IB Psychology Internal Assessment The IA for 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, intro, exploration, analysis, evaluation, references, and appendices. The paper must be 1800-2200 words (12 point font, double spaced = approximately 5-7 pages not counting title page and appendices). 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 Monday 10-7 (A day)/ Thursday 10-10 (B day) IA overview and timeline of due dates. Look at a practice example: Chewing Gum and Context Dependent Memory. Wednesday 10-23 (B day)/ Thursday 10-24 (A day) Topic choice and Experimental Plan is due. Complete and submit the assignment on schoology providing Mrs. Augustine with the following information: title of original study you are replicating, the theory/model you are investigating, 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. Only one submission per group. At this point, all group members should have READ the original study and should know the basic structure of your replication. Thursday 11-7 (B day)/ Friday 11-8 (A day) Introduction is due. Introduction includes stating the aim of your study, identifying the original study with a brief summary of that original experiment, explaining the theory/ model under investigation, identifying and operationally defining the IV and DV, and stating your hypothesis. Wednesday 11-27 Exploration section is due. Includes design, sampling technique, participant selection, controls, and choice of materials. Each student will turn in their individual exploration section. In addition to this individual component, one member of the group will submit all of the group’s shared appendices (this includes materials list, introduction script, procedure, informed consent form, debriefing script, and any other relevant forms or materials). Once you have feedback and approval from me on the Exploration Section, you’re ready to actually conduct the experiment, which must be done @ school under supervision of a teacher. Experiments must be conducted by Jan. 31 Thursday 2-10 (B day)/ Friday 2-11 (A day) Analysis section is due. This means that you have conducted the experiment and calculated results. The analysis write-up includes descriptive and inferential statistics, a graph of your results, interpretation of your statistics in regard to the hypothesis. Turn in appendices with this sections as well to include raw data and calculations of inferential statistics. Monday 2-24 at 11:59pm (A and B day) Final paper is due. This includes a title page, all previous sections (updated and improved where necessary) AND the Evaluation Section. Evaluation section must include discussion of the findings in connection to the theory/model under investigation, strengths and limitations, and suggestions for modification. How does the IA impact my grade in this course? In addition to grades for each individual section due throughout the semester (counted as homework or formative assessments), you will also receive an overall grade for the paper as a whole. This overall grade will be on the 4th nine weeks and will count as a summative assessment. The project is graded according to the IB Rubric. This project constitutes 25% of your IB Psychology 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, although you may request approval for something else. “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). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2737341/ “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. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242122237_Music_tonality_and_context-dependent_recall_The_i nfluence_of_key_change_and_mood_mediation “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. https://pdfslide.net/documents/state-dependent-memory-produced-by-aerobic-exercise.html “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. https://psych.hanover.edu/classes/Cognition/papers/stroop%201933.pdf “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 “Contextual prerequisites for understanding: Some investigations of comprehension and recall.” Bransford and Johnson (1972) Halo Effect
