Paper 1 Section C: The Extension Guide
Note: This section applies to HL students only. SL students do not sit Paper 1 Section C.
Section C tests the Extension topics — Animal Research, Technology, or Globalisation. The key is showing how the extension interacts with the core approach.
The Core Principle: Interaction
The most common mistake HL students make in Section C is treating the extension topic in isolation. The examiner wants to see how the extension interacts with or informs the core approach.
Example: Technology and Cognition
"Facebook affects people's mental health because they compare themselves to others."
"Digital technology (environment) affects working memory (cognitive process) by reducing attentional capacity through constant task-switching, as demonstrated by Ophir et al.'s (2009) study on media multitasking."
The Three Extension Topics
Animal Research
- Discuss how animal studies inform our understanding of human behaviour
- Address ethical considerations (3Rs: Replace, Reduce, Refine)
- Evaluate generalisability from animals to humans
Technology
- Show how technology has changed research methods (fMRI, EEG)
- Discuss how technology affects psychological processes
- Consider ethical issues of digital data collection
Globalisation
- Discuss cultural psychology and cross-cultural research
- Address WEIRD bias (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic)
- Evaluate how globalisation affects cultural identity and behaviour