Exam technique · Psychology · 9 min read
IB Psychology exam format from 2027: Papers 1, 2 and 3 and how to answer them
Every paper on the new course, what its questions look like, and how to structure, time and revise for each one.
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From May 2027, IB Psychology has two papers at SL and three at HL. Paper 1 and Paper 2 are the same at both levels: 1 hour 30 minutes and 35 marks each. HL students add Paper 3, a 1 hour 45 minute, 30-mark paper on data analysis and interpretation. The internal assessment, now a research proposal, makes up the rest of the grade.
This applies to everyone who started the course in August 2025 or later. If you're sitting the old course in November 2026, skip to the note at the end.
What are the papers, marks and weightings?
| Component | What it tests | SL | HL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Concepts, content and contexts together | 1 h 30 · 35 marks · 35% | 1 h 30 · 35 marks · 25% |
| Paper 2 | Applying concepts and content to research | 1 h 30 · 35 marks · 35% | 1 h 30 · 35 marks · 25% |
| Paper 3 (HL only) | Data analysis and interpretation | — | 1 h 45 · 30 marks · 30% |
| IA | Research proposal | 24 marks · 30% | 24 marks · 20% |
So SL sits 3 hours of exams (70% of the grade) and HL sits 4 hours 45 minutes (80%). The course is built from three layers that the papers mix together:
- Content: the biological, cognitive and sociocultural approaches, plus research methodology.
- Six concepts: bias, causality, change, measurement, perspective and responsibility.
- Four contexts, all compulsory: health and well-being, human development, human relationships, and learning and cognition.
HL adds three extensions (the role of culture, of motivation and of technology in behaviour) and data analysis. The IB summarises the changes on its psychology curriculum update page; the IA is covered in our IB Psychology IA guide.
How do you answer Paper 1?
Paper 1 has three sections, and you answer everything except in Section C, where you choose one of two questions.
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| A | Two compulsory short answers, each on a different approach (two of the three) | 2 × 4 = 8 |
| B | Two compulsory short answers applying content to an unseen scenario, each set in a context | 2 × 6 = 12 |
| C | One concept-based extended response, chosen from two, each from a different context | 15 |
Section A: 4-mark short answers
Expect a direct question on one approach, for example asking you to explain how a hormone or neurotransmitter can influence a behaviour, or how a cognitive process can be distorted. You don't know which two approaches will come up, so revise all three. A 4-mark answer needs four moves, in roughly 150–200 words:
- Point: the claim, in one sentence.
- Mechanism: how it works, step by step.
- Evidence: one study or finding, compressed.
- Link: a sentence connecting the evidence back to the question's wording.
Section B: applying content to a scenario
You get a short unseen scenario about a person or group, set in one of the four contexts, and have to use psychology to explain what's going on. The marks are for application. An accurate account of a theory that never mentions the scenario will not reach the top band.
Loses marks"Social identity theory says people categorise themselves into groups and favour their in-group to boost self-esteem. Tajfel's minimal group studies support this."
Earns marks"Once Sam joins the debating team, he starts describing the rival school's team as arrogant even though he hasn't met them. Social identity theory explains this: having categorised himself as a team member, he boosts his self-esteem by viewing the out-group less favourably, which is why his opinion formed before any contact."
Use two or three specific details from the scenario, and say what the explanation predicts for that person.
Section C: the 15-mark extended response
Each question is concept-based (one of the six concepts) and set in a context. Plan for three minutes, then write:
- Introduction: what the concept means for this question, and the line you'll argue. Two or three sentences.
- Two or three body paragraphs: each built on one piece of content (a theory or study) used as evidence, then examined through the concept named in the question.
- Conclusion: a judgement that answers the question, not a summary.
Paper 1 doesn't assess detailed study procedures. A full account of who, where and how many participants eats time that should go on argument.
How should you use studies as evidence?
