IB DP Psychology: Sociocultural approach to understanding behaviour – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions. They use Paper 1’s question types and mark tariffs (9-mark SAQs, 22-mark ERQs), but not the paper’s exact wording or selection – the IB holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or the IB store.

Related: Sociocultural approach revision notes and the sociocultural approach study guide.

The sociocultural approach is examined on IB DP Psychology Paper 1 (first assessment 2019, last examined November 2026). Section A sets one 9-mark short-answer question (SAQ) on each core approach; Section B offers three 22-mark extended-response questions (ERQs), one per approach, of which you answer one. The questions below cover every content point of the approach.

How the answers are marked

SAQ markbands (9 marks), summarised

Marks	Descriptor
7-9	Relevant, accurate knowledge and understanding; psychological terminology used appropriately; research is relevant, accurately described and explicitly linked to the question
4-6	Relevant but with limited or partly inaccurate knowledge; research relevant but not fully explained or linked
1-3	Little relevance; knowledge limited or inaccurate; research missing or irrelevant

ERQ criteria (22 marks)

Criterion	Marks
A Focus on the question	2
B Knowledge and understanding	6
C Use of research to support the answer	6
D Critical thinking	6
E Clarity and organisation	2

Section A: short-answer questions

1. Outline social identity theory, with reference to one study. [9]

2. Explain one study of social cognitive theory. [9]

3. Explain one effect of stereotypes on behaviour, with reference to one study. [9]

4. Describe one study of enculturation. [9]

Section B: extended-response questions

5. Evaluate research on cultural dimensions. [22]

6. Discuss acculturation, with reference to research. [22]

Model answer outlines

1. Social identity theory (SIT).

• Knowledge: SIT (Tajfel and Turner) proposes that people derive part of their self-concept from group memberships. Social categorisation sorts people into in-groups and out-groups; social identification adopts the group’s identity; social comparison favours the in-group to achieve positive distinctiveness and raise self-esteem.
• Research: Tajfel et al. (1971): schoolboys in Bristol were assigned to groups on a trivial basis and asked to award points. They favoured in-group members and chose to maximise the difference between groups rather than total reward.
• Link: in-group favouritism appeared without any history of conflict, supporting the claim that categorisation alone is enough to produce discrimination.

2. Social cognitive theory (SCT).

• Knowledge: SCT (Bandura) explains learning through observation of models within reciprocal determinism; observational learning requires attention, retention, reproduction and motivation; self-efficacy matters.
• Research: Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961): children watched an adult act aggressively or non-aggressively towards a Bobo doll, or saw no model. Children who saw the aggressive model reproduced more physical and verbal aggression; boys imitated physical aggression more, especially from a male model.
• Link: behaviour was acquired through observation alone, without direct reinforcement.

3. Effect of stereotypes.

• Knowledge: stereotype threat – awareness of a negative stereotype about one’s group causes anxiety that reduces performance.
• Research: Steele and Aronson (1995): Black and White American college students took a difficult verbal test. When it was described as diagnostic of intellectual ability, Black students performed worse than White students; when presented as non-diagnostic, the difference largely disappeared.
• Link: the stereotype affected behaviour (test performance) through the situation, not ability.

4. Enculturation.

• Knowledge: enculturation is the process of learning the norms and values of one’s own culture, through parents, peers, schools and media.
• Research: Fernald and Morikawa (1993) observed Japanese and American mothers playing with infants at home. American mothers labelled objects more often; Japanese mothers more often used objects in social routines and politeness. American infants had larger noun vocabularies.
• Link: mothers transmit cultural priorities (naming versus social harmony) through everyday interaction.

5. Cultural dimensions (ERQ outline).

• A Focus: define cultural dimensions and state that the essay will evaluate the research that identifies them and tests their effects.
• B Knowledge: Hofstede’s dimensions from a survey of IBM employees – individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-femininity, later long-term orientation and indulgence.
• C Research: Hofstede’s survey data; Berry (1967) on conformity in Temne (collectivist, farming) and Inuit (more individualist, hunting) communities, with Temne conforming more.
• D Critical thinking: strengths – very large data set; testable predictions; useful for cross-cultural comparison. Limitations – sample of employees of one company; national averages may not apply to individuals (ecological fallacy); dimensions may change over time; Berry’s samples small and tasks may have different meanings across cultures; risk of imposed etic categories.
• E: clear structure, terminology defined, conclusion that answers “evaluate”.

6. Acculturation (ERQ outline).

• A/B: define acculturation; Berry’s model of acculturation strategies based on two questions – keeping one’s heritage culture and engaging with the new culture – giving integration, assimilation, separation and marginalisation.
• C: Lueck and Wilson (2011) on acculturative stress among Asian Americans, linked to factors such as language proficiency and discrimination, with bilingual ability associated with lower stress. Berry’s research tradition associating integration with better adaptation.
• D: the model’s strategies may be chosen or imposed by the host society; much research is correlational survey data and self-report; acculturation is a process over time, so cross-sectional studies capture it poorly; results may differ by group and country.
• E: conclude by judging how well research explains individual differences in acculturation.

Frequently asked questions

Do SAQs need evaluation? No. Most SAQ command terms (describe, explain, outline) require knowledge and research linked to the question; evaluation belongs in ERQs.

How long should an ERQ be? There is no word limit. Paper 1 lasts 2 hours, so about 60 minutes for the ERQ after three SAQs of around 20 minutes each is a sensible split; spend the first 5-10 minutes planning.

Can I use the same study twice? Yes, across different questions, as long as it is linked to each question’s demand.