IB Group 3 subjects

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The Group Three of IB Diploma Programme subjects, subtitled individuals and societies, consists of the humanities and social sciences. The available subjects are Business and Management, Economics, Geography, History (and History of the Islamic World), Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS), Philosophy, Psychology, and Social and Cultural Anthropology.

Contents

1 Economics
2 History
3 Psychology
4 Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS)

Economics

The syllabus of the Economics course is divided into five sections - introductory economics, microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics, and development economics - all of which receive approximately equal weight. All sections must be studied by all candidates, and questions of all will be posed in examinations. The Diploma programme Economics course is noted for focusing more on development than any other economics course at a pre-university level, and this is all part of the IB programmes' international perspective.

The final exams consist of three papers for HL and two for SL. Paper 1 consists of essay questions, Paper 2 of short-answer tasks (this paper does not exist for SL students), and Paper 3 (Paper 2 for SL) requires data response. Internal assessment includes four commentaries of current news items involving the use of economic concepts and terminology.

History

The IB Diploma Programme History course generally focuses on the political history of the 20th century. At Standard Level, this is the only historical topic that is ever addressed, and also at Higher Level it has a great importance attached to it. The course is entirely divided into options, that the student can theoretically pick their favourites, but in practice the topics to be studied are decided by the teacher.

Each student must study at least one Prescribed Subject from a choice of three (these are specific 20th century topics, such as the Cold War between 1960 and 1979 and Stalin's Russia and focus greatly on the use of sources as historical evidence), and two 20th Century World History Topics from a choice of six (these are more general topics with a lot of freedom of coice within each topic, such as the rise and rule of single-party states). In addition, students at HL must study one Regional Option, or a period of about a hundred years within a specific region. The region chosen is usually, but by no means always, the one in which the school is located. The available regions are Europe, the Americas, Africa, East Asia and West Asia.

The IB History final exam consists of three papers (two for SL). Paper 1 is about the Prescribed Subjects, while Paper 2 concerns the 20th Century World History Topics and Paper 3 the Regional Options.

Psychology

Main Article: IB Psychology SL

The IB Diploma programme in psychology mainly focuses on the different perspectives of psychology on the one hand and the various subfields on the other hand. Psychology is normally defined as the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. Although the term psychology literally means the study of the soul one can not state that the soul is the content matter of modern psychology. Nevertheless, psychology is the science of mental life as William James wrote in his well known textbook Principles of psychology that was published in the USA in 1890.

The IB syllabus in psychology contains four main parts. The first part is concerned with the perspectives, the second part with the options, the third part with research methodology and finally all students have to carry out their own experimental study. There are four main perspectives, the psychoanalytic, the biological, the cognitive and the learning. In addition to that higher level students also study the humanistic perspective. The options include comparative psychology, cultural psychology, psychology of dysfunctional behaviour, health psychology, lifespan psychology, psychodynamic psychology and social psychology. Students at higher level study two options whereas standard level students study only one.

Each of the perspectives should be explored using the following four compulsory topics:

development and cultural contexts
framework
methodologies
application.

The aims of the psychology course at HL and at SL are to:

interpret and/or conduct psychological research to apply the resulting knowledge for the benefit of human beings
ensure that ethical practices and responsibilities are implemented in psychological inquiry
develop an understanding of the biological, social and cultural influences on human behaviour
develop an understanding of different theoretical processes that are used to interpret behaviour, and to be aware of how these processes lead to the construction and evaluation of psychological theories
develop an awareness of how applications of psychology in everyday life are derived from psychological theories
develop an appreciation of the eclectic nature of psychology
understand and/or use diverse methods of psychological inquiry.

Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS)

Starting 2006 the IB offers both a SL and a HL ITGS course. One stated aim of this course is to “develop an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of new technologies as methods of expanding our knowledge of the world at the local and global level”. ITGS is not a classical computer course where students learn to use different application software or programming, rather it is a course that attempts to integrate social and ethical issues related to an IT system with different areas of impact.

Requirements for SL (for first exams in 2006):

External assessment: 2 exam papers (3 hours), counts 70% of the final mark
Internal assessment: one project composed of a product, report and log book

Requirements for HL (for first exams in 2006):

External assessment: 3 exam papers (4 hours), counts 80% of the final mark
Internal assessment: 3 portfolio essays (800-1000 words) and one extension to a portfolio (800-1000 words)

Practical computer work is conducted while researching for the project and portfolio.

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