In the biological approach, it is argued that there may be a genetic link to eating disorders. This makes sense as both anorexia and bulimia run in families. First-degree relatives of young women with anorexia are over 10 times more likely than average to develop the disorder (Strober et al, 2000). However, at this point in our understanding of anorexia, there is still not gene identified as definitively...

One of the key questions in psychology is the extent to which behaviour is universal. Researchers have noted that the way parents raise children is different around the world - but is the attachment between a child and their caregiver the same in all cultures? Van Ijzendoor and Kroonenberg (1988) wanted to see if the rate of secure attachment was universal. They did this by carrying out a meta-analysis...

The factor that has perhaps the greatest effect on childhood development is abuse. Early research in psychology was focused on some extreme cases, such as Curtiss's study of Genie. Psychologists wondered if children can recover from even very adverse conditions if they are removed from such situations and given proper care and attention.The study by Koluchova (1972) was important because it showed...

Evolutionary psychologists attempt to explain human mating and sexual behaviour by the theory of natural selection. The theory argues that for men it is all about spreading one's DNA and for women it is all about maximizing the potential for survival for her fertilized egg.The following study by Clark and Hatfield is an interesting field experiment that looks to see if there really are gender...

Essential understandingsOur behaviour is influenced by others, even when we believe that we are acting independently.We have both an individual and a social identity which influences our behaviour.Behaviours are learned through our interaction and observation of others.Stereotypes affect behaviour.The sociocultural approachPsychologists recognize that human behaviour can only be fully understood if...

This chapter looks at the fundamentals of psychology. What is psychology and how do psychologists do their job? The focus of this chapter is on research methods. It is important to understand research methods so that you can evaluate studies in psychology. You may find yourself referring back to these chapters throughout the course to remind yourself of the strengths and limitations of the research...

The following lesson plan looks at the Dual Processing Theory of thinking and decision making. There are several short activities used in this lesson which are all based on Daniel Kahneman's book "Thinking Fast and Slow." The lesson is not research heavy because the research on cognitive biases - that is, heuristics - can also be used to demonstrate the model and how it works.Introducing...

This section of the site is devoted to materials that may be used to organize and assist students in the setting up and carrying out of the internal assessment. The section includes suggestions for experiments to replicate, reminders of restrictions for the internal assessment, planners and checklists, as well as samples of IA's which students should consult before starting their report writing....

The following set of practice papers are not official IB papers. As of the creation of this page, there is only one specimen paper available. All of the papers are created here by me, based on examiner experience.The questions for the papers are always the same. An explanation of the questions is given below.For each exam, there is a set of sample responses. Remember that in the new curriculum the...

The following lesson introduces the cognitive processes of "thinking" and "decision making." In addition, it will look at how psychologists study these processes, as well as the inherent limitations of such research.Students will first look at the role of interviews in studying thinking; specifically, they will look at a type of interview called a verbal protocol. Then they will...