Download IB Psychology Internal Assessment

IB Psychology Internal Assessment
The IA for SL IB Psych requires students to undertake a partial replication of a simple experiment. The purpose of the IA
is for students to experience the research process by practicing sound research methodology. Students must turn in a
formal write up for the experiment with title page, abstract, intro, methods, results, and discussion. The paper must be
1000-1500 words (12 point font, double spaced = approximately 4-6 pages from intro through discussion). The study
must manipulate ONE independent variable and measure ONE dependent variable. Quasi-experimental studies (where
the IV is a naturally occurring variable like gender or age) and correlational studies are not acceptable.
Ethical guidelines must be followed. In addition to adhering to APA ethics guidelines discussed in class, IB students are
also not allowed to do the following: conformity studies, obedience studies, animal research, placebo experiments,
experiments involving ingestion (food, drink, smoking, drugs, etc.), experiments involving deprivation (depriving sleep,
food, etc.), experiments involving children, or use of deception.
Timeline of Due Dates for IA
Thursday 9-24/ Friday 9-25
Distribute handouts on IA and discuss.
Friday 10-2/ Monday 10-5
Topic choice is due. Turn in a sheet of paper with the following: title of original study you are replicating, description of
how you plan to replicate the experiment (a paragraph briefly explaining your procedure), IV and operational definition
of IV, DV and operational definition of DV, hypothesis, and whether you are doing independent samples or repeated
measures design. Also include on this sheet the names of students in your group (groups must be 3-4 students).
Friday 10-16/ Monday 10-19
Introduction is due. Introduction includes stating the aim of your study, identifying the original study with a summary of
that original experiment, and stating your hypothesis.
Wednesday 10-28/ Thursday 10-29
Methods section is due. Includes design, participant selection (describe population and sample and tell how sample was
selected, include how you assigned participants to experimental or control group), materials list, and procedure.
**Now, you’re ready to actually conduct the experiment, which must be done @ school under supervision of a teacher.**
Thursday 12-17/ Friday 12-18
Results section is due. This means that you have conducted the experiment and calculated results. The results write-up
includes a description of data (in a table) and an analysis of the results in a paragraph. Analysis means that you should
explain the meaning or significance of your data. You should also include a graphic presentation of your results.
Monday 1-11/ Tuesday 1-12
Final paper is due. This includes title page, abstract, all previous sections (changed if necessary based on my comments)
AND the Discussion Section. Discussion section must include your conclusions, the relationship of your results to those
of the original study, strengths and limitations of your methodology, relevant modifications you’d make if you had to do
the experiment again, and area of further investigation on this topic. Please turn in 2 copies of final paper.
How does the IA impact my grade in this course?
In addition to grades for each individual section due throughout the semester (counted as quizzes), you will also receive
an overall grade for the paper as a whole. This overall grade will be on the 3rd nine weeks and will count as a test. The
project is graded according to the rubric included in this handout.
This project constitutes 25% of your IB Psychology exam grade (not your report card grade, but your IB grade toward
your IB diploma). The IA is REQUIRED for the completion of this course.
Options for the IA
You should locate and read the ORIGINAL journal article (not just the abstract!) for the option that you choose. I have
picked options that can all be accessed online. It is highly recommended that you choose an article from this list.
“Forming Impressions of Personality” – Solomon Asch (1946)
This study looks at how participants form impressions of a hypothetical person described to them with certain
characteristics. Participants were given descriptions of a hypothetical person’s personality that included the word
“warm” or “cold.”
http://www.romolocapuano.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Asch-Forming-Impressions-Of-Personality.pdf
“Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth” – Lawrence Williams and John Bargh (2008)
This study tests how being exposed to a certain temperature (holding a cup of hot coffee or holding a cup of iced coffee)
will affect a person’s impression formation of a hypothetical individual. This study builds on Solomon Asch’s work (seen
in the study listed above).
http://www.yale.edu/acmelab/articles/Science_coffee_study.pdf
“Music Tonality and Context Dependent Recall: The Influence of Key Change and Mood Mediation” – Katharine Mead
and Linden Ball (2007)
This study looks at how music affects mood and memory. Participants were tasked with learning a word list with music
playing in the background and then recalling that list with either the same or different music playing.
http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/11112/1/2.pdf
“State-Dependent Memory Produced by Aerobic Exercise” – Christopher Miles and Elinor Hardman (1998)
This study looks at how a person’s state (aerobic state during exercise or non-aerobic state during rest) affects their
memory. Participants were tasked with learning a word list during one state (aerobic or resting) and then recalling the
word list in the same state or in a different state.
http://psych.cf.ac.uk/home2/miles/1998%20ergonomics.pdf
“Studies of Interference in serial verbal reactions” – J. Ridley Stroop (1935)
This study tests what became known as the “Stroop Effect.” The Stroop effect is when reaction time is slower because
the name of a color does not match up with the actual word. For example, the word “blue” in red ink.
http://psychcentral.com/classics/Stroop/
“Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction: An example of the Interaction between Language and Memory” – Loftus
and Palmer (1974)
This study looks at how the wording of a question can affect someone’s memory of that event. Participants watched a
video of a car accident and then were asked about what they saw. Their memory of the car crash was altered based on
how the question was presented (for example, using the word “smashed” instead of “hit” to describe the accident).
https://webfiles.uci.edu/eloftus/LoftusPalmer74.pdf