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Psychology IA Topic Ideas + Examples

Roxanne

By Roxanne

08 Dec 2023

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Have you got your psychology IA deadline approaching soon and are unsure what to choose as your topic? Do not worry, this post is here to help you through that process! In this text, we will provide you with numerous psychology IA ideas with examples to help you start the writing process. Our goal is to guide you in meeting the IB criteria and ensure you stay on track during the entire IA writing process. Whether you are interested in developmental, clinical, cognitive, or any other aspect of psychology, the suggestions below are sure to have something that fits your interests! 

 

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Psychology IA Research Question Generator

Try our RQ Generator for free. Enter a topic and we'll instantly generated research questions that perfectly align with IB criteria.

 

 

Psychology IA Ideas

 

 

  1. Judgements of quality: In this topic, you can explore how a person's perception of the quality of a painting changes according to the amount of time they are told that the artist has spent on the painting. 

     

  2. Investigating reconstructive memory: Looking at this topic, you could investigate how schemas influence the reconstruction of memories by using verbs of different intensities. 

     

  3. Exploring schema theory: Through this topic, you could look at the number of words or phrases that a person can remember after listening to an audio, depending on whether or not the person is provided with a picture related to the audio before they listen to it. 

     

  4. Note-taking methods: Within this exploration, you could analyze whether there is a significant difference in academic performance and lecture material retention between students who take notes by hand and students who take notes using electronic devices such as laptops. 

     

  5. Eyewitness memories: Looking at this topic, you could explore how the emotional intensity behind a word used during the question process of eyewitnesses affects the memories that the eyewitnesses can recollect. 

     

  6. Effort heuristic and quality: In this analysis, you can look at how the difference between low-effort and high-effort heuristics can affect a person's judgement of the quality and likability of a poem.

     

  7. Type of font used: Through this topic, you could look at how the type of font used to create a multiple-choice quiz affects the number of correct responses on the quiz.

     

  8. Leading words and memory: Looking at this topic, you could analyze how the leading words present in a question affect how fast a person believes a car was going. 

     

  9. Investigating the Recency Effect: In this analysis, you could explore how the presence or absence of a filler task given to students can affect the number of words they can correctly recall from the end of a list. 

     

  10. Anchoring bias: Within this topic, you could look at how the order in which numbers in a sum are presented (ascending or descending) could affect the answer provided by the participant. 

 

 

  1. Feature Detection Theory: In this experiment, you could investigate whether target letters are identified faster in angular or round letter lists, as both lettering types have different features.

     

  2. Effect of contextualization: Looking at this topic, you could analyze whether the inclusion of a title before a passage affects the accurate recall of information from the passage. 

     

  3. Investigating Interference Theory: Within this topic, you could explore how the time taken to name a colour depends on whether the participant is presented with a square of the colour itself or a word spelling out a colour but has a different font colour (for example the word is 'green' but is in blue font).

     

  4. Spoken word length: In this exploration, you could investigate how using long-duration or short-duration words affects the number of words that a participant can correctly identify from a list. 

     

  5. Short-term memory capacity: Through this topic, you could explore how the number of syllables in a word affects the number of sequences that are correctly identified by participants of the study.

     

  6. The effect of font colour on performance: Looking at this topic, you could analyze how changing the font colour used affects the number of anagrams that participants can solve within a certain period of time. 

     

  7. Investigating the Halo Effect: In this topic, you could look at how participants form perceptions about a person when shown a video of the person speaking in a friendly versus cold demeanour. 

     

  8. Investigating the Facial Feedback Theory: Within this topic, you could analyze whether putting on a happy or sad face can make participants produce that particular emotion. 

     

  9. Perception of physical appearance: Within this study, you could look at how a participant rates another person's physical appearance based on the exhibited attitude and behaviour of the person. 

     

  10. Social facilitation: In this experiment, you could investigate whether social facilitation through the presence or absence of other participants could influence the time taken for a participant to complete a puzzle. 

     

  11. Impaired memory encoding with distraction: Looking at this topic, you could explore how the type of music played during the encoding phase affects the number of words that participants can recall from different lists.

     

  12. Pictures versus words: Through this study, you could explore how giving participants a list of pictures versus a list of words affects the number of pictures or words recalled to see whether it is easier to memorize words or pictures. 

     

  13. Depth of processing: In this topic, you could investigate how using different levels of word processing measured by different presentations of the word can affect the number of words that the participant can recall.

     

  14. Schema and memory recall: Looking at this topic, you could analyze how the occurrence of schematically or non-schematically related words could affect the incidence of false recall. 

     

  15. Effects of interference: Through this analysis, you could explore the effects of interference on the interpretation of congruent and incongruent stimuli, as measured by the time taken to read a black ink versus a coloured ink sheet.

     

  16. Effects of divorce: Within this exploration, you could investigate the extent to which major depressive disorder in children can be caused by the divorce of parents in different cultures.

     

  17. Dual coding: Looking at this topic, you could explore how the method used to remember the word (such as imagery, rehearsal or no method) could affect the number of words recalled by the participant. 

     

  18. Stroop test: In this topic, you could look at how the presence of conflicting word stimuli in the Stroop test affects the time taken by participants to complete the test. 

     

  19. Effects of social categorization: Through this analysis, you could investigate whether the division of participants into different groups will affect in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination.

     

  20. Dual-system theory: In this topic, you could look at whether the font used in a cognitive reflection test (fluent or disfluent) can affect the number of correct answers that the participant obtains.

 

 

For more IA ideas and a deeper insight into how to structure your IAs, head to the Clastify website where you will be able to find numerous psychology IA topics as well as exemplar IAs that you can refer to during your writing process!

Have you got your psychology IA deadline approaching soon and are unsure what to choose as your topic? Do not worry, this post is here to help you through that process! In this text, we will provide you with numerous psychology IA ideas with examples to help you start the writing process. Our goal is to guide you in meeting the IB criteria and ensure you stay on track during the entire IA writing process. Whether you are interested in developmental, clinical, cognitive, or any other aspect of psychology, the suggestions below are sure to have something that fits your interests! 

 

Ad

Psychology IA Research Question Generator

Try our RQ Generator for free. Enter a topic and we'll instantly generated research questions that perfectly align with IB criteria.

 

 

Psychology IA Ideas

 

 

  1. Judgements of quality: In this topic, you can explore how a person's perception of the quality of a painting changes according to the amount of time they are told that the artist has spent on the painting. 

     

  2. Investigating reconstructive memory: Looking at this topic, you could investigate how schemas influence the reconstruction of memories by using verbs of different intensities. 

     

  3. Exploring schema theory: Through this topic, you could look at the number of words or phrases that a person can remember after listening to an audio, depending on whether or not the person is provided with a picture related to the audio before they listen to it. 

     

  4. Note-taking methods: Within this exploration, you could analyze whether there is a significant difference in academic performance and lecture material retention between students who take notes by hand and students who take notes using electronic devices such as laptops. 

     

  5. Eyewitness memories: Looking at this topic, you could explore how the emotional intensity behind a word used during the question process of eyewitnesses affects the memories that the eyewitnesses can recollect. 

     

  6. Effort heuristic and quality: In this analysis, you can look at how the difference between low-effort and high-effort heuristics can affect a person's judgement of the quality and likability of a poem.

     

  7. Type of font used: Through this topic, you could look at how the type of font used to create a multiple-choice quiz affects the number of correct responses on the quiz.

     

  8. Leading words and memory: Looking at this topic, you could analyze how the leading words present in a question affect how fast a person believes a car was going. 

     

  9. Investigating the Recency Effect: In this analysis, you could explore how the presence or absence of a filler task given to students can affect the number of words they can correctly recall from the end of a list. 

     

  10. Anchoring bias: Within this topic, you could look at how the order in which numbers in a sum are presented (ascending or descending) could affect the answer provided by the participant. 

 

 

  1. Feature Detection Theory: In this experiment, you could investigate whether target letters are identified faster in angular or round letter lists, as both lettering types have different features.

     

  2. Effect of contextualization: Looking at this topic, you could analyze whether the inclusion of a title before a passage affects the accurate recall of information from the passage. 

     

  3. Investigating Interference Theory: Within this topic, you could explore how the time taken to name a colour depends on whether the participant is presented with a square of the colour itself or a word spelling out a colour but has a different font colour (for example the word is 'green' but is in blue font).

     

  4. Spoken word length: In this exploration, you could investigate how using long-duration or short-duration words affects the number of words that a participant can correctly identify from a list. 

     

  5. Short-term memory capacity: Through this topic, you could explore how the number of syllables in a word affects the number of sequences that are correctly identified by participants of the study.

     

  6. The effect of font colour on performance: Looking at this topic, you could analyze how changing the font colour used affects the number of anagrams that participants can solve within a certain period of time. 

     

  7. Investigating the Halo Effect: In this topic, you could look at how participants form perceptions about a person when shown a video of the person speaking in a friendly versus cold demeanour. 

     

  8. Investigating the Facial Feedback Theory: Within this topic, you could analyze whether putting on a happy or sad face can make participants produce that particular emotion. 

     

  9. Perception of physical appearance: Within this study, you could look at how a participant rates another person's physical appearance based on the exhibited attitude and behaviour of the person. 

     

  10. Social facilitation: In this experiment, you could investigate whether social facilitation through the presence or absence of other participants could influence the time taken for a participant to complete a puzzle. 

     

  11. Impaired memory encoding with distraction: Looking at this topic, you could explore how the type of music played during the encoding phase affects the number of words that participants can recall from different lists.

     

  12. Pictures versus words: Through this study, you could explore how giving participants a list of pictures versus a list of words affects the number of pictures or words recalled to see whether it is easier to memorize words or pictures. 

     

  13. Depth of processing: In this topic, you could investigate how using different levels of word processing measured by different presentations of the word can affect the number of words that the participant can recall.

     

  14. Schema and memory recall: Looking at this topic, you could analyze how the occurrence of schematically or non-schematically related words could affect the incidence of false recall. 

     

  15. Effects of interference: Through this analysis, you could explore the effects of interference on the interpretation of congruent and incongruent stimuli, as measured by the time taken to read a black ink versus a coloured ink sheet.

     

  16. Effects of divorce: Within this exploration, you could investigate the extent to which major depressive disorder in children can be caused by the divorce of parents in different cultures.

     

  17. Dual coding: Looking at this topic, you could explore how the method used to remember the word (such as imagery, rehearsal or no method) could affect the number of words recalled by the participant. 

     

  18. Stroop test: In this topic, you could look at how the presence of conflicting word stimuli in the Stroop test affects the time taken by participants to complete the test. 

     

  19. Effects of social categorization: Through this analysis, you could investigate whether the division of participants into different groups will affect in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination.

     

  20. Dual-system theory: In this topic, you could look at whether the font used in a cognitive reflection test (fluent or disfluent) can affect the number of correct answers that the participant obtains.

 

 

For more IA ideas and a deeper insight into how to structure your IAs, head to the Clastify website where you will be able to find numerous psychology IA topics as well as exemplar IAs that you can refer to during your writing process!