Psychology SAQ

[Julia Koziel]

I have a question concerning the command term : Outline two or more principles from one of the levels of analysis. Would it be wrong to also include a study apart from talking solely about the principle or is it already too much?

[slavetotheIB]

I guess it would be fine to include a study, as long as you just mention it in relation to how it supports your answer, and not get into detail. At least that's what my teacher told me. Good luck for your boards!

[bankhead]

Its so hard to see how long you should write but what I always do in SAQs is the following.

Intro: Definitions and brief explanation of concepts

Body: Couple of sentences outlining the concepts whilst connecting it to the study

Introduce study in a sentence.

Another sentence or two to explain procedure.

Another to show the results and findings.

Another to connect it back to the concept.

End it with a concluding statement or the previous sentence would've been enough.

I would repeat this if the question asks for two stuff (like neurotransmitters or in this case, principles.)

That should be good I think unless my teachers trolling us.

[Negotiation]

I doubt you'll be penalized for including too much detail, haha

[Peachgon]

The criteria for top marks want a FOCUSED answer, showing appropriate knowledge and understanding of research. So I'd say that you always need a theory or study for your answers, but how much of the study you mention depends on the command term and question. Mentioning too many details not relevant to the question would be considered an UNFOCUSED answer.

Focus means having an essay that FOCUSES on what is asked for, e.g. principles, because this shows that you understand what the question wants you to do. According to the 2011 IB Psychology Subject report, a common mistake among students was to give too much information not relevant to the question.

What "too much information" means can be hard to understand, but I'd say just try to really analyse what the question wants. A "principle" question could be formatted in different ways. For example:

- Does it ask me to show how a principle was demonstrated in RESEARCH? I should focus on talking about the research then, making links between the research and the principle to show that I understand exactly what the principle assumes and how this was demonstrated. The research should dominate my essay.

- Does it only ask me to outline principles? I should then focus on what the principle says, and just give a brief summary of a study, saying how it relates back to the principle. The principle should dominate my essay.


Hope this clears out some questionmarks!