Free flashcards · International Baccalaureate IB Middle Years Programme

Individuals and Societies (MYP) flashcards

46 cards covering every topic of the syllabus (From 2014). Study one topic or mix them all, turn each card, and mark yourself honestly.

Study mode needs JavaScript. Every card is listed below, so you can still cover the answers and test yourself.

All 46 cards

For a quick read-through or printing. Cover the right-hand side to test yourself.

Topic 1: Constituent disciplines

Which disciplines can an MYP Individuals and Societies course cover?: Integrated humanities, history, economics, geography, philosophy, sociology/anthropology, business management, psychology or world religions. The choice is the school's; the four criteria stay the same.
In which subjects is the I&S on-screen eAssessment offered?: Only history, geography and integrated humanities — even where a school teaches another discipline such as economics or psychology.
Does MYP Individuals and Societies have a prescribed content list?: No. Schools design their own units. What is prescribed is the use of key and related concepts and global contexts to build the curriculum.
Primary versus secondary source: A primary source comes from the time or event studied (an 1840s factory report). A secondary source is written later about it (a modern historian's book).
Correlation versus causation: Two series moving together do not prove that one causes the other. A causal claim needs a mechanism and evidence that rules out other explanations.
Intra-disciplinary versus interdisciplinary learning: Intra-disciplinary: connecting courses within I&S (history with geography). Interdisciplinary: connecting I&S with other MYP subject groups, often through shared key concepts.

Topic 2: Key concepts (examples)

Which four key concepts does MYP Individuals and Societies contribute?: Change; global interactions; systems; time, place and space. The guide says culture, development and communities can also matter in I&S. There are sixteen MYP key concepts in all.
What does change mean as an I&S key concept?: Movement from one form, state or value to another. Analyse causes (natural or human, intended or unintended), the process and the consequences for named groups — who gained and who lost.
What does global interactions mean as an I&S key concept?: Connections between people, communities and environments seen at world scale: interdependence, conflict, cooperation and sharing finite resources. Example: Ethiopia's Blue Nile dam and the concerns of Egypt and Sudan.
What does systems mean as an I&S key concept?: Interacting or interdependent parts. Name the parts, show how they depend on each other, identify the equilibrium and trace one shock through the system — for example a market and its equilibrium price, or a drainage basin.
What does time, place and space mean as an I&S key concept?: The absolute or relative position of people, objects and ideas: when, where and why there, the constraints and opportunities of location, flows and scale. Example: Singapore's absolute versus relative location.
Absolute versus relative location: Absolute location is a fixed position (coordinates). Relative location is position in relation to other places, routes and resources — which can change as links change.
What is a statement of inquiry?: One transferable sentence that places a key concept and related concepts in a global context. It names no place or date, so it could guide a unit on a different topic.

Topic 3: Related concepts (examples)

What is a related concept in I&S?: A narrower concept rooted in one discipline, used to explore a key concept in more depth. The guide lists related concepts for economics, geography, history and integrated humanities; teachers may choose others.
Give example related concepts for economics, geography and history: Economics: scarcity, trade, growth. Geography: causality, networks, scale. History: conflict, significance, interdependence.
Key concept or related concept: causality, scarcity, change?: Change is a key concept. Causality and scarcity are related concepts. Calling a related concept a key concept is a common error.
Nominal versus real values: Nominal values use current prices. Real values remove the effect of inflation, so they can be compared fairly over time.
Percent versus percentage points: A rate rising from 4% to 5% rises by 1 percentage point, which is a 25% increase. Say which one you mean.
Supranational versus intergovernmental organisations: Supranational: can make law that binds members (the EU). Intergovernmental: relies mainly on agreement between states (the UN General Assembly, ASEAN).
Hard power versus soft power: Hard power coerces, for example through sanctions or force. Soft power attracts, for example a country's films being watched worldwide.
Comparative versus absolute advantage: Absolute advantage: a country makes more of a good than another with the same resources. Comparative advantage: it makes a good at a lower opportunity cost — the basis for gains from trade.

Topic 4: Global contexts

What are the six MYP global contexts?: Identities and relationships; orientation in space and time; personal and cultural expression; scientific and technical innovation; globalization and sustainability; fairness and development.
Which global context do many I&S inquiries focus on?: Orientation in space and time (turning points, connections, when and where). Teachers must identify a global context for every unit and are encouraged to use the other contexts too.
What does the fairness and development context ask in I&S?: Who has rights, access and opportunity, and why there is inequality — for example measuring income inequality or the minimum wage debate.
What does the globalization and sustainability context ask in I&S?: How the local and the global are linked, and what the long-term effects are — for example rainforest cleared for oil palm plantations.
How do you write a statement of inquiry for an I&S unit?: Pick a key concept, one or two related concepts and a global context; write one sentence linking them with no names or dates; test that it could guide a unit on a different topic.
Give a transferable statement of inquiry for a unit on the 1930s Dust Bowl: Key concept change; related concepts causality and sustainability; context globalization and sustainability: "Farming choices that ignore the limits of the land can damage environments and livelihoods for a generation." It also fits overgrazing.
Factual, conceptual and debatable inquiry questions: Factual questions have an answer you can look up. Conceptual questions explore a transferable big idea. Debatable questions have more than one defensible answer and invite argument.

Topic 5: Assessment criteria

What are the four MYP Individuals and Societies criteria?: A: Knowing and understanding. B: Investigating. C: Communicating. D: Thinking critically. Equally weighted, each 0–8 (four bands plus level 0), total 0–32. Most assessment is classroom-based; there is no SL/HL split.
What does top-band criterion A evidence look like?: Factual and conceptual knowledge applied accurately to unfamiliar contexts, using discipline terminology precisely — connecting facts through a conceptual framework, not just listing them.
What does criterion B (Investigating) reward?: A clear, specific research question and a systematic research process, using a range of source types and evaluating each source's reliability and relevance before drawing conclusions.
What does criterion C (Communicating) reward?: Organising, documenting and communicating learning in a format suited to the task and discipline: a clear argument, evidence integrated where it supports each point, correct referencing and accurate terminology.
What does criterion D (Thinking critically) reward?: Analysing and evaluating issues and the investigation itself, considering different perspectives and interpretations, and reaching a well-substantiated conclusion rather than treating one account as the whole picture.
How do you evaluate a source using origin and purpose?: Origin: who made it and when. Purpose: why and for whom. Value: what it can genuinely tell a researcher for this question. Limitation: what it cannot reliably tell. Value and limitation usually come from the same fact about origin and purpose.
Give a value and a limitation of a government press release issued the week before an election: Value: a primary, dated record of what the policy officially is, when and by whom it was announced. Limitation: likely to show the policy in the best light, so unreliable for judging its effectiveness or public reception.
How do you compare the usefulness of two sources?: Use a shared criterion tied to the research question (for example, which is more useful for understanding public reaction), weigh the origin, purpose, value and limitation of each against it, and reach a judgement.

Topic 6: MYP eAssessment topics (examples)

What is the structure of the I&S on-screen eAssessment?: A 2-hour on-screen exam with three source-based tasks: Investigating (criteria A and B, 26 marks); Communicating (A and C, 18 marks); Thinking critically (A, C and D, 36 marks, ending in extended writing). Total 80.
Name example topics for the I&S on-screen examinations: Demographics and human movements; economic agents, measurements and trends; industrialization and technology; rights and social protest; settlement and urban morphology; superpowers, empires and alliances; trade, aid and exchange; warfare and peacekeeping.
GDP versus GDP per capita versus GNI: GDP: total output produced within a country. GDP per capita: output per person. GNI: GDP plus income residents earn abroad minus income sent abroad. The HDI uses GNI per capita.
How do you calculate the natural increase rate and doubling time?: NIR (%) = (crude birth rate − crude death rate) ÷ 10, with both rates per 1,000. Doubling time ≈ 70 ÷ NIR. Example: CBR 30, CDR 10 → NIR 2% → about 35 years.
First versus second industrial revolution: First (c. 1760–1840): textiles, coal, iron and steam. Second (c. 1870–1914): steel, electricity, chemicals and oil.
Newcomen versus Watt: Newcomen built the first practical steam engine (1712). Watt made it far more efficient (1769 patent).
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)?: Adopted by the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (48 for, 0 against, 8 abstentions), drafted by a commission chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt; 30 articles. A declaration, not a binding treaty; the binding ICCPR and ICESCR followed in 1966.
Superpower versus empire: A superpower is judged by reach and influence (economic, military, political, cultural). An empire is judged by rule over other peoples. A superpower need not hold colonies.
Suffragist versus suffragette: Suffragists campaigned lawfully for women's votes (NUWSS). Suffragettes used militant direct action (WSPU).
Tariff, quota and subsidy: Tariff: a tax on imports. Quota: a limit on the quantity imported. Subsidy: a payment to domestic producers. All are forms of protectionism.

Flashcards by topic

Written for International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme Individuals and Societies, (From 2014).

Cards by Marlbridge Academic Team; 8 restate definitions from the Individuals and Societies (MYP) revision notes. This deck has not yet been reviewed as a whole by a subject teacher. Report an error.

All Individuals and Societies (MYP) notes, practice and topics