Can I run my own experiment for a Psychology EE?

The Psychology EE is expected to be based on published research rather than your own data collection. Your originality comes from the argument you build — how you select, compare and evaluate existing studies to answer a focused question.

How many studies should a Psychology EE discuss?

Enough to sustain an argument, evaluated properly — often a core of several studies examined in depth. Listing many studies descriptively scores worse than critically comparing a smaller set, because Criterion C rewards evaluation, not coverage.

How is the Psychology EE different from the Psychology IA?

The IA is a replication of a published experiment with your own data and statistics. The EE is a 4,000-word argumentative essay built on published research, marked against criteria A–E, with no data collection of your own.

IB Psychology Extended Essay

The IB Psychology Extended Essay is a 4,000-word argument built on published psychological research, marked out of 34 against the five Extended Essay criteria. It is a literature-based investigation: no data collection of your own, and no pop psychology. Your originality lives in the question you pose and in how critically you select, compare and evaluate real studies to answer it — weighing methods, samples and conflicting findings until a defensible answer emerges.

A strong Psychology research question is anchored in a real, contested literature; defines its constructs and population precisely; and uses “to what extent does the evidence support…” phrasing that makes weighing studies the whole task. Vague questions (“why do people dream?”, “does music affect the brain?”) leave nothing concrete to evaluate, so no focused argument is possible.

Examples of Strong Research Questions

To what extent does post-event information distort eyewitness memory of a witnessed event?
To what extent is heavy social-media use associated with depressive symptoms in adolescents, and does the evidence support a causal link?
To what extent do conformity effects observed in laboratory experiments generalise across cultures?

Assessment Criteria and Common Mistakes

Criterion A — Focus and method (6 marks) rewards a precise question and a visible strategy for selecting studies. Criterion B — Knowledge and understanding (6 marks) rewards accurate reporting of aims, methods and findings with correct psychological terminology. Criterion C — Critical thinking (12 marks), the highest-weighted, rewards evaluation of samples, designs, measures, generalisability and cultural bias, and an argument that weighs conflicting results instead of listing supportive ones. Criterion D — Presentation (4 marks) covers structure and consistent citation of every study referenced. Criterion E — Engagement (6 marks) is assessed through the RPPF reflections. Respect classic studies without reverence: ask whether findings have been replicated and in which populations, and never let correlational evidence carry a causal claim.

The classic mark-losers in Psychology EEs: annotated lists of studies with no argument connecting them; description without evaluation; pop-psych sourcing from blogs and self-help books; correlation treated as causation; cherry-picked evidence; and overclaiming conclusions the mixed evidence cannot support.

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