ Vygotsky on How Children Learn→ Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development→ Theory of Mind: Understanding Other Minds→
2.2

Development of the Self

6▾
Bowlby and the Roots of Attachment→ What Happens When Attachment Is Missing→ Enculturation and a Sense of Self→ Peers, Social Identity and Who You Become→ How Childhood Poverty Shapes Development→ Growing Up in a Conflict Zone→
3

Human Relationships

Behaviour inside groups, and what draws two people together.

10 notes▾
3.1

Group Behaviour

6▾
Acculturation and Its Effect on Mental Health→ Commitment as a Compliance Technique→ Why People Conform to a Group→ Cultural Dimensions and How Groups Behave→ Social Identity Theory Applied to Groups→ Social Learning Theory Applied to Groups→
3.2

Interpersonal Relationships

4▾
Dopamine and Romantic Attraction→ The Matching Hypothesis: Do Likes Attract?→ Self-Disclosure and Growing Closer→ Social Exchange Theory: Relationships as Trade-Offs→
4

Learning and Cognition

How we learn, think and remember, and the ways all three go wrong.

15 notes▾
4.1

Thinking and Learning

7▾
Anchoring Bias: Why the First Figure Sticks→ Confirmation Bias: Seeing What You Expect→ Classical Conditioning: Learning by Association→ Operant Conditioning: Learning by Consequence→ The Dual Process Model of Thinking→ Schema Theory: The Mind’s Shortcuts→ Social Learning Theory in Practice→
4.2

Cognitive Processing

8▾
What Brain Damage Reveals About Memory→ Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Multi-Store Model→ Working Memory and Cognitive Load→ Multi-Store or Working Memory: Which Fits Better?→ How Culture Shapes What We Remember→ How Learning Changes Spatial Memory→ Cultural Schemas and Memory Distortion→ Do Computer Games Affect Memory?→
5

Research Methods

How psychologists gather evidence, and how to judge whether it holds up.

22 notes▾
5.1

Methods of Research

6▾
Experiments and Their Designs→ Observations: Watching Behaviour Directly→ Questionnaires and Survey Design→ Interviews and What They Reveal→ Correlational Studies and Their Limits→ Case Studies: Depth Over Breadth→
5.2

Research Design

7▾
Reliability: Getting the Same Result Twice→ Validity: Measuring What You Meant To→ Generalisability: Who Else Do the Results Apply To?→ Bias in the Researcher and the Participant→ Reflexivity: The Researcher in the Research→ Credibility and Transferability→ Sampling Techniques and Who Takes Part→
5.3

Data Analysis and Interpretation

9▾
HLReading and Drawing Graphs→ HLBox Plots and What They Show→ HLFrequency Tables and Grouped Data→ HLDistributions and the Shape of Data→ HLAverages, Spread and Outliers→ HLProbability and Inferential Statistics→ HLChoosing the Right Statistical Test→ HLWhat the Correlation Coefficient Tells You→ HLThematic Analysis of Qualitative Data→
6

Culture

How culture shapes behaviour across every context in the course. Higher Level only.

12 notes▾
6.1

The Role of Culture

1▾
HLWhy Culture Matters in Psychology→
6.2

Culture and Mental Health

3▾
HLHow Culture Shapes Mental Health Disorders→ HLCulture and the Way Disorders Are Diagnosed→ HLDepression Around the World→
6.3

Culture and Human Development

3▾
HLHow Culture Shapes Parenting→ HLEmic and Etic Research in Development→ HLCulture and the Developing Self→
6.4

Culture and Human Relationships

2▾
HLCulture, Marriage and Partner Choice→ HLHow Culture Shapes Communication→
6.5

Culture, Learning and Cognition

3▾
HLCulture and the Way We Think→ HLBilingualism and the Bilingual Mind→ HLHow Learning Differs Across Cultures→
7

Motivation

What drives behaviour, and why people keep going or give up. Higher Level only.

11 notes▾
7.1

Theories of Motivation

1▾
HLWhat Drives Behaviour: Theories of Motivation→
7.2

Motivation in Health and Wellbeing

2▾
HLDo Fear Appeals Make People Quit Smoking?→ HLWhat Motivates People to Stop Smoking→
7.3

Motivation in Human Development

2▾
HLMotivation as Children Grow Up→ HLHow Praise Changes a Child’s Motivation→
7.4

Motivation in Human Relationships

3▾
HLMotivation in Sport and Teams→ HLLocus of Control and How People Act→ HLWhat Motivates People at Work→
7.5

Motivation in Learning and Cognition

3▾
HLMotivation and How Well We Learn→ HLStrategies for Learning Independently→ HLHow Psychologists Measure Motivation→
8

Technology

What screens, apps and AI are doing to how we live and think. Higher Level only.

12 notes▾
8.1

Technology and Psychology

1▾
HLHow Digital Technology Fits Into Daily Life→
8.2

Technology in Health and Wellbeing

3▾
HLTechnology in Patient Care→ HLWhat Technology Does to Mental Health→ HLDoes Virtual Reality Therapy Work?→
8.3

Technology in Human Development

3▾
HLTechnology and the Developing Self→ HLGrowing Up Alongside AI→ HLScreen Interruptions and Attachment→
8.4

Technology in Human Relationships

3▾
HLMedia, Dating and Relationships→ HLSocial Media and How Groups Behave→ HLTechnology and Settling Into a New Culture→
8.5

Technology in Learning and Cognition

2▾
HLTechnology and How We Learn→ HLWhat Technology Does to Memory→
9

Exam Guidance and Skills

What each paper wants, and how to write answers that score.

12 notes▾
9.1

The Exam Papers

3▾
What Paper 1 Asks For→ What Paper 2 Asks For→ HLWhat Paper 3 Asks For→
9.2

Answering Exam Questions

8▾
Writing a Strong SAQ in Paper 1→ Writing a Strong ERQ in Paper 1→ Writing a Strong SAQ in Paper 2→ Writing a Strong ERQ in Paper 2→ HLPaper 3, Question 1: What to Write→ HLPaper 3, Question 2: What to Write→ HLPaper 3, Question 3: What to Write→ HLPaper 3, Question 4: The Extended Response→
9.3

The Key Concepts

1▾
The Six Key Concepts Explained→

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