Use a compressed aim–method–results–link pattern: one clause of aim, one sentence of method, the result that matters, then the link. The link is where the marks are. Here's a paragraph for a question about how far eyewitness memory can be trusted:
Leading questions can alter what witnesses report. Loftus and Palmer (1974) showed students film clips of car crashes and asked how fast the cars were going when they "smashed" or "contacted" each other. The verb changed the answers: "smashed" produced higher speed estimates, and in a follow-up, students asked with "smashed" were more likely to report seeing broken glass a week later, though there was none in the film. This supports the claim that memory is reconstructed at retrieval. But the measure was a speed estimate after a short clip with nothing at stake, so it shows what can happen in a low-pressure task more clearly than what happens to a real witness to a frightening event.
Notice the last two sentences: one link to the claim, then evaluation tied to measurement, a named concept, rather than a stock phrase about labs.
How do you answer Paper 2?
Section A: research methods from your class practicals (20 marks)
Four compulsory questions about the research methods you used in the class practicals (interview, observation, survey/questionnaire, experiment). They ask about the method, not the topic of the context. The four parts:
| Part | Marks | What a good answer does |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and understanding | 4 | Defines and explains features of the method precisely, using correct terms |
| Application | 4 | Applies the method to the situation given, with concrete choices |
| Compare and contrast | 6 | Gives similarities and differences, point by point, not two separate descriptions |
| Design | 6 | Specifies sample and recruitment, materials, step-by-step procedure, how data is recorded, and ethics |
For each of the four methods, know its variants (structured or semi-structured, overt or covert, true or quasi-), its sampling options, its strengths and limitations, and its typical ethical problems. Your class practicals are your best revision: you know what went wrong in them.
Section B: evaluating an unseen study (15 marks)
You get a study you haven't seen and evaluate it against two or more of the six concepts. This is where generic evaluation is punished. Each concept gives you a question to ask of the study:
| Concept | Ask of the study |
|---|---|
| Bias | Who was sampled and how? Could the researchers' expectations or the participants' guesses have shaped the results? |
| Causality | Was a variable manipulated, with random allocation? If not, what else could explain the result? |
| Change | Would the findings hold at another time, in another generation, or after an intervention? |
| Measurement | How was the behaviour operationalised? Is the measure consistent, and does it capture what it claims to? |
| Perspective | Whose point of view does the study take, and what would another approach notice? |
| Responsibility | Was the procedure ethical, and how could the findings be used or misused? |
Say the unseen study is a conformity experiment run with 24 volunteers. Compare:
Loses marks"The sample was small, so the results cannot be generalised."
Earns marks"All 24 participants were volunteers from one university's psychology course, people likely to guess that a study on conformity is about conformity. That is a bias problem: they may have resisted the group on purpose, so the low conformity rate may underestimate how often people go along with a group."
What does HL Paper 3 look like?
Paper 3 gives you a source booklet of quantitative and qualitative findings centred on one HL extension (culture, motivation or technology). There are four questions:
| Question | Marks | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Interpret a graph or identify a limitation of a source | 3 | Quote values from the graph; name the limitation and say what it affects |
| Analyse data and draw a conclusion | 6 | Describe the pattern with numbers, compare groups, then state a conclusion the data actually supports |
| A qualitative research consideration, such as credibility, bias or transferability | 6 | Apply the term to how this particular qualitative study was done, not in general |
| Synthesise at least three sources plus your own knowledge to judge a claim | 15 | Group sources by what they show, weigh them against each other, bring in your own knowledge, and finish with a judgement |
The 15-mark synthesis is half the paper. Plan it so every paragraph uses at least one source and says how far it supports the claim.
How long should you spend per mark?
Paper 1 and Paper 2 give you about 2.6 minutes per mark (90 minutes for 35 marks). Paper 3 gives you 3.5 (105 for 30). One way to split it:
| Paper | Suggested split |
|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Section A ~18 min · Section B ~28 min · Section C ~38 min · 6 min to check |
| Paper 2 | Section A ~48 min · Section B ~36 min · 6 min to check |
| Paper 3 (HL) | Read the booklet ~10 min · 3-mark question ~7 · each 6-mark question ~19 · synthesis ~50 |
The common failure is spending 30 minutes on the two Section A answers in Paper 1 and rushing the 15-marker. Our guide to time management in IB exams has drills for holding a pace.
How should you revise concepts, contexts and content?
The papers cut across the course in different directions, so revise it as a grid rather than a list of studies.
- Build a contexts × approaches grid. Four rows (contexts), three columns (approaches). In each cell, put one or two pieces of content you understand well: a theory, a study, a key finding.
- Tag every piece of content with the concepts it can illustrate. A study with a correlational design is a ready-made causality example; a study with a narrow sample is a bias example.
- Practise the methods separately. For Paper 2 Section A, make a one-page sheet per method and practise the design question until you can write one in 14 minutes.
- Practise application, not recall. Have a friend write a three-line scenario, then explain it with content from your grid. That's Section B.
- HL: practise reading graphs and tables aloud with numbers, and drafting synthesis plans for claims about culture, motivation and technology.
Short, spaced sessions beat long rereading; see how to build an IB revision plan. Old-course past papers are still good practice for content and essay planning, but not for the new structure (see where to find IB past papers). And know your command terms: the IB command terms explained shows how "explain", "evaluate" and "discuss" change what an answer must do.
Your papers are different. SL: Paper 1 (2 h, 50%) has three compulsory short-answer questions, one per approach, plus one essay chosen from three; Paper 2 (1 h, 25%) is one essay on your option. HL: Paper 1 (2 h, 40%) has the same structure, with HL extension material possible in the essays; Paper 2 (2 h, 20%) has essays on two options; Paper 3 (1 h, 20%) has compulsory questions on an unseen research study. The advice on linking studies and specific evaluation applies to you too; the timings and section structure above don't.
Questions students ask
Are Paper 1 and Paper 2 the same at SL and HL?
Yes. Both levels sit the same 35-mark Paper 1 and Paper 2, each 1 hour 30 minutes. They count for 35% each at SL and 25% each at HL, because HL adds the 30-mark Paper 3 (30%).
Do I need to memorise every detail of a study's procedure?
Not for Paper 1, which doesn't assess detailed procedures: one sentence of method is usually enough before you get to what the study shows. You do need solid knowledge of the four research methods for Paper 2 Section A, which is about how methods work rather than about particular studies.
Are there past papers for the new IB Psychology course?
The first exams are in May 2027, so there are no real past papers in the new format yet. Ask your teacher for the IB's specimen material. Old-course papers are still useful for content and essay practice, but their structure is different.
Can I use the same study in more than one answer?
Yes, and it's efficient. A well-understood study can support claims in different contexts and illustrate different concepts, as long as each time you use the part of it that answers that question.
Try one: Psychology
Maya revises for her exams by rereading her notes at a busy café near her house. In the exam hall she finds she can't recall material she was sure she knew. With reference to one cognitive explanation, explain why Maya may struggle to recall the material in the exam.
[6 marks]Show the answer and why
- Identifies a relevant cognitive explanation, e.g. context-dependent memory (encoding specificity).
- Explains the mechanism: features of the environment at learning are encoded with the material and later act as retrieval cues.
- Applies it to the scenario: the café's sounds, sights and smells are present when Maya learns but absent in the silent exam hall, so fewer cues are available.
- Uses relevant evidence accurately, e.g. Godden and Baddeley (1975): divers recalled more words when they learned and recalled in the same environment (both on land or both underwater).
- Links the evidence back to Maya: like the divers, she is recalling in a different environment from the one she learned in.
- Adds a relevant qualification, e.g. context effects shrink or disappear on recognition tasks, and rereading is itself a weak revision strategy, so context is unlikely to be the whole explanation.
This checklist shows what a full-marks answer contains; check with your teacher how the real paper's markbands or markscheme are applied. The marks come from applying the explanation to details in the scenario. A full account of the divers study with no mention of Maya would stay in the lower bands.