psych extended essay

hello ib children,

trying impossibly to start an extended essay in psych. my coordinator actually advised me against it but if it wasn't for my waffling teacher i would love the subject so i decided to do my ee in it.

i was thinking something around stereotypes and affects on the group (perhaps adolescences and technology). just wanted to know what other people are doing and if any one had hints or tips for it?

i'm having loads of trouble formulating a question so tell me all about your ee's!

pysch out,
cazz

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Reply 1

Deus

Each of the following extended essays was awarded an A by the IB.

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The Nature of Intelligence

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I did my Psych EE on "the effects of antidepressants on behavior, mood, and the physical and chemical composition of the brain." I think it would be easier for you to write about an abnormal psych topic, but that's just me...

One of my friends also did a psych topic and she wrote about social psychology and the ethics of someone in a high ranking position making someone else do unethical things. I forgot what the experiment was called, but it had to do with the subject thinking that he's killing someone in the next room with electric shocks.

I wouldn't be able to write 3200 words on the topic you're considering, but if you really want to write about something having to do with stereotypes, you can write about the formation of schemas and how they're positive/negative for society. That was my second choice for a topic.

Reply 3

stranger

The EE Guide-book advises against doing your EE as an ERA (experiment in psych for those who don't use that word (like IA ones :wink:

)).

And I'll go with aidaab about going for an EE in Abnormal Psych, most of our class did it on the topic and it went quite well; I guess it's because there are more sources from different Journals you could gather.

But remember at the same time the golden rule in choosing your EE topic is to choose one that you're interested in (obviously because there has to be some motivation in writing thousands of words).

Reply 4

ayvid

aidaab

One of my friends also did a psych topic and she wrote about social psychology and the ethics of someone in a high ranking position making someone else do unethical things. I forgot what the experiment was called, but it had to do with the subject thinking that he's killing someone in the next room with electric shocks.

Stanley Milgram's Obedience to Authority, no?

My EE title in psych was:

A Discussion: The relative importance of genes and the environment, in the causation of behaviour such as eating disorders.

Don't know yet what its worth, but yea i agree...

stranger

But remember at the same time the golden rule in choosing your EE topic is to choose one that you're interested in (obviously because there has to be some motivation in writing thousands of words).

...it's gta be something you're really interested in. I picked this because I want to read Genetics at university, and this ties in perfectly. Oh, one tip: make sure you got all your references written down properly -- i had to spend hours trying to find where i got all my quotes from..and it was hell!!! Make a sheet or document, but note them down!!

GOOD LUCK!

Reply 5

stranger

My topic was related to comparing and evaluating the physiological and psychological accounts of Major Depression.

Reply 6

Deus

My title:

Road Rage, Screeeeeetch!

Reply 7

whisperedangel014

i am thinking about writing my EE on psychology too. something to do with the effects of repression? but that's as far as i have gotten on developing my idea. my english teacher and and another [batty] teacher are driving my entire class on what we should be looking for and since there are only a few people who actually want to do our EE in psych they're not much help to us. that plus alot of us are stressing our IA's for our other classes its not really helping. does anyone have any ideas on how to turn my idea into a "research question"?

Reply 8

fourleafclover89

maybe you could do something on the reliability of recovered memories, after they have been repressed? just an idea...

Reply 9

whisperedangel014

thanks that's a great idea. i still have to discuss it with my psych teacher but thats a start eh? :smile:

thnx

Reply 10

Sadie_F

hey, my research question is "To What Extent is Music Listening Detrimental or Beneficial to Task Performance?" i've found it quite interesting...

one thing though... if you hate your psych teacher, then you'll want a different supervisor. there's nothing like having a supervisor you hate, they can make your life a living hell. don't do it.

Reply 11

whisperedangel014

i like my psych teacher tho she wasnt very helpful in helping me find a research question. i'm still thinking on the repression thing.

Reply 12

fourleafclover89

if you're looking at repression and recovered memories youl definitely want to look at the work of elizabeth loftus (a demi-god of memory research) at http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/. just joking! but really, her work will be helpful (and something you will have to cite) if thats what you want to do for your ee.

Reply 13

whisperedangel014

thank you. i'll have to remember that. my psych teacher mentioned her friday when i asked and i forgot ALL about it.

Reply 14

dfactor

i have finally decided my topic

An evaluation on affect of media and communications on intergroup behaviour in the Cronulla Riots, 2005 (Sydney) and the Rodney King Riots, 1992 (Los Angeles).

should be fun..not. over it. question is though how do you structure it?

Reply 15

Afterglow

dfactor

Sounds like a great title. I would have done my EE in psychology if it weren't for the fact that I knew the supervisor wasn't that good. My friends are doing it and I have still yet to hear a good compliment about the supervision. I mean, the teacher is brilliant but as a supervisor - uh no.

However, it'll probably be better for you. As for structuring it, hm.......I'm not really sure. Do you mean the actual structure for an EE or just how to strucuture your content? Ive heard that psychology ee are very comparitive where they compare the different theories that apply to a certain thing and evaluate them but I'm not positive so don't take my word on it.

Reply 16

kate.T

having experienced writing psycho EE my advice would be - listen to your coordinator. my question was: Is moral reasoning of males and females affected by stereotypes of masculine autonomy and feminine interdependence?
got B for this

Reply 17

pszczoleczka

hey

I was just wondering if it is possible to write my E.E about Eating Disorders. I mean, of course it is possible, but people tell me that I should write about something else since it will be hard for me to get a good grade when writing about such things... :confused:

any interesting opinions ? :smile:

Reply 18

Deus

The trouble with doing an extended essay on eating disorders is that it is such a huge topic that has already had hundreds of thousands of pages of work written about. If you you your heart set on doing an extended essay on eating disorders, you would need to select a very specific ED and then a very specific question regarding that ED.

Keep in mind that your extended essay needs to provide some sort of "new" insight into whatever you are researching. Simply restating previously done research is not enough to get full marks :smile:

Reply 19

Afterglow

Yes, what Deus said. Remember that one of the things you are assed for is the research question in general and how it is expressed and specified and 'susceptible to effective treatment within the word limit'. The same thing goes for OCD and depressions. I have friends who are doing their ee's on those but they have specified their research very much and only focus on one aspect of it.