IB Psychology Syllabus Explained: Topics, Assessment & Approaches

One IB Psychology guide says your IA is an experiment. Another says it's a research proposal. Both are right, but for different students. The old syllabus ends with its 2026 exams, while its replacement is first examined in May 2027. If your exams fall in 2027 or later, you're studying the new one. We'll clear up the confusion here.

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The previous IB Psychology course paired a core with one or two optional topics. The new course works differently. You apply six concepts to three approaches to behaviour, then use both to explain four real-world contexts.

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In this guide, we'll explain each part, show how they fit together in an exam question and break down how SL and HL are assessed, including the new research proposal.

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Let's start with the big picture.

Key takeaways

• The new IB Psychology syllabus is first examined in May 2027, while the old core-and-options course ends with its 2026 exams, so check which version your resources cover.
• Every SL and HL student studies three connected parts: six concepts, content covering the biological, cognitive and sociocultural approaches plus research methods, and four real-world contexts.
• The six concepts are bias, causality, change, measurement, perspective and responsibility. You apply them to studies and unseen material, which is why memorising alone won't carry you far.
• All four contexts are now compulsory: health and well-being, human development, human relationships, and learning and cognition. Previously, SL students chose one optional topic and HL students two.
• SL students sit Papers 1 and 2, each worth 35%. HL students get 90 extra teaching hours on culture, motivation, technology and data analysis, and sit Paper 3, worth 30%, with Papers 1 and 2 dropping to 25% each. 
• The internal assessment is now a research proposal, worth 30% at SL and 20% at HL. You design a study using one of the four class practical methods but never run it.

What is the IB Psychology syllabus?

The IB Psychology syllabus is the course outline for psychology in the IB Diploma Programme, taken at SL or HL. The current version, published in February 2025, was first taught in August 2025 and is first examined in May 2027. Its aim is to build psychological literacy: understanding research and applying psychology to real problems. 

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To build that literacy, the course uses three connected parts. First, concepts are six ideas you use to question any study or theory. Causality, for example, asks whether a study proves cause or only shows a link.

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Next, content is the material you question: the biological, cognitive and sociocultural approaches, plus research methods. Lastly, contexts are real-world areas where you apply both. 

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Under the old syllabus, SL students studied one optional topic and HL students two. Now everyone studies all four: health and well-being, human development, human relationships, and learning and cognition.

The six key concepts in IB Psychology

IB Psychology has six concepts: bias, causality, change, measurement, perspective and responsibility, which run through the whole course.

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Here's what each one asks you to look for.

• Bias: anything that pushes results away from the truth. A researcher expecting a certain outcome, or a sample of only your friends, can both skew a study.
• Causality: does X actually cause Y, or do they just happen together? Students who sleep more may get better grades, but that alone doesn't prove sleep is the reason.
• Change: why people behave differently over time, and what helps them change on purpose. Think of a child's language developing, or someone using therapy to manage anxiety.
• Measurement: how you turn something invisible, like stress, into something you can count. Heart rate, a questionnaire score and a brain scan each capture it differently.
• Perspective: the angle you look from. The same behaviour, such as depression, can be explained through brain chemistry, thought patterns or culture.
• Responsibility: doing psychology ethically. That covers getting consent before a study and making sure findings aren't used to stigmatise people.

Core content: the three approaches to behaviour

Content is the knowledge you apply the concepts to. It covers three approaches to explaining behaviour, plus research methodology, which runs through the whole course. If you've used older guides, this is close to what was once called the core.

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Here's how each approach explains why people think and act as they do.

1. Biological approach

The biological approach explains behaviour through the brain, genes and body chemistry. It asks how serotonin affects mood, how much behaviour is inherited and which brain areas handle which tasks. Brain imaging lets psychologists watch these areas at work in real time.

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That research also shows the brain isn't fixed. Through neuroplasticity, it rewires itself with experience, such as when you practise a new skill. Still, biology alone rarely explains behaviour fully, which is why the other two approaches matter.

2. Cognitive approach

Ever bought something because it was 'half price'? The original price anchored your judgement, even if the deal wasn't great. The cognitive approach studies mental processes like this, treating the mind as an information processor.

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According to dual processing theory, your mind runs a fast, automatic mode and a slow, deliberate one. Anchoring happens in the fast mode. Schemas work similarly, using past knowledge to shape what you notice and remember. Either way, what you do starts with how you think.

3. Sociocultural approach

The biological and cognitive approaches look inside you, at your brain and your thinking. The sociocultural approach looks outward, at how the people and cultures around you shape behaviour. Even your slang comes from social learning: picking up behaviour by watching others.

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In groups, conformity explains why people follow the crowd, and social identity theory explains why people favour their own side. Culture works on a bigger scale, passing on norms from childhood. Behaviour, in short, is never purely individual.

The four compulsory contexts

Contexts mark one of the biggest changes in the new syllabus. Instead of choosing one optional topic at SL or two at HL, every student now studies all four. Each is a real-world area where you apply the concepts and content, from mental health to how people learn.

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Here's what each context covers.

Health and well-being

This context treats mental and physical health as linked, not separate. You'll study at least one disorder, such as major depressive disorder, PTSD or an anxiety disorder. That includes its biological and environmental causes, cognitive models and cultural differences in prevalence.

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You'll also examine a health problem, such as social media addiction, and how stress affects it. Then you'll judge how well treatments and prevention work.

Human development

Does growing up happen in clear steps, or as one smooth slope? That debate between stage theories and continuous models runs through this context. You'll apply it to at least one area, such as cognitive, moral or language development.

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You'll also explore how the self forms through attachment, peer influence and childhood experiences. Theory of mind, realising others' thoughts differ from yours, rounds it off.

Human relationships

Some friendships last for years, while others fade within months. This context explores why, through cognitive explanations, communication and chemical messengers such as oxytocin. You'll focus on social relationships, conflict or both, plus strategies to improve relationships.

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From there, the context widens from pairs to groups. You'll apply conformity and social identity theory to group behaviour, plus acculturation: how people adapt to a new culture.

Learning and cognition

You're using this context right now. Reading this guide draws on attention, memory and perception, three cognitive processes you can study here. You'll choose at least one, explore what shapes it and find ways to improve it.

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It also covers how you learn, through conditioning, social learning and schemas, and how biases affect decisions. It's the only context with no equivalent in the old syllabus.

How concepts, content and contexts fit together

Every student studies all six concepts, all three approaches and all four contexts. They're taught together, not as separate units. Within contexts, you'll sometimes choose a focus, such as which disorder to study.

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Here's how they combine. Contexts set the scene, content supplies the theories and studies, and concepts are the questions you ask about them.

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One of the IB's own sample questions shows this. It asks you to evaluate how developmental psychologists measure theory of mind, in the context of human development. Human development is the context, theory of mind research is the content, and measurement is the concept.

How IB Psychology is assessed

Your IB Psychology grade comes from exams plus one internally assessed task: the research proposal. SL students sit two papers, while HL students sit three. Your teacher marks the research proposal, and the IB moderates it externally. Exams make up 70% of the final grade at SL and 80% at HL.

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Here's what each paper and the research proposal involve.

It’s worth noting that class practicals and the research proposal differ. You’ll complete one practical per context, and Paper 2 asks about them. For the proposal, you design a study using one of their methods but never run it.

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Taken together, these components make IB Psychology difficult. You’re examined on six concepts, three approaches, and four contexts in two or three papers. Papers 1 and 2 also include unseen material. 

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That means you’ll need to apply what you know, not just recall it. The good news is that this skill improves with practice. Our tips to get a 7 in IB Psychology show you where to start.

IB Psychology SL vs HL

While SL and HL study the same concepts, content and contexts, they differ in teaching time, depth and assessment.

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Here's how they differ in more detail.

• SL: 150 recommended teaching hours, assessed through Papers 1 and 2 plus the research proposal, worth 30%. You'll still study data analysis, but it isn't assessed at SL.
• HL: With 240 teaching hours, HL adds 90 extra for culture, motivation and technology, plus data analysis. These extensions run across all four contexts and feed into Paper 3, worth 30%. Unlike at SL, that data analysis is assessed, including inferential statistics, correlation coefficients, and thematic analysis. 

Explore psychology with Immerse Education

IB Psychology has a catch: your research proposal stays on paper. Class practicals help, but they're small, often teacher-led and steer clear of sensitive topics. That leaves little room to explore a question you care about from start to finish.

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Our Psychology Summer School closes that gap. Over two weeks, you'll explore the brain, memory, personality and social influence. Tutors include a PhD candidate from Cambridge's Department of Psychology. Then you'll design and run a study of your own.

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Courses run in Cambridge, Oxford, London, Singapore, Sydney and Toronto for ages 13 to 18, or online through Online Research. Choose your path and turn reading about research into doing it.

FAQs

What changed in the new 2025-2027 syllabus?

The new syllabus replaces the core and options with six concepts, three approaches, and four compulsory contexts. The IA is now a research proposal, and four class practicals are new.

What are the six concepts in IB Psychology?

The six concepts are bias, causality, change, measurement, perspective and responsibility. You use them to question studies and theories across every part of the course.

How difficult is IB Psychology?

IB Psychology is demanding because it tests application rather than memory. Papers 1 and 2 include unseen material, and HL adds 90 teaching hours and data analysis.

What's the difference between SL and HL Psychology?

HL adds 90 teaching hours, 240 in total versus 150 at SL, covering culture, motivation, technology and data analysis. HL students also sit Paper 3, worth 30%.

How do you get a 7 in IB Psychology?

Getting a 7 depends on applying knowledge, not memorising it. Practise connecting concepts to unseen studies, plan answers around command terms and start your research proposal early.

Is IB Psychology harder than AP Psychology?

They’re demanding in different ways. AP Psychology comes down to one exam, where multiple choice makes up two-thirds of the score. IB Psychology, by contrast, spans two years and combines written papers with a research proposal. 

Conclusion: understanding the syllabus is the first step to doing well in it

The new IB Psychology course rewards connection over memory. Its syllabus links six concepts, three approaches and four contexts, and every paper tests how well you connect them.

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That's why understanding the structure matters so much. Once you see how the parts fit, studies stop being facts to memorise and become evidence you can question and apply.

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At HL, data analysis and the extensions add depth, but the same principle holds: application beats recall.

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One of the best ways to practise application is to run real research yourself. Our Psychology Summer School lets you do exactly that, designing and running your own study with expert tutors.