The new IB Diploma Psychology Guide and its implications for teaching

At a glance: There are six new key Concepts in the study of DP Psychology: bias, causality, change, measurement, perspective and responsibility.

The new Content sections are: biological, cognitive and sociocultural approaches as well as the research methodology used to understand human behaviour.

The new Contexts are: Health and well-being, Human development, Human relationships, Learning and cognition.

Structural changes in the Guide

One of the most noticeable changes in the new guide is its structure. The core approaches — biological, cognitive, and sociocultural — remain fundamental, and students are still required to critically analyse studies and theories. However, the organisation of the syllabus now revolves around three overarching sections: Concepts, Content, and Contexts.

• Concepts are the six big ideas that unify the curriculum.
• Content aligns closely with what was traditionally covered in Paper 1 (biological, cognitive, and sociocultural approaches).
• Contexts replace the previous Optional topics, with all students now required to study all four contexts.

The aim of this new structure is to encourage a more concept-driven approach to teaching and learning, facilitating deeper understanding and connections across topics.

Implications for teaching

Teachers familiar with the old guide will find much of their previous content still relevant. However, the reorganisation means they will need to adjust their teaching approach. Instead of presenting Content in isolation, the new structure encourages teachers to integrate Content within broader Contexts, making connections to psychological Concepts. This shift supports concept-based learning and enables students to develop a more holistic understanding of psychology.

From Core to Content

What has stayed the same?

• The Core biological, cognitive, and sociocultural approaches remain central.
• Research methods continue to be a key focus.
• The IA remains identical for all students.

What’s new?

• Content has been streamlined, with some topics removed (e.g., pheromones) and others moved from HL-only status to the core syllabus (e.g., animal models, the diathesis-stress model).
• Some previously popular topics that had been removed in the last revision — such as compliance techniques and conformity — have been reintroduced.
• HL students no longer have additional depth requirements in the biological, cognitive, and sociocultural approaches, but they will explore the effects of motivation, culture, and technology across all contexts.
• The overall content reduction should allow teachers to focus more on conceptual understanding and student inquiry.

Implications for teaching

Teachers should see this Content revision as an opportunity to spend more time exploring fewer topics in greater depth. The integration of Core content into Contexts means that teachers will need to re-think how they deliver material, ensuring that content is taught in a way that supports conceptual understanding in the four Contexts, rather than being treated as a checklist of topics.

A key takeaway from this is that the Contexts are the anchor for the course where Content and Concepts can be interwoven. This contrasts with the previous Guide where teachers saw the Core approaches as the anchor which could be disconnected from the Options. This will need a significant re-think in terms of how teachers view, teach and structure their courses.

From options to contexts

The biggest change in the curriculum structure is the transition from Options to Contexts. Previously, students selected two of four optional topics. In the new guide, all students must study all four Contexts, making this a universal part of the syllabus and, as stated above, the anchor for the entire course.

What has changed?

• The four Contexts replace the four Options.
• All students must study all Contexts, rather than choosing two.
• HL students will explore the effects of culture, motivation, and technology across all four Contexts.
• The Health and Abnormal Psychology options have been combined into a single Health and Well-being Context.
• A completely new Context, Learning and Cognition, has been introduced.
• A new Class Practicals section encourages hands-on engagement with psychological research.
  

Implications for teaching

Teachers who previously specialised in only one or two options may initially find the requirement to teach all four Contexts daunting. However, much of the content in the Contexts overlaps with material previously covered in the Core approaches.

The new structure allows for flexibility, with teachers able to incorporate content into multiple areas of study from the Contexts. Therefore, teachers will find that much of the learning objectives in the Contexts are material that they may have been teaching in other areas previously. For example, in the Learning and Cognition Context, although it is completely new, most of the learning objectives would have been covered by teachers during their teaching of the ‘core’ in the previous syllabus.

The addition of Class Practicals is also noteworthy, as it provides an opportunity for students to engage in research-based activities beyond the IA. This shift aligns with the IB’s broader emphasis on inquiry-based learning and may require teachers to adopt a more experimental approach in their classrooms.

Concepts

Perhaps the most significant philosophical shift in the new guide is the integration of psychological Concepts as a key component. While critical thinking has always been emphasised, these six Concepts now serve as the unifying elements of the course.

These are: bias, causality, change, measurement, perspective and responsibility.

What’s new?

• Teachers are encouraged to weave Concepts into all aspects of teaching, rather than treating them as standalone topics.
• Students will need to apply Concepts across different Contexts.
• No specific requirement dictates how or where Concepts should be taught, allowing teachers flexibility although discussing them at a sub-heading level within each Context may be a useful approach.
• Each Concept is accompanied by ‘related terms’ in the Guide which help teachers and students understand what is meant by each of the six Concepts.
  

Implications for teaching

This change requires teachers to re-think their approach to lesson planning. Rather than presenting Concepts in isolation, teachers should integrate them naturally into discussions of Content and Contexts. There are two useful comparisons:

• Theory of Knowledge: In TOK, teachers highlight links between knowledge and learning and the TOK concepts. In DP Psychology teachers should highlight conceptual links when they are relevant rather than forcing artificial connections. This shift will encourage deeper student engagement and critical thinking.
• Critical thinking: The new Guide explicitly links conceptual analysis to critical thinking. Therefore, teachers can partly think of conceptual thinking in the new Guide in a similar way they would have taught Criterion D: Critical Thinking (6 marks) from the old Guide. 

Assessment changes: A new approach to exams and the IA

Paper 1: Streamlining content and application

• Same for SL and HL (1.5 hours).
• Section A: Two very short answer questions (4 marks each) assessing basic knowledge. This is the only place in the whole assessment structure where Content is assessed independently of Contexts and/or Concepts. This stresses the IB’s desire to see students transferring their understanding to new Contexts and applying their knowledge.
• Section B: Two compulsory SAQs (6 marks each), requiring application of knowledge to a specific context.
• Section C: One extended response question (ERQ) (15 marks) from a choice of two where the focus is on applying concepts to a context.

The overall aim for Paper 1 is to reduce rote memorisation while encouraging application and integration of knowledge between the Content, Concepts and Contexts.

Paper 2: A new structure

• Same for SL and HL (1.5 hours).
• Section A: Four compulsory questions on class practicals. Even if the class practicals were not particularly well designed, or yielded non-significant or not credible results, they will still allow students to answer Section A questions at a high level as they will be about the considerations researchers must take when designing research.
• Section B: Application of Concepts to an unseen study.

The overall aim for Paper 2 is to apply Concepts and Content to research contexts.

Paper 3: HL-Only Paper

• Focus on research methods.
• Includes unseen stimulus material, requiring students to analyse data.
• Now the most heavily weighted component for HL students.

The overall aim for Paper 3 is data analysis and interpretation of research data. Additionally, the emphasis on applying Concepts to unseen material in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 highlights the IB’s desire to shift students away from memorisation toward real-world application.

Internal Assessment (IA)

• Students no longer conduct an actual experiment—they now design a research proposal.
• Encourages student-led inquiry.
• Practical elements are now embedded within class practicals.

The overall aim for the IA is to ask students to consider the power of psychology and how it can lead to real improvement in people’s quality of life.

Implications for teaching

Teachers will need to guide students in developing strong research proposals for their IA, rather than focusing on execution.

Conclusion

The new IB Psychology Guide represents a major shift toward concept-based learning, application, and integration. While much of the core content remains from the old Guide, teachers will need to adjust their methodologies, schemes of work, approaches to teaching and learning as well as their resources to emphasise Concepts and Contexts rather than isolated topics.

To adapt successfully, teachers should:

• Reorganize lesson plans to reflect the new structure.
• Emphasise Concepts throughout their teaching.
• Incorporate practical applications through class practicals.
• Prepare students for assessments that demand conceptual application rather than rote memorisation.
• Use new content resources.
• Teach and practice new skills for assessment.

While the changes may seem daunting, the assumption is that they will ultimately promote a richer, more inquiry-driven learning experience for IB Psychology students, better aligning with modern psychological research and education.

Dr Christian Bryan and Dr Ellen Heyting