First assessment 2027 (updated notes coming soon)
| Content: Four (Biological, Cognitive, Sociocultural + Research methods) Contexts: Four (Health, Human Development, Human Relationships, Learning) Concepts: Six (Bias, Causality, Change, Measurement, Perspective, Responsibility) |
IB is doing an overhaul to its psychology syllabus. It’s been a long time coming, but also the changes are pretty significant—swapping some of the deep dives for a broader overview, introducing new topics, and requiring students to cover much more of the material.
Here’s the breakdown. You learn the 3 major approaches, and how they’ve been applied to four contexts through our lives. With a strong grasp of your six key concepts, you critically their methods and findings.
Content (Psychological theories/methods)
- Same core: Biological, Cognitive, Sociocultural approaches + Research methods
- Some streamlining (e.g., pheromones removed, conformity reintroduced)
- Content now integrated with Contexts and Concepts
Contexts (real-world application, replaced Options)
- All students study all 4:
- Health and Well-being
- Human Development
- Human Relationships
- Learning and Cognition (new!)
Concepts (Frameworks)
- Six core concepts: Bias, Causality, Change, Measurement, Perspective, Responsibility
- These are woven throughout the course—not taught as isolated topics
The good news? Starting with exams in 2027, you won’t have to cram and regurgitate massive amounts of info. They’re doing away with 20 markers. Also, the syllabus is leaner, focusing more on manageable concepts—kind of like scientific principles—that make understanding easier.
The downside? It’s a bit of a bummer. Students no longer get to pick and choose topics. Before, you could specialize a bit, but now everyone has to study pretty much the whole syllabus. That means more teaching time and less flexibility.
Another point to note is that you you’ll need to actively link content with context and concepts all at once. So, if you’re using revision notes (from this blog or anywhere else), they’ll need an update to match this integrated approach